So Mark's pictures and the OP's pictures both show front tires that were not destroyed by the fire. I am curious, did the tires survive the fire or were replacements put on to be able to roll the vehicle around???

 

Here is the 88 I bought for $100. This is one of those interesting "water pump failed, causing the car to burst into flames" scenarios.....


Tires are as they were after the fire:

 

I see. Very interesting. What did you salvage? The rim center caps?

 

Now why on Earth did you buy that one, Hacker?

 

Drive-train was fine, the transmission is currently in a supercharged 87. The heads will be rebuilt soon as well as the shortblock.
MAF was rebuilt and is currently in my 87.
LH/EZK were good, so was the owners manual and records in the glove box. Including bank statements complete with account and SS numbers.
Calipers, suspension arms are in a box somewhere. Hindsight I should have pulled the steering rack, good for a core rebuild.

I misplaced the intake manifold and cam covers, that's a strange mystery.

These fire's look a lot worse than they really are. Many parts of cars are highly flammable, that doesn't mean everything else is junk. The radiator hoses survived the fire (no I'm not using them). Just for fun I did cap off both ends and pressurize them. Held to 30+psi.


I bought the car in 2005. I closed the deal while in the backseat of a Yukon on the way to the airport leaving for my wedding. My bride to be (see avatar) was leaving the next day. My best mans mother was in the front seat, turned around, glared at me and said: "Young man, did you just buy another Porsche on the way to your wedding????!!!!!" They own a Corvette restoration shop (she manages it) so situations like this are not abnormal around here, it was still funny.

 

I run a salvage operation as many of you know. Corvettes primarily. We buy "ashtrays" all the time and get great suspension parts and frequently drivetrains.

I look forward to seeing the finished product on a awilli car. Looks like you are half way home, good luck!

 

My driver's side tire was not affected by the fire. Interior was unaffected. No water or smoke. After the fire, when I sat in the car with the door closed, you couldn't even smell the odor.

 

Sorry for all of the fire drama.
Been there.

I am not far from you, I am looking for a solid engine.

keep me I mind.

Best

John

 

Are we talking about the fire or your underwear?

 

Fred you are Hilarious! I was sitting in it when it went poof. That got a release out of me, but when it was burning, I was locked up tight.

John, I'll keep you in mind.

 

you aint right Fred..

 

So you're saying that's the exact wheel that was on the car during the fire?

If so, it appears to be surprisingly unaffected and incredibly pristine...

 

With these cars you need either a sense of humour or you need certifying! I believe that when faced by difficulties humour is the best solution- seems to be a family trait. When we buried my much loved late uncle uop in Scotland whre he resided, his coffin was laid to rest in what seemed to be the deepest grave I have ever seen. As his coffin was lowed into its final resting place, a very poignent moment, tradition was to throw a handful of soil to commence the burial process. As we did this a peered onto the coffin from above, one could see what looked like a small pipe in the corner to whit my cousin chirped "well at least he has some central heating down there"- I nearly had an annurism trying not to laugh!

If you chip away at the engine bay removing the damaged bits, remove the burnt out wing and clean the area up I think you will be amazed at how it positively transforms your perception of the extent of the damage. It is a bit like blood-a little looks a lot.

With offers of help like that from Gary how can you go wrong?

Regards

Fred

 

Tire was surprisingly unaffected. Like Fred said. It looks worse than it is. Those tires have about 400 miles on them.

 

The main causes of engine bay fire appears to be either the power steering hoses letting go [just done mine] or a fuel pipe rupture. The fire propagates in the engine bay but it is inevitably air starved thus all the black smoke and orange flames. What I do not understand is how the flames seem to lap the 928's wings and melt the things. I suspect the flame front is trying to burn the oil, not succeeding too well and laps into the wheel arch where oxygen is more plentiful and thus laps up the outer surface of the engine bay wall and the heat generated shoots the combustion products up to the wing that melts at 660C and then the flames can shoot out of the aperture thus formed possibly explaining why the tyre survived on both your car and the example Mark shows.
The power steering system does not contain much oil [about 1 litre?] so presumably it burns out quite quickly.

Most cars that catch fire are written off because there is not the residual value to warrant repair. I lost a motorcycle that caught fire after a crash - the thing was a mess, melted a carburettor but no damage to any steel on it other than paint. I have also seen a few cars that suffered engine bay fires- typically wire and plastic damage but little attrition to the wings and bonnet as in the pic below. Oxygen starved fuel fires typically burn at around 800C, steel melts at 1300C. If the steel is constrained it will tend to buckle with expansion but components like wings and bonnets are not really constrained.

Rgds

Fred