7 passed the MOT this morning at 8, so I went the long way home (as not taxed) and had a carb/engine fire, the whole front end from the scuttle
forward is destroyed,
Will be a lot of salvaged parts going on ebay soon!
a VERY PISSED OF steve
[Edited on 2/7/19 by steve m]
Oh no.. so gutted for you. Such a painful and sad end to a car. Assume you are all ok though - which is the main thing!
What are ar5e
As above I hope you are unhurt yourself!
I am un hurt, physically, and as been said, we are more important than a load of welded metal,
But mentally, im in pieces, so upset, it was one of the original book built Locosts, so Ive had 21 ish years of fun, from a home built car, and its
over now, and soon to have an empty garage, first time in 45 years!
steve
you might consider keeping that F27 and transplanting/ saving what you can for that?
I can give you a few days labour as I'm just bout to start 6 weeks holiday
Really sorry to hear that. I would stand back and see what you can salvage. Might not be a bad as you think, re-building should be possible if you
wish.
Any idea what caused it?
Dan
Ah no,sorry to hear of this
As above though,unless the chassis is twisted/distorted from the heat surely it's worth rebuilding?
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Ah no,sorry to hear of this
As above though, unless the chassis is twisted/distorted from the heat surely it's worth rebuilding?
..not a lot i can say apart from, glad you are ok...chin up mate, could have been a lot worse.
So sorry to hear this Steve, having had an engine fire myself it isn't nice. Good luck getting it all sorted, at least you are in one piece.
good that your not physically hurt,
you will undoubtedly be blaming yourself, because you built it,
but remember, what you built lasted over 20 years, and it had been inspected earlier that day!
what I am saying is don't blame yourself, you built yourself a good car, very well.
Gutted! Any idea what happened? [other than it caught fire!!]
Stu
quote:
Originally posted by Bluemoon
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Ah no,sorry to hear of this
As above though, unless the chassis is twisted/distorted from the heat surely it's worth rebuilding?
Even if it is the DVLA will allow it's replacement with "a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original".
Dan
Steve,
Gutted to hear that - it was a lovely car. You are (physically) unhurt which is all that really matters, cars can be rebuilt or replaced.
James
Terrible as clearly you were attached to it as you built it yourself and had it for so long. But look on the bright side, you escaped unscathed and
now are in a position to consider buying my F27.
So any idea of cause, electrical short or fuel line failure, possible the mot tester knocked something out of place, they usually need to look under
the bonnet, seems a bit coincidental.
From the charred remains, it appears that the fuel line/Brass tube that goes into the dcd carb has come out, and sprayed fuel all over the distributor
(xflow) brilliant 1960's design !!! not,
The fire brigade put the fire out, as two fire extinguishers, and one being a large office foam one didnt !
The whole engine department is destroyed, I will review the situation reassess when I can be arsed, but currently, I don't even want to look at
the mess
steve
Gutted for you bud, really sorry to hear that, glad you’re ok though.
I cried when I crashed my kit car and I only had it a few months. Sorry to hear of your loss.
Take your time and I'm sure you will take the right actions to heal those wounds.
Steve, really sorry to read this, anything I can help with let me know.
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Bluemoon
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Ah no,sorry to hear of this
As above though, unless the chassis is twisted/distorted from the heat surely it's worth rebuilding?
Even if it is the DVLA will allow it's replacement with "a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original".
Dan
That's 100% guaranteed?
I reckon they would say it would need a IVA
What shitter!
Gutted for you
really sorry to hear of your woes Steve.
I'm probably not that far from you so If there's anything i can do to help then just shout.
Bad luck, but at least you are ok. I hope you can salvage something from it.
Hugh
I can't imagine the emotions during or now.
Take some time and don't make a decision in haste. I've seen plenty of racers weld on a new front end.
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
From the charred remains, it appears that the fuel line/Brass tube that goes into the dcd carb has come out, and sprayed fuel all over the distributor (xflow) brilliant 1960's design !!! not,
Really sorry to hear this Steve! Feel for you mate.
I do hope you will be able to rebuild.
After much thinking, ive decided to break the car up, there was a lot of do I rebuild, or break it up
One of the main reasons, but there were actually a few !
Was, would I feel safe in the my car again and the resounding answer was NO I would not, as having a serious fire, three feet in front of you, in an
open top car, and strapped in tightly doing about 40mph, was not something I EVER want to be in that situation again
So, I am now looking for something to go in the garage, to fill the void, once ive disassembled the car for what is saleable
Already, down the tip is a lot of burnt crap, plus the alui bonnet, as to heavily damaged to repair, and well misshaped, and the nose cone, that
resembled a marsh mellow, and would not of been any use to anyone
And now that that stuff has gone, I actually feel a little more positive, as its not my car in the garage anymore, just bits
steve
Will it be written off? If the chassis isn’t twisted by the heat, you could legitimately and guilt-free sell it to an enthusiast with a log book.
If the chassis is kaput, you could even buy a new chassis from e.g. Aries/TSR and do the same - I’d guess that’s a good way to recoup some cash and I
don’t see it as underhand at all. Someone else in your situation could legitimately rebuild their car. You are just letting someone else do it.
Yes, I would be tempted if I didn’t think the wife would remove my spleen.
[Edited on 2/7/19 by TimC]
Sorry to hear this but the most important thing is that your ok
Its always sad though when you've had a car this long
One thing though, Won't the insurers want to see the remains of it before writing it off ?
The chassis , is like a banana and the insurance claim, isn't worth the hassle, ive written off my loss by selling what is good, (not much ) and
walking away, my no claims bonus means that much!
Ive had 21 years on the road motoring, in a car that I built on my own, with no help whats so ever, im not trained in any engineering skills, and was
for 39 years an office worker
Ive rebuilt a few cars over the years, MG's Minis, Lotus elan, Etype, but
I had never welded before
I had never done anything with Aluminium , as in body work
never worked with fiberglass, as in moulds, etc
I had not really done much at all
I built my car, by myself,
My car owes me £8250 since building it and on the road in 1998, that includes every years, MOT tax insurance, and maintenance
and the little bits I added 
so what does it owe me now, mmm £8250 divided by 21 years = £392 pounds, per year
butr I started in May 1997, so 23 years ?
I spend more on beer, than that a year !
Not really worth mucking about with insurance !!
Ive had a great time, loved every bit, my car was a show car, polished to the max, and displayed, front cover of a magazine a good few years ago, but,
whats more important
Life, and ive got one now, not spendind 80% of my OFF time, in the garage fiddiling with the bloody car
love to you all my friends, I will stay on here, but more as a look at wht your all doing type of thing!
steve
Major bummer
Yeah its a major hit when a car you love is totalled, been there too, crying in the ambulance while carted off to hospital and not from my broken nose
and various quite sore bits
Put it behind you... mind to fit a good built in fire extinguisher next time. You'll get over it, always do.
Last time I had a car go on fire (Cortina) and the cabin suddenly filled with acrid smoke, I didn't even wait for the car to stop and jumped out
where it promptly came off the road and crashed into the ditch and then the fire went out 
damn it now it's stuck and burnt
Well done, what a great (and inspiring) attitude. I think really positive to come to this conclusion so soon after that awful incident!
Onwards and upwards as they say, and all the best to you in your new (car) project what ever it is!
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
The chassis , is like a banana and the insurance claim, isn't worth the hassle, ive written off my loss by selling what is good, (not much ) and walking away, my no claims bonus means that much!
Ive had 21 years on the road motoring, in a car that I built on my own, with no help whats so ever, im not trained in any engineering skills, and was for 39 years an office worker
Ive rebuilt a few cars over the years, MG's Minis, Lotus elan, Etype, but
I had never welded before
I had never done anything with Aluminium , as in body work
never worked with fiberglass, as in moulds, etc
I had not really done much at all
I built my car, by myself,
My car owes me £8250 since building it and on the road in 1998, that includes every years, MOT tax insurance, and maintenance
and the little bits I added
so what does it owe me now, mmm £8250 divided by 21 years = £392 pounds, per year
butr I started in May 1997, so 23 years ?
I spend more on beer, than that a year !
Not really worth mucking about with insurance !!
Ive had a great time, loved every bit, my car was a show car, polished to the max, and displayed, front cover of a magazine a good few years ago, but, whats more important
Life, and ive got one now, not spendind 80% of my OFF time, in the garage fiddiling with the bloody car
love to you all my friends, I will stay on here, but more as a look at wht your all doing type of thing!
steve
Sorry for your loss but fantastic you're taking such a pragmatic view.
Of no consolation but I've just invested in Firesticks for the hairdressers, tintop and garage.
They aren't cheap but look pretty efficient having been developed for use in spacecraft.
Keeping up on here is a good idea. I suspect lots of us don't own or run kits but still appreciate the cameradery.
Cheers, Pewe10 
It's a total shame - that was a lovely car that encouraged me to struggle on and get mine finished (I'd seen it at a show decades ago).
If mine suffered the same fate (heaven forbid!) I'd probably do the same thing - it's served me well and doesn't owe me anything, so a
total loss wouldn't be a financial disaster - sad times, but not a disaster.
Maybe you can do what everyone else seems to be doing, and get a MX5! I've been tempted...
quote:
Maybe you can do what everyone else seems to be doing, and get a MX5! I've been tempted...
quote:
Originally posted by pewe
Take one for a test drive I'll be surprised if you aren't smitten.
Steve, so sorry for your loss....
My first time back on this forum for years and one of the first things I see is this...
I hope you manage to recover some costs with the sale of the bits....gutted. I remember seeing your car at Newark very early on in our builds and
thinking that's how I want mine to look (although never was a fan of the pepperpot alloys )
Mine has been sat in the garage for 12 years and only moved to get to the back of the garage. My boy is 11 years old now so he might enjoy getting out
in it. We'll see
Sorry to hear that mate. mine's rarely used and Id still be gutted if it went up in smoke.
As you know, My first ever kit car mag is still around somewhere, bought long before I'd even heard of Locost, had your car featured in it!
You, Jasper, Hicost- what is it with your Southern boys and your fires?
Marcus,
Good to see you back mate! Hope you're well.
Hi Marcus, and James
I had forgotten about Jaspers car, Hicosts was a beast of a car, and I had a couple of rides out in it, twas incredibly quick, warp speed quick, and
soooooo quite, were as mine was lot slower, and made LOTS of noise
Marcus, I was never keen on the pepper pots either, so a few years ago, I bought the superlights, as in my avtar pic <<<
now they really did suit the car, and are on ebay right now 283547119880
Ive had enough of kit cars now, so will be buying something else, not totally sure what, as I still have a "ridiculously small garage"
But size wise, a Jaguar X8 just fits, and I still have my redundancy money from 3 years ago, making no interest at all !
steve
James, I had just remembered, when we all went to Goodwood, and those girls in the sprayed on outfits, ??
Jasper and I had an awesome race with Two Ferraris on the way there, and im sure you were in Jaspers car ?
We beet the red Ferraris, as the backed off !!
steve
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
James, I had just remembered, when we all went to Goodwood, and those girls in the sprayed on outfits, ??
Jasper and I had an awesome race with Two Ferraris on the way there, and im sure you were in Jaspers car ?
We beet the red Ferraris, as the backed off !!
steve
