OCCOMSRAZOR

A blown engine last year caused the necessity of a major rebuild.

After much discussion, I opted for a 4 stage dry sump pump with a 5 gallon oil tank, dual coolers, dual filters, etc. The motor was built by Nutter Racing Engines, with a cam specially designed by Louis at LG Motorsports. I used the Trickflow heads that I already owned, but had TEA do some additional work so that it would run well on the 416 stroker. Mated to the heads was the FAST 102 with cathedral ports to match the heads.

On the engine dyno, the motor pulled 615 HP and 580 FP of torque. What impressed me was that there was 520 FP of torque at 3200 rpm.

The motor was connected to the torque tube with the first off the line dual 8.5” twin disk clutch from Monster Clutch. A big thanks to Steve Addison for all of his help.

Everything was moving forward and we were about 3 weeks from having everything complete and then, a tragic disaster…

Last Friday an electrical fire (cause still under investigation) occurred at the race shop while the owner was at lunch. It destoyed his shop, all of the cars inside, and the two shop pets.

Unfortunately, I found out today that the race shop owner did not carry Garage Keepers Insurance, only general liability. Consequently, my race car (which now consists only of anything metal) is not covered by his insurance.

Short story, I’m pretty much done with racing. With this crappy economy, I could barely afford the $25K that has been put into it this year with the rebuild and motor install, and I definitely can’t afford to rebuild or purchase something else.

Moral: Make sure the folks that work on your car have the right type of insurance that protects you in case of a disaster at their shop.

JDIllon

WOW! sorry for your loss!! Something you never think of until it is to late! Thanks for the heads up!! JD

GettReal

My heart goes out to you. I have had my issues on and off for a couple years but I couldnt imagine this misfortune. I am so sorry it had to happen to you not sure what bright side to offer on something like this.

Olitho

Or you can buy separate insurance to cover the car during transport, etc. It won't cover damage while racing though.

A read of the policy would be required to see if it is covered while outside the trailer getting repaired.

American Collectors insurance used to provide this type of coverage. I am sure there are others.


Oli

Jason

Heartbreaking.

BERETTA

I sure hate to hear this, i am very sorry for your loss.I have a fear of something like this happening at my shop. I have enough insurance at my business to cover several cars, I can get 20 inside if we work at it, I just always felt like I would be responsible for customers cars in the event of the building burning down. I do get nervous if there are multiple Corvettes or other expensive cars left overnight.....

Racingswh

I am sorry for you and the others that lost their cars. Sad to hear about the animals. They didn't do anything and didn't deserve to burn to death. This economy sucks for many of us and I am sure it does for the shop owner as well. I wouldn't be surprised if that was partly the reason for the lack of insurance. Again really sorry to hear about this.

dvandentop

good lord i cannot imagine what your going through! Is there anyway his lability would pick anything up??

did you have any kind of insurance on your car ??

froggy47

That is so sad all around for everyone. I never sleep well when one of mine is at a shop for anything.

mgarfias

Suck. If you need help or anything, lemme know, beaverton isn't that far away.

z06801

man sorry to hear, hopefully this economy will improve for everybody and get you back to racing

sperkins

Can't even imagine man. So sorry.

Joy of 6

Todd,

I was hoping your car wasn't inside. Very Sad situation. did you lose the Chump car also?

waddisme

Just bad all the way around. Seems like all the insurance businesses are required to have, this one should also be required or at least post that they do not carry it.

Sorry to hear about it.

Cobra4B

Wow... what a horrible story. This is why I always carry a basic policy on any race car I have that covers fire, theft, and damage while in tow. If the car was in your own garage and your house burned down it wouldn't be covered by homeowners.

Same thing towing... you have a mishap and get in an at fault accident then your trailer, racecar, and contents aren't covered under a normal collision policy.

Falcon

Man, that's bad to hear.

What did the shop owner say when you told him you expected to be reimbursed?

I know in my business if our customers' stuff was destroyed they'd be there the next day expecting replacement.

As much as I try to avoid lawyers, now is the time to seek one's advice.

trackboss

Sad to hear. I hope some good luck comes your way.
I've always feared any sort of damage when towing a car trailer. Several years back towing back from a race(successful weekend and decided to rest and return on a monday) I had my trailer t-boned at an overpass intersection. The highway patrol mentioned it happened there regularly because cars coming over cannot be seen until it's almost too late. It could have been reallly bad, but at the last moment I noticed and floored my tow vehicle, which probably saved me from injury or worse. I was lucky. My trailer took the hit square to the rear axle which actually helped save my race car from extensive damage, but there was damage.
How about a sticky with a list of places that insure against these sorts of things? Both car and trailer.

95jersey

Oh man, that is horrible. We complain about broke motors, suspension and general cost of racing/hpde, but that is nothing compared to what happened to you. This is one reason why I never went with a true race car and stayed with a street car, so I can keep affordable insurance on the vehicle. I was always scared that if I bought a dedicated track car and crashed it or it got stolen, let alone a fire, I would be out of a lot of money.

Cobra4B

I have my race car registered with plates on it. I have liability and comprehensive coverage on it through my regular carrier. This covers me for damage during transport or in the event of a fire loss. My agent knows it's a race car and that I'm not looking for any kind of coverage on track. I drive it on the street to shake it down and take it to a car show every now and then. Plates are legal/valid, but I don't have an inspection sticker on it.

Falcon

B., do you have to carry collision to be able to add comprehensive in Va.?

Here in NC my agent said unless we carry collision, we can't get comprehensive.