I guess I'll start off by saying I've had my 2014 GT500 since the day I drove it off the showroom floor back in September '13. The car was always a blast to drive, and I loved rowing the gears through an aggressive pull or just simply driving her casually down the road on the occasional commute to work. I had planned to keep the car for as long as I could, even going as far to ship her up to Alaska when I relocated here from Florida for the job.
I did a few mods along the way such as Van's 13-6 kit, headers, and a tune. There wasn't anything too fancy. She had more than enough horsepower for me to handle. My main focus was on keeping the car pristine by wrapping the entire chassis in a clearbra, bumper-to-bumper. I even applied a ceramic coating on top of the wrap for added protection. I did everything I could do to protect the car for the long run. But in the end fate threw me a curve ball that I never saw coming.
When winter came a few months back I stored the car in my garage atop my car hauler trailer like I've done in year's past. She stayed like that until I moved the trailer to the other side of the garage two weeks ago to make room for some tools.
It happened when i was away on a business trip. I'll never forget waking up to my phone alarm. I had a smoke detector connected to said phone for my home, and the app was showing a smoke alarm. At the same time I had three different neighbors calling. I was four time zones away and helpless. In the end the house was a total loss. The GT500 fared no better.
My dogs were at my brother's so they were safe, and that's all I cared about. In the end, the house and car were insured.
The investigation is ongoing, but preliminary assessments are that the spray insulation in the roof space came into contact with the hot pipe of my wood stove and ignited. Apparently it can smolder for days before catching fire, which explains how this happened with the house being unoccupied. I'm just glad I wasn't home, nor were the dogs.
I haven't been able to open the hood to see what the engine compartment looks like, since part of the roof is resting on the car. I assume there's nothing salvageable with the engine since I understand the block is aluminum and that doesn't do well with high heat.
At this point my main concern is with getting the house rebuilt. Once I do get that done, I do plan to search for a new GT500. But I don't know if I'll be able to find a 13/14 model that I like. Mine only had 8000 miles on it at the time of the fire. I might just end up going to the newer models, although they are a bit more pricey.
I guess, in the end, I just wanted to share my story with you all in the hopes that you continue to enjoy your cars like I did. You never know when life will blindside you in the end.
I did a few mods along the way such as Van's 13-6 kit, headers, and a tune. There wasn't anything too fancy. She had more than enough horsepower for me to handle. My main focus was on keeping the car pristine by wrapping the entire chassis in a clearbra, bumper-to-bumper. I even applied a ceramic coating on top of the wrap for added protection. I did everything I could do to protect the car for the long run. But in the end fate threw me a curve ball that I never saw coming.
When winter came a few months back I stored the car in my garage atop my car hauler trailer like I've done in year's past. She stayed like that until I moved the trailer to the other side of the garage two weeks ago to make room for some tools.
It happened when i was away on a business trip. I'll never forget waking up to my phone alarm. I had a smoke detector connected to said phone for my home, and the app was showing a smoke alarm. At the same time I had three different neighbors calling. I was four time zones away and helpless. In the end the house was a total loss. The GT500 fared no better.
My dogs were at my brother's so they were safe, and that's all I cared about. In the end, the house and car were insured.
The investigation is ongoing, but preliminary assessments are that the spray insulation in the roof space came into contact with the hot pipe of my wood stove and ignited. Apparently it can smolder for days before catching fire, which explains how this happened with the house being unoccupied. I'm just glad I wasn't home, nor were the dogs.
I haven't been able to open the hood to see what the engine compartment looks like, since part of the roof is resting on the car. I assume there's nothing salvageable with the engine since I understand the block is aluminum and that doesn't do well with high heat.
At this point my main concern is with getting the house rebuilt. Once I do get that done, I do plan to search for a new GT500. But I don't know if I'll be able to find a 13/14 model that I like. Mine only had 8000 miles on it at the time of the fire. I might just end up going to the newer models, although they are a bit more pricey.
I guess, in the end, I just wanted to share my story with you all in the hopes that you continue to enjoy your cars like I did. You never know when life will blindside you in the end.
