TurboBenz is DEAD... RIP!!!

[JasonH]

On Saturday afternoon, I was out doing some final tuning before I was to hit the strip later that evening. All was going extremely well, and I was literally giddy with excitement. This night at the track was to be the first true timed test of the newly rebuilt engine. From the runs I was making during the tuning, I could tell that the car was definitely going to be faster than ever. Finally, all the hard work, money, and waiting was finally going to pay off. Given how the car was pulling, I was certain I would get down into the 13 second range. The tires were even chirping on the shift from 1st to 2nd, something that didn't happen with the old engine!

During my final pass (I was logging O2/Fuel mixture levels with my software) I started to register the smell of burning plastic. Crap, I thought, then… I saw it. Smoke actually coming through the air vents into the cabin. HOLY SHIT!!! I immediately pulled over, turned off the car, and popped the hood. When I lifted the hood my worst fears were realized... there were already flames coming up the cowl. I gasped, and though how ironic, I was just holding a fire extinguisher in my hand a day earlier when I had purchased my race gas, and was thinking that I should have one of these. If only I had... :dispoint: :dpress: :cry:

Get the rest at:

http://www.turbobenz.com/Death.htm

[FreeStyler]

MOtherfucker!

[FreeStyler]

:cry:

[jnolte]

WTF!!! that sucks!!! Geez mang.. So whats next for the TurboBenz? RIP

[Koolvin]

OMG!! OMG!!!

I think it's a curse or something, everyone with turbo benzos has some bad luck...


Rascalman in his bi-turbo C280
UnderPressure in his Turbo'd C220
Me in my Turbo'd C180
now you in your C220 Turbo
oh and the guy u got the Turbo off too!

WTF is going on?

[98_Benzo]

Jason, your still my idle dude!!! I only wish my car could go that fast (without the flames). Are you going to tear through the engine and see what went wrong? You need to hurry up and build a new one, I was looking forward to driving down there and seeing your car. Well good luck man and man I feel for ya bro!!!

[MBenzNL]

...engine modifications...

greetingz,

[Denlasoul]

JasonH:

Im sorry that this happened to you. After all that work, it must have been very disappointing. Hang in there and keep your dream alive.

BEst wishes,

DLS

[fastmayte]

hey man sorri for the loss. sweet car.

the block seems like it's ok and it doesn't seem like it's more than the engine bay, my advice would be get a wrecked C and swap out parts from it to this one.

donno what insurance will say about a modded car, especially the nitrous.
good luck.

[nokia8860]

Any ideas how the fire started?

[CKlasse]

Sorry, Jason. Can you salvage and rebuild the engine compartment? From the look of it, something in the engine compartment must've caught on fire (exhaust leak?).

I am glad you are ok!

[JasonH]

I still have not talked to the insurance adjuster yet. I want to talk to the engine builder first to get some of his thoughts.

One good thing is that most of the work was professionally done by a couple of shops, and I have the receipts to prove it. So I'll be able to put up a fight if they try to say they won't cover cause it was modded. I have never seen a clause in my policy that would support that argument. It also never had nitrous... me no likey.

In the meantime, I have made up a one-page data/cost sheet. It includes a screen print of the current blue book value (private party sale in excellent condition), and a table with over $20,000 spent on the engine work & add-ons each with attached exhibit numbers (copies of receipts) when I had them.

Hopefully, this will help me get at least a bit more than blue book value… hopefully!

I appreciate all the sympathy & support. Everything really will depend on the insurance. I may just get another one with high miles & drop the engine in, and transfer all the other parts. Or, after having the engine and all other parts inspected, I may just part it all out. Don’t know yet.

I do know that I am certainly going to buy the car back if they total it.

Jason :cry: :dispoint: :dpress:

[speedybenz]

Jason, Sorry for your loss and for the loss of your time and money to get to the point of success and then to have a mishap.

I have been where you are at and it's a tough deal. All I can say is try not to dwell on it too much or it will just eat at you. You have to be able to assess the damage and move on. It's a part of being a racer and high performance tuner.

I know you will gather up the good things and move on to something bigger and faster. Good Luck.

Jeff

[pnsji]

[marksbenz]

Sorry about your car. Atleast youre alive to build another car. I got first bid on the springs. I know the insurance company will give you a hard time, but dont give up.

[J Irwan]

oh.. man oh man..


sorry for the accident Jason...

I hope at least you can recover some amount you have been put on the car..

I know there are a lot of effort have been put into the car, and it is very sad that it has to end this way..

Maybe it's not meant to be..
Maybe it is a sign for a new car .. (Try to think on a positive side )....


Anyhow, good luck with the insurance..

Keep us posted.


Regardz,

[202rules]

This is interesting, so I'm new here right? And the reason I'm here in the first place is this guy Jason. Man, I've been to your website and saw the turbo benz long before I joined this awesome group few days ago. Your car was one of the reasons I'm here and the reason I'm starting to work on my car. Nothing makes me feel better about this group than to see people like you being part of it.

Sorry for what happened to the car, I hope you'll be able to get it back on the road soon. Good luck!

Hamzeh

[JasonH]

Thanks all,

I do appreciate all the support & help. The field appraiser came by yesterday, and all in all, he **seemed** reasonable & even pretty cool. He was impressed by the packet of information that I had prepared, and actually appreciated that I had done so. He commented that it was the most well organized presentation of information he had ever gotten, and that it would certainly help to up my settlement. In addition, he also commented that this was probably the most well done & tricked out car he had reviewed. Overall, I got the impression that he felt the car was way above high blue book, and it actually **appeared** that he was impressed by the car (and was on my side).

The only problem is that he will now forward the information along with his observations and pictures to the actual adjuster. I have no clue what she'll think, and she's the one with the real decision-making power. He did tell me that because this is not even close to a stock car, it will take some time to assess **their** value. So it sounds like I may not know anything until early next week.

I spoke with him again this morning as he had encouraged me to fax any more receipts to him yesterday & I found a few more. During the conversation, I asked him:
“I will have the right to buy the salvage title right?”
His response:
“Well, I’m not certain on that, I’ll have to talk to the adjuster to verify.”

Wow that pumped up the blood pressure a bit!!! Needless to say, I have a voicemail in to the adjuster, because that would have a huge impact on my perception of a fair deal.

Hopefully, she’ll get back to me quickly… and will say “yes, you can buy the car back”.

Waiting on pins & needles,
Jason

[98_Benzo]

:Paranoid: :nerves: :nerves: :nerves: My fingers are crossed for you Bro!!!

[CKlasse]

Good luck Jason, keep us updated!

[J Irwan]

Good luck Jason..





Regardz,

[JasonH]

Some good news…sorta.

I work very closely with a few attorneys. When they heard the story they were bummed for me, thought the packet I put together was great, and mentioned that if I don’t like what the adjuster had to say to let them know. Hey, a few attorneys on my side (for free) can’t hurt. Now I will feel a bit more confident in pushing back if necessary.

Still waiting for that darn adjuster to call & let me know about the salvage rights.

Jason