Body Shop FIRE ! need advice from paint experts please

[Pentastarnut]

Last week while I was flying to Carlisle ( the body shop where my Cuda is ) the paint booth exhaust fan shorted out and caught fire, they couldn't contain the blaze and it turned into a four alarm fire. The Cuda was four bays away from the paint booth but still got a LOT of heat. All of the metal work was finished, some of the mud work was done as well. It seems the top surface got the most heat, under the hood and door jams looks shiny ( it's finished in B5 ) and untouched. Tires still hold air, front bucket seats are mostly burned, the door glass is broken, the hood looks like it was stepped on by the rear lip area and the roof was walked on by firemen. There was no rubber or wiring on the shell, and the front and rear glass is out. We replaced all of the metal from the doors back. It looks like it got hot enough to burn the primer/sealer on some of the new metal, then we had that hurricane come in a couple of days later that dumped a ton of rain on us so there's flash rusting going on there as well. My question is, if we take this down to the metal will it be ok in the future years as far as paint sticking, or will i have bubbling/cracking issues. Needless to say this is killing me  before and after pics





Guess i could always just put it together as is and name it RATFISH 

[71-440]

Holy Crap! That really sucks. I am so sorry to see that. 

[ToxicWolf]

Oh man ... That hurts me just to look at it.

[anlauto]

Well I hope the shop and you had good insurance, because you're going to have to strip the car down again and start over 

[JS29]

The good news, it was not on the frame rack clamped on the rocker panels. the hood, roof, trunk lid are shot in my opinion. it should be sandblasted and start from scratch. sorry for your loss! have you talked to the shop owner yet. and did you have your own insurance? 

[1Burgfish]

  Sorry for your loss, the car will have to be sandblasted and re-primed warped metal will need to be replaced since metal expands and shrinks when heated (Oil canning) body shop term wrinkling of metal due to excessive heat. The Body shop should have insurance to cover incidents like this it just stinks that you were so close and this happens. I hope you get your car back on track soon.

[Pentastarnut]

My buddy owns the business but rents the shop space. He has no garage keepers insurance, but i do have insurance on the Cuda. The building owner has insurance and it may cover the contents, the insurance company did a preliminary inspection on the building and are coming back tomorrow for a follow up. My bud says he'd water sand blast it to bare metal and start over. I talked to Stevens ( AMD Dealer ) about the roof panel and braces, they will give me 15% off. I planned on selling the 1970 hood and buckets, then getting an AAR hood. My grill WAS nice so now i'll get a new one. I really wanted an opinion of if it looked ok to move forward or if it was toast, no pun intended, as to it coming out ok in the long run as i plan to keep this car til death. Thank You guys for the input 

[1 Wild R/T]

That absolutely sucks, very sorry it happened to you..

How's your ability to "feel" body work?  A good body man feels more than he sees...  The roof & hood obviously need to be replaced... The rest of the sheet metal I'd hit with a D/A with 80 grit to knock the loose paint & primer off then start feeling the metal.....  The quarters were new, you shouldn't have to accept filler to hide warped metal.....  I wouldn't expect much damage on the passenger side but the drivers side, the trunk lid, the dutchman panel, the front header panel, the tail panel... All need to be checked

Then theres the seats, the upholstery & foam are gone, so the springs got hot, springs lose their spring action when they get hot....

Sorry to say it but the car is likely totaled, make sure you get enough to buy a done car...

[BIGSHCLUNK]

I tend to agree, she's toast. Could you...? YES  But should you....... ?

[torredcuda]

Hard to tell over the internet by the pics but doesn't look too bad, just take it all down to bare metal and replace any panels that warped or look like they took a lot of heat

[anlauto]

I think before considering fixing it I would listen to what the insurance company has to say. It might not be worth your while fixing it.

[Katfish]

I think before considering fixing it I would listen to what the insurance company has to say. It might not be worth your while fixing it.

There's your best advice

[GoodysGotaCuda]

I think before considering fixing it I would listen to what the insurance company has to say. It might not be worth your while fixing it.

I agree. You had a lot of work ahead of you before that thermal event, insurance could get interesting in this situation.

[JS29]

They will probably try to knock off money for being apart, no paint time, and anything else they can wiggle out of. I would see what both insurance company's have to say. and again 

[RUNCHARGER]

Not nice but it can and should be be fixed. Hopefully they will give you enough $$$ to cover it. I don't think there will be hidden damage so an estimate should be easy to come up with. As Wild advised, check all panels you think are okay for warpage. The whip out the AMD catalogue, your bodyguy will know exactly how long it will take this time.