Our Community is 940,000 Strong. Join Us.


GMC Sierra 1977 - Fire damage and possible repair


BrysonWillis
05-14-2020, 09:24 AM
Hello,
I am looking for some guidance concerning repairing my truck, if it is possible. Here’s the story:
Driving her as normal, passing through some neighbourhoods to get to work last summer and the engine cuts, she had a history of engine issues so I pull over, but the power steering also cut out. I pop the hood to find that the engine compartment is ablaze and immediately call the fire department. 5-ish minutes later, fire’s out, but everything on the left and center of the engine is gone.
The precursor to this, according to my dad is that we poured a hotter gas mixture in to the tank a day before which burned through everything around the carburetor, I’m not sure if what he said is legitimate, but we did use an oil/gas mix that we had for our mowers accidentally because the fuel tank selector wouldn’t switch over to the other tank and, when the first one ran low, she wouldn’t turn over so we basically threw in what we could find and thought it fine.

I haven’t been able to work on her for a year due to me being out of state for schooling. I left her with my parents, but they had recently moved into a new home, so I wasn’t able to get her under a roof due to the garage being used for storage. Best I could do is cover the cab and engine area with a tarp, it’s stayed on for the entire time after the fire, but having her outside for this long with fire damage makes me afraid that I can’t get her working again. Thus, here’s the question: based on the information, is my truck just parts at this point or is there a chance I could get her running again?

I haven’t been able to get photos of the damage as of late, which I know would help to better diagnose a prognosis. Apologies.

Add your comment to this topic!