Losses & Lessons: Classic race cars lost in trailer fire
VEHICLES COVERED: 1965 Shelby GT350, 1969 Porsche 911 and 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
WHAT WENT WRONG: Whether or not you’re a classic motorsports fan, this story will leave you with a sick feeling in your stomach. The owner of three 1960s race cars had the vehicles trailered by a race prep shop. On the way to a show, the truck hauler caught fire and the flames moved quickly to the trailer. Before the cars could be removed, all were lost.
DAMAGE/LOSS: The ’65 GT350 (valued at $160,000), ’69 Porsche 911 ($80,000) and ’69 Camaro ($65,000) and were total losses.
LESSON: Losing three classic automobiles with racing pedigrees was tough enough to swallow. But the story gets worse. The cars were not insured by the owner, who thought off-track insurance was pointless and also figured that the prep shop’s insurance would cover any damage en route. It didn’t. When you self-insure your classic cars, you roll the dice. In this case, proper insurance coverage would have cost the owner a small fraction of the $305,000 that was lost.
Editor’s note: While this month’s “Losses and Lessons” is based on a true story, the actual cars in the story have been changed to protect the privacy of the owner.
