Ford has literally produced millions of Mustangs over the last 45 plus years, and many of those cars are still on the road in one fashion or another. Yet many have been lost due to natural attrition, whether it be accidents or theft and simply chopped up and scrapped for parts. It’s sad to think about all the poor pony cars cut up into little pieces, but at least something was salvaged from them. That is rarely the case in automotive fires.
Over at Mustang Evolution, an unfortunate forum members Mustang, garage, and even his recently returned Ranger pickup all went up in flames after his exhaust system caught fire.
What makes car fires so devastating is that, more often than not, they destroy everything that could have been salvageable had it been a mere accident. The wiring is melted, the engine block and heads warp, and the interiors are totally trashed. And if there was anything worth salvaging, it is often ruined once the firemen show up to hose it down. The unlucky Mustang owner had just replaced the head gaskets on his car and started it up prior to the fire.
What he didn’t know was that the catalytic converter was blocked, causing the exhaust system to rapidly heat up and catch fire to a carpet underneath the car (why was there a carpet beneath the car anyways?) By the time the owner noticed it was too late and he was lucky to get out alive as the fire quickly consumed his entire garage, tools, and his Mustang and Ford Ranger. We just hope this poor soul had insurance, because there isn’t anything salvageable left on this poor burnt Mustang.