Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[JohnnyMac]

That thing looks clean! now, you mention a daily driver for quite a few years. how many miles/kms on it now?

for my jeep two things.. yesterday too a rock in the windshield so it's going to need a new one (hey, it lasted 3055kms, pretty good, right?) and today i did a 2" Fox lift. no idea why really... just caved when my parts department got me a deal and a tech said he'd do it off the clock.

Question for you Firm, do you inform your insurance provider when you do modifications.  I remember and article posted on here a while ago about a person who put an aftermarket exhaust on their Subaru BRZ and when it was written off the insurance denied his claim due to him not informing them of the modifications.

I didn't read the BRZ article, so I am not sure what happened with that guy...but if you've got regular daily driver type insurance, and you modify your car in a way that would alter it's performance it's probably a good idea to notify them if you're worried about it. If you don't, don't plan on getting any $ for the modifications you put on it. The risk is, if you tell them they could use it as an excuse to increase your rates or drop you entirely.

I generally don't modify my vehicles...I have aftermarket cat-back exhausts on the Camaro and I am in the process of building one for the 96 Firebird (factory muffler has a loose baffle). Otherwise, my stuff is pretty well stock....Not counting some factory wheel swaps. Aside from the two Caddy's everything else is with Hagerty now and I have an agreed value policy; so we agree up-front what the vehicle is valued at, and that's what the insurance would pay if something happened to it...regardless of what parts I may have installed.
My Sonoma is fairly modified, I disclosed that to Hagerty and they asked for an itemized list of everything done to it. I provided, we agreed on the value, and it wasn't an issue.

Yeah the article wasn't about denying the extra for the aftermarket exhaust, it was a total denial due to making the vehicle "faster" and therefore less safe.  With Tooscoops Jeep they might say that it handles worse and therefore less safe and if not informed could run into the same issue.  It's complete BS and just typical insurance trying every reason to deny a claim but doesn't mean you or him run into it, could be just a rough company.

[PJungnitsch]

Yeah the article wasn't about denying the extra for the aftermarket exhaust, it was a total denial due to making the vehicle "faster" and therefore less safe

That was an odd one for sure. I mean there's mods and there's mods:



https://driving.ca/car-culture/off-roading/why-b-c-is-the-land-of-the-toyota-truck

[OliverD]

The air conditioning in my car crapped out a few weeks ago so I took it to an indy mechanic on Friday to have it looked at. I was also having an issue with the car thinking the tailgate was always open, which means you then can't open just the glass or use the rear wiper. Had the AC recharged and they ordered a new micro switch for the tailgate glass.

When I picked up the car in the afternoon the service advisor said, "When I went to move your car this morning I was surprised to see three pedals. That's a really cool car." 

[JohnnyMac]

The air conditioning in my car crapped out a few weeks ago so I took it to an indy mechanic on Friday to have it looked at. I was also having an issue with the car thinking the tailgate was always open, which means you then can't open just the glass or use the rear wiper. Had the AC recharged and they ordered a new micro switch for the tailgate glass.

When I picked up the car in the afternoon the service advisor said, "When I went to move your car this morning I was surprised to see three pedals. That's a really cool car." 

Always nice when a fellow car person appreciates your ride.  May I ask where you took it to be repaired?

[OliverD]

The air conditioning in my car crapped out a few weeks ago so I took it to an indy mechanic on Friday to have it looked at. I was also having an issue with the car thinking the tailgate was always open, which means you then can't open just the glass or use the rear wiper. Had the AC recharged and they ordered a new micro switch for the tailgate glass.

When I picked up the car in the afternoon the service advisor said, "When I went to move your car this morning I was surprised to see three pedals. That's a really cool car." 

Always nice when a fellow car person appreciates your ride.  May I ask where you took it to be repaired?

York Auto

[Bubba]

When I picked up the car in the afternoon the service advisor said, "When I went to move your car this morning I was surprised to see three pedals. That's a really cool car." 

If there's one thing I miss about my Mazda3 GT, it's shifting for myself.  I may go back to a manual for my next car.

[blur911]

That thing looks clean! now, you mention a daily driver for quite a few years. how many miles/kms on it now?

for my jeep two things.. yesterday too a rock in the windshield so it's going to need a new one (hey, it lasted 3055kms, pretty good, right?) and today i did a 2" Fox lift. no idea why really... just caved when my parts department got me a deal and a tech said he'd do it off the clock.

Question for you Firm, do you inform your insurance provider when you do modifications.  I remember and article posted on here a while ago about a person who put an aftermarket exhaust on their Subaru BRZ and when it was written off the insurance denied his claim due to him not informing them of the modifications.

I didn't read the BRZ article, so I am not sure what happened with that guy...but if you've got regular daily driver type insurance, and you modify your car in a way that would alter it's performance it's probably a good idea to notify them if you're worried about it. If you don't, don't plan on getting any $ for the modifications you put on it. The risk is, if you tell them they could use it as an excuse to increase your rates or drop you entirely.

A lot of companies will simply drop you if you modify your vehicle.    If mods are done at the dealer with "factory parts" they tend to approve it.   
The problem is  you might only think you have coverage, but you don't once the insurance adjuster sees those shiny non-factory wheels on the wreck and denies coverage.

[JohnnyMac]

The air conditioning in my car crapped out a few weeks ago so I took it to an indy mechanic on Friday to have it looked at. I was also having an issue with the car thinking the tailgate was always open, which means you then can't open just the glass or use the rear wiper. Had the AC recharged and they ordered a new micro switch for the tailgate glass.

When I picked up the car in the afternoon the service advisor said, "When I went to move your car this morning I was surprised to see three pedals. That's a really cool car." 

Always nice when a fellow car person appreciates your ride.  May I ask where you took it to be repaired?

York Auto

Yeah I was figuring that's who you would use.  Definitely the best for higher end vehicles in the city.

[tooscoops]

I was asking my rep the other day what changes i make that would require letting them know. wheels were no big deal. it was basically race cages, new engines/engine mods, huge lifts that needed to let them know.

[JohnnyMac]

I was asking my rep the other day what changes i make that would require letting them know. wheels were no big deal. it was basically race cages, new engines/engine mods, huge lifts that needed to let them know.

Well I'm glad you were proactive and at least asked your rep.  That seems all reasonable to inform the insurance if you make huge changes to the vehicle, but something simple shouldn't have to be disclosed.  Like I tinted my rear windows, technically at night they would be harder to see out the back, so technically it's a little less safe, but who is going to be denied insurance coverage for tint on their windows.

[tooscoops]

yeah, and like others mentioned, you might not get all the money spent on those mods if you don't let them know and have an issue. not necessarily about being able to still be insurable, just whether you have all the upgrades covered.

personally, i don't think me lifting my jeep and putting on bigger tires will increase it's value. maybe a grand more for "real" value, but i know it also decreases the market for the car. so i wouldn't expect more if i made an insurance claim.... makes me think it isn't that big a deal to let them know. 

[JohnnyMac]

yeah, and like others mentioned, you might not get all the money spent on those mods if you don't let them know and have an issue. not necessarily about being able to still be insurable, just whether you have all the upgrades covered.

personally, i don't think me lifting my jeep and putting on bigger tires will increase it's value. maybe a grand more for "real" value, but i know it also decreases the market for the car. so i wouldn't expect more if i made an insurance claim.... makes me think it isn't that big a deal to let them know.

Yeah I'd say it's less about having the extra parts/upgrades covered and more having the vehicle covered as a whole.  Who cares if they don't reimburse you for the exhaust or lift kit, but get the appropriate amount for the vehicle at least.

[Gurgie]

Long, long overdue, but I finally got the 84 Camaro properly re-registered, insured and back on the road legally for the first time since 2008. There's an SS thread I'll update eventually, but the short version is that this little 2.8L Camaro was the first and only car my dad ever bought brand new....He's OCD about cars, so it's probably the best documented 3rd gen Camaro in history with every piece of literature, key tags, service reciept, etc right from the day it rolled out of the lot. He loved it, but drove it, everywhere. It was his daily driver from March 84 to April 2005, and then mine until September 2007. After that, university, a career, a family and a long list of other project cars, kept me away from this one.

Thanks to a little help from Covid though, I am actually the closest to being caught up on car repairs/projects as I've ever been, so I figured it was time. I have been running it around the neighborhood where it's stored at my grandma's annually, but it hasn't seen a highway since 2008. This morning; opened her up, checked the fluids, fired up and hit the highway back to my place, and then another good ride on the backroads. What a time warp. 

It's far from perfect with over 320K Toronto/GTA kms on it, original paint and no real repairs other than wear items and basic maintenance (probably more maintenance than any sane person would), but I love it. Every scar has a story, and with this car I have the unique knowledge of each of those stories.

Today I swapped the factory 14" rally's for a set of 15" Z28 wheels I had....A strong part of me prefers the factory white rally's now, but at 15 I hated them. Tires on the rally's are really bad, and the tires on the Z28's are near new so they're the obvious choice for now. I refinished the Z28's when I was 15 (and learned a lot of how to restore rims in the process), and they were beautiful, but unfortunately the clear coat I used on them (Duplicolor....oddly, I remember that) has yellowed, so they've got a dirty looking yellow tint to them. I've probably re-do them this winter, but for now I want to put some miles on it.

I also pulled the rear drums off to clean up the rear brakes, lots of rust/dust from sitting around, and flushed the brake fluid. I'd like to put a new fuel filter in it tomorrow, but I am having some trouble finding one locally....some of the gas in this tank is 15 years old! Not that a carb'd 2.8L is picky, it seems to be running fine....I've also gotta fix up a few pieces of lower pin-stripe that peeled off (you'll see in the photos), luckily I was able to find an exact match at CT tonight.

Factory Rallys


Z28's

Awesome work!! Looks great!

[Firm]

Thanks man

[Blueprint]

  firm wins Preservation class, for sure!

I like the period, brand / model-correct wheel swap! If you refinished these wheels at 15, I'm hoping they are on more recent tires!

The first pic brought me back to my high school years. A local driving school had a few Berlinettas of this generation to bait the kids in. I went to another one that had Alliances - boring to drive but easy to place in traffic and park!

[PJungnitsch]

Was that repainted? It looks so good for a daily driver from that time!

Old GM's from that era seemed to have a paint bond problem, especially on the hood

[Firm]

Thanks guys, and yeah, the tires on these rims are about 5-6 years old, still old I guess, but not terrible IMO and they were always indoors - rubber still soft, no cracks, etc. Good enough for me.

Original Paint believe it or not. Just frequently polishing/waxing and keeping it clean. It did spend about 12 years parking outside (1996-2008). It's a single stage paint, no clear, and has been very durable. I think the car pre-dates the troublesome water based paints that GM started using a year or two later.

[Blueprint]

5-6 years is fine, 8 requires caution and 10 is toast. Tires are a frustrating item on collector cars as the age way before they wear.

[Gurgie]

5-6 years is fine, 8 requires caution and 10 is toast. Tires are a frustrating item on collector cars as the age way before they wear.

Not if you drive it enough... 

[Fobroader]

yeah, and like others mentioned, you might not get all the money spent on those mods if you don't let them know and have an issue. not necessarily about being able to still be insurable, just whether you have all the upgrades covered.

personally, i don't think me lifting my jeep and putting on bigger tires will increase it's value. maybe a grand more for "real" value, but i know it also decreases the market for the car. so i wouldn't expect more if i made an insurance claim.... makes me think it isn't that big a deal to let them know.

That 100% depends on the lift and tires. You get some chineseum lift off of wish.com and put on a pair of ill fitting Nitto mud grapplers, well, thats a couple of grand off. Now, you put on an AEV, Claytons, BDS or Teraflex lift kit and a proper set of wheels and tires, hell yeah, thats worth actual value.