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Insurance Settlements & Pertronix

     Insurance settlements:
     
     Having recently gone throught this process, I thought that I'd drop my 
     2 bits into the discussion.  In late July, my wife and I were struck 
     from behind while stopped in traffic in our 1970 Porsche 914.  The 
     Ford Explorer was doing about 25mph at the time of impact.  Car: 
     totalled.  Humans: stiff & sore, but nothing broken :)
     
     The insurance company offered me about $2K for the car.  I felt this 
     was too low considering the care and upgrades that I had done to the 
     car so I presented my argument to the adjustor.  The argument was 
     basically I had not just done minimal maintenance that was needed to 
     keep a 914 on the road, but had actually improved the value of the 
     vehicle by the upgrades performed.  Also, I checked what the range of 
     asking prices for that year and model, then offered to settle with 
     them for $4200 plus the car as salvage.  They accepted the 
     renegotiated settlement price.  In the course of this affair, I had 
     consulted a lawyer regarding personal injury claims.  When I mentioned 
     how readily they settled on the property damage claim (914), he 
     thought that it was the most prudent thing for the insurance company 
     to do.  He mentioned that it was becoming more commonplace for 
     insurance companies not to fight the property damage claims as the ill 
     will and extended court battles that can ensue will quickly outstrip 
     the additional $2000.  So, my advice is to ask for a settlement that 
     you feel reflects the fair market value of your car, and not to accept 
     the first offer they make.  Use the Roundel ads for support of your 
     car's value.
     
     Pertronix:
     
     I'd suggest trying the tactic of giving them your Bosch distributor 
     number.  They didn't have a listed application for our 1600ti, but the 
     Pertronix p/n 1847 fit with a little filing on the base plate.  I got 
     that number by supplying the 1600ti Bosch distributor p/n to them.  
     Good luck!
     
     Mike
     '69 1600ti