[moehoward]

That is very weird. I know some starter models have a bendix that extends slightly further to engage the flywheel. How housing circumference would effect that is a head scratcher. On the other hand maybe your flywheel was worn a bit and needed that added little tweak for the gears to make contact.

Yeah I read up about that electric converter dealio. It started a few years back on one specific model, by now it could be standard issue. I looked up replacements for her model, and there was no additional connection for anything electric. But as you point out, sometimes you need to dig a bit deeper for the right part. And yes that keyless starter -if her car had one- could have been added by just about anybody.

Here's the deal. I'm an old farm boy so I learned motors early. I've worked as a mechanic on high end German cars, and owned many exotics.

This story -as it's being told so far- just plain doesn't pass the sniff test.

[muawiyah]

The question has been about how could the car just explode so quickly.

I'd like to see where the pinpoint holes were in the radiator.

BTW, my van had a relatively exposed radiator ~ that was due to the fact the engine compartment was larger than that in a car. You could climb underneath and look right up at the radiator without any obstructions. My cars have always been more enclosed. It may be easy to hit the radiator in this particular BMW.

If you have a hot car suddenly spewing hot coolant as a fine spray (with teeny tiny particles with enormous areas compared to their mass) and the catalytic converter is hot as can be THEN that may have done the job.

I don't believe the lightbulb deal myself.

[muawiyah]

Oh, yeah, one other thing makes this believable is that we have a wealthy couple highly educated in schmoozing and whatever and they managed to buy a vehicle TOO BIG for their garage ~ and they're driving in and out of there on top of all sorts of things like children's bicycles, work bench, tool boxes, hammers, rakes, broken stuff ~ and not a shelf in sight.

Not to push too hard on the point but people who drive their BMWs through their junkpile may be poking holes in the undercarriage stuff.

This time, I'm afraid, neatness counted ~ and they just weren't neat.

[muawiyah]

The Corvette starter had a shorter shaft, smaller housing and different bendix gear. It even had its own model number but best of all it worked on my engine ~ which I'd known was a Corvette engine specially ordered for that particular van (by the guy who went bankrupt just before I bought one of them).