Event Coverage Flooded Car Show

OP- I usually feel like that at the Portland swap meet, (always in April! Is the slogan) but yeah, those are from Loooolville 20+ years ago.

 

In the video, did I see someone pushing a car with an umbrella opened? How does that work?



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We were there. Luckily we had our 36 Plymouth in Mopar Country around on the backside of the building which was higher ground. As I remember, there was only one parts store close and he sold out of oil in a hurry.

 

...found this pic of a friends car, it drove home ok after fluid changes etc.

 

Fortunately I was parked in the lot next to the amusement park. I remember going back to the motel later in the day, every gas station or quick lube or any place that had a lift had street rods on them getting their fluids changed. When I left Sunday afternoon for home ,there were still cars up on jackstands at the fair grounds. If I were computer savvy , I would upload my film from that ugly day. Bill

 

what no one has mentioned about that day was that after the rain,the sun came out the temp rose to about 98 degrees,the humidity became unbearable..but worst of all was the smell from backed up sewers,oil,tranny fluid,and whatever else came floating by....the previous years give away car was a model A woody that was outside in the rain,and from the heat and humidity,they couldn't get the doors open till the next day,from the swelling of the wood

 

Holy crap, I had never seen this before. Thats devastating, and very sad.

 

Mark,I had almost forgot the aftermath,the putrid smells,the heat and humidity were draining. HRP

 

My wife and I were there. Fortunately, I was parked by the stadium on the asphalt (was high ground). It did get rather "humid". I mostly remember the stand pipes in the indoor vendor areas gushing and overflowing with water. The indoor vendors were rushing to cover their products in an attempt to prevent water damage.

Needless to say,....it was memorable.

 

You are right about the smells for the rest of the weekend. I have been to nearly all of the nationals and this was the most noteworthy as well as the worst one ever. Seeing all of the guys loose their pride and joys was horrible. There were a few car owners who had heart attacks and passed that weekend as well.

My son and I were parked on the circle and pointed towards the entrance to Freedom Hall. As luck would have it, my wife and daughter had just went into the vendor area. My son and I decided to wipe the car down when the rain hit. I have never seen it rain so hard and so fast. We had a candy purple pro street Studebaker and as we sat in the car watched water pass thru the spokes on the true spoke wire wheels next to us. I wound up moving the car within a few feet of the main doors on Freedom Hall. The water got so bad before the rain subsided that the main floor of Freedom Hall had water standing.
We were very lucky that day.

 

Wow- First i've seen of this....A VERY SAD day indeed..... What a loss,and if there was a loss of life,that just make's it even worse..... Only wondering somewhat- , and i'm sure it came down very fast,and hard, but with all the car's that weren't being moved out to higher ground, did this happen early in the am? like before the owners arrived to move? still isn't cool by any means. Those who were there can only understand.....:-(

 

I'm 6'1. I waded water up to my waste taking pics. I remember a 46 Lincoln with a brand new labarron- bonny(sp?) upholstery with water to the door tops . this is now where the new exhibit hall is, right?

 

I was there as a youngster in '92. My parents were in Louisville in '05 when there was flooding (although not as bad.)

I feel for everyone who lost their prize possessions in those tragic events.

 

From what I remember the rain started around 10am (about the time the indoor vendors opened). A perfect cocktail for most car owners to say, "hell, I'll go see the indoor vendors until the rain is over". In about 90 minutes 8+ inches of rain fell and the sun came out.

The water drainage issue was due to the fairgrounds adding additonal pavement with a few new drainage lines early in the summer. The new drainage lines had new steel grates that were not deemed safe for the event. The slots in the new grates were wide enough the fairgrounds was afraid a child might step through one and break or twist an ankle, foot or leg. With no time to replace before the Nat's the grates were then covered with heavy plastic tarps and baracaded. When this once in a 200 year rain came there was no place for the water to go.

On Saturday we were picked for one of the PPG best use of color awards. I still think it was because all the good cars pictures they had collected got washed away out of the PPG outdoor display

 

MercDeuceMan, "We had a candy purple pro street Studebaker" I remember your car well. At the time, I was a newby to the hobby, working on a Stude pick-up, so anything Stude got my attention.

I remember a T bucket with only the windshield above water. Afterwords there were huge piles of carpet and interior panels in the parking lot, also lots of oil coating the whole lot. (oil that had floated up out of engines and transmissions
IIRC, it was 9" of rain in about an hour in the mid-morning. It was because of this storm that the saying "Raining like a 3 c_nted cow, pissing on a flat rock!" came to be.
As I headed up I-65 toward home, I encountered many rods driving slowly, trying to limp home, also many parked waiting for help.
I haven't been able to make myself go back there since, doubt that I ever will!

 

My wife and I were walking from the backside of the fairgrounds towards the exhibitor building to get out of the rain. We waded through water up to our armpits, then made it inside. In there it was almost just as wet with the roof drains overflowing and creating fountains in the middle of the hall.

People in the City died that day as they were driving along the freeway, it dipped to go under another an overpass, and the low spot in the highway was filled up with water just like the fairgrounds did. They drove into it and drowned.

The next day as we headed north out of town on the interstate it had two lanes closed for MILES.

 

...I was an NSRA member back then , don't think I ever saw a mention of this disaster in their monthly the Streetscene, maybe they were speechless.

 

Street Scene had a few pictures in their coverage.

I was at that Nats with my Model A but the club was staying in LaGrange looking at the dark skies after having breakfast, decided to wait until after the rain passed before making the 20 mile trip to the Expo Center. Got there in time to see the aftermath.

 

carcruse,..thanks for that; don't remember seeing it, maybe my suscription ran out by then.After the "flood" I remember guys wearing T-shirts that said "I survived Louisville"