Hurricane Ian's Automotive Flood Victims...

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

Hurricane Ian's Automotive Flood Victims...

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Saw a couple of later model Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird that really got hammered.... Mother Nature is hard on hotrods....And saltwater sucks....

 

Not Buttera's roadster, his had modified wheelwells.

 

Any real hot rodder would already be stripping and cleaning. These were more than likely bought by folks that just wanted an old car.

 

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Nope ... It's safe here on the left coast in @Karpo Murkijanian's garage:

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If the cars are at Copart then the insurance company has settled with the car owners. Being at Copart means the cars are now designated as salvage total losses and this how the insurance company makes back part of the money they pay out on a total loss. Tman statement is exactly what I would do in the that situation after settling with my insurance company. I would buy the salvage back as a deduction of the total loss settlement.

 

Sad to see them damaged like that. My first instinct would be to work with the insurance company to keep the car and get it cleaned and repaired but, it may also be seen as an opportunity to get rid of the old car and move on. Especially if you have a favorable agreed value and were contemplating selling it anyway.

 

I’ll take the 57 Corvette. Don’t care If it has a salvage title!

 

I grew up in Tulsa, where certain creeks are known to flood from time to time. In 1974, my best friend bought a '63 Corvette from a Ford dealer that had flooded when Mingo Creek overflowed. He paid $800. He towed the car home, disassembled it completely, cleaned everything (engine, trans, differential, bearings, gauges, electrical connections, etc) and put it all back together. That car was scary quick with its 327 (30/30 Duntov cam) and B-W T10!

 

That storm was no joke. Luckily my home did not flood but there were plenty around that did. I've been to Fort Myers Beach a few times for work and have seen multiple classic corvettes, a 64 Lemans and a few others. All were pushed out of their garages and deposited elsewhere by the surge.

 

The problem with Hurricane cars is we are talking SALT water, rather than fresh/ creek water. Drive into Bonneville when the lake bed is water, then leave the car to sit for a while and watch what happens.

 

Hopefully a good number of cars were evacuated early when they saw the storm headed their way.

 

The big issue is the salt water. These cars almost need a full fresh water immersion to get the salt out. Then a lot of disassembly and work rebuilding. They are probably best to be considered as a body and chassis, with maybe some salvageable drivetrain parts. Lot depends on how long they were under water. Interiors will need to be redone, full rewiring. They aren't beyond saving, but will need a lot of work.

 

The longer they sit, the worse they will get. They need to be dried out and then reassembled. I’m sure many have reclaimed (if done properly) and gone on to be used for many more years.

 

A Friend of mine has a Massey tractor navy tug that he restored. It spent many years on the docks . It sweats rust out of all the castings . Even though he has primed and painted it .

 

One huge problem is that insurance cars end up at salvage places like Copart and then they sit...outside...uncovered...for a long long time. They don't care what happens to them. I don't know why it takes so long, but I've watched cars on Copart take up to a year to go up for auction. Then you'd be surprised at how much they can bring.

 

I see the fire depts are having issues with the lithium batteries being immersed in saltwater. I’d hate to have the responsibility of making sure they dont reignite. It sad to see all the destruction in those areas.

 

Yeah, the fact they let them sit like that can be worse than the original damage at times. The Denver Copart comes to mind.

 

It may be best to view it in the context of when it was built. It was well received in that period.

Ray

 

on the national news coverage one day i saw an orange plymouth superbird upside down resting on the wing in a yard. OUCH!

 

The big problem is we were not told the storm was coming to us until it was too late. 48 hours before landfall we thought it would be a breezy/rainy day. 24 hours out we expected a landfall still well north of us, thought we would feel minor effects. I almost didn't put my storm shutters up. Glad I did because what wasn't supposed to hit us blasted us with 100+mph winds for about 8 hours and a storm surge up to 15ft deep in places

 

Sadly, there's a lot more work to be done rebuilding lost homes and businesses to be putting investment into seldom-driven cars. Plain fact of life; shit happens. Ian wrecked a lot of stuff beyond repair.

 

Looks like it may be this car, which the seller at the time claimed it to be an exact copy of Butteras car. Yeah ok….

 

There were actually 2. They were on the top of 4 post lift. Owner had moved the 2 on the bottom.

 

its sad seeing this Thunderbird knowing full well its all gonna rot away because of salt water... i wish i could pick it up for cheap and clean as much as i can and get all the gaps and crevices. probably gonna sell for a bit though.

 

The 2 picts are not the same car. Look at the 4 bars on one and single bars on the other.

 

Im seeing 4 bars on both pics. But, to be honest, I’ve seen double before.