Katrina 1 73.5 911 0?

[ralittle2]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this board, and unfortunately I am introducing myself with a classic "good news-bad news" scenario. The good news is I'm the new owner of a 73 1/2 911, the bad news is that the car went swimming in Katrina.

The car has been owned since new by my father, and had been kept in excellent shape throughout it's life. It's a sepia brown (no disparaging comments please, I guess I've been around the color long enough to like it) 911 with the CIS injection, brown leather interior, and a sunroof.

The car comes to me free of charge, but that may not mean much. The car was flooded in Katrina, and had water that reached seat level on the interior. This means to car needs a total restoration. However, I need to throw all emotions aside for a moment, and take a serious look at the cost involved in bringing the car back to see whether it's worth it.

I currently live in the Atlanta area, and have a few contacts that can help me, but I do not have a good idea of what I am looking at as far as costs are concerned. If this is a "run, don't walk" situation then I am prepared to do that if the costs far outweigh the benefits.

I'm sure there will be many questions that need to be asked to further answer my situation, but I will sit back and do my best to help you help me.

Thanks in advance for your help - either way I will need it.

Ashford

[techweenie]

These are very simple, basic cars, so depending on the nature of the water -- fresh or salt -- and the duration of submersion, you may not have much to deal with.

The wiring harness is completely sheathed up to a point well above the elevation of the seating area -- maybe another 6" above the top of the bottom cushion.

Intakes for the engine are higher still. So hydro-lock is unlikely -- but easy to discover by physically turning the engine over by hand. If it won't turn, it's hydro-locked. You can pull all the sparkplugs and crank the engine over to spray the water out. Before starting, you'll want to flush & replace brake fluid, gas, oil and trans. fluid.

IMHO. the biggest issue might be mold/mildew/smell. You'll have to pull out the carpet that got soaked and pull out the insulation pads from the rear seat bottoms. You'll probably want to pull out the front seats, too and air them out. Baking soda will be your friend.

Good luck and report in!

[LakeCleElum]

Agreed, Dry it out, change fluids and give it a go.....U could be very lucky. You have the best of the Long hoods in my opinion....

[AndrewMac]

You should have no worries if you go about this carefuly and use some common sense. If teh car sat on level ground and NO ONE tried to turn the motor over yet except by hand, then yo;ll be fine. Start by turning the crank by hand (wrench). If, as Weenie says, the engine turns freely then that's step 1. There is a danger that the exhaust system may have been filled. I would drill a very small hole in the muffler (1/16) and see if any substantial amount of water ends up running out. Let it drain for however long it takes and be patient. Change the oil and give it a try. If it runs then start immediately changing the other fluids before you start driving it too far. I think you'll be fine. Hope you can save the patient.

[jpnovak]

I agree, this car should be savable. Time is of the essence. If the motor has water in it the fluids need to be drained ASAP. The steel sleeved cylinders will not take kindly to the moisture.

The biggest issue is the body and how much water was inside the rockers and longitudinals. If fresh water, they will just smell. If salt water, they will start to rust. They need to be washed out and resealed.

Other than a good cleaning and some fresh fluids, It will probably fire right up.

[techweenie]

Originally posted by jpnovak
The biggest issue is the body and how much water was inside the rockers and longitudinals. If fresh water, they will just smell. If salt water, they will start to rust. They need to be washed out and resealed.

I just happen to have some autopsy photos that illustrate this very point.

The base of the door hinge post is buried in the rocker and water cannot get out without help. Even dry climate cars rot here.



This is a cross-section of the passenger side rocker just behind the jack point, looking forward. You can see it's hard for water to get out.

[jpnovak]

Excellent visual aids.

[typ550]

Hey Ashford,

I told you this was the right place to come for advice!

Let's take a look at the car when it arrives.

[911mot]

See this thread ID this, for a slow $20 turns out engine had flood damage, see the water line in the case and what it did to the oil pump

[ralittle2]

Thanks to all for your replies. I must admit that I was initially encouraged, but am now back to sulk mode. As a bit of additional unfortunate information, the water in question was salt water. In my experience growing up on the coast, salt water can kill anything.

A special thanks, I guess, for the photos, but that brings up exactly how to get to all the affected areas?

Also I would appreciate ballpark figures for the following areas.

1) Total engine rebuild on the 2.4 motor (bored to 2.7 years ago)?

2) Paint I'm estimating at around 6k, but that might also depend on additional work needed to eliminate any possible rust spreading.

3) Interior kit

4) Wiring harness

5) I'm sure I"m leaving out others, but will ask again for your assistance.

6) Transmission rebuild

Thanks very much for your help. I just need to know what I'm looking at from a cost perspective, to do a cost/benefit analysis.

Ashford

[ralittle2]

Also, IF I do decide to go ahead with the restoration, and IF I decided to change the color, I would be interested in at least seeing what the correct colors were for that year car.

Thanks,

[typ550]

ashford,

you are welcome to borrow my copy of "Original Porsche 911"

if you search here, you can also find tons of pics of diff color early cars

[wholberg]

You know, if you supply pizza and beer for a couple of weekends and rent a pressure washer, I'll bet you can find some experienced Pelican hands to help you take the car apart, clean, hose out, etc, and then put it back together.

Salt water is bad, yes, but it's not acid. You would have a huge problem if the car sat in salt water for a year, but it's only about 1 month later. The sooner you clean out the nooks and crannies, the less damage there will be, and in one month the damage will be minimal.

[jkarolyi]

I would keep the car the original Sepia Brown. It's a very unique period color that I happen to like too. Keep the car original. In fact if the paint was fine before the flood, it should clean up just fine. The interior is where the hard work will be.

I would drill small holes under the areas shown by techweenie and pressure wash any areas you have access to. Then use compressed air to dry things out in hard to reach places.

Let's see pics when you get a chance! I wonder how many other early cars are victims of Katrina. Did your father have insurance on it, or is it a total loss for him? Wow...he bought it new...he must be upset about it.

[47silver]

would a shop vac on the muflfer tip help pull out the water if any in the exhaust?

[ralittle2]

To say that he is upset is to understate "just a bit."

Did he have insurance? Yes, and no.

The house suffered flood damage, and he claims he thought he had it, and was advised not to change carriers to avert losing coverage. That's his story. However, I have my doubts, and wouldn't put it past his inability to listen, or his idiot wife (obviously not my mother) to try to save a few bucks. Now he's looking at tens of thousands of dollars to fix the house.

Yeah, but what about the cars?

Cars? 73.5 911 original owner & 86 Morgan Plus 8

Covered? Yes, but with the wrong kind of coverage for cars such as this. So he is taking the payout and applying it to the house.

The car was always destined to be mine, but instead of a car that was in very good condition, I am left with this.

Stay tuned racers, as it may be for sale.

I should have photos by Monday as it's heading to Atlanta today if the pickup went as planned.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Well the car was free and was in excellent shape before, so that's a big plus. I would approach this on just a cleaning basis to start, not full restoration. And I would go for it.

If salt water got into the rockers drill holes like was stated above to let the water out, even big holes with a hole saw to be welded shut later. Then flood with fresh water and possibly a rust neutralizer ? This needs to be done ASAP.

These early cars rust anyway. The car was probably experiencing some rust already, so what's a little more ?

Now the cost factor would depend on how much of this you could do on your own, or have the space to do ?

[Crachian]

What about the Morgan?

[ralittle2]

The Morgan went swimming as well. It is going to a friend of ours who has helped him with the car over the years. To quote my father "this chapter has ended in my life."

[erobinson]

If you decide to not keep it, I am sure a home can be found for it here on the board.

Also I have to agree with what has been said, drain everything, pop some holes in the rockers and flush them. Flush the heater channels as well. Its already been underwater once, a little more water isn't gonna hurt anything.

Personally, I would change the oil and fuel, try to get it running, then if it still runs well, strip it down and wash wash wash to remove the salt.

Also, I hate to have to welcome you to the world of 911s in such a sad way, but its always good to see another southeasterner on the board.

Do you have any pictures?

Eli