Topic: Hurricane = Race Car

Well now that hurricane Florence has passed and having my townhouse flooded and potentially condemned. I needed to find something to do to other than look for another place to live. So why not start building another Lemons car after a 4 year hiatus. 

http://i68.tinypic.com/2i7biic.jpg 

My place is on the left with the teal door and there is a very soggy RX8 automatic trying to hide behind the tree.


http://i65.tinypic.com/2zyees8.jpg

After the water receeded.

http://i67.tinypic.com/6ixrax.jpg

I know nothing about rotary engines or the electronics controlling them so this should be fun

http://i67.tinypic.com/2psq0qc.jpg

I do know that a car that's been mostly submerged in sewage contaminated flood water for 6 days during 90 degree heat is one of  most powerful smells I have been subjected to..

http://i64.tinypic.com/24e8eiv.jpg

This will not be a very quick build but it will be on track next year for sure. Then when the rotary lets go in some glorious fashion there must be an equally glorious engine swap.  Nothing as boring as an LS or SBC. Nor as ambitious as a Viper powered Rolls Royce.

Though a Rolls Royce powered RX8.......

Re: Hurricane = Race Car

Take it apart soon and you won't have rust where the rotor seals are in contact with the cases.

I bought a miata that was a Harvey victim. I bought it two months after the flood and refurbed it. It currently has had two track days and is on its way to being a spec miata. The flooding was from fresh water due to an overflowing bayou, no saltwater.

There is likely water in every fluid - engine, trans, and diff.
Engine should be gone through like it's being overhauled. The flood water enters through the seals and through the open valves (or ports in your case). There is silt and dirt in the water. Engine must be completely cleaned including the oil galleys, heads disassembled and valves cleaned (exhaust valves had a bit of rust). However, the oil floats up and tends to protect the bores. There were rust spots were the rings were sitting on the cylinders that luckily ball honed out. Otherwise, the bores were clean.  If you disassemble soon you may avoid this. Sealed bearings aren't that sealed. The timing belt tensioner idler bearing was frozen.

Same with trans and diff. You may be able to get away with partial disassembly and inspection. I did on a 5 speed standard and my rear end didn't have any water. The clutch was a mess. I could have cleaned up the pressure plate if I wanted to.

Gas tank had water but no rust. Water/corrosion caused the fuel pump to seize.

All the electrics necessary for a race car worked fine. The alternator got silt in the bearings and needs to be replaced after second track day. The ECU and dash console work fine. headlights, taillights, signals all work. I don't know about the rest (radio, window motors, etc.) because they were tossed. Almost all of the plugs and connections need to be unplugged to pull the engine or the dash for a rollbar. I unplugged the few remaining plugs and connections anyhow for assurance that they were clean. I assume mid 2000s RX-8s and miatas are similar.

Rebuild or replace the wheel bearings. Mine seemed fine but I replaced them.

I could have refurbed it for the price of a gasket set if I was trying to stay with in the "$500" Lemons limit because the rings and bearing were ok.

In the end, it was mostly man-hours and a lot of it you would probably do for a thorough build and prep. Everything functions well.

Go to Copart.com. There will be a lot of flood totaled cars for sale.

3 (edited by darkostoj 2018-09-30 09:42 PM)

Re: Hurricane = Race Car

I've worked on hundreds of flood cars.  General rule of thumb

1. Salt water - walk away.  The wire harnesses & connectors get destroyed.

2. Fresh water - anything the water touches that is an electrical motor, fuse/relay, or has a printed circuit board needs to be replaced no matter what. They may work temporarily, but will fail eventually. If you don't clean the connectors after they get wet they will eventually corrode. Also, if the insulation under the carpet gets wet, it will never ever ever dry.

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Re: Hurricane = Race Car

Good luck, with a car that new you're going to need it.

If you're really trying to save it the first thing you need to do is pull every single electronic component and open them up. every computer is just waiting to corrode something on the board and short out. Every connector needs to be cleaned and dried to stop them corroding. With a car that new there will be a lot of expensive electronic boxes that could screw you down the road.


Our saab is about the same age, and we've already had a computer sideline us. The module that controls the central locking and immobilizer lives under the driver seat. At NJ in 2017 there was torrential rain on Saturday and apparently enough water got in the car during the race that the unit got wet. Not submerged, just wet. Two races later something shorted out and the car refused to start again. We had to replace the module. This is the kind of random failures you're up against.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
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