Please help save a ZR1
 

Edit: What happened, though my eyes, can be read here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...3&postcount=82

Entire thread is here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...58&forum_id=50

This weekend, a beautiful '91 Red/Red met with 4 feet of water submerging almost the entire car. For insurance reasons, I must leave the details of the incident vague. While everyone walked away, it feels of little consolation.

This car has been in the family for almost 10 years. It was loved and babied, and it's current situation is tragic. There is a reasonable chance that insurance will not be paying. According the to sales ads here, the car's value was probably in the low 20's. The cutoff for repairing will probably 2/3 of it's cost to replace it. With that, we'd greatly appreciate any information on the following avenues we may be traveling down:

1. Are there any shops on the east coast that have dealt with a flood damaged Corvette that would be more adept than others in getting it running again.

2. What are the best sources for used parts? Carpet, seats, instrument cluster, stereo, ecm, abs module, and anything else that wouldn't have survived the dunk. Also, any information in parts that are ZR1 specific and others that can be had from 9x year Corvettes would also be helpful.

3. If the cost getting the car road going is too impracticle, what's the best way to sell off anything left that's working? eBay the whole car? Part it out? Are there ZR1 used parts dealers that should be solicited first? If the car isn't going to make it back on the road, we'd at least like to see it help keep others running.

You've probably noted that the drivetrain was not listed as a replacement item. The motor was at idle when the car entered the water. It was speculated that as long as there isn't hydrolock damage, an all encompassing fluids change and electronics may be all it takes to get the motor running again. I'll post more information as we get it from the dealer the car was left with.

This is a very sad time for us. While a car is nothing compared to a human life, we are still upset that such a fine example of a very special car may be gone for good.

Thanks in advance for any and all help to come.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. :cry: I do not have any of the technical expertise that you have asked about, but I'm sure that someone here does and it is only a matter of time before they post with some suggestions.

What year is your car and if you have some pre-incident pics of it, please post when you get a chance.

Good luck!



Jim

http://zr1netregistry.com/uboat/uboat3.jpg

Bummer, the problem is not short term but long term. There is no reason why you can't get it running again. As mention you need to drain and change all fluids and remove the seats and carpeting. In the long term corrosion may cause you some problems.

You need to remove every connector and dry them out. Access the ECM and dry this out as well. Remove the spark plugs and crank by hand to see if any water comes out.

Hello, and welcome to the forum. :handshak:

Sadly you have had a tragedy that hits us all in the gut. When we see a ZR-1 wrecked or damaged in some way, many of us empathize with you.

Are these pictures of your car?




If so, I think we all feel the same. :cry:

Yes, that is the car in question.

I'm the person in the grey shirt holding the blue cup. I started bailing water shortly after. :cry:

We're going to have the dealer drain/inspect the oil and remove the spark plugs to see if the motor hydrolocked.

The dealer has quoted $5K just to asses the whole car. Unless we can find someone who can do this in steps - asses the drivetrain, assess electronics, asses interior, it's starting to look like it will either be sold whole or parted out.

Well you look much calmer in the picture than I would have imagined. I guess by that time a sick feeling was starting to settle in.










I hate to say it, but the whole thing reminds me of the Risky Business movie. The fathers car, the lake, the horrible feeling you must have been feeling as it was pulled out of the water.

As to your questions, I cannot honestly recommend you trying to fix it because the cost would be huge. If your engine was running, you almost certainly have water in it. All the electronics will be shot because of the inevitable corrosion. The interior can be dried out and cleaned, but I think it will still have issues.

However, you can contact Art's Corvette Parts to see what they would do in your shoes. They buy, sell, restore, etc. all types of Corvettes.



There are probably specialty shops that deal with water damage, but I am unfamiliar with any.

I hope you get things resolved as best as possible. Good luck, and let us know what happens along the way. Hopefully you and your father will be in another ZR-1 very soon.

:cheers:

I can pretty honestly say that I was in a total state of shock. When paramedics checked me bp was 140/90 and pulse was 120. I had already taken for granted that I was in one piece, which could have been a different story had I hit sidways and flipped, and all I could think about was depriving my father of something he's loved for so long. All he could think about was how long it seemed before he heard someone say "He's up out of the car".

:(, but I am glad you are ok.

I've never dealt with a wet car, but I dont see what it cant be saved. I would think if you replaced the electronic, ECM etc and pulled all the wiring connectors, clean dry and use dielectric grease on them you should be ok. It will be a lot of time and may be a lot of money, but if it were my car I would get her in the garage and start tearing her down.

I can only imagine. If you did not go to church yet, you might still want to thank God you were not injured. A friends co-worker was driving in a bad storm, went off the road into a lake and drowned just a few weeks ago. She was in her 20's.



Since your dad was there, you can rest assure his biggest concern was for you. While ZR-1's are great cars and we love them, I'm sure he'd give up his house as well to have his son in one piece.

I can't recommend this company, but someone told me they deal with flood damaged cars, so give them a call and pick their brain.

http://www.kimmotor.com/

:cheers:

I hate to come off as an ***, but if you would be so kind as to post the last 4 of the vin?