BrianCunningham

with all the flood cars coming on the market

Have to ask the question

Anyone turn a flood car into a racecar?
if so, how did it go, especially with all the electronics on the newer cars.

Obviously you need to get all the water out, and change all the fluids
that's not as obvious as too how to due it on some of the newer systems

don't care about ruined carpets that you're just going to gut anyway

fatbillybob

I'm interested in this too. My thinking is the whole car has to be gutted and you want an aftermarket ECU and wire harness which means you have to race it in a faster more modified class. I love the stock classes because I am lazy. I started with a new C5Z06 in 2004. It was a racecar by 2005 and I am still racing it today SCCA at the Runoffs in 2 weeks in a stock class T2. My car has been flawless just gas and oil but is now starting to have more issues. Miles kills the cars. I broke the ear off my steering rack, replaced 2 clutch 2 times, lost a water hose here and there, and my motor got tired so I rebuilt it for 2017 race season. That is how effortless a new car can be and all my effort has been in the last 2 seasons.
So I expect a car with aftermarket ECU to be more of an issue to maintain. A faster class means wings and splitter. Splitter gets ripped off when you go off track. Then wings means more G's so more tires at almost $2k/set. I think you spend less in a stock class but I don't think you can build a reliable stock flood car without all new electronics and it is impossible to do that. I'm thinking all the saving from buying a flood car might be taken away with aftermarket ECU, wing splitter tires, diffs, fancy shocks to be competitive. Stock classes are well...stock. The arms race is much lower. Comments?

BrianCunningham

BTW I've also opened a thread on the SCCA's Facebook page

I'd put a link but CF won't enable them

Grabbed_Crow_Mobe

You don't have to go with an aftermarket ECU. You can pick up used stock ECUs rather inexpensively. I'm not familiar enough with the stock classes to know how much stock stuff you'd need to put back in to be legal but most of those parts are available used.

fatbillybob

I have never owned a flood car so don't know. Others who have owned them complain of endless electrical issues which is why Insurance cos total them.

The ECU is easy. I think you have to gut every wire and replace with a new wire harness too. Then with a modern car you got all kinds of feedback and ECU's that must talk to each other so the car works. You got TPMS that will limp a car if pressure too low. You got factory alarm ECU's that must OK before the main ECU will allow a car to start and in vette world the PCM needs the ECBM and is very very difficult to delete the ECBM. In a modern car there are just too many wires imo.

I'm sure it could be done but at what cost in dollars and what cost in time? And how reliable will it be? OTOH there has to be 50 lbs of wire in there you don't need and a flood forces you to take those out.

jacks2000

I would consider one for parts. Body and suspension would be usable. Engine might be OK with an overhaul for a street rodder. Trans and diff should be OK with disassembly and a good cleaning or as cores for a replacement. Just don't wait too long to clean them up.

fatbillybob

that is another issue. All those hard parts the cases need to be open and cleaned out. The longer with water the worse it gets. All those little valves on an automatic are like death. Even the motor I would be at least pulling valve covers and oil pan and running some kid of thinner solvents and then oils before running it. Torque tube full of water can't be good. There is a lot of work to do with a flood car.

Supercharged111

My initial thought was dirt *** cheap Spec Corvette donor. Then it is as simple as PCM swap and done. Plus BCM.

snide

Brian,
What would you like to turn into a race car?

BrianCunningham

I'm partial to C4's of course

jcsperson

Yeah, I hope that takes off. I might be interested if that makes it back East.