I recently acquired a C3 which had gotten water halfway up the console. The water stayed that high for a few hours, and then subsided. I am planning on doing a full restoration on this car, but will not be able to begin until this summer or later. I would like to put the car in a position to prevent further deterioration until i can really get in there and rectify the problems. From looking at the frame, the back end of the car has some rust on it, and the front appears to have minor surface rust. Other than that it appears to be in good condition. So far I have drained the engine oil and transmission fluid, removed the carpet, and made sure everything was dry. I have also removed the spark plugs and sprayed some WD-40 in the holes to hopefully displace any moisture contained in the cylinders.
I would like to know what other things I should do in order to prevent further deterioration. Especially with regards to rust on the frame. Is it possible for water to get inside the frame in any spots to where the water can sit in there and rust out the frame from the inside? Any information would be greatly appreciated, and give me an excuse to spend some time with the vette. Thanks in advance.

 

If you want to slow down the rust process, spray Liquid Wrench II on the nuts, bolts, and anything that is rusty. Brush the frame with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, goes on in one coat with very little prep, just make sure you can leave the garage door open when you do it.

 

Water inside the frame should not be a problem. My biggest concern would be the engine internals and trans internals. A little more rust on the chasis wont hurt anything, however pitting a cylinder or valve in a trans. could meam much more $.

 

I should have also mentioned that i plan on doing a rebuild on the engine and trans. However, i would like to make the job as easy as possible, so what should I do to prevent engine and trans damage due to the water entering them?

 

There are many holes (intentional) in the frame so any water should evaporate. If you want to be sure, rig up a shop vac to blow air into the keyhole slots in the frame under the doors. That will get most of the lower section of the frame dry. Look at the plate at the end of the straight frame section in front of the rear wheels where the kick-up section attaches. There should be a small opening at one of the lower corners of the plate for water to exit. This hole might be plugged up with dirt from flooding. That area is the only one I can think of that might retain water and cause some problems.

If you jack the rear end of the car several inches any water in the upper frame rails should drain out.

You might also want to look at all of the body mount locations from the body side to make sure there isn't wet mud or water surrounding them.

It might also be a good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy when you connect the battery for the first time.

Good luck.



Rick B.

 

Unfortunately, when I connected the battery for the first time nothing worked whatsoever. That will be another headache to start working through that problem.

 

If the car had a working battery in it when it got flooded the fusible links may have blown as well as a bunch of fuses. I don't remember offhand how far up the fuse block is inside the car (my car is in pieces right now) but water halfway up the center console might be pretty close to the fuses. Your starter is probably toast also and might be shorting out the battery.

Good luck. Electrical problems can make you

Rick B.

 

Was the water that caused the damage salt water? The reason I ask is that salt water causes all kinds of gremlins in electrical systems. Some failures will be immediate and some won't jump up and get you for a couple years after the incedent.

My experience (with marine gear) is that if it got dunked in salt water, replace it. That shouldn't be a big problem though as all of the wiring harnesses are readily available. It is so much easier sorting out electrical problems when you know that the integrity of the components you're using is good.

Good Luck with everything,

kdlp

 

Definitely some salt in the water although it was not very salty water. Brackish at best. However, I definitely agree with your advice of replacing the wiring although I am not very excited about the cost of new wiring harnesses. I was definitely surprised at the cost of them when I started looking into them but it will probably be worth the pain I will endure trying to fool around with the old wiring.

 

you should also flush the frame from the inside with clean water to remove any salty deposits, do this through any hole in the frame that you can get to if the salty depoisits are left they will speed rust also flush al the parts from under the car that you can chico

 

I don't know if you are going for a "correct" restoration or a slightly modified one, but summit seels an assortment of wiring harness around the $500 mark that I was considering purchasing for my '79. The only reason I didn't, like you mentioned, was the price.

http://www.summitracing.com/catalogs...rapr/090f.html

 

You need to use a Power Washer to remove all the salt residue before you do anything.

 

I'm going thru the same issues with my 69. I plan on taking the body off the frame and having it dipped. I don't want it to rust from the inside out. Now it I could just get the #$4 body mount off I will be in good shape. There is a place in Kenner LA that do frame dipping

 

Would the frame be likely to rust from the inside out. I have thought of that, but it seems like the factory would have accounted for that considering moisture would be bound to get inside the frame, and there is not much you can do about it as far as painting it, etc. Also, how much would I be looking at to get the frame dipped?

 

Don't give GM too much credit here...

 

The company dips the frame in a acid bath then dips the frame is a paint so that in&out is protected. vette frames are known to rust from the inside out. while I'm doing the work I not taking no chances.

 

One thing to consider is Eastwood Encapsulator spray, spray the inside of the frames. Might not be the most thorough way, but probably better than doing nothing.