I bought my C5 Convertible in March of 09. From March until August of last year I spent all of my extra time and money making this car a very unique Corvette.
As some of you may have heard, we got hit here in Wisconsin by some pretty heavy and severe rainstorms last month (7-22-10).
My basement sustained 9'10" of water and my garage got about 4 and a half feet. Needless to say my car was practically submerged.
I am wondering if anybody on this forum has experienced anything similar and has any clue as to what it might take to save my car.
The car has not been attempted to be started, and the plenum has been removed.
Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. I would really like to save my car, but I don't want to go in over my head in tryng to do so.
I am getting jack from my insurance company so what ever it comes down to will be out of my pocket and at my expense.
I would be very grateful for any constructive comments, but as I have lost everything that I have spent my life working for, I am really not interested in smart assed comments.
I am looking for some someone who has experienced this to give me some idea of what I can anticipate.
Thank you all in advance for any help that you might be able to provide.

 

First, I'm sorry for your situation.

Did you document the "flooding" with photos? That will help with the insurance company. Stay on them. Comprehensive covers flooding.

I don't think I'd invest too much cash until the insurance settles. If you do, and they total the car, you are out your cash.

If you want to "risk" it, see if the insurance company will total it and sell it back to you. Remember, once it is totaled the title and CarFax will show it.

GL

 

Water in the engine is one concern, but the big issue is all the electonics. Most of if not all the insurance companies will simple write it off as a total. You also have the mold issue in the carpet and seats. If it were me, I would remove as much of the mods you have done and take the insurance money and go looking again.
I gave my son a 93 Camaro that I bopught new and he got caught in a freak storm and the car was under water The insurance company simple wrote him a check for the book value.

 

Well, since you have not tried to start it, you should not have water in any of the cylinders. The ECM is low in the front passenger wheel well-it most likely was underwater. I would diconnect the battery push it outside to dry out for several days and pull the plugs just for grins.

After a few days I would darin and change the oil and then try turning the engine my hand with no plugs in it just to be sure no water comes shooting out of the cylinders. You might want to turn the key to the ON position (not trying to start it) and get some fuel out of the fuel rail at the Schrader valve to see if there is any water in the fuel, if there is, you need to drain the tank too.

Once you sure the engine has no water in it and the gas it good, I would try to start it and see what if any codes popup.

 

wow sorry to hear that.....hope all goes well...let that baby dry a few days in the sun !

 

If you had four and a half feet of water in the garage, that means the entire car was under water. I would almost bet that you will have water in the engine and in the gas tank. I just cannot see even trying to salvage this vehicle. As I mentioned earlier, besides the electronics, you are looking at probably a complete interior. As we all know, that water was not pure. It was full of contaminates from who knows where. It is not a simple let it dry out for a few days and see if it starts.

 

Well, if the insurance co tells him to go packing, what does he have to lose? If he can't get it going again-it's basically a parts car.

 

This is a real shame and I feel for you and your neighbors. Your best course is by retaining a lawyer and force your insurance company to pay you the current value of your flood car. You will not get a dime back on the mods done, but at least if you get a replacement Corvette you feel 'whole' again. This is a legal fight, DO NOT TAKE NO for an answer !

 

The C5 and water are not friends. If it were me I'd try my best to make sure the insurance company totaled it and then try to find a new car. The electronics cost big bucks and if they were submerged they probably got mud and goo in there and even if it works after it dries out it could still cause big headaches in the future.

 

CAll Ins. company and file a claim thats why we pay. Remove all your mods befor the tow company comes to get it the mods are yours not the cars and Ins. company's will not pay for them unless listed on policy. Start searching for a new vette. Water is a corvettes worst enemy. Take it from a former rebuilder I would not touch a flood car!!!!! To many gremlins

 

Someone tell me if I am wrong here.......

I would think that if the car was at your house in the garage and was flooded out, then it would be your homeowners insurance that would cover the damage.........Maybe that is why you auto insurance is giving you grief...

 

Water + Electronics = impossible to fix.

You'd have to literally replace every single connector, wire, relay, sensor, guage, etc.... to ever make it work right again. Rebuilders usually won't even touch a flood car for this reason. They are just never right again. Sorry to hear this.

 

homeowners ins won't cover any fllod damage...not to your home or your car. only federal flood ins, which is a saparate policy, covers fllod damage and it is for your house only

if you have comprehensive coverage on your auto ins it should cover flood damage. i have state farm and they were great here in middle tennesse when we had the floods here a few months ago

 

Basic homeowners policies do not cover "acts of god" like flood and earthquakes. Partially why State Farm basically told all the homeowners in New Orleans to take a long walk off a short bridge. If an Earthquake hit here and dropped my house to the ground I would have zero coverage.

My wife and I discussed this possibility and came to the realization that so many people are without these types of insurance that we would literally be rebuilding our house in a "ruined neighborhood" and decided we really wouldn't want that anyway. Resale value would be nothing on such a home, so we figured no matter what it would be a total loss.

Do I at least get credit for having the conversation in the first place?

 

As cheap as a C5 is these days there really isn't any reason to try and restore this car. I'm sorry for the loss but if you didn't have full coverage insurance then you are learning one of life's more expensive lessons.
The C5 is just too damned dependent on electrical systems as a casual review of all these threads can attest and this would require a complete tear down so you could decontaminate the car as the dirt, mud and other stuff will be everywhere in that car and I know for sure you would be tracking electrical gremlins for the rest of your life.
Sadly I think you now own a parts car....

If you are prepared to spend a few hundred hours removing, cleaning, decontaminating everything then go ahead. Keep in mind you have no idea what is good now either since I am sure the power was still in the car and some of it will be shorted out. The PCM, LDCM, SDM, RDCM, BCM and many others will sure need to be washed in fresh water, sprayed very well with alcohol and then tested to make sure it isn't baked. Far too costly since you could buy another C5 for 1/5th the recovery cost.

 

If it were me, I would part out the mods while I was arguing with the ins company (certain I wouldnt attempt to recover a vehicle flooded like you described). Cant hurt to try.

If it winds up you have to eat the car, part it out (some parts would be saleable with very little work despite being submerged short term), again, nothing to loose.

Sorry for your situation, Good luck

 

Thank you guys for some very good and sound advice. I appreciate your well wishes, and I also appreciate everyones responsible attitude and comments. The overwhelming majority of your comments are within the same vein, and while it is a painful loss, there comes a time when we must chalk up our losses and move on. Thank you very much Corvette Forum Members, your repsonses make being a member here all worthwhile!
I will be back and in the meantime I am parting out a once beautiful black 98 Convertible 6spd car w 79k miles if anyone needs anything!!

 

Sorry to hear this. Best of luck getting it replaced

Chuck

 

What mods does it have?

 

See his profile.