I have a GoTrax scooter that I use at autocrosses. The front wheel is just a hub motor. One day it rained really hard and I was driving through puddles, not thinking much about it. The scooter ran fine and kept running for many events after. Over time, performance started to drop off and the motor was making noise, so I pulled it apart. You guessed it, water got inside the electric motor and rusted out everything but the copper coils. Imagine that happening inside every actuator for HVAC, every circuit board, the alternator, the radio, the ECU, every sensor, every connector. No thanks. Unless you were gutting a car to be used on track, I would avoid flood damage.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
When you see pictures like this, it definitely gets the delusional ideas flowing... "I'm sure I could make that run again...":
I see 4 classic cars in that picture alone. How many more are out there? Its sad....
mtn
MegaDork
11/14/24 12:19 p.m.
My ex-uncle buys flood cars. His rule is to only buy cars that he can see in person, and they have to have electric seats. If the power seat is working, he will continue his inspection - his theory is that the power seat is the first part to fail in a flood as it is the lowest electrical component, and the one most likely to have been sitting in water the longest.
Duke
MegaDork
11/14/24 1:43 p.m.
I remember in 1980 or so a big shipment of FIATs got flooded in the holding lot next to the Port of Wilmington. They were over the floorboards in water for a week or two.
I always wondered what happened to those cars - if they got "reconditioned" and sold at retail, or were written off wholesale.
I mean, they were 1980 FIATS - how much more quickly could they rust and develop electrical problems anyway?
kb58
UltraDork
11/15/24 1:19 a.m.
There's a YT guy "restoring" a top-end McClaren... his name is something like Tavendish. It's the hybrid model and got flooded with salt water during a hurricane. I haven't had the heart to see how it's going but it's probably going okay only because he's funded by his YT channel views. For the rest of us, it would be a financial disaster. Nearly everything is messed up, even the composite.
In reply to kb58 :
Yep, Tavarish's P1.It would be hard to find a more extreme example of what can go wrong with buying a flood-damaged car. Some small parts were kind of OK, but they stripped it down to the bare carbon tub and frame and found all sorts of nasty water and silt in every single nook and cranny, for months after starting. The wringing harness had to be rebuilt from scratch. The carbon tub was pretty damaged from debris. He's making progress, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up costing almost as much as a regular P1 when he's done.
An interesting note, you would think that because its construction is entirely carbon and aluminum, the P1 would be free from heavy corrosion. However, the hybrid battery and the salt water made the perfect conditions for some heavy electrolysis, which ate away portions of the frame and some other aluminum components. His oil tank was full of holes because of this.
