Hemi Road Runner takes 3 feet of salt water on Long Island

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340sFastback said:
It is a shame to see that happen. But the car is far from ruined. Flush it out with fresh water, drain all fluids, change filters, and let it dry out till more funds are freed up. If the body drains aren't clogged rinsing it out should do the trick. Its not like a tree fell on it and crushed it flat.
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Actually, if a tree fell on it that may have been better. Sheet metal can be pulled or replaced by any good body shop. The main problem with a salt water flood is not just what it does the the sheet metal. It's what it does to everything else, especially the electrical system. If the water was up past the doors, every single electrical item will need to be replaced. The gets very expensive. Salt Water is insidious - it finds a way into everything. When it is gone, the salt residue will corrode whatever it can. A fresh water flood is bad but nowhere near as bad as salt water. Granted, since the car is from 1968 the flooding is not as bad on the car as it is on modern cars. With today's computers and everything else electrical in a car these days, once a car has been severely flooded like this, it's toast.

This car can be saved for sure but given the way it looks, they may not have the money to do it. The faded paint and 1980's Centerlines make me think it was one of those "Someday I'm gonna" cars
 
Today todays cars are messed up with salt water flooding but were taking about an 1968 car, to replace the wiring-if needed-would be $500 tops, IMO

Even if it had power windows and locks, those can be replaced with newer parts-pretty cheap if you get used parts since 90% of cars in the wrecking yards have those now..just pull the stuff off a couple of smashed cars-doesn't take much of impact to total a 5 year old car.

I think the owner is just hoping the insurance will pay it off since they could not sell the car for what they claim its worth
 
Assuming the people do the wiring themselves, it costs about $1500 for the various harnesses and other electrical related items.

Dash Harness is only available through YearOne and costs about $500, engine harness is $160, Forward Lamp Harness is $176, and the rear lamp harness is $160. Then, provided the engine did not get internally swamped, you need to get the starter battery cables, plug wires, distributor, bulbs, and anything else electrical related. I only know because I just finished up doing a '69 RR from stem to stern and the owner got a bit of sticker shock from all of the expenses.

It's not cheap but a heckuva lot better than tossing out a Hemi Car! I just hope these people have the money and ability to do it before it gets too late. Bad connections caused by salt water residue can lead to increased amperage which leads to all sorts of bad things that end with the Fire Department shaking their heads around a burnt out hulk of a hemicar.
 
I think the owner is just hoping the insurance will pay it off since they could not sell the car for what they claim its worth

Why did you see the car for sale somewhere?
 
Ah no, just alot of cars are not worth what they were before the "depression' happen.

I can't believe every wire is bad now on the car and even if true, what shape was the wiring in before the flood happen? Was it ever replaced before or is it all 42 years old ?

Newer cars with computers are much different, heck even the brakes are high tech now with this anti lock. Not so with the older cars, those can take more abuse and crap
 
Thought it was this one for a minute...
 

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For those unfamiliar, Long Island is a little more than 100 miles long. Most of the Island is Nassau and Suffolk Counties. If you drew a line lengthwise down the middle of the island, you would see two different topographies, which resulted from long past ice ages. The northern half is largely hilly terrain with high bluffs and low inlets along the Sound. The terrain flattens out as you move south from the midline until you reach sea level on the Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricanes and Nor'easters are no strangers to long-time residents of LI. One must always expect the worst.
 
AdamR said:
Long Island is only 12 miles wide and ITS AN ISLAND ! there is no inland. NJ and NYC filled with water. The CT shore flooded. I dont think a lot of people understand how devastating this storm was to the east coast.
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Most people who are not familiar with the area did not get the big picture of the damage, delays getting electricity or anything else. The mainstream media did not want to report on the scope of the issues; they showed Manhattan up and running right away and wanted to sweep the rest under the carpet.

Side note; I sold my 71 Road Runner to a guy who lives on Long Island (I forgot the town) I hope it did ok. 2 owner car w/race parts and OEM engine also.
 
plum crazy dart said:
Mainstream media dosen't want to tell you that there's probably still people without power/heat.
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You got that right. I was just down on Long Beach today on appointments and there are plenty of people without heat, power or water. I passed one restaurant on the main drag with 4 plate glass windows blown out and boarded up. On all four (in big letters) he had written.........1st, "NO HEAT" 2nd, "NO POWER" 3rd, "NO WATER" and the 4th said "33 DAYS AND COUNTING".
 
dwire67 said:
Move it Inland where? Maybe to NJ nope could not go there, Maybe PA? Nope they got the storm also. Sandy was as big as England , I lived throught it and the pictures you see are nothing! I think the last thing they where worried about was moving a car. I know could give " " if my cars made it, they can be replaced . I know its a Hemi Car:prayer:
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You move it away from the storm surge. It doesnt have to be out of the hurricane,.just above the storm surge and indoors, i bet they are very near the coast which is why they got that much salt water. They got the storm surge.

My folks live in Manchester NJ this is very close to Seaside NJ at the beach. Its on the mainland side, about 15 miles inland, and up above sea level. Their damage consisted of power out for a week, shingles gone, siding gone, and 2 downed trees on their property. No salt water, no flooding. If this was going to be an issue for my folks my dads lil red express would have taken a trip outta state.

Any body who has seen the pics knows seaside was devestated from the storm surge. You no doubt saw the roller coaster in the ocean. You dont need to be states away, just far enough from the coast, and high enough that the water doesnt reach.

Still sucks tho. That car needs to be scrubbed out with hot soapy water and a power washer for sure and soon. Additionally the rear end abd transmission fluids need to be drained and flushed out, or the gears r gonna rust. It should have been.moved to higher ground and put indoors for the duration of the storm.
 
Kinda funny how people are more concerned about the car than the people and their home.
If it was a 4 door Belvedere with a slant 6, nobody would give a rat's ***.
It won't be hard or expensive to clean the salt out of it so it doesn't corrode the metal very badly. the rest of it can be done later.
Not a big deal.
 
autoxcuda said:
This one seemed to be a 4 speed. The one in the other thread for sale in NJ is a column auto.
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That is correct. The storm damaged one is a 4 speed car and the one I pointed out that is for sale is an auto.

Funny how close they seem in color, engine, etc., different trans and wheels.

Too bad about the storm damage to everything and everyone! We live on a creek and though it overflowed, we were high and dry.
 
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