mrmustang

Having spent my time in the northeast, also having owned a high production/volume body shop, who on occasion did AACA quality work, I've had more than my fair share of partial and full flood salvage cars in house, fresh and salt water alike. Most, like this, were specialty cars, Lotus, Porsche, vintage Mustangs, MGB's, TR6's Morgans, even a Rolls Royce (1951 if my memory serves me). With that said, there is no such thing as a fresh water flood car, why, simple, because by the time the water level has come up high enough to damage such a car, it has been contaminated with misc chemicals (oils, gas, acids, etc), along with biologicals (IE: think human feces, dead animals, and that is just the tip of that iceberg). So, if you really want to know how to decontaminate follow along here with my basic process: The following is a basic list, simplified as best I can for everyone to understand, there are a ton of small details in between what is listed below. 1: Safety first, heavy gloves, decontamination suit, medical grade respirator-----Why, you don't want to breath in anything in and around the car, nor do you want to cut yourself and potentially risk major infection 2: Large plastic bubble that you can drive the car in to 3: Ozone machine-(I recommend Estate 4000 from odorfree)----To kill all biologicals that want to kill you, it will take running it for 24 hours so that enough Ozone is built up in the space. If the car still smells after 24 hours, another 24 hours, or more may be required. You cannot rush this process 4: Once the car is basically decontaminated, now comes the real fun, disassembly, and cleaning of each part, interior first, followed by mechanicals, then the wiring harness. If the wiring harness has been immersed in water at all, pull it and throw it away. Again why, because water will wick into the harness if submerged longer than 5 minutes. Drying it out in the sun will only prolong the electrical issues for a day, week, few months before it rears it's ugly head in one way shape or form. 5: Now you have the car disassembled, seats and carpet have been pressure washed and ware baking in the sun, did you do the same with the shell of what you are working on, did you get in every nook and crevice, did you remember to put the car on a rotisserie and flip it over in every direction, flush it, drain it, flush it, drain, it, turn it, and start the process over and over, and over again. If you did not do this for at least a full 8-10 hour day, you are doing yourself and the car a disservice. 6: Ok, you've made it this far, are you having fun yet. 7: Now it's time to take inventory of what you still have that can be reused, time to open your wallet and spend money to replace everything that cannot be saved and reused (remember that wiring harness and switches in this equation)........ 8: Assembly time, well, maybe, are you sure you have everything you need, is everything safe to install? 9: reassembly is now under way, again, are you having fun yet. 10: Time to see if your hard work has paid off, attach a battery and turn the key 11: Well, how did you do? Salt water requires all of the same, but once the chassis has been stripped of all parts, requires immersion in a large tank at your local Redi-strip to neutralize the salt attacking the cars metal. Hope you find this helpful Bill S.

No real earthquakes close by, usually hear about 1.5-1.7 60=150 miles north of here, no wildfires in our area either, again 50 miles or more north of here. Most major storms skip over us as they hit the mountains west of here which usually turns them elsewhere. The outlier of course was Hurricane Helene, a 500 year storm for this area, did cause a lot of downed trees and subsequent damage, but no landslides or major flooding, again that was an hour north of us in the Ashville and surrounding areas there. ....Snake wise, Copperheads are known(anywhere in the eastern US), Black Widow spiders (anywhere in the eastern US), Brown Recluse (again, anywhere in the eastern US)....Wild Turkeys (7 in the yard this AM), Deer, the occasional red tail fox, small rodents like Racoon, possum, squirrels, abound. Then again so do barn owls and hawks. Thankfully no gators, rattle snakes, or lions, tigers, and only one juvenile male bear that came through the neighborhood and wiped out all the bird feeders before moving on to the next, and the next, and the next (you get the idea)...Stayed here for two whole days, then never to be seen again. Weather wise, it can get cold, usually overnight, down to the 20-30's for a few weeks a year, usually followed by daytime temps in the 50's, this really is a 3 season area, if it snows overnight (once or twice a year) it is gone by lunch time the next day. Great infrastructure already in place, so no surprises with new schools and such doubling or tripling your taxes a few years down the road. If you are really interested in an area, my advice is to make certain it checks off your families wants and needs, for us, it did, knocked Charlotte, NC from the #1 spot. Delta hub just 15 miles up the road, minor league sports teams, major concert venue, 1 hour to the mountains, 3.5 hours to the ocean, 2 hours to Charlotte, 2.5 hours to Atlanta. Several road race tracks in a 2-3 hour radius.......Did I mention low taxes. Car wise, yeah, I have a thing for convertibles, typically two are in the smaller converted car port and our two daily drivers are closest to the doors, but the smaller garage is being used for construction materials until the middle of next month. Questions, let me know Bill S.

Figured I'd update the thread, no "7" in the garage at the moment, but plenty of space if and when I decide to purchase another

Great meeting you today at C&C, sorry I had to bail early, something came up that needed my immediate attention elsewhere. We will catch up again. Bill S.

If you didn't get the email today, Eurofest has been postponed till 2025 (at this point and time). Should be at Cars & Coffee at Michelin on the 26th, uncertain what I'll be bringing at this time, but planning on bringing the Tiger or 289 FIA replica Bill S.

Have family in town for the week, so staying local is key to having everyone who wants to come out to the show do so, while everyone else can spend time downtown. Family always comes first. Bill S.

Plan to bring our 65 Sunbeam Tiger, looking forward to seeing your car there. Website is up and running: EURO Auto Festival Not the most intuitive, but it works. Bill S.

He was here 12 hours ago

Is that a SV chassis I see? Bill S.

First, welcome to the madness, once you start driving, it's an addiction difficult to kick. As for your two basic questions: 1: The market is constantly changing at the whim of buyers and sellers, some have are generational, others, like the Cobra community, keep building more cars, just like Caterham. If you are looking at this as an investment, forget it, it's a toy, and nothing more and not an investment, even if you stick it in a bubble and place it in the middle of your livingroom, it's still going to depreciate. 2: The newer Caterham offerings, when well built, will need minimum maintenance, oil and fluids, lube the chassis, check tires and brakes, and away you go. If this is a new build, you will need to occasionally check nuts, bolts, suspension as the car does vibrate more than your typical daily driver. Enjoy your time behind the wheel, there is almost nothing else like it on the road today. Bill S.

Great write up......Those of us who have been consumed with vintage vehicles feel your pain, as well as the elation of the final fix, as frustrating and time consuming as it was. Bill S.

just shy of 2 hours each way for me. Bill S.

Heat wrap for the headers works great in a race only environment where you want cheap, easy, and will eventually replace the parts (a year or two), but leads to premature rust out of the headers as well. Better off with ceramic coating to get the same results, without the downside of wrapping. Bill S.

You missed 2 Is the car titled? How is the car titled? Bill S.

And here I thought we were going off the rail again like a few weeks ago. I think I'm offended by the lack of a true USA7's confrontational thread For the OP, perhaps it's time to switch to Decaf Bill S.

Contact the Florida DMV main office and ask, let them know what paperwork you already have in your possession. Bill S.

Are you using a broker for importation? If so, they should be able to guide you. If not read the following, then contact the Florida DMV directly, lot's of paperwork will be required: https://www.wcshipping.com/us-car-import To import a car to the United States, the US Customs and Border Protection requires the following documents: original bill of lading bill of sale Foreign registration or US title Letter of approval from the NHTSA EPA Form 3520-1 DOT Form HS-7 Let us know how it goes, might also want to start a new stand alone thread so others can learn from your experience. Bill S.

This gray pad (nothing courser) https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40071748/ I also recommend a small sponge to use between your hand and the pad itself to keep from leaving "finger witness marks", and to allow the pad to move along the contours in an even and consistent manner. I do not recommend using simple green, as it will leave residue, you can use regular water, or a water and car wash additive mix for lubrication, the windex is for after care to remove finger prints, dust, dirt, bird excrement, etc. Bill S.

On an unpainted Kirkham 427SC (stock file shot, not the car I had) we used a brand new gray scotchbrite pad and a bottle of blue windex. It takes a while to get the hang of it to make the pattern match the manufacturers, but not that long if you have half a brain. Yet the finish will be less than you might want, more brushed than matte/satin. Bill S.

About $2,100 shipped to Grv, SC I see a lot of chassis damage that will require not only replacement, but a frame machine to deal with the torsional twist from the off road excursion that created this lime green beauties current condition. If I still had my bodyshop, I'd go for it, otherwise, makes for a nice parts car or wall art after stripping it of all usable parts. Bill S.

Start with Florida form TL-48 Follow the instructions within, it really is that easy in Florida. Now, with that said, there are additional ways to title your car in Florida, legally I might add. Go to one of the Cobra replica forums (the factoryfiveforum.com or clubcobra.com) and type in "Florida title" or "Florida registration" in their search fields. Pay attention to the dates of the posts and/or threads that come up, as I believe there were changes made to some items during Covid. Bill S.

Thanks for posting this, was fun to watch. Bill S.

Yoram, Sorry to hear about your fall and subsequent health issues, as we age, we just don't bounce back as quickly or as easily as we used to. Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season. Bill S.

I did, however, it's under contract, congratulations. Imagine if more details were offered, you might have had a number of people get into a bidding war on it. Bill

Suspension and brake details, engine and transmission details, an asking price? The more details, the better chance you have of finding a buyer. Finally, a location and exactly how the car is titled would also make your quest to sell easier.