A little rain problem last night... thoughts appreciated

[buddeman]

Despite a clear forecast yesterday, last night here in Portland we got over an inch of rain in less than an hour. Imagine the surprise walking out of Lucky Lab (brew house) and seeing the little lake that formed around my '67 while having dinner. It was a few inches below the muffler, and hadn't risen to the door levels yet, so thankfully the interior was dry; just a little bit of water accumulated under the rear rubber floor mats. After some deliberation, got in and it started right up... backed it up onto some land, gave it the once over, and drove it home (the long way) with no problems whatsoever.

So my question would be given the water level, what actions, if any, should I be taking this weekend?
- Could water have seeped into engine/tranny? If so, obviously change the fluids.
- What about the greased areas - front wheel hubs, rear CV joints, bushings (have polybronze all around)? I'm thinking not really necessary, but??
- Assume brakes, given they are a sealed system, wouldn't have any issues, but ??
- Could water have gotten into body recesses - torsion tube, inner longitudinal, etc? If so, how to address?
- Interior - floor mats are already out and have fan helping dry out the few carpet pieces that absorbed a little water

Thanks in advance for any pointers...

[Sinnerman]

That is surreal!

[mrgreenjeans]

I think you may have dodged the bullet, but ???

Do you think its possible any wave action caused by passing cars would have gotten the water any higher ?

No milkiness in the engine oil ? This really shouldn't have occurred , but ???

Some of us do drive Porsches in soaking rains---- just NOT me,---- and suffer no ill effects , not even wet floors if they are not compromised somehow. But a general soaking in a pool.....now that is a different thing.
Did the CV joints go under ?
I would get it up on a lift and start looking closer at things, taking stuff apart, etc. and do a closer look at the extent of the soaking.

Hopefully no damage happened. If you have water in the oil, now we have a problem. No more engine starts till that has been drained. Water is heavier than oil, so cracking the plug a smidge to check for that will release any oil mixed water, but you are gonna get a sleeve-full of it. If its needing a change because of any doubt or milkiness, dump it all. Cheap insurance.

Best wishes.

[Reza]

congrats on avoiding a noah's ark event! i'd just park it is a well ventilate heated garage.

the sound insulation and other padding foam need to dry completely. or park it in the baking PNW sun in the afternoon with the windows open.

+1 to oil change if any hint of water. i saw a modern audi with water in engine oil after something similar. Up on life and visual inspection of grease points. small price to pay for the car no floating down to new orleans :-)

[Reza]

oh, but the modern auto would not start, hydro locked. so youre one better.

[RSTarga]

These used to be rally cars. The intake is very high on the engine. Dry out the interior and forget about it. All the mechanicals dried out on your drive home.

[EA911]

I would take the hair dryer through everything under the car. Water might have got trapped and you know these cars are notorious for that and rust.

[nickR]

Wow what are the chances of that happening?!

When I had rain pour into the front passenger footwell of my VW Corrado, I first used a large sponge to soak up as much of the water as possible and then placed a small space heater in the car - with extension cord - angled downward towards the floor to begin the drying process. I would check every 30 mins and then try to soak up more water with towels and newspaper. Once it was mostly dry I left lots of crumpled newspaper overnight with something to weigh them down a little. Next day I would repeat the process with space heater, towels and newspaper until it was completely dry. Used lots of newspaper. Hopefully your interior survived. I would try the space heater technique for the underside of the car checking on it periodically. My thinking is you want to get hot air on everything ASAP. I hope this may be of some use.

[jeff eelkema]

Wheel bearings could do with a service, and maybe CVs. Bear in mind when these cars get driven through water things ane spinning and water is flung out. Rally cars also get regular strip downs and re-grease. Engine and tranny oil should be fine at the level shown IMHO.