I was out of town for the weekend. When I came home I found out the Fiero was flooded under 6 or so feet of water. 88 GT, silver with lumbar seats, 3.4 swap, rust free. I had rebuilt the brakes, steering, stereo and suspension. Swapped the motor and tranny. Stripped and redid the interior. Too much to list. Lost a good one.

Some recent pics:





Some more recent pics:

Ugh I'm so sorry, what a clean and beautiful car.. Shame.

What are you thinking of doing now?

Wow. I'm so sorry that happened, I have been down that road with basement flooding myself. I hope things somehow work out for you.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 08-29-2011).]

It is not a loss if you take the proper steps to getting it cleaned u...Pull carpet, seat, ect out to start drying....Drain oils, flush with cheap oil several times to remove all water....drain coolant and flush.......Don't let it sit or it will be ruined....

It can live on! How long was it under water? At least make sure it doesn't just get scrapped and crushed.

Good luck man, sorry to hear about the car.

quote Originally posted by MstangsBware: It is not a loss if you take the proper steps to getting it cleaned u...Pull carpet, seat, ect out to start drying....Drain oils, flush with cheap oil several times to remove all water....drain coolant and flush.......Don't let it sit or it will be ruined....

like he said. the car isnt lost. you can keep it alive.

[This message has been edited by wrong generation (edited 08-29-2011).]

Don't forget CV joints and wheel bearings. Clean them out and re-lube, flush all your hydraulics and get them refilled. If you don't restore it and have insurance to cover the car, be sure to make your insurance company replace you with like vehicle. They'll try to give you book value, but their responsibility is to make you 'whole' just as you were before it got flooded.

quote Originally posted by wrong generation: like he said. the cat isnt lost. you can keep it alive.

Damn he lost his cat too?

quote Originally posted by MstangsBware: Damn he lost his cat too?

Cats don't usually swim well and don't do well in flooding.

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Jim Martin
White '86 GT
Monterey, California

The car is not a total loss! From the photo's it looks to still be pretty wet....DO NOT LET IT JUST SIT AND DRY OUT! The very first thing to do is unhook the battery. Next is to get the hose, and wash EVERYTHING down with water. Sounds crazy, but has already been submersed, so wetting it will not hurt anything that is not already damaged. What it will do is get all the muck, bacteria, and whatever was in the water, washed with fresh water. Carpets, seats, console, door panels, engine, front and rear compartments... EVERYTHING.

Once you wash everything, inside and out, completely with fresh water, you need to set up as many fans as you can get your hands on and blow them inside the car, engine bay ect. Water will not hurt 99% of a car. It will not remove adhesives, ruin any of the materials, leather, plastic ect. (Aside from probably pulling the headliner down from the weight). You need to spray contact cleaner on and in all switches, plugs, connectors, sockets and so forth.

Once it is as dry as you can get it, its time to move to the mechanical. Draining the engine, tranny, gas tank of all fluid, flushing and replenishing. Brakes are fairly sealed, so just remove the cover to see if any water got in there. Lube any and every fitting you can find. Depending how / if it shorted out when it got wet, the ECM may be fried, but there is a possibility that it could still be good.

THE MAIN KEY is to have EVERYTHING dry before even attempting to hook the battery back up. It would probably be best to replace relays, as they can hold water for a long time.

With some time, and quite a bit of work, this car could be running in a couple of days again easily.


I wish I were closer, I would have gladly came over and help with it.....

As a side note: My first Fiero had water up to the middle of the steering wheel from a hurricane here years ago. I grabbed the hose, washed, washed, and washed again, and dried it out. You could never tell the doors, seats, carpet in any way have ever been under water.

[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 08-29-2011).]

This car is 100% salvageable, though it will require some work. Most things in the car are not damaged by water, but by mold and mildew that are allowed to form later if no steps are taken to immediately deal with the water issues. About the most difficult part will be the engine and trans, but even then there are good hopes of recovery.

quote Originally posted by JohnWPB: THE MAIN KEY is to have EVERYTHING dry before even attempting to hook the battery back up. It would probably be best to replace relays, as they can hold water for a long time. With some time, and quite a bit of work, this car could be running in a couple of days again easily.

Like hell. Two pops with a screwdriver and they're open. Spray with contact cleaner and they're done.
That's about $80 in savings.

[This message has been edited by DIY_Stu (edited 08-29-2011).]

Ohhh man, that sucks... Looks like you had a nice 88gt! what ya gonna do with here now? If you gonna try and save her, pull ALL the interiour and get it out in the sun ASAP. Get some fans to circulate the air in the cabin once its gutted...

If the battery was full and hooked up then the "new" stereo may not work but aside from that everything else can and will live on. Call up the local clubs and get some hands in there. Good thing is you have a 3 day weekend coming up but you need to get the fabrics out and cleaned ASAP.

[This message has been edited by DIY_Stu (edited 08-29-2011).]

The key again is TONS of FRESH water, in the ECM, radio, switches, EVERYWHERE.... then get it dry as quick as possible, and do not hook up power until everything is completely dry.

Thanks everyone. My office was flooded along with the house, so I'm staying in NH for right now. I'm going to try and salvage the car. I trailered it to NH and opened it up. I'm flushing it out and pulling the interior. Hopefully I can save it.

sorry to hear about your car and home.good luck, i am wishing you and your car better days ahead.like i have seen before, you can just buff that out and please watch your back working. your car will be as good as new, wish i could help you i have a bad back and live in florida.

don't know how far you are from me and I no longer have a fiero but im in boson MA and if i can give you a hand let me know also if you end up totaling it out threw the insurance let me know you can get the money and still get it back on the road if you had good flood coverage you should be ok. again i agree with everyone you shouldn't have to much trouble just fresh water wash the carpets pull the seats wash them dash then do the motor oil and everything else you figure you drive the outside of the car in rain so most of the stuff should be OK on the outside hopefully it didn't go into the intake also make sure you do all your filters

quote Originally posted by onesexyfiero: And I would gladly accept help from anyone in the NH area.

I was just thinking this. If i was nearby and could drop by just to help with a little bit - an 88 is too good to lose.

Please SAVE IT. I would love to help but I am far away and I could possibly be. It needs the motor and all fluids to be flushed ASAP. If you allow the water to start to rust things inside the motor it will have to be rebuilt. I HAVE saved a few flood cars, with very little work. I know it seems overwhelming but it you just attack it, you will be amazing how quickly you have it back together.

I definately DO NOT see a loss. I see a rebuild. There is not a lot of electronics in the car. Not a whole lot to fix.
Drop and clean the tank, replace the fuel pump. Swap the motor and tranny and clean the heck out of everything else. If you don't want it, I'll take it and fix it.


But really, sorry for your loss. That sux!

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86 Fiero 2M4 Silver, and 86 GT

a pressure washer would save Alot of time too...

:-(

Sorry to repeat, but the longer it sits, the less likely anything can be done. If nothing else, get out the garden hose, and just wash EVERYTHING down right now. Strange as it seems, water does not hurt circuit boards, relays, switches in any way what so ever. What does, is putting current through something wet. So wash everything, and do not worry about getting anything wet in any way. Just make sure it gets a good chance to dry out before hooking the battery back up. If you can get ahold of one, a de-humidifier put in the car, with the windows up will do wonders, it intakes the damp air, and creates warm dry air. Just run the drain tube outside the car somehow and let it run....Another note, the flood water, depending on where you are, may have had salt in it. That is a ticking time bomb unless washed with fresh water ASAP.

[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 08-30-2011).]

was there any fish in there ...like in the movies

Probably most important thing to do right now is drain the oil. Pull the spark plugs and use a piece of rubber hose to pick up some clean oil and pour it into the spark plug holes. Turn the motor over with a wrench a few times, then repeat. Leave the drain plug out so that any water in the engine can find its way out through the drain while turning the motor over. In fact, after draining the oil but before turning the motor, turn the motor backwards to push out any water that may be in the oil pump, then turn the motor forward. Pull the air filter and snorkel, leave the plugs out so that water in the cylinders can squirt out the spark plug holes. Add more oil, repeat, spray fogging oil (from any marine supply) into the intake. The gas tank is fairly sealed, but the charcoal canister will be water-logged. At some point you can apply power just to the fuel pump test terminal behind the cigarette lighter trim plate to run the pump, with the fuel lines disconnected, to pump out the water and fuel. Water will be first since it is denser than fuel and will settle to the bottom of the tank. The fuel that comes out afterward will be suitable for lawnmower gas.

Which trans? If it's the manual you can drain it and refill with fresh oil. Auto is also fairly easy, just pull the pan and filter to drain out any water. Do a transmission flush with new filter kit and it should be fine.

So Steps as I see it.

Make sure you have first aide stuff on hand. Flood cars are subjected to some nasty stuff. One cut could mean staff. So doctor up if you get cut and get EVERYTHING WASHED DOWN.
Gut the car.
Wash everything you can.
ECM, Cluster, ignition switch, Distributor, coil, cruise module relays taken apart and cleaned, all this gets dried first. this will help prioritize getting the engine running quickly.

Window switches, lock switches, radio, mirror switch light switches, head light relays, fan relays etc all get washed now or later. heck they spent time under water... Toss them in a bucket of fresh water for a nice soak.

Now do exactly what Jazzman says with the engine. While it's soaking a bit you can also open the connectors on all of the sensors and wash them out apply grease and plug back in. most sensors are sealed so there's less harm that can be done. Also check the cruise vacuum can for water. Remove brake booster vac line and blow it out.

Don't have a dehumidifier, but do have a small window A/C unit handy fine USE IT. Put the whole thing in the car. Locate the water catch pan then put a tube in it. Tape the tube to the unit so it won't move, Run the tube out the door at the back edge of the dew wipes where the window meets the door and the door seal. at least every hour go out and use a shop vac to suck out the water through the tube. Touch the window it'll be warm to the touch too.

as fr the seats.... lots of water to re saturate them to dissolve and pass salts. then shop vac top then bottom under the seat to pull out extra water then dehumidify them in a closet or something. Setting out in the sun isn't the best for drying.

I think that might be the order.

Can you tell we all would love to help, just too far to do anything.... It's killing us!

[This message has been edited by DIY_Stu (edited 08-30-2011).]

I've been working on the car for two days steady. The interior is gutted and the car was powerwashed thoroughly. There is no dirty water left anywhere. Interior was closed up and I ran a dehumidifier all day today. I got water out of the oil and trans, as well as the cylinders. I've cycled clean oil through a few times, until I'm not really getting any more sediment or water. All of the interior parts were pulled and powerwashed. They're drying now. Most of it actually looks like it should pull through. I have a couple of parts cars, so anything electronic that I can replace, I will. Next on the list is getting the gas tank and lines cleaned out, driving water out of wherever it still is, cleaning/replacing electronic and getting it ready to power up again. She may live to see another day. If not, it will be the worlds cleanest parts car.

Where in NH are you?

Goshen.

So sorry this happened, good luck with the resurrection!!!

Is this your's? (Looks like a coupe) From the "Fieros on O'Rielly Factor" thread in OT--someone posted a video screen capture from the Fox news cast..

I snagged the Video and stuck it up on Youtube:

(The Fiero's show up at 26 seconds into the video)

Thanks John--sound won't work for me, but that, is a LOT of water. Kinda ironic--and of course sad, that after all these years of hearing all the "they catch fire" crap, we suddenly in 1 month's time see 4 different Fieros either destroyed or badly damaged by water.
Everyone keep your eyes on Katia--it's supposed to become a hurricane tomorrow, but Hopefully it will just curve out to the NE away from land.

Strange, sound is working here.... I just tested it on my tablet and iPhone, and working there as well... Not sure what it could be. As for Katia, trust me, I am watching it! Living just a few miles from the beach in South Florida, anything that spins off the coast of Africa catches my attention early on!

Dude you are doing an amazing job on your car!! It looks like you might be able to save it!! Thank god you acted quick. A lot of people would have just become overwhelmed and gave up. That Fiero is lucky to have you as its owner.

Update:

Interior is dehumidified and free of water. Most interior parts are dry. Seats, door panels and firewall carpet are still a bit wet. Speakers work. Fuel pump is priming. Starter runs when hot wired. Getting power to the coil. Everything electrical is cleaned and dried, replaced, or not essential and currently disconnected. Engine oil is cycling and coming out clean and free of water. No water or sediment in the cylinders. Put power to a new ECM and nothing's caught fire yet. The goal tomorrow is to get it running.

quote Originally posted by onesexyfiero: Update: Interior is dehumidified and free of water. Most interior parts are dry. Seats, door panels and firewall carpet are still a bit wet. Speakers work. Fuel pump is priming. Starter runs when hot wired. Getting power to the coil. Everything electrical is cleaned and dried, replaced, or not essential and currently disconnected. Engine oil is cycling and coming out clean and free of water. No water or sediment in the cylinders. Put power to a new ECM and nothing's caught fire yet. The goal tomorrow is to get it running.