:(

[grandkodiak]

There was a freak ass flood in the parkinglot at work last night during that ministorm and my car up and died when i went into about a foot and a half of water. Had it towed to the mechanic, but i'll have to wait until tomorrow morning before he even finds out about it.

Electronics inside all still work, radio, lights etc, but there was about 4 inches of water on the inside. The engine bay looks ok, didnt make it to the plugs but the pan and opti probably got it (probably cause the stall?)

The filter however is covered in pineneedles which makes me assume that water certainly got to it, and it must have tried to suck in because they are imbedded in the filter :'(

Other then the opti, what am I looking at replacing? the tow truck driver said if water got in it could have bent a rod... now that to me (as long as the insurance company doesnt total it for some reason) like an easy excuse for a stroker kit... but will anything in the heads likely be damaged or anything else? i jsut got the heads, $2k investment right there, and they jsut ****in went on not 2 months ago.

anything that might be bad now with the tranny or rear axle being submerged? it was for less then 5 minutes at its deapest until i could push it uphill enough to get out to where the water was just missing the bottom of the door. deapeast it was in was the water coudlnt get in when the door was opened (but still got in eventually)

only other thing i could think that might be ****ed is the MAF if water did get sucked up in there, and maybe the starter or coil?

:'(

[1_Hot_SOM_WS6]

Damn...that sucks!!! How many miles are on it? Good luck with the outcome!!

[BonzoHansen]

indeed

[Mike]

change the rear fluid and trans fluid and they should be ok......the motor you will have to wait and see what the shop says

[grandkodiak]

only 63k miles on it (1996) but literally less then 2k on all new heads, intake, tb, injectors, plugs, impala gaskets, cam, rockers, valves/springs, headers, exhuast, 4.10 rear, cold air, tires, all fluids... i jsut replaced basically everything but the alternator and bottom end!! i jsut ordered a new opti, belt, rear seat delete kit, fan switch and all kinds of other **** that was going to go in not even 2 weeks from now :'(

if they total my car i dont know what im going to do

[Ian]

Originally Posted by grandkodiak

if they total my car i dont know what im going to do

buy it back and part it out

[1_Hot_SOM_WS6]

Originally Posted by grandkodiak

if they total my car i dont know what im going to do

I would prob cry!! But like I said good luck with it all!! Keep us posted on whats going on with it.

[grandkodiak]

lol i hate you right now 1 hot som... i cant tell you how long ive been looking for a pic of a som trans with the z06/02collectors type wheels... and now i have, and it looks awesome, and ive decided i want them, i now i might not have a gosh darn car to put them on :'(

[1_Hot_SOM_WS6]

Originally Posted by grandkodiak

lol i hate you right now 1 hot som... i cant tell you how long ive been looking for a pic of a som trans with the z06/02collectors type wheels... and now i have, and it looks awesome, and ive decided i want them, i now i might not have a gosh darn car to put them on :'(

Ack....no hate!! LOL. Sorry I made you sad though. There's always the next car though

[grandkodiak]

i reaaaaally would like to get my hands on a elise/exige... cheap exotic but still beyond my scope only other car i'd want other then my trans is a lambo or ferrari and that aint happenin.

[grandkodiak]

just for ****s and giggles i put together a list of all the parts, costs and installs (minus routine maintenance and gas) to show the insurance guy all the work i've just done to the car.... figured maybe someone here would like to see the kind of cost it takes to make a moderate bolt on car.

My 1996 Pontiac Trans Am

Purchased 2003, 44k miles 12,500.00
Bluebook 2007, 64k miles 6,500.00

Brass Gear Headlight Kit: 85.00
K&N Cold Air Kit: 204.99
Warbird II handlaid hood: 693.81
Holly 58mm TB: 314.99
Ported LT1 Manifold: 255.00
LE2 Heads: 432.00
-LE2 Head work: 1,750.00
-LE2 component cost: 470.36
-gasket kit 206.99
Chevy Valve covers: 129.99
SLP Headers: 720.95
-Jethot coating 185.00
-Install kit 61.75
Borla Exhuast 873.99
Plugs: 55.92
Wires: 105.99
Injectors: 299.69
Spec2 clutch: 474.99
Clutch fork: 87.71
4.10 gears: 249.95
-install kit 123.55
Diff cover: 154.99
ECU: 175.00
LT4 knock module: 35.99
BCM: 229.11
---------------------------------------
Parts Total: 8377.71


Perf top end rebuild: 1621.96
Gear install: 302.10
Exhuast install:
191.83

Flywheel resurface: 75.00
Clutch install: 375.00
---------------------------------------
Labor Total: 2565.89


Total expenditure

Modding: 10,943.60
Total: 23,443.60

[Silent Z]

Thats some serious cash you've spent man! I hope it works out for you!

[Featherburner]

I keep all my receipts but, I never add them up. I don't want to know how much I have spent on these cars. The number would probably scare me.

[Brando56894]

wow man that sucks, sorry to hear, hope nothings seriously damaged.

[grandkodiak]

what sucks is that is VERY serious cash for me... and what REALLY sucks, is that it took me over 4 years to do it in... that wasnt a 1 time spend and go deal... so itll take another 4 years for me to get back where i am now if i gotta start over :'(

[1_Hot_SOM_WS6]

So any word back on whats going on with the car?

[grandkodiak]

still nothing, i drove by the garage and the cars still sitting there where the tow truck driver dropped it off. they told me friday it was going to be looked at, then i was told saturday it was going to be looked at. if i dont hear from them by the time i have to go to work today the insurance companies getting an earfull. they didnt even open my car up to help it dry out, i bet ALL the ineterior is now ruined even though it BARELY got wet just from mold!! i'm sure the motor on the seat is now shot too.

[grandkodiak]

Got the news

The inusrance company declaired it a complete loss. I now have 2 options:

1) Accept the loss and they cut me a check for $8,500.
2) Accept the loss, and keep the car... check for about $6,000.

The problem with the second option is, that if I accept the car back, I lose all coverage except liability. So, the next time someone smashes my windshield, rear-ends me or I skid off into a tree, I'm 100% responsible financially to cover it. The only thing insurance will do is cover me if I get sued or injured in an accident.

So what I decided to do since I have a few days to decide, was to pay the mechanic out of pocket to do a complete inspection (since the insurance company only gave him 4 hours to look around for the estimate) and see exactly how bad things are. Water did come out of the motor when he unscrewed the spark plugs, but he says in HIS opinion that it probably is just a bent pushrod or two, worst case scenario connecting rod damage. In which case my $6k will be more then enough to cover parts and labor, probably walk away with $1k in spending cash to fix everything else... fluid change, hoses wires etc all around, and get the interior profesisonally washed to get rid of any fungis or smell that is bound to be in there now.

Right now I'm pretty confident that I can get my car back, but i'm scared about losing that coverage with the insurance company. they said that i wont have a salvage title since my car is old enough not to require one (1996) but they COULD not tell me if i switched companies if i could regain coverage...for obvious reasons. so i have to find out ASAP if i switch insurance if they will cover me or not.

the other bad thing is that my insurance is under my parants policy, and they have homeowners under the same company and have had so for decades... so my rate and coverage is amazing. I have a $250 total deductable, roadside, rental car, and they have paid off before. i got sued for $400,000 a few years ago in an accident and i didnt pay a dime for it.

advise, opinions are surely appreciated... right now i have an appointment with a half gallon jug of 92 proof navy rum, i'll check up later.

[NJSPEEDER]

if that is all that he finds really wrong with the car, i say take it back. there is also always the chance of no bent pushrods if you were at low rpm when it ate the water. if it turns out to be just a pushrod, NBD. replace, reset valve lash, start engine and drive away. 45min job at most.
i woudl suggest checking into your policy if you take the car back too. as long as you get a clean title they will have no reason to reduce the coverage level because the car has been declared safe by the state.

[j0n]

Is there any water damage to the cabin? or was just the engine damaged?

[grandkodiak]

theres minor water d to the cabin, think there was about an inch and a half in the back floor at most, for about 10 minutes max. i got the rest out, whatever was in tehre after that was jsut soaked in to the carpet. i bought a rear seat delete kit a week ago or so so i could care less about the interior. i;lll run bare ****ing metal if i have to, its such a minor detail to me. leather seats are fine... worst thing that could be is that the drivers side seat control motor is dead... like the air pump **** that blows up the lumbar support... i use it maybe once a year at best... id ****in rip it out for weight saving anyway if it was worth the labor.

i told the mech to look at it and tell me exactly whats up... guess i'll make the choice then. my biggest problem is the insurance drop... no matter what, my current one will only cover liablity from now on if i take it back... thers no changing that. if its minor **** like a bent pushrod and plugs, im thinking ill take it back. otherwise.. i'll challenge thier offering price and send them a copy of all my reciepts for the work that was just done... if theygive me any more money, i'll just go with a a huge down payment on a nice cruiser sports car like a mid 90's boxter and give up the performance car market and just go with a bike for thrills... jsut got my permit last week, going to a class for the lisence signing in the beginning of august... and just wait until i have some moeny say 5-10 years down the line when my careers in order to do the car thing again.. by then i wont have to care about insurance costs or anything ever again and get my lotus exige and boost the ever loving **** out of it.

[grandkodiak]

jsut got off the phone with the adjuster... he's willing to do $12,000 if I take a check flat out or $9,700 if I keep the car and take repairs into my own hands, AND he said if I do keep it I can get insurance on it still once its done if thier inspecter/apraisor passes it as worthy.

whatcha all think?

[Knipps]

take the check & get an LS1

[maroman88]

keep ur car

[GP99GT]

id take the check...the car will never be the same