I’ve got to start by thanking the seller for being upfront about his honest representation of this 1963 Pontiac LeMans Convertible and stating right off the bat that the car had an encounter with Hurricane Ian back in September. Second, I’d like to thank Barn Finds reader Larry D. for spotting it and bringing the Pontiac to our attention! I’m guessing some unscrupulous sellers are sending vehicles way north of Florida to exchange hands these days and forgetting to mention they’ve been waterlogged, so kudos to truthfulness here. The Pontiac is still in Florida, Orlando to be exact, and can be seen here on eBay with an asking price of $9,750. There’s also the opportunity to submit a lower offer for consideration.
So yeah, the car has an array of scratches, dents, dings, a missing windshield, plus a fairly substantial dent near the back of the driver’s side quarter panel. But so do lots of cars with this much age of them, and unless a seller volunteers how the bruises got there, we might never know. We’re even told that the original driver’s side door was detached and disappeared during the storm, instead of being left to wonder why the replacement door doesn’t match the rest of the body. Again, seller, thank you for your honesty!
Following Ian, the owner got busy doing what he could to save the LeMans, and all things considered, it seems like he’s done a pretty commendable job. The exterior, interior, undercarriage, trunk area, and engine bay have all been pressure washed, four separate times, and other than the battle scars or if the car smells moldy it might be hard for my untrained eyes to sense what the car has endured. But I’ve also not had any known encounters or previous experience myself working on a car that’s been water saturated, and the seller is also straightforward in describing this as a project or even just a parts car.
The owner also removed all the debris from the engine area, drained the water out of there, replaced the oil plus added mystery oil to all the cylinders, and let it sit for about 3 days to make sure the 326 wouldn’t freeze, and the motor is stated to turn freely. The Carter 4-Barrel was also cleaned and the starter rebuilt, but the car is billed as a non-running specimen at this time.
Considering what it’s been through, I’m kind of amazed at how the interior presents, especially the white areas, although the rear seat is missing in action as is the convertible top material. Yep, I realize electrical issues are a big concern under circumstances like this, and although the headlights are said to be working there are plenty more connections that may have been compromised. I’d like to have seen a photo of what this car looked like pre-Ian, then post-Ian before the clean-up began. How would you proceed with this one? Try to save, parts, or what?
Don’t mean to be critical but don’t think owner had the coverage, as the insurance companies were just picking up everything and most all got the dreaded certificate of destruction issued. That is a parts only vehicle. Live in Fl and one of my cars got hit, was driving the car and once insurance was done I bought it cheap with that title and used the car to rebuild another. Maybe ship it off to another country but even cars with no electronics like this one, if covered by insurance they were essentially parts cars. Anything that got wet needs taken apart or looked at. Some was salt water, some rain so inspect and replace or rebuild.
Also live in Florida and got wiped out by Hurricane Irma in ’17. Saved all the rolling stock but wife’s Mini Cooper. Salt water up to 2 inches over door window sills. Full of BMW’s over kill electronics there was no way to save it. Insurance company paid average used retail but would not replace it. Had to oil down the disc brakes to get it out of the garage and out to the street. Only thing funny about the whole mess was while I was mucking out a path to get in and out of the garage and was next to the car the right door window went down on it’s own, making it easier to get into the locked car.
A flood car of this vintage wouldn’t worry me. Newer cars, laden with electronics would!
I always thought these were very cool and fast with 326
No salt water in Orlando!
Thank you Steve.
And I must say, I have never heard of a car door being blown off in one of these storms. Maybe it had some help.
Man, that is awful!! The driver’s door went missing?? How does a driver’s door become detached, even in a storm? It looks pretty good considering what happened but I can’t see this being a driveable vehicle again.
On July 25th, 1979, my 1961 Corvette was inundated in Alvin, TX when they had 43″ of rain from tropical storm Claudette. The bayous backed up and the next day the water was hallway up the windshield. But it was fresh water, and no silt.
The ins co paid me half of its insured value as settlement as I didn’t want to sell them the car.
Once the water went down several days later, i drained all the fluids, and replaced them (oil and gear lube was really hard to come by), got the water out of the engine and carb, and with fresh gas it started right up.
The only permanent damage was the ammeter was ruined because it is always “hot”. The upholstery dried out fine, the door panel cardboard didn’t warp noticeably.
The only surprise was when I got a lap full of hot water and gear lube that came out of the steering column when i romped in the gas. I had forgotten about the steering box.
I finally replaced the interior and all the wiring in 2005 when I restored the car to a show winning state. I did find a mummified water moccasin in the gas tank area when i was taking the car apart for resto.
I still have the car.
eBay was kind enough to suggest another 1963 Pontiac Lemans 326 with the rarely seen 3 speed floor shift [some odd reason the 4 speed was not offered]. This auction ends at the same time, vehicle looks great, and more importantly complete, for ~$2k more. Always buy the best example to reduce your expenses. Jus Sayin
https://www.ebay.com/itm/394360598487?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818142055%26meid%3D3372a4ee71ee480bac1c84d5acbea8df%26pid%3D101112%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D165812402968%26itm%3D394360598487%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2563228%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWeb&_trksid=p2563228.c101112.m2109
I had a ‘74 Pinto wagon that was inundated when a river overflowed it’s banks. The rushing water was halfway up the door. In a serious tactical error I opened the driver’s door on the upriver side. I literally could have drowned. I leaned over, underwater, and opened the downriver door from inside. That lowered the water level to just over my lap. Amazingly, the car started! After a couple tries, and a lot of clutch-slipping, I got the car to back up-unfortunately, into deeper water! I was in a floating car! The oversized mag wheels spinning, along with momentum, was enough to propel the car to dry land. I rented a dehumidifier for a month, which dried out the interior. Had all the fluids changed, wheel bearings repacked, brakes cleaned, and pulled all of the lights and cleaned the silt out. Owned the car for a couple more years- trouble free.
They may be explosive but ol 78 pinto was hard to kill ended up trading it in got 800 on trade!!
Two Hurricanes, and Only One Flood Victim.!
We are so lucky…
I knew a guy that rented a car and somehow put it in water over the window sills. It started after it dried, but he took the seats out to air dry in the driveway. He drove it with folding lawn chairs, bouncing him and his unfortunate passenger around violently. When the seats finally dried, he returned it to the rental agency. They didn’t say a word.
Fresh water can be survivable, salt water usually is not. The sal water is especially hard on electrical……I’ve seen the fuse clips just dissolve and wires just fall off their connections in only a few days after salt water inundation.
Better to admit you are selling a flood car than to fight a lawsuit later on.
I just lost a 63’ Nova SS convertible to Ian. My car had an LS3 with an L65E transmission, Heidt front clip with R&P steering and coilovers. 4 Link rear suspension with a Ford 9” with posi and Wilwood 4 piston discs all around. I sent Hagerty the pictures and they totaled it out and transferred exactly what I had it insured for into my checking account 4 days after Ian.ServiceMaster was doing my extensive cleanup and the drug it out of the garage and set in my front yard. Hagerty had a flat bet pick it up about a week later. A very good friend teaches auto body a the local community college and said don’t even think about restoring it. It was under 8’ of salt water for about a day. My buddy said it would have to be chemically dipped in a couple different liquids. He said all the pitch welds on all that old steel would bubble through unless it was treated perfectly. The cost of a total restoration would be more than I could ever get out of it. He could not think of anything I could salvage. My dash was even a Dakota Digital. That other 63’ LeMans that Sunshine sent a link is also from the 407 area code, Florida. My buddy said stay away from car auctions for a least a year.
Some horrible stories here. If I moved somewhere prone to flooding I’d be sure to invest in lifts for my babies. Backup generator in the garage, also. Not a guarantee depending on how high the water might rise, but I’d rather have the option to try saving them.
I had a ’63 Lemans slushbox convertible until 1999. I know, long time ago now. One of the best balanced cars I have ever driven. Triple black . Traded it for a ’66 soft window 911. If only I could do that today! These pre 64 LeMans bodies really look good to me.
The asking price seems like something from the Twilight Zone all things considered. I’d like the 3 speed floor mounted version next :)
2020 M3 Tesla, 14 Flex Limited, 90 Miata, 03 Damon MH all completely submerged in salt water except the motor home, all totaled, here in Fort Myers. Thanks Ian!!
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I’ve restored/reconditioned/cleaned several flood cars, but all were fresh water river floods. I’ve done 2 Packards, a Volvo 1800S, a Mustang Mach 1, and a Rolls-Royce. The key is total disassembly of every piece, replacing anything that is of organic material, and of course all seat padding materials.
When I say total disassembly, I mean “If it can come apart, do so”. I took wiring harnesses off the car, put them in an old kitchen electric oven, and heated it up to drive out the moisture.
4 speed was available, I have one,red, black int. 63 Lemans convertable, 326 v8 4sp on the floor.