Oh, the humanity!!!

[bill440rt]

A friend of mine also lost his '74 Pantera due to salt water flood from Sandy. Why was this? Not enough time? OR........Was it worth more IN THIS ECONOMY to let it go?
I agree with the OP:

I hope somebody saves it.

Easy. Not enough time. He was well inland, away from a typical flood zone. Salt water above the rockers up to the seats.
It was a nice car, not a show car, but a nice car. Those cars were assembled with very little corrosion protection from the factory. His was a nice example. The car is done.
Monetarily, it was "worth" much less than that Hemi Charger. Just to halt future corrosion (disassembling, dipping, etc) would have been cost prohibitive, doesn't matter what market we're in. And, he wasn't trying to sell it, not in over his head, etc.
He is, understandably, heart broken. Maybe so is the guy that owns the Charger??  

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Did I mention anyone by name?  


But back to the subject at hand. Those pictures really don't show the damage that salt water does. No matter what the car is, if it's been submerged in salt water, you wouldn't want it back. The man lost his car & who knows whatever else in that flood, so why pile on his decision to leave a toy behind? To assess blame on the man for getting himself and  his family (I assume) out & leaving the toy behind, no matter what it is, is just not right. Fortunately, the owner had insurance & he was paid off & now the car goes to auction, This is what is supposed to happen, and I can guarantee that the man has more important things to worry about than his toy car.

[bakerhillpins]

The man lost his car & who knows whatever else in that flood, so why pile on his decision to leave a toy behind? To assess blame on the man for getting himself and  his family (I assume) out & leaving the toy behind, no matter what it is, is just not right. Fortunately, the owner had insurance & he was paid off & now the car goes to auction, This is what is supposed to happen, and I can guarantee that the man has more important things to worry about than his toy car.

   I can't even begin to imagine what these folks are going through. 

[1974dodgecharger]

I don't know about that one....I know plenty of guys who love there charger after a disaster.  

Did I mention anyone by name?  


But back to the subject at hand. Those pictures really don't show the damage that salt water does. No matter what the car is, if it's been submerged in salt water, you wouldn't want it back. The man lost his car & who knows whatever else in that flood, so why pile on his decision to leave a toy behind? To assess blame on the man for getting himself and  his family (I assume) out & leaving the toy behind, no matter what it is, is just not right. Fortunately, the owner had insurance & he was paid off & now the car goes to auction, This is what is supposed to happen, and I can guarantee that the man has more important things to worry about than his toy car.

[69charger2002]

Is every scenario in ths thread speculation? Of COURSE it is. We may never know the truth of why the car was left behind. I know one thing.. If i owned a Hemi Charger it would have gone somewhere safe. PERIOD. I know one excuse that's not valid-- Not enough time. That's BS. Maybe that excuse would fly in 1950. Ever since Katrina in 2005, the media(especially the weather channel) follows these systems like a hawk from the beginning when they are a just a cluster of storms. Sandy was predicted about a week in advance almost exactly as far as landfall. I even understand flood cars from Katrina in New Orleans/Mississippi a little better because that storm doubled in size beyond any forecast less than 48 hours before landfall. I guess thats why we have opinions. Everyone can agree or disagree. I just don't know HOW a person leaves behind such an important car with the POTENTIAL for it to get destroyed. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

I don't know about that one....I know plenty of guys who love there charger after a disaster.  

That's a simplistic answer to that owner's circumstances that you (and I) know very little about. Imagine if your home, neighborhood, and job were completely destroyed by a MAJOR coastal flood, how much of a priority would it be for you to get your toy Charger back in shape? Think about it.

[Mike DC]

              
Millions of people having to leave their homes on a few days' notice.  That's a ton of chances for things to go wrong.  Roll the dice enough times and some unexpected twists of fate are gonna come up.  

Was it purposely left?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  

Maybe it was some rich guy who had so many valuables to move that this car just wasn't high enough on his list.  Believe it or not there are some people who own valuable classic Mopars but aren't fanatics about them.  NYC is one of the wealthiest areas in the world.  And there are other collectible cars & planes & boats out there that make a stock '68 RT look cheap.  

[Dino]

The owner had more than enough time to get the car out of there, yet he did not.  I can only speculate as to why so I'm not going to.

[bill440rt]

I can't make up BS excuses for others, all I can say is what the facts were as presented to me.
Very easy to speculate sitting behind a keyboard (& call BS), but circumstances were different for everyone.

Maybe some people did not have "enough" time, or a place to have even put their valuable toys. Anything else here is just speculation. Maybe, maybe not, who knows.
Personally there's no way I would purposely leave a car behind, but if I had to prioritize there are things that are much more important.

[Old Moparz]

Bummer that this car got ruined, but the reality is, it's a lost possession that was insured, not a loss of life.    

Hard to envision a Hemi Charger as a parts car these days, though. Scary thought, but I bet the so called "resto shops" like BK & HALPAG are drooling over getting a car like this to smear orange paint on & flip.  

As far as the speculations for leaving a car like this behind, things happen all the time beyond your own control. The owner may not have even been in the area when the storm hit. During Sandy, places that have NEVER been flooded, did flood. This person may not even have lived in, or left the car in a flood zone & thought it was safe like usual. The guy may have been busy moving other cars he owned & felt were more valuable or more important like a daily driver to get to work with.

Another thought is, I bet most of you probably have no idea what driving on Long Island is like. It's an absolute nightmare when the weather is perfect. It doesn't even have to be rush rush hour there to be stuck in massive traffic. Evacuations will choke the small number of roads inland, & don't forget that the only way off Long Island is through New York City. That means people trying to leave LI are teaming up with everyone leaving from NYC to head north & west of NYC. Trains & tunnels were closed so the roads that were open were totally screwed. Forget about making several trips to go back & get more stuff.

A lot of us in the hobby have more cars than family members, so how do you transport, lets say, 4 or 5 cars when there are only 2 drivers available? Can't ask your friends & neighbors, they're probably in the same situation trying to leave, too. If it were me that had to leave, my wife & I are the only ones that drive & we'd have to move our 2 daily drivers, a camping trailer, car trailer & 5 old cars with only 1 that can currently move under it's own power. What do I do, tell my boss & have to take a couple of days off to move the fleet "in case" the weather gets worse?

Of course the guy could still be spineless & drove his car to where the water was so he can collect the cash, but I doubt it.  

[F8-4life]

once a car reaches the extreme value of wing cars/hemis/6 packs...they are so pricey that sometimes the money invested seems to outwiegh the actual car itself. This car could have been a hemi charger to someone who appreciates what it is...or it couldve just been a "collector" car that represented 100k+.
Since the car was left for dead, I would assume the latter... not passing judgement but just thinking out loud
This thread did give me the cool image of some baddass, jumping in his hemi just in the nick of time to outrun the storm.

[Cooter]

Hmmm, I hadda buddy call me about two days before Sandy was Supposed to "hit". Then, they were calling it a "Storm front"...
I told him he must be kidding right? We got sun down here. He said it's supposed to be big if all three fronts converge for a "perfect Storm"...
I told him, you gettin' out then? What about your rides? He then made a statemnt  that I remember and therefore, Why I stated what I did.

"Yeah, I got about 10 cars to move in the warehouse. Wanna come up and help? LOL. Nah, I got everybody helping move them out to my mothers house which is safer inland."...

[dodgey68]

actually how far under did it go, water just up ta sills, who knows

[bull]

Hate to say it, but if all I was getting was a bunch of wannabee looky-loos lowballin' me, I'd let the General lee sink till it was gone and make bank too.
Why save a $25-$40K car, when you can let it go and get $100K??

I don't know, ethics maybe? Character? The desire to not be a scum-sucking scammer and thief?

[RCKSTR]

Hate to say it, but if all I was getting was a bunch of wannabee looky-loos lowballin' me, I'd let the General lee sink till it was gone and make bank too.
Why save a $25-$40K car, when you can let it go and get $100K??

I don't know, ethics maybe? Character? The desire to not be a scum-sucking scammer and thief?

[Dmichels]

I do not understand people thet do not take steps to protect there property when they know a flood or other disaster is comming their way. I use to work with someone who lived in Ruthford NJ right on the Pasaic river. About 2 years ago he knew his house would flood. He had about 24 hours to prepair. He left about $30,000 worth of guns guitars and vintage amps in his basment. I just don't get it. I offered to help him. NO he said he had too much to do. He left them all to get ruined??

[Mike DC]

 
I don't know exactly how the citizenry of New Orleans was acting as Katrina reared up.  But I remember the govt wasn't acting much like New Orleans was gonna flood until the levees actually gave way.  Then they seemed genuinely surprised it happened, even after decades of knowing the levees were inadequate and days of warnings that the flooding was imminent.


Denial.  When something hasn't happened in recent memory, people have a much harder time emotionally accepting that it really can & will happen. 


Look at climate change.  We've had decades of warning.  Some overwhelming figure like 98% of the scientific community agrees it's coming.  But people still act surprised as the storms, heat waves, and erratic weather have been getting worse/more frequent lately.

 

[The70RT]

I would have collected then bought it back, It didn't look like it got in the gauges. I would gut the interior wash the body in and out and drove it.  

[RCKSTR]

He may be doing that. Collected his check, now is waiting for the auction to happen and will buy it back and completely restore it, have some change left over. Its all speculation. Shame that it was flooded in the first place.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Related subject......

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/04/even-more-images-of-the-airport-full-of-15-000-flood-damaged-san/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D253171

[1974dodgecharger]

Well either way the guy got more than whats its worth and its a good thing for HIM 

[odcics2]

It sounds fishy....   

[Green71R/T]

Around here any fire or flood damage causes the car to become none repairable/salvage only.A few years ago I hauled a 64 Vette roadster red 327 4speed appraised at over 40000 that was branded salvage for a minor engine fire near the distibuter.Needed about 2000 to repair. Insurance wrote it and paid out. Owner retained the car but couldn't register it so it got sold for parts.It was a very nice car that he had for a long time and he drove it often.

[ACUDANUT]

That lizard needs hide-a-ways.

[Mike DC]

Around here any fire or flood damage causes the car to become none repairable/salvage only.A few years ago I hauled a 64 Vette roadster red 327 4speed appraised at over 40000 that was branded salvage for a minor engine fire near the distibuter.Needed about 2000 to repair. Insurance wrote it and paid out. Owner retained the car but couldn't register it so it got sold for parts.It was a very nice car that he had for a long time and he drove it often.

Sounds like a case for buying a basket-case parts car and swapping its clear VIN onto the "totalled" Corvette.  

But I guess with Corvettes there aren't really any "318" cars where it won't seem like an attempt to rip off a future buyer.