Its been raining all day in St. Petersburg and on my way home from work, I thought I'd do the smart thing and stay off the highways as much as possible. I was 3 blocks from the house on a backroad I've traveled many times and thought I knew very well. It was a little flooded (or so I thought) but I didn't recall it dipping down very low, so I went slowly through the puddle. Exactly halfway through I realized I had made a bad, bad mistake and the water starter pouring in. I had just about given up and shut the car off when I thought about the engine sitting in water, so I had no choice but to put it in first and power through. Somehow, it kept running and made it to the other side of the river. I was staring at my laptop the whole time, which along with all of my other electronics was on the passenger seat, barely an inch above the water line. Its all dry, thank God. Before I go to bed tonight I'll pull all the carpet out and vacuum as much water out as I can, but most of it has already drained out.

Another lesson learned : there is ALWAYS another road to take. Don't make the same mistake I did!

On the bright side, yet another reason why our cars are amazing.

Did the same thing in my Acura Integra back in college, but was not as lucky. Baton Rouge was flooding out in a heavy rainstorm, and I tried to cross an intersection that didn't seem too bad. I stalled out right in the middle and then crawled out the window (door seals kept water out surprisingly). My engine fully ingested a bunch of water--I can't believe I didn't hydraulic it.

You must get all water out and get it dry. Pick the front as far up as you can get it.
Water will get in the longs, heat exchangers, muffler, and tunnel. I speak this from experience. My 1st 914 went swimming and actually floated. It killed the car. The electrics were never the same, and rusted near in half. It finally had an electrical fire in the tunnel from corroded wiring. Check the oil. Any sign of water must be removed.

Good luck.

Always keep the car moving....

Ever see how a displacement hull moves through the water? The water rises near the bow but drops much lower midship. Your engine is midship...

George, most people don't understand the Street Flooding we get here. but the fact is the Rain comes down in Buckets and has been for awhile.

Look out, we might get a Hurricane just in time for the RNC next week. Good Luck getting to work around that double-whammy

Its a VW motor. I used to cross crreks with water 1/2 way up the windshield. Just keep it running and power through, no big deal.

I bought a new RX-7 in 1984 from Morries Imports in Wayzata Minnesota. My bank had told me to write a check and they would set up the financing in the morning. The trolls in the finance department kept trying to get me to use their financing and as I sat there waiting for them to give up and get the paperwork done I watched a storm roll in. Finally, I headed home and it was raining pretty good. On the way under a bridge I felt the car actually starting to float in the standing water. The water poured in over the edge of the doors and the floor was soaked. Get this... The electrical system was fried. When I got home I dried it out and called my insurance company. It was totalled with 47 miles on it.

Wires don't like to get wet. They rust inside their insulation and cause all manner of electrical gremlins later.

Pretty mad at myself, but keep in mind that my car was a beater to begin with. I will dry the longs as best I can with compressed air and a heat gun as well as the interior. After replacing the floorboards and passenger long, I drilled a few tiny holes to let water escape in just such an occasion (okay, not exactly this type of occasion) and everything is POR'd. T.C. is right, Tampa Bay is still a swamp, and we get awful street flooding from time to time. You learn to deal with it.

The engine never quit, alternator belt never slipped, and carbs didn't get wet. I'll check the oil tomorrow, but I still have to say, what an incredible machine. Not sure about the wiring, but the fuses stayed dry and thats the most important part for now. Hell, the lights never even went out.

Where I live, copper doesn't rust .........................

The Cap'n

What's this "water" of which you speak? Out here, water comes from miles underground and we pump it out. Someone must have put that road across one of your weirdo things called "a lake" or something.

Copper doesn't rust, but it will corrode. You know, that green stuff?

Not all Porsches fare so well in a flood.
I wish I had been recording video during this flood at Pocono.
We were standing in the garage where the water was lapping at the threshold.
The alarm system went off and as the battery died it sounded like the car was getting exhausted from crying for help.
It was pretty funny when the door was opened. I half expected a fish to swim out.

When the water receded a flatbed came to take the car away.
Stupid rich owner watched the whole thing happen from his garage space next to us and didn't lift a finger, instead had his crew to rescue it after the damage was done.
Thats his motorhome in the first pic. At the highest point the water was at the top of the wheels of the 911.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Whats the line from Risky Business?
"Who's the U-boat commander?"

I think there was confusion between rust and corrode.

Get some desiccant bags and put one under each seat, trunks... any where that needs to dry out. I keep some in my car. Even in Ca, can't hurt.
https://secure.drierite.com/catalog3/page16.cfm?

If I were you, I would make sure that every imaginal enclosed space below the top of the wheels is dry. Think about the inside of your longs, the heater tubes, your suspension consoles, under your gas tank, your front A-arms and rear suspension arms, etc... There are a lot of places in our cars that water can stand for a long time, and the water in Florida is salt-laden. Even if it comes from the sky, the resulting floods are still mixing with the ground minerals.

Don't take this lightly if you want your car to be around for the long haul.