[CougarLovin]

one: i have recieved a '72 cougar about 2 weeks ago, which was recovered from the katrina fiasco about 3-4 months. it was in the middle of 8 ft. of water. for how long i don't know. Whihc woudl seem to pose a problem. and i need some tips removing the rust since this is my first time eer tackling sucha project.

i hear something called a chemical bath mentioned. i guess it's basically dipping the body in chemicals to remove all the rust. But would any of you recommend that? where can i get that done? how much woudl it set me back?

Or is this simply just not for me as a newb.

[poncho62]

Just my opinion, but a car that has sat in 8 ft of water has a lot more problems than a bit of rust. Every non metal piece in there is probably ruined....the electrical itself will be a nightmare.

[Tim240Z]

That wasn't just "water" it was sitting in....good luck with the project...you are a braver man than I.

[scot]

Scan the '72 Cougar onto your desktop and then drag it up into The Recycle Bin.

[CougarLovin]

well yes there are goign to be many porblems, especially the eletrical, and deffinitely mechanicle.

though we were fortunate enough to find the engine isn't seized up, still when we opened the hood it was all crusted with mud. That image was even less pleaseing when we rained the crankcase, and found maybe a gallon more or less of water shoot out before the oil. and when we did get oil it wasmixed with mud. hell you shoudl see the inside the intake manifold. But that's another problem that i'm working on, what i'm really intersted in though is saving this body. That's the really rare part right now. As far as i've seen in new orleans, i have the only if not one of the few hard top '72 cougar XR-7's which definitely to me makes this ole girla keeper (that means no recycle bin, sorry scrot). that and I , along with the other peopel i'm bringing on to this project, have been looking for a hell of a dirty job.

oh that's right and about that chemical bath?

[Centerline]

Be very careful cleaning the mud and debris out. Most of that stuff is combined with sewage and all kinds of nasty stuff.

If it were mine I'd strip it to the bone and have it dipped. Through out anything cloth and have all the plastic parts cleaned with a strong detergent that will kill all the nasty microscopic critters that are running around on them.

Just be very careful to disinfect everything you touch and yourself when you're done working on it every day. At least till you have it all disassembled and cleaned.

Good luck.

[OneMoreTime]

Yup lots of elbow grease involved..A moon suit and pressure washer to start...A quick and dirty rust stopper is cosmoline which can be cleaned off when you get to the body work..whenever that is.

The engine and tranny are toast..as well as the seats and fabric..Electrical has been discussed..

What you have is a body shell and some fenders is all..

OMT

[CougarLovin]

but taht's what i'm wondering who does dipping? where do i go to get it done? roughly how much will it set me back?

though thatnks for the support haha, makes me feel a bit better takeing this girl on. hopefully once i get al the mechanicle and electrical issues out and the body cleaned up i can start on the body modifications. though what exactly i'm doing is just about undecided. It's been a range of things from makeing her a tonga top with a power rear window similar to what a honda Del Sol sports, just a lot bigger. designing the doors to slide back like on a mini van, to give it something a bit different from suicides and lambos. in the end she's going to be eiher a low rider or hot rod, the line between which i'm trying to figure if it's large or thin. but bascially i'm hopeing to complete somehting original or at least out of the ordinary for my area. another idea was to cut away the diagnol lift bordering the rasied center of the hood, evenly weld some supports underneath and have a chrome bezel made to cover the out side, some what looking like symetrich chrome stich work on the hood. i wish i had a scanner to show the sketches.

ANYWAY heh, woudl really some more info on dipping the body, like where? Price? or maybe where i shoudl look to find that info for my area. or possibly jsut show me in the right direction in your forums. I've unfortunantely haven't taken the time to look scan around the forums too much yet to find out for my self, i hope to do so later tonight when i can sneak away from the new years eve crowd.

any advice, comments, concerns?

[CougarLovin]

heh sorry omt almost missed yah there, but thanks for the advice, hopefully that'll due better on my wallet and reasources too

[lowROLLERchevy]

well i hope you got it at a nice price for starters

the best bet is obviosly having it dipped, as that will remove everything thats everywhere, and in the end they can give it the black "e-coat" that new cars get, which will make it more rust proof then when it was new. i have no experience with who does the baths, but i know there are a number of companies that do it, sorry that i can point you in the right direction on that tho

obviosly all the bearings are going to be shot, but if your lucky the rods and crank are still usable. ive seen engines that sat outside w/o a tarp for 3 years get pulled apart, a normal rebuild with a boring, and they are fine, othertimes something that got sunk once for a 1/2 hour thats only good for spare bolts in your rummage bucket

scrub the interior before you try to remove it

open the drivers door, hose it off and use a stong soap that kills germs "carwash style" ... mix up a bucket, get a mit and wsh the door like your washing the hood of a car, then hose it off and let it dry before you remove it .... its not liek you have to worry about getting the car soaking wet

pull the seats first, cut the carpet out and then wash the floor the same way so your not pulling the rest of the interior while kneeling in that filth

as you take the dash out, same thing, just use a rag to was everything good before you touch it , and take a shower with strong soap after your done

having a set of clothes for THIS CAR only is a good idea too. prewash them in the tub downstairs before throwing them in the washer to get most of the crap off them

best of luck, and try to get pictures if you can

[adtkart]

You are taking on a project of monstrous porportions. I have seen cars that were flooded before. They are usually alot more work than anyone really inagines.

Since the water that it was flooded in had all kinds of chemicals, some of which probably have not been identified yet, the corrosion started as soon as the water was removed. Actually some probably started even under water.

To have the body chemically dipped, it will obviously need to be completely striped. I would check with any car clubs in that area, and see if they know of someone that does that. You could also check some of the car magazines, or maybe Hemmings for listings of people that do that work. I have no clue what that normally costs, but with it being a flooded car like that, would expect the cost to be even higher.

Good Luck!

Aaron

[CougarLovin]

Thanks for the info guys, and no scrot i still refuse to throw it away, maybe i'll scan the pictures on then throw those in the recylebin if that'll make you happy, but she ain't goin no where.

1- this car came from a family member
2- it's got rare body curves for this are that look damn good
3- i loved this car ever since i saw my "second cousin-in-law" (we just call him uncle eddie) drive up in her.

BUT ANYWAY, thanks for the tips, advice concerns and so on

[BarryK]

Hey guy, just saw on Autobody101 someone posted a place by you to have dipped in Jackson Ms.

It must be done to save the car or down the road you will swear it was from NEW YORK.

Cost will be $1200-1400 for that car.

[CougarLovin]

haha thanks for the info you just provided that last critical piece to my puzzle (the price range). It's not really as bad as i thought it would be. thanks much. Now i just need to get my self and the other guys on this project together to start makeing some money

oh and sorry i didn't say so to begin with but mah name is Alan

it's nice to be here

thanks for the info guys twas a great help

[lowROLLERchevy]

Originally Posted by BarryK

Cost will be $1200-1400 for that car.

for a process that cleans, strips and recoats the entire car, thats cheap realy, but does it include the Zinc-Phosphating process to ?

the ZP process is almost necessary when your talking about an entire body, because of all the places you cant reprime with a spray gun. something like a door can be pretty easy to prime on the inside, or something like a fender, but with a full body your talking about having to coat the back sides of double panels and such, and thats NOT easy

heres a list i found

Redi-Strip in Indianapolis IN, Roselle IL, Joliet IL, and Oak Creek WI; International Paint Stripping in Belleville MI; Kwik-Strip in Allentown PA; Metal Strip of New England in Worcester MA; Restoration Depot in Wauchula, FL; Pennsylvania Metal Cleaning in Monica, PA.