Hey all, so I’m kind of in a weird situation. I’m in the process of purchasing an AP1 S2000, that has under 300 miles.

You read that right…under 300. The catch? Its a salvage vehicle due to flood that happened 20 years ago. Now, I know the horror stories of dealing with flood damaged vehicles. But this one doesn’t look too bad considering it was fresh water. The age definitely doesn’t help but with that mileage it’s pretty attractive to take the challenge. A lot of it seemed to be surface rust and I know something like this will take man hours, which is fine.

But what I’m concerned is the recommendations I’ve been reading about not rebuilding this motor due to whatever special voodoo it needs to not blow in your face later. Which is hard for me to believe coming from someone that owns a shop. But regardless, in this situation I feel not much tear down is needed to properly take care of any corrosion. With the crank being seized my thought is to remove the head, leave the bottom end alone, use solution to free up the rings and install new oem seals and bolts thats required.

Any thoughts?

 

Your problem will be the cylinder walls do not hone or bore out, the rest is careful assembly and understanding bearings that come in many sizes even on the same motor

 

I remember seeing that car for sale. I hope you got it really, really cheap. Yes, these engines have a reputation for being difficult to rebuild. Sounds like you'll have to sleeve the block if it's seized.

 

I have found a few threads where thrust washers were a concern when engines do seize.

Anyone know of any reliable and knowledgeable engine rebuilders that are still in business?

 

A friend just got his engine back from Inline Pro. Sleeved block. It runs, but he probably hasn't put more than a couple hundred miles in it yet. So no word on longevity (and it's a sample size of 1, anyway...)

If you have to rebuild the engine, transmission, diff, electrical system, interior, new soft top... I remember it had body damage too. So pretty much the entire car needs to be re-done. Does the number on the odometer really matter?

 

Do you know the depth of the water that flooded the car?

 

Trans and diff I don’t think would be much of an issue. Electrical would be an issue with salt water but in this case terminals didn’t look too bad.

As mentioned the recorded mileage is very attractive and I think as an investment perspective keeping everything OEM with proper documentation may bounce its value. Correct me if you think I’m wrong.

 

By the looks of it the bottom half was under. Carpet and interior will have to be disassembled and clean. It’ll be a project.

 

Have you cracked the drain plugs to see if there's any fluid still inside? Or rust water oozing out?

People do seem to buy cars based on the number on the dash, so I'm sure someone will pay a premium for this. But it's so stupid to buy a car that way, and this is the perfect example. The value of low mileage is that (theoretically) the car is in better cosmetic and mechanical condition, with less wear on expensive parts. This car is none of those things. It was flooded, has body/interior damage, and then sat around collecting rust for 20 years. Almost none of it will be original by the time someone gets it back on the road. So who cares what the mileage is?

If you're hoping to make money on this, your labor rate will be close to zero or negative. Even if you got it for free.

 

Fluids were drained 20 years ago, so its dry.

The way I see it, these cars are becoming a classic. I do agree the point of low mileage is to reflect its condition. However if properly done I believe with low part cost and 50+ man hours it definitely will reflect its mileage.