512TR flooded

Saturday night, Aug 26, 2017. It had been raining on and off most of the day, nothing special for the Gulf Coast of Florida in the summertime. I had been binge-watching season 4 of Game of Thrones with my trusty dog Rocco at my side. About 11 PM Rocco let me know he needed to go out, but when I opened the door I found there was no yard, only water. No driveway, no 3-ft chain link fence around the pond, no dock, and, more importantly, no warning. Apparently some collateral damage from Hurricane Harvey in Texas left a super-concentrated rain cell over our tiny portion of the county, dumping 14+ inches in 8 hours. I have lived in this house for 35 years and through many hurricanes, but never this magnitude of water.

I grabbed a flashlight, threw on some flip flops and waded out to the detached garage where my two 1970 GTOs, the 512TR, a 1966 M35-A2 military truck, several scooters and my mower were peacefully sleeping. There was 8" of stinky water throughout the garage, ruining tools, welders, carpeting, sofas, recliners, books, car seats, car dashes and countless items stored in now-soaked cardboard boxes and even into my gun safe.

Luckily (or so I thought) the water had not reached the 512TR door sill, so I quickly got two floor jacks (underwater) and put the Ferrari onto jack stands.

By the next day, the water had receded significantly and the daunting job of cleaning 6,400 square feet of mess was started. After 9 hours of moving soaked items outside, squeegee-ing and mopping, I finally got a 20 x 30' area clean and I decided to take the Ferrari off the stands and move it to the dry area. It all looked perfect when I opened the door, but the sickening mush of soaked carpet made my heart sink. No leather was wet, but water must have soaked through the floor (?vent holes) of the passenger compartment and front trunk. I was exhausted and dirty, but this job could not wait. The seats, center console, parking brake and door sill leather pieces were removed and set aside, as was every piece of carpet and underlayment down to the metal of the floor.

If you are unaware, the underlayment is basically a dense foam sponge. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get this dry while still in the car. I used a towel wringer from Amazon to squeeze out the water, and then let the Florida sun do the rest. The ECU's for the motorized seat belts are under the passenger side foot rest, so that panel was also removed and the ecu's dried and hit with electrical cleaner. There were no other wiring harnesses involved, but the front and rear hood latch cables got soaked and became inoperable.

The insurance adjuster was out that Monday and luckily he was familiar with Ferraris. I chose Ferrari of Tampa Bay (they did a great job on my windshield), but I was informed that carpet sets for this car are no longer available anywhere, and that several years ago it took 18 months to locate a black set, which they put in a previously tan carpet (like mine) car. A custom set could be fabricated, but this could take months and they would need the car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

At this point my mission became clear...

 

I bought a hand wringer from Amazon, along with Tuff Stuff carpet cleaner, a carpet brush and some Eastwood "Rust encapsulator" paint. There are 7 rivets on each side that have to be drilled out to remove all the carpet and with these will come the little twisty things that hold the carpet in place (see photo). Also, there are 3 tiny phillip's head screws that hold the stock "dead pedal" in place.

All the foam insulation was put through the wringer and then left in the sun do dry for many days. It has an adhesive side that mostly stayed with the foam when removed. The metal floor was cleaned and dried and then painted with "Rust Encapsulator". I then went one step further and lined the entire floor with "Cool Tek" thermal insulation (about 1/8" foil backed sticky insulator), and then all the many pieces of foam were re-fitted to their individual areas like a jig-saw puzzle. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Next, the carpet had to be cleaned. I borrowed a carpet cleaning machine from a friend. It has a wand attachment for cleaning stairs. I hit the carpet pieces with Tuff Stuff, then brushed it in, then used the carpet machine and clean water (it sprays water and vacuums it up in one step) to complete the process. I repeated this process on every piece. The results were dramatic. The color was restored, the stink removed and the carpets felt silky soft (and they dried in 12 hours) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The carpets were carefully re-installed and re-riveted. I decided to get a new dead pedal to match the aluminum pedals already installed. Daniel from Ricambi was helpful as always. The PN is the same for the TR and the 512 and it installs by drilling 4 new holes for the larger supplied screws. The dead pedal helps to hold the carpet in place, as does the center console and the door sill pieces and the brake cover. I used some 3-M contact cement to hold some of the vertical pieces more securely. There is probably some carpet tape that would have come in handy also.
1/8 aluminum rivets were used to re-install the carpet and the floor mat holders. Awls make good locating devices. Ferrari used black rivets, and, if I had more time I might have painted these, but no one will see them.
The carpet is glued to the vertical leather piece at the rear of the floor. Make sure you use the original front rivet holes to locate the carpet pieces before using the glue. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Some of the carpet pieces are held in place by the door jamb moldings. Mine needed replacement anyway and I happened to have it on hand. Use a lot of blankets for your comfort and to protect delicate rubber/leather parts.
The finished project looks better than before the flood and probably as good as new, with more sound/heat protection. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I was in a time crunch. I have an annual "Just the Fellas" golf/beach vacation in Sandestin, Florida, a round trip of about 900 miles. The 512TR has been my faithful companion for the last 10+ years. I just returned and she performed flawlessly. After 64,000 miles the song of the Ferrari twelve is as sweet as ever (last major 34,000 miles ago and 12 years - no leaks). I managed to free up the hood cables with a daily application of "Blaster" penetrant followed by oil and gentle massage, but they will need to be replaced. One of the seat belt ECU's still works, but these two will be fitted with new components shortly.
All told this project took about 50 hrs of labor

 

I so plan on a major service in the spring. I have to pay for a wedding next month - that's like 5 majors at the dealership. At the same time I will change the water pump, adjust the valves, take down the fuel tanks and replace the rubber and do the Dave Helms gold connector upgrade as well as the Dave Helms hose kit. Maybe powder coat the heads and intake runners also.

 

Thankfully there was no damage to the leather, seats or any of the mechanicals (engine, tranny, clutch, brakes, bearings. She is now better insulated, dry and tight.

 

This wringer, although pricey, was the only way to get the water out of the foam underpadding. It also works incredibly well on towels and chamois.

 

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Not in the title because it was not totaled and sold as a flood damaged car, but it will probably show up like an accident on a CarFax report, hence the documentation and photos. IF I ever sell her (unlikely), I will just refer prospective buyers to this and other modification threads on FerrariChat.

 

The carpets are thin and were not the problem with drying. The carpet machine sucked out most of the moisture, and they dried completely in less than 12 hours. The wringer was supremely useful on the foam under padding.

 

It is not rocket science. I just take my time and make notes and take photos. The lift IS very useful and at times a necessity. I had no automotive training, in fact I had never changed a spark plug and I did not own a wrench until I turned 30. If I can do it, so can you.