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Thread: First bath in the car!

  1. #1
    Senior Member MisterAdam's Avatar
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    First bath in the car!

    Well i was told it would happen and last night it did. Wife and i heading home from the beach and the sky's turned ugly. Torrential downpour for 3-4 miles. RainX but no wipers. My left foot is still wet. All we could do was laugh. Then the fun started......cruising home and the throttle starts coughing. Car has never seen the rain so i assume the dreaded electrical problems. Final dies completely but i manage to coast into a gas station. Pop the hood to take a look and the air intake is loose on the throttle body. Tighten er up but still no acceleration. Cycled ignition a couple of times and ran better than ever. Must have reset computer. (?) In May i had put a new air filter on and must have worked the intake loose. Idles better than it has all season.

  2. #2

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    RoadRacer's Avatar
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    We still laugh about the time I got caught in torrential rain in the cobra and a woman next to me at the lights offered me an umbrella. Very sweet of her, but it wouldn't have made a difference at that point. I had no top, so I ended up keeping my crash helmet in the passenger footwell and wore that when it rained..
    James

    FFR33 #997 (Gen1 chassis, Gen2 body), license plate DRIVE IT says it all! build thread
    My build: 350SBC, TKO600, hardtop, no fenders/hood, 32 grill, 3 link, sway bars, 355/30r19
    Previous cars: GTD40, Cobra, tubeframe 55 Chevy, 66 Nova, 56 F100

  3. #3
    Senior Member walt mckenna's Avatar
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    Recently, a friend and I got caught in a shower (not a downpour) coming home from the Ford Nationals. We were traveling at 70-75 and to my surprise not a drop touched either of us. If we had been required to slow down or stop, we would have been soaked.
    Mark IV -- 04 Mach1 Donor -- 4.6 DOHC -- TKO 600 -- 3:55 Gears -- 3 Link - Hydroboost PS & PB -- 13" PBR's Front & 11.65's Rear -- Cuesta Wiring -- Thompson Signals -- FFR Radiator, heater, wipers, and catalytic converters -- Metco DS safety loop -- Forte 7/8" front bar -- VPM 3/4" rear bar -- Champ road race pan -- Corbeau A4 Seats -- Nitto NT-05's on 17 x 9's.

  4. #4
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    The best part about the first soaking is now you're over it.

    As many find out it's not so bad as long as you're moving, you get pretty wet when you stop. I had a large golf umbrella, color coordinated to the car of course, that I kept alongside of the seat. Did a pretty good job when stopped, didn't try to drive with it.

    It's just water, unless you're hydroplaning it really isn't that big of a deal. Put drain holes in the floor otherwise the car will do a fair imitation of a bathtub.

    Jim

  5. #5
    mburger's Avatar
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    This is my worst nightmare. Living in southwest Florida I constantly check the radar but in summer months it's kinda useless as the storms pop up out of no where. I got caught once on my motorcycle years ago in the rain and it's the worst wet you'll ever feel. I don't want my car going through that too!
    Glad you laughed it off and handled it well.

  6. #6
    Senior Member 2FAST4U's Avatar
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    Happened to me twice.

  7. #7
    Senior Member JIMOCO's Avatar
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    My first experience came the other evening. Driving west on the PA turnpike I could see dark clouds in the distance. It had been a picture perfect day until then. I hoped I could make it before the storm. Five miles from my exit all hell broke loose. Just my luck it was exactly the same time I entered a construction zone that continued past my exit. Barriers on either side preventing me from moving to the shoulder that continued as I went by a couple of overpasses offering shelter. No place to go and traffic behind me. Not that the wipers are very effective but, they were helpful until the drivers side stopped working. It was now dark, lots of glare on the windshield, barriers by my doors and me with my head out of the side following the white line as my only guide. My exit was even worse as my visibility diminished on the poorly lit winding road to my neighborhood. The good news is that monsoon stopped moments after pulling into the garage. A couple of days in the sun and my car dried out. New turn signal and four way flashers installed got me back on the road. Lesson learned - probably not as I expect it will happen again. All part of the fun!
    Mk4 Roadster, Picked up complete kit 8/22/14. Most FFR options except Wilwood brakes and IRS. First start 11/11/14. Go-kart 3/8/15. 347 Stroker, TKO 500, 3-link/3.27 rear. PA street legal 7/29/15.

  8. #8
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Been dumped on more times than I can count. First one the footboxes got about ankle deep so I stopped, got a big phillips screwdriver and hammer out of the trunk and poked some drain holes. You'll find that the rainwater cascades around the windshield then over the cowl and into the gap at the door before it drips onto your left leg. I keep 3 pieces of memory foam in the trunk and set it up like in the pic with one between the windshield post and winding, another between the top of the door and windwing and one closed into the door gap. With these in place you stay pretty dry as long as you're moving.



    Cheers,
    Jeff

    foam.jpg

  9. #9
    Senior Member Dave Howard's Avatar
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    I found the best thing for sealing up the windshield post area was to use electrians mastic or putty. The same stuff used to keep water out of J-boxes. I applied in under the body all around the posts. Works about 99%.

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