Classic cars and floods

Floods are becoming increasingly serious and numerous here in the UK. Indeed, the last 15 years have seen some major flooding events, almost unprecedented in our documented history.

However, it seems that – maybe because these major and frequent flood events are still a relatively new phenomenon for many of us – we are not as prepared as we should be for the disruption brought about by flooding.

Back in November 2021, the Environment Agency revealed that some 61% of households in flood-risk areas did not believe their property was at risk from flooding. And, while 70% of households in these at-risk areas had taken some steps to prepare for their home flooding, the remaining 30% had done nothing. If that was replicated across England alone, it could mean that as many as 1.5 million at-risk homes are unprepared for floods.

Remember you can check your flood risk on the government’s website.

So much for the general flood picture. But how should you, as a classic car owner, be flood-ready? How can you protect your venerable vintage vehicle from the ravages of water, both while in the garage and out on the road? And, once a classic has succumbed to flood damage, can anything be done?

Read on as we discuss the best methods of both prevention and cure when it comes to classic cars and flooding. Make sure your antique car insurance policy includes breakdown cover so you can be sure of help if you do get caught out.

How to park or garage your classic safely

Water can be a real enemy to cars – especially classics. Damage from water can ruin upholstery, cause various engine problems, and mess up the electronics – not to mention bringing on mould, rust, and some rather unpleasant smelling interiors. All told, it's crucial to protect your car from flood damage, both while parked and while out on the road.

The good news is that there are some relatively simple steps that you can take to safeguard your vehicle against any watery misadventures.

For example, if your car is parked on the street or anywhere else outside, you should make sure it's completely sealed, with the sunroof and doors properly closed and the windows fully wound up.

Doors and windows are an obvious route for water to seep into the car, causing huge amounts of damage as it does. Make sure, therefore, that any cracks or holes in the windows or bodywork are sealed or repaired, as even the smallest opening can let in moisture and bring problems.

Unless you have your own garage (which we'll come to next), always try to park on higher ground. As we know, water finds its own level and will occupy the same level across a neighbourhood – so if you can get your car up above that water level, it will be safe from water ingress.

If you do have a garage for your classic, you need to make sure the building is watertight.

You may have been asked this when you first arranged insurance for your classic vehicle, and with good reason: keeping your car in a dry, watertight space can hugely improve its survival chances. There are a few things you can do to ensure that your garage isn't letting in any water. You should do the following:

• Clear out the gutters. As you would on your house, clearing the gutters around your garage roof means that any water or melted snow will drain away harmlessly, rather than seeping into the walls or getting in via the foundations.
• Consider weatherstripping your doors. Weatherstrips are sections of rubber or other elastic fabric, used to seal the gaps at the bottom of doors and protect them against the elements.
• Check that the foundations beneath your garage are secure. Floods can happen from below, in the case of burst water or sewage pipes, so make sure that unwanted liquids won’t seep up into your garage from underneath. Look for any cracks or damage that may cause a sewage or water pipe to burst.
• Make sure you have good flood drainage. Depending on the land around the garage, you may need to install drains outside the building to allow the water to drain away. When liquid hits these drains, it will be directed down, rather than heading straight into the garage. You may want to install flood drains, to ensure that any water that does get into the garage doesn't hang around for too long.
• Sandbags can create an effective last defence. They can be arranged in a specific formation to direct water towards the exit, or they can be stacked to create a dam so that water can't get inside the building in the first place.

If your garage is watertight, you won't need to worry about closing your car windows tight, as we advised above for cars parked outdoors. That's because, in fact, a little bit of ventilation is good for the car during its spells of hibernation, as we discussed in our article about storing a classic car.

Driving in floods and heavy rain: the essentials

Some classic owners won’t want to take their vintage vehicle out in the rain. But what about if your classic is your daily driver? Or what if you own a more ‘modern’ classic?

Driving in heavy rain, and/or after floods can be dangerous for you – and fraught with risks for your car. However, there are definitely some wet weather driving techniques that should help ensure the best outcome for you, for other road users, and for your classic.

No matter what the age of your retro ride, it's always worth considering whether you need to make that wet weather drive in the first place. If your drive is essential, however, make sure you follow these procedures to avoid flooding your engine and/or car interior.

1. Can you take a different route?

If you do see standing water on the road ahead, think hard about whether you absolutely must take that route. As we will see in the next few points, driving through water is a hazardous business, and one you should try to avoid if possible. Are there alternative routes you can take to get to where you need to be?

2. Stop and size up the flooding

You might think that you can get a sense of the depth of the floodwaters from your vehicle, but water can be very deceptive. What may seem to be just an inch or two, which your car could get through with minimum risk, may be deeper in places. So, stop and get a sense of the extent of the flooding.

Get out and look if it’s safe, measuring the depth of the water with a stick or something similar. The general rule is that you should not attempt to drive through standing water that is more than six-inches deep – so if it comes over your wellington boots, then it’s a no-go.

If, on the other hand, the water is moving, that maximum safe depth reduces. As little as four inches of moving water can be enough to carry a car along into deeper flood waters.

Check, too, for other dangers such as floating debris or downed power lines before you get out of the car.

3. Enter the water very slowly

Once you have reassured yourself that the water is safe to drive through, it's important to enter it slowly – at speeds as low as 1 or 2mph.

This is because impacting the water at a speed any greater could cause the car to aquaplane – meaning that the wheels lose their grip on the road, you lose control of the steering, and the vehicle is carried wherever the currents take it.

4. Low gear, high revs

Once you’re in the water, the general advice is to drive in a low gear (typically first gear). This will keep the engine revs up, which may help to prevent water entering the exhaust. This is because, under higher revs, the car will be pushing out more exhaust, forming a more effective barrier. You may accelerate up to around 4-5mph – this could create a small 'bow wave' away from the vehicle, which may protect your engine from water ingress. If the high revs are bringing your speed up to unsafe levels, try slipping the clutch down.

5. Take care when passing other vehicles

When driving through water, be extremely careful when passing near any other vehicles. Don't cross close to other vehicles or follow in their wake: the waves from either action could cause you to be pushed off course. Take special care when passing near to large vehicles, as they will create larger waves that will increase the water level momentarily.

6. Keep to the highest section of the road

This will typically be the centre of the road (also called the 'crown'), as roads are designed with a camber to allow for water runoff. Stick as close to the centre as you can (while being vigilant for other vehicles as we mentioned in the previous point). Also look out for any hidden dips – potholes, trenches – that might mean areas of deeper water.

7. If you stall…

… try to get the engine started again as quickly as you can. You want your exhaust system working again, pushing out that water and preventing it from entering the vehicle

8. If the car stops altogether…

… try to get out of the vehicle and lock the doors, before making your way carefully to the nearest patch of solid ground. Be mindful of any hazards or uneven surfaces in the water.

Once you've got through the water, continue to drive extremely carefully. Your brakes will be wet – and, as a result, won't be working at full strength. For the next few miles, you should drive slowly and give regular light touches on the brakes. This will heat them up and help any remaining water clinging to them to evaporate.

Caring for your car after driving through floods

If your car does sustain some flood damage, you can take a few quick but essential steps to ensure that it recovers as quickly as possible. Try the following:

Do not try to start the car again

If water finds its way into either the engine, transmission or fuel system, things are likely to get worse. Water can destroy internal engine parts and cause a phenomenon known as ‘hydro lock’, in which pistons don't compress as normal. If your car does fall prey to hydro lock, the costs – either of repairs, replacements, or even a new car – could be high.

Remove water as quickly as possible

As we've discussed, you really don't want water hanging around in any part of the car, whether that's the upholstery or the engine. The quicker you can get the vehicle dried out, the less time the water will have to do its damage. If the car has actual puddles inside, a wet/dry vacuum cleaner will be the best option. Don't use a normal vacuum cleaner, as the water may mean you'll get an electric shock.

Get some air into the car

You'll need a good flow of air to fully dry out a damp or waterlogged car. The air will also help to prevent mould, mildew and bad smells. The best way to do this is to park your car in a sheltered spot, open all the windows, and switch on an electric fan. If you can, direct the fan towards the worst affected areas.

An alternative is to switch on the engine and turn the fan heaters: but this should only be done after you have verified thoroughly that the engine is dry and isn't at risk of developing hydro lock.

Change your car's fluid

It's quite likely that water will have found its way into your car's various fluid reserves – those for oil, transmission fluid, and lubricant, for example. To be on the safe side, you should drain these and replenish them with fresh fluids.

Contact your classic motor insurance provider

You should inform your insurer about any damage caused to the car.

Can a flood-damaged classic be brought back to life?

After flooding, homes can be rebuilt and streets can be repaired. But what fate awaits those cars – especially classics – that have sustained considerable water damage?

In short, cars can be rescued from flood damage – but it will typically be a long and fairly painstaking project, involving plenty of time-consuming work. For that reason, if the worst does ever happen and your classic car does succumb to flood damage, we would recommend getting a professional to assess how much work will be required.

The costs may well mount up, so you could face a tricky decision on whether to go ahead and fix the car – or consign it to history. Remember that, if you opt for the former, your classic auto insurance policy could help with some of the repair bills. Read your policy wording carefully to check what’s covered.

These areas of the car are likely to be worst affected:

Carpets and upholstery

Your car's soft furnishings will be prime places for mould to develop. Indeed, these soft, warm areas of a car are often breeding grounds for mould in older cars that haven't been anywhere near water. If a car gets a good soaking, the danger of mould developing will rise exponentially. If you do notice mould on your carpets and/or upholstery, you'll probably need to take out most or all of the interior trim in order to prevent it spreading.

Mechanicals

As mentioned above, you'll definitely need to check whether any water has entered the engine before you take your car out on the road.

This doesn't necessarily involve taking the engine apart, though. Instead, you can start by removing the dipstick and looking for evidence of any mud or water clinging to the engine oil. You may want to drain the oil and remove and clean the oil pan before replenishing. Any mud inside the engine can be removed by taking off the head gaskets and cleaning out the cylinders. A hook and pick set will serve you well when it comes to the fiddly job of removing gaskets. Indeed, a set like this is one of the key workshop essentials we recommended in our feature, The tools every classic owner should have in their garage.

Elsewhere, you (or a professional) should remove the exhaust system and let all the components dry out. If there's any mud inside, a good pressure-wash should suffice for sluicing it out.

Brakes will also need to be cleaned. In the case of drum brakes, which feature on many classic cars, these will take longer to dry than disc brakes, and should be taken apart so that all the elements can get exposed to the air.

Water is also likely to have crept into your suspension grease points, so it's a good idea to clean the exterior of each point and pump in a fresh dose of grease. This will push out any embedded water and/or dirt.

Frame, fuel tank and exterior

You'll also want to check whether any water or mud has got into the car frame. This may have happened via the various holes that are typically punched into the frame, to allow tubes and wires in and out.

The frame is quite likely to be filled with mud and/or water, so if you can, use a jack and axle stands (two more essentials for your workshop) to get the car up off the ground. Then, simply use a pressure washer to pump fresh water into any of these holes.

Keep on pumping until the water that comes back out again is clean.As regards the fuel tank, it will all depend whether your fuel cap got below the waterline.

If not, you won't have any problems here. If the water did penetrate this far, however, you'll need to drain the fuel tank, before removing it (probably a professional job) and cleaning it out.

The exterior bodywork, on the other hand, should have withstood water damage fairly well. Most car paint jobs should be fairly water-resistant. All being well, you should just be able to wash off any muddy residue and use wax to smooth out any small abrasions or scratches.

Classic car insurance: for all driving conditions

We all want to safeguard our classics from the worst of the British weather.

Following the tips we've outlined above should help to minimise the chances of your classic succumbing to flood damage. But, with our weather becoming increasingly unpredictable and flood events becoming more common, it's more important than ever to make sure your classic is protected with some specialist classic car insurance and breakdown cover.

Contact us today for a classic car insurance quote.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.