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Sad news story here. Apparently the owner put his 39 club sedan on a boat ramp to get pictures and it rolled into the water and sank. That has to be a terrible feeling. Looked like a nice car from the pictures.

Can something like this be saved, or will it constantly have problems?

I would love to see where that happened and the photos but unfortunately The Mercury News requires a subscription to view.

That was not too far away from where I used to live in Calif. I believe something similar happened a few years ago at the Amelia Island show with another Packard.

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I was able to see the photos. It happened in Canyon Lake, CA, in Riverside County.

It can certainly be saved. The sooner reclamation is begun, the better.

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Indeed, drain all the engine fluids ASAP and replace them. Pull the seats and carpets out and get some fans, and whatnot going to start drying everything out.

At least that is a freshwater lake/reservoir.

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Will take a lot of TLC but you could probably bring it completely back. EVERYTHING upholstery would need a thorough steam cleaning; all electrical components would need inspected for corrosion. The drivetrain is self-explanatory, but as long as you drain all the fluids and, say, take the heads off so you know the engine is completely drained of water, it really shouldn't be TOO bad considering how bad it looks.

Remember that even modern cars are often resurrected from flood damage, mostly with electrical/rust problems more than, say, drivetrain.

The pics make it appear it went in hood first. I know at least on both my cars, the parking brake is far more effective when pointed down a hill, vs up a hill.

I can back up both my cars under power with the parking brake on, but I can't get either to move forward under power with it on. While the '54 isn't prone to rolling because of the Ultramatic parking pawl, I ensure the '37 has both the brake on and is in gear when parked.

Yes, and I suppose the question can also be asked of why you would take pictures on a boat ramp of all places...

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I've seen a few pictures of cars on boat ramps....early morning/late evening with glassy water in the background does make a nice pic. But not at the risk of losing the car into the water.

I can't imagine all the areas that rust could pop up now. Everything inside the body panels was essentially unpainted steel, correct? Lots of potential for surface rust in places you can't get to. But I guess at least it wasn't a wood-bodied car.