If the salt water got to it, you are going to have salt in all the seams, inside the frame rails, rockers, seat pans, etc. Imagine the damage to things like the radio and wiring connectors. Not to mention the engine...
It really needs to go to bare steel and be neutralized as soon as possible.
There is a lot you can save, but its not going to be cheap.
Pete. Do you think the salt could ever be well enough neutralised in the shell to make it so it won't creep out in years/months to come? My friend was looking at a convertible that was a recent flood car. 38 inches of salt water! and I said in my opinion it was done.
Just wondering your thoughts. Cheers. Peter
While not Pete, but having dealt with plenty of fresh and salt water flood cars while I still owned my shop in the northeast, I can tell you with a complete tear down, and a three part immersion process, that yes, you can neutralize the progressive and future damage of the contaminated water currently attacking the car as it sits, essentially a petri dish, galvanic, chemically, and biologically. Hard and soft parts not able to be chemically treated (interior parts, plastics, fiberglass, etc) can be treated with commercial grade Ozone systems (what hospitals used to use for full room treatment to kill bacteria/germs), then flushed/cleaned with fresh water and soap products, before once more treated with Ozone. Wiring harnesses, plan to replace them all, as water wicks it's way inside and will eat it's way through like a cancer. In fact, for the prospective buyer, I'd suggest at least a full 24 treatment of Ozone on the interior before any tear down is started. Maybe even bag (or place in a small, fully enclosed shelter) the entire car and do this for 48 hours as a safety measure. No matter what the uninitiated people will tell you, you cannot be too safe in this type of situation.
Bill