Classics flooded by Sandy still waiting for salvage lot saviors

Two months ago, I wrote about the first wave of classic cars caught in superstorm Sandy's floods totaled by insurance companies and sent to East Coast salvage yards, for those who believe there's something worth keeping on a forty-year-old machine dunked in brackish waters. A browse through Copart's online listing this week shows that the crowd of Sandy-damaged classics has grown to number in the hundreds, ranging from old Packards to modern Ferraris. The crusher shouldn't be their only destination.

With more than 230,000 vehicles damaged by Sandy, the nation's insurers have been busy for months triaging the damage; many of those vehicles will be crushed, while some will be stripped for salvageable spare parts. A single dip in salt water can provide years of damage to a modern car, sprouting rust throughout the body, mold in all fabrics and corrosion on key electronic parts.