[FWDLK] Snapped Springs, and a Parallel

I recently rescued another car from a time capsule -- my 1979 Monte Carlo which has also been stored underground -- in a limestone mine -- for the last 10 years. Consider the following:

In a strange parallel to Miss Belvedere, my rear springs completely shattered. They are now as easy to break as a pretzel rod, but yet strangely show no signs of internal rust-through.

Also, like Miss Belvedere, I had a hard time getting the doors open, the hood is still stuck, and the brand new exhaust system was as structurally sound as a potato chip. (Odd though that a piece of unfinished, untreated sheet metal in the trunk showed absolutely no signs of corrosion.)

The wheels are also seized, the interior is filled with a weird, flesh-eating bacteria, and for some reason only the front tires will hold air.

My accidental time capsule in the trunk consisted of a case of Pop-Tarts (still appear to be edible, but I’m not going to try) and the random cans of Dr Pepper also appear just fine (score one for aluminum cans).

And this is all on a car that was stored in a fairly DRY, ventilated underground storage facility for only TEN years. The Tulsa car held up amazing well considering the amount of water damage it incurred.

More pics at http://www.forwardlook.net/images/chevy/photo_gallery.htm

-Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Forward Look Mopar Discussion List [mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of eastern sierra Adj Services
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 12:35 AM
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [FWDLK] Fwd: [FWDLK] Snapped Springs

What I heard, from a knowledgeable source,

at Tulsa (Dave Grow) , regarding the springs'

failure was due to their steel's high-carbon

(for strength) content.

Spring steel is reportedly more susceptable

to failure-corrosion, than mild (body) steel.

I don't know the chemical-content/reaction of Tulsa's groundwater, in

the context of 50 year's

exposure, but, the thing speaks for itself, that the body-mass, bearing

down on the leaf springs (with the microscopic voids, between the leafs)

in continual contact with water that had leached thru concrete, and

Gunnite, did a "job" , on those leaf springs!!!

Also, no one has yet mentioned the interesting fact, that the

trunk-support-bracings corroded away from the trunk skin!

Bet that nobody's seen THAT, either.

What clearly occurred, was that the water that immersed the car got

"into" the non-painted voids between the bracings and the under- trunk

, and just sat there, maybe-never evaporating, until the bracings just

collapsed away from the trunk skin.

Neil Vedder