The process of fixing up the flooded Miata that went viral

Ethan Castille has loved Mazda Miatas pretty much his whole life. His first-ever car was a red one he received at 17 years old. Now 26, Castille is a photographer by day, Miata fixer by night. Last fall, he got the opportunity of his Miata-enthusiast lifetime—to help a fellow community member who lost his car in the devastating August flood.

“The car was running when it flooded, which made everything worse. The whole thing got full of water, including the electronics. It just sat in that water for hours and hours,” Castille says.

He is repairing the famous red Miata seen in the viral video of David Phung saving a woman and her dog. Because of his love of Miatas—and the circumstances under which this one was damaged—Castille is fixing this one for its owner free of charge.

“After everything’s said and done, he’s pretty much going to have a brand new car,” Castille says. We spoke with him about the lengthy process of repairing a flooded car’s interior.

HOW TO FIX A FLOODED CAR

We photographed the Miata in early November, when Castille was deep in the repair process. He had removed many of the interior components and begun working on them. By the time we went to press in January, he was still not finished with the car—proving just how complex and time-consuming of a process this is.

Move your mouse around the interior of the car to see how Castille planned on fixing up the flooded Miata.

This article was originally published in the February 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.