Do you tuck yours away??
Discussion
From posts on various threads there seem to be a number of classic car PHers who "tuck their cars away for winter".
Seems strange to me - I expect a lot of the cars are tax exempt so there's no benefit in taking the car off the road, insurance is relatively cheap for a full year so again little financial gain.
I can think of nothing more enjoyable than a crisp cold sunny winters day and a drive (on relatively quiet roads) with the hood down.
I suspect it is the worry of inclement weather and maybe salt laden roads but cars can be cleaned and hosed down and they should (IMHO) be used.
So perhaps we could have a rough "straw pool" into how many people tuck their cars away and why?
Seems strange to me - I expect a lot of the cars are tax exempt so there's no benefit in taking the car off the road, insurance is relatively cheap for a full year so again little financial gain.
I can think of nothing more enjoyable than a crisp cold sunny winters day and a drive (on relatively quiet roads) with the hood down.
I suspect it is the worry of inclement weather and maybe salt laden roads but cars can be cleaned and hosed down and they should (IMHO) be used.
So perhaps we could have a rough "straw pool" into how many people tuck their cars away and why?
Edited by LordBretSinclair on Sunday 14th October 19:25
LordBretSinclair said:
I can think of nothing more enjoyable than a crisp cold sunny winters day and a drive (on relatively quiet roads) with the hood down.
Neither can I but I'm still waiting for one 
The problem where I live in the North East is that the roads are seldom dry in the winter months and the salt residues make a mess of the underside of the car.
I don't tuck my classics (Sunbeam Alpine, Alfa Spider, Bertone GTV, proper Mini Cooper) away - they are taxed and insured year-round.
I'll get one out any day the sun's shining. Once they start spreading salt I tend not to get them out, although after the snow has melted I tend to think that the salt will have been washed away, so again, if the sun's shining, I'll take one of the oldies out.
I'll get one out any day the sun's shining. Once they start spreading salt I tend not to get them out, although after the snow has melted I tend to think that the salt will have been washed away, so again, if the sun's shining, I'll take one of the oldies out.
The Alfa remains taxed, tested and insured for 12 months of the year.
She does however go "off the road" between October and March/April. There are a few reasons for this as I will outline below:
1/ 1970's Italian build quality vs salted roads.
I know that if you wash the car after it has been for a run on salty roads you will minimise the damage that the salt is likely to do to the car. Unfortunately you can not stop the rusting process totally. So leading on from this I just do not have the money for body work repairs to be carried out to her every 3 years or so. She got bad enough in 3 years with me just using her in the summer!
2/ 1970's brakes and general safety features.
I might be able to drive competently in the snow, ice, frost etc (or not see BMW cira winter 2010 oops (was being an idiot)) but I sure as hell do not trust the other drivers on the road. If the worst was to happen and I was in an accident in that car then I would come off much worse. No inertia reel seat belts, no ABS, minimum crumple zone, no roll over protection what so ever and a metal and wood steering wheel certainly focus the mind on how vunerable you are in the car.
3/ Lights.
They are s
t, end of.
4/ Money.
The car barely manages to make it through one summers limited use (~2-4000 miles) without a major breakdown. I unfortunately do not have a bottomless pit of money to throw at the car for repairs and maintenance. Its nice to get a financial break from her for a few months in the winter and give me a chance to save up for a big job to be done, e.g new hood.
That about covers it.
I would be interested to see where the people who use their cars all year round live. In an ideal world it would be great to run a classic all year, but it just is not practical where I live, north east Scotland. I want to be able to enjoy my car, she is a toy and I do not intend to trash my best toy buy using her in the winter months.
Feel free to judge me, I fully expect the usual "a car is there to be used" brigade to come out. But it is my car not yours and I make my choices about how I use her, and occasionally abuse her based on MY circumstances.
Just my 2p worth.
to those who use their classic all year round, you are braver/richer/better at spannering than me.
She does however go "off the road" between October and March/April. There are a few reasons for this as I will outline below:
1/ 1970's Italian build quality vs salted roads.
I know that if you wash the car after it has been for a run on salty roads you will minimise the damage that the salt is likely to do to the car. Unfortunately you can not stop the rusting process totally. So leading on from this I just do not have the money for body work repairs to be carried out to her every 3 years or so. She got bad enough in 3 years with me just using her in the summer!
2/ 1970's brakes and general safety features.
I might be able to drive competently in the snow, ice, frost etc (or not see BMW cira winter 2010 oops (was being an idiot)) but I sure as hell do not trust the other drivers on the road. If the worst was to happen and I was in an accident in that car then I would come off much worse. No inertia reel seat belts, no ABS, minimum crumple zone, no roll over protection what so ever and a metal and wood steering wheel certainly focus the mind on how vunerable you are in the car.
3/ Lights.
They are s
t, end of.4/ Money.
The car barely manages to make it through one summers limited use (~2-4000 miles) without a major breakdown. I unfortunately do not have a bottomless pit of money to throw at the car for repairs and maintenance. Its nice to get a financial break from her for a few months in the winter and give me a chance to save up for a big job to be done, e.g new hood.
That about covers it.
I would be interested to see where the people who use their cars all year round live. In an ideal world it would be great to run a classic all year, but it just is not practical where I live, north east Scotland. I want to be able to enjoy my car, she is a toy and I do not intend to trash my best toy buy using her in the winter months.
Feel free to judge me, I fully expect the usual "a car is there to be used" brigade to come out. But it is my car not yours and I make my choices about how I use her, and occasionally abuse her based on MY circumstances.
Just my 2p worth.
to those who use their classic all year round, you are braver/richer/better at spannering than me.I tuck mine away.
My house only has a 3/4 covered car port, so it's not ideal for old Italian metal over a damp English winter.
So the junior goes into a council lockup from about oct to march. The council garage I rent isn't ideal, with no power. I had to line the ceiling with polythene sheeting to prevent the condensation constantly dripping on the car. I also drilled some extra holes in the base of the garage door and increased the holes in the air bricks at the back of the garage to help increase air flow.
When tucking away for the winter, it gets a decent top up of antifreeze and sub zero in the washer bottle. And an inline battery isolater helps ensure the battery over the winter months. I also pop in the car 3x 1kg bags of silica gel to keep the moisture level inside the car to a minimum.
Can of damp start and a jumper pack is kept down at the garage for those crisp winter days when it does get an occasional winter outing..............road salt free days !
My house only has a 3/4 covered car port, so it's not ideal for old Italian metal over a damp English winter.
So the junior goes into a council lockup from about oct to march. The council garage I rent isn't ideal, with no power. I had to line the ceiling with polythene sheeting to prevent the condensation constantly dripping on the car. I also drilled some extra holes in the base of the garage door and increased the holes in the air bricks at the back of the garage to help increase air flow.
When tucking away for the winter, it gets a decent top up of antifreeze and sub zero in the washer bottle. And an inline battery isolater helps ensure the battery over the winter months. I also pop in the car 3x 1kg bags of silica gel to keep the moisture level inside the car to a minimum.
Can of damp start and a jumper pack is kept down at the garage for those crisp winter days when it does get an occasional winter outing..............road salt free days !
Ordinarily mine gets used all year round, but I'm making an exception this year and my 2000 GTV going to hide a in friends garage through the worst of the winter, as my garage is full of my 1750 GTV, which is being restored.
It will stay taxed and insured and will probably come out to play when I feel like it.
It will stay taxed and insured and will probably come out to play when I feel like it.
NAH!!
galvanized chassis, plastic body, skinny tires, just what you need!!
It's interesting when the back wheel is in the snow around corners due to tram lines caused by all the 4 wheel cars out there
flying jacket, sheepskin hat, leather gloves, flying goggles and scarf are mandatory.....
Sadly my '82 Supra has been tucked away for now under various covers in the shed, I only bother buying 6 months tax for her because it's too extortionate! The Landy will still get used but only for various jobs around the farm, on really cold days in a basic Series III it can be truly miserable even with the asthmatic heater giving its best. The military vehicles still get taken out on nice days, bitterly cold but not exactly like they're going to rot away, and with free road tax and no MOT all year round it's easy to keep them on the road.
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff