Does you classic live outside
Discussion
best way to protect it is to use it regularly on reasonable length journeys and keep the underside and under wheel arches as clean as you can from salt, mud and muck but there's no need to be OCD about it
all the classics I've had for the last 20+ years have lived outside 24/7, 365/6 and all have been used over winter (many better driving opportunities in winter that summer too)
they are cars!
all the classics I've had for the last 20+ years have lived outside 24/7, 365/6 and all have been used over winter (many better driving opportunities in winter that summer too)
they are cars!
nta16 said:
best way to protect it is to use it regularly on reasonable length journeys and keep the underside and under wheel arches as clean as you can from salt, mud and muck but there's no need to be OCD about it
Sage advice! With the older cars we have stored I'm always encouraging the owners to come down & take them out...The regular use will do it good!Ps re covers...Try these chaps, I'm regularly ordering from there on behalf of our own clients & friends. If they don't have your car in their library you must own something quite special
http://www.specialisedcovers.com/car-covers.html (External = Stormshield range)
But remember, keep taking it out whenever it's nice & dry!
ClaphamGT3 said:
Range Rover lives outside in London, , Lancia lives in a heated, dehumidified barn at my folks place in Norfolk (and last year, for the ninth year running, over 50% of its annual mileage was its 15 mile round trip to the MOT station....)
to a much lesser extent this can be the case with coversyou need to clean your car before you put the cover on - so if you think it'll be too wet, dark, cold or simply can't-be-arsed to clean the car when you get back from your drive it will put you off taking the car out
even if you do get around to cleaning it and putting the cover on it then puts you off taking the car for a drive as the drive isn't worth the effort of cleaning the car again
so the car tends to sit under the cover for long periods of time with possibly the battery going flat so you have to deal with planning for that before going for a drive
covers can be a two-person job to fit on a clean car if there's more than a slight breeze and your significant other will soon learn to hide at these times
covers also need additional strapping down, even the heavy ones, when there are stronger winds or the cover may well only hold where the standard straps are and flap about off the car in all but the very middle
if you use covers then because of above you'll probably miss plenty of great driving opportunities (same way you do with fitted hardtops on soft top cars) during the better driving times of late autumn, winter and early spring when you very often get dry and SUNNY days with less traffic on fabulous country roads, less old farts that don't know how to properly drive their classics because they rarely use them, not that it matters as these cars are normally well under par anyway, less motorbikes, cyclists, walkers and horses
I love SORN season and getting the best roads back for practically traffic less driving even on Northamptonshire's fabulous country roads - I'm happy for classics to be hibernated, kept in garages or under covers for very long periods - doesn't do the cars much good but it's the owners' choice, not mine, and it frees the roads up for me, often just me for a good number of miles of dry, sunny driving, lovely
Edited by nta16 on Monday 29th September 21:44
I keep my SD1 Vitesse on the street in London and over 3 years it has remained immaculate.
My secret to success (knowing how partial SD1’s are to rust) is spraying cans of Bilt Hamber S50 everywhere. The cans come with a spraying lance with a nozzle on the end that means most cavities etc are easily accessible and a regular nozzle for spraying under the arches. In my experience the whole car can be done in less than a day and it’s not expensive knowing the costs of sorting bodywork. Four or five cans should be more than adequate and I’ve done the car twice in three years.
Oh, and driving the car every fortnight or so and washing/waxing it every so often to keep the paint in good shape. Don’t be tempted to put a car cover on it thinking it will act as an umbrella; I know to my cost how it can damage and dull paintwork.
Ps – also pick your parking spaces carefully and avoid school-run 4x4’s that are parked as if they’re dodgem cars…
My secret to success (knowing how partial SD1’s are to rust) is spraying cans of Bilt Hamber S50 everywhere. The cans come with a spraying lance with a nozzle on the end that means most cavities etc are easily accessible and a regular nozzle for spraying under the arches. In my experience the whole car can be done in less than a day and it’s not expensive knowing the costs of sorting bodywork. Four or five cans should be more than adequate and I’ve done the car twice in three years.
Oh, and driving the car every fortnight or so and washing/waxing it every so often to keep the paint in good shape. Don’t be tempted to put a car cover on it thinking it will act as an umbrella; I know to my cost how it can damage and dull paintwork.
Ps – also pick your parking spaces carefully and avoid school-run 4x4’s that are parked as if they’re dodgem cars…
ClaphamGT3 said:
Range Rover lives outside in London, , Lancia lives in a heated, dehumidified barn at my folks place in Norfolk (and last year, for the ninth year running, over 50% of its annual mileage was its 15 mile round trip to the MOT station....)
O/T, what Lancia do you have tucked away?Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff