Living outside
Discussion
How many chims are kept outside?
I need to put my wooden boat in the garage for a bit this winter to do a few jobs on it and so the tvr is probably going to spend a bit of time outdoors.
I use it 2 or 3 times a week, so dont think i need to keep it on the trickle charger and far as i know its pretty leak free, so apart from a bit of weathering of the hood are there likely to be any major issues
I need to put my wooden boat in the garage for a bit this winter to do a few jobs on it and so the tvr is probably going to spend a bit of time outdoors.
I use it 2 or 3 times a week, so dont think i need to keep it on the trickle charger and far as i know its pretty leak free, so apart from a bit of weathering of the hood are there likely to be any major issues
i not a fan of car covers and fibreglass cars - , but the roof only "caps" seem to do a great job of keeping the worst of the water off most of the seals around the roof and doors that sometimes leak and also fed water run off from the screen over the bonnet rather than into the engine bay
I had to leave a project car outside in winter for 2 months, and it remained completely dry inside.
worth considering...
I had to leave a project car outside in winter for 2 months, and it remained completely dry inside.
worth considering...
Mine has lived outside for the 3 years I've had it- no garage and no space to build one yet.
I've never had any water ingress in mine, but the entire roof had been replaced shortly before I purchased it.
Probably the biggest issue for me is that we have a tree line along the back of our garden, so during the Autumn the car is constantly getting covered in leaves and tree sap residue unless covered- rain is ideal as it washes this off!
I made the choice when I bought mine to get one that needed some bodywork tidying- on the basis that I could use an outdoor car cover (full) if necessary without being too precious about the paintwork. I use this during the autumn to avoid the leaves/sap residue issue- the cover is the lessor of the two evils.
The other thing to watch out for is leaves falling through the bonnet slits and wedging themselves in the exhaust manifolds (high heat + dry leaves isn't good)- I always open the bonnet and check for this before starting if it's been sat without a cover on.
I plug it into a trickle charger if it hasn't been used for 10 days or so, but to be honest this is rare as it gets used most weeks. I've also got a small low powered fan heater that I will occasionally run for 10 minutes inside the car if it's been sat for a few days in very cold weather, though to be honest I normally just take it for a drive instead.
This summer I put a concrete slab down incorporating the post anchors for a carport, which should hopefully going up this winter- which should alleviate the above leaf issues.
I firmly subscribe to the view that it's a car at the end of the day, and a 90s one at that, not a fragile piece of priceless artwork. As long as rubber seals etc have been maintained over the years, and the roof is in good order, they don't object to being kept outside.
To sum up- make sure it doesn't leak, watch for stuff falling through the bonnet slits, drive it regularly to avoid the need to faff around with a trickle charger.
Edited for picture:
I wouldn't risk a full cover if the paintwork was in great condition, but mine needs a respray at some point so I'm not too precious- it's actually quite liberating!
I've never had any water ingress in mine, but the entire roof had been replaced shortly before I purchased it.
Probably the biggest issue for me is that we have a tree line along the back of our garden, so during the Autumn the car is constantly getting covered in leaves and tree sap residue unless covered- rain is ideal as it washes this off!
I made the choice when I bought mine to get one that needed some bodywork tidying- on the basis that I could use an outdoor car cover (full) if necessary without being too precious about the paintwork. I use this during the autumn to avoid the leaves/sap residue issue- the cover is the lessor of the two evils.
The other thing to watch out for is leaves falling through the bonnet slits and wedging themselves in the exhaust manifolds (high heat + dry leaves isn't good)- I always open the bonnet and check for this before starting if it's been sat without a cover on.
I plug it into a trickle charger if it hasn't been used for 10 days or so, but to be honest this is rare as it gets used most weeks. I've also got a small low powered fan heater that I will occasionally run for 10 minutes inside the car if it's been sat for a few days in very cold weather, though to be honest I normally just take it for a drive instead.
This summer I put a concrete slab down incorporating the post anchors for a carport, which should hopefully going up this winter- which should alleviate the above leaf issues.
I firmly subscribe to the view that it's a car at the end of the day, and a 90s one at that, not a fragile piece of priceless artwork. As long as rubber seals etc have been maintained over the years, and the roof is in good order, they don't object to being kept outside.
To sum up- make sure it doesn't leak, watch for stuff falling through the bonnet slits, drive it regularly to avoid the need to faff around with a trickle charger.
Edited for picture:
I wouldn't risk a full cover if the paintwork was in great condition, but mine needs a respray at some point so I'm not too precious- it's actually quite liberating!
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Monday 28th October 13:08
My Griff has lived outside under a cover (it leaks likes a sieve when it rains!) for the last 8 years since I bought it and seems to be fine. Yes the cover encourages a bit of crap on the car when the weather picks up and so needs cleaning quite often and roof needs an occasional scrub with a wet brush but it's nothing a bit of Quick Detailer can't sort in a couple of minutes. I use the car weekly if at all possible throughout the year which I'm sure helps. Obviously I'd MUCH rather have a garage to keep it in but I live in a flat and it's either sell the car or keep it outside. So while not ideal I'd say it's certainly do-able.
Squirrelofwoe said:
Mine has lived outside for the 3 years I've had it- no garage and no space to build one yet.
I've never had any water ingress in mine, but the entire roof had been replaced shortly before I purchased it.
Probably the biggest issue for me is that we have a tree line along the back of our garden, so during the Autumn the car is constantly getting covered in leaves and tree sap residue unless covered- rain is ideal as it washes this off!
I made the choice when I bought mine to get one that needed some bodywork tidying- on the basis that I could use an outdoor car cover (full) if necessary without being too precious about the paintwork. I use this during the autumn to avoid the leaves/sap residue issue- the cover is the lessor of the two evils.
The other thing to watch out for is leaves falling through the bonnet slits and wedging themselves in the exhaust manifolds (high heat + dry leaves isn't good)- I always open the bonnet and check for this before starting if it's been sat without a cover on.
I plug it into a trickle charger if it hasn't been used for 10 days or so, but to be honest this is rare as it gets used most weeks. I've also got a small low powered fan heater that I will occasionally run for 10 minutes inside the car if it's been sat for a few days in very cold weather, though to be honest I normally just take it for a drive instead.
This summer I put a concrete slab down incorporating the post anchors for a carport, which should hopefully going up this winter- which should alleviate the above leaf issues.
I firmly subscribe to the view that it's a car at the end of the day, and a 90s one at that, not a fragile piece of priceless artwork. As long as rubber seals etc have been maintained over the years, and the roof is in good order, they don't object to being kept outside.
To sum up- make sure it doesn't leak, watch for stuff falling through the bonnet slits, drive it regularly to avoid the need to faff around with a trickle charger.
Edited for picture:
I wouldn't risk a full cover if the paintwork was in great condition, but mine needs a respray at some point so I'm not too precious- it's actually quite liberating!
Top man, sensible attitude I've never had any water ingress in mine, but the entire roof had been replaced shortly before I purchased it.
Probably the biggest issue for me is that we have a tree line along the back of our garden, so during the Autumn the car is constantly getting covered in leaves and tree sap residue unless covered- rain is ideal as it washes this off!
I made the choice when I bought mine to get one that needed some bodywork tidying- on the basis that I could use an outdoor car cover (full) if necessary without being too precious about the paintwork. I use this during the autumn to avoid the leaves/sap residue issue- the cover is the lessor of the two evils.
The other thing to watch out for is leaves falling through the bonnet slits and wedging themselves in the exhaust manifolds (high heat + dry leaves isn't good)- I always open the bonnet and check for this before starting if it's been sat without a cover on.
I plug it into a trickle charger if it hasn't been used for 10 days or so, but to be honest this is rare as it gets used most weeks. I've also got a small low powered fan heater that I will occasionally run for 10 minutes inside the car if it's been sat for a few days in very cold weather, though to be honest I normally just take it for a drive instead.
This summer I put a concrete slab down incorporating the post anchors for a carport, which should hopefully going up this winter- which should alleviate the above leaf issues.
I firmly subscribe to the view that it's a car at the end of the day, and a 90s one at that, not a fragile piece of priceless artwork. As long as rubber seals etc have been maintained over the years, and the roof is in good order, they don't object to being kept outside.
To sum up- make sure it doesn't leak, watch for stuff falling through the bonnet slits, drive it regularly to avoid the need to faff around with a trickle charger.
Edited for picture:
I wouldn't risk a full cover if the paintwork was in great condition, but mine needs a respray at some point so I'm not too precious- it's actually quite liberating!
Edited by Squirrelofwoe on Monday 28th October 13:08
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff