Okay, the cool weather is gonna come soon and then I have to get my car prepaired for winter. I can't park it in the garage and I don't have the cash to pay for storage, so what is the good thing for my car during the winter? It won't be driven just started once in a while and left outside. I was gonna put a car cover on, but people said it could cause your paint to bubble because of the moisture. any one have any opinions?
Get a good quality car cover. Just bought a Noah edition for my green car, my others have an Evolution brand. The moisture will seep up through the material. I have kept some of my cars outside covered and had good luck. Just watch the chrome though.
Ya, I seen those, they go up to $300. They are really good, but I can't spend that much on one. The one at Canadian tire says its outdoor car cover and is 3 layers used for outdoor use. 80 bucks.
the deal is my wife get the front garage in the winter. so last year i put the 55 gmc on the back patio which is cement 22x24 and covered with a tarp. not bad except for the rope marks on the white front bumper. this year i bought one of those portable garages thats 12x20 and i have been advised to secure it down (i'll use tapcons) and keep the snow from accumulating on the roof and i should be good to go. at least i should be able to get into it over the winter last year with the tarp she was snug as a bug and not accessible.
I'm sorry. I HAD to do it I've had a driver's licence for 35 years, and NEVER till now have I been able to park everything I own inside that's worth parking inside!
-- Edited by Carl Stevenson at 22:08, 2008-09-16
__________________
1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
the deal is my wife get the front garage in the winter. so last year i put the 55 gmc on the back patio which is cement 22x24 and covered with a tarp. not bad except for the rope marks on the white front bumper. this year i bought one of those portable garages thats 12x20 and i have been advised to secure it down (i'll use tapcons) and keep the snow from accumulating on the roof and i should be good to go. at least i should be able to get into it over the winter last year with the tarp she was snug as a bug and not accessible.
who sells those 12x20s? cdn tire, but they never have one in stock.
Yeah, I know... I just figured after that many years of having classic/muscle cars and having to store something outside all the time or pay for storage, it was about time! I've done tarps and tonneau's and bought farmers old discarded wooden grain storage sheds and done it all to try to preserve my cars over the years.
__________________
1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
I'm not sure how it is for each of you but here on an acreage a big winter concern for me is mice in the car. That is a problem I have never found a perfect solution for. This new shed should be a big help, but when the cars sat out, I got mice in them without fail. I went as far as to pull the seats and carpet out of my Acadian because I didn't want them destroyed.
__________________
1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Be very careful when using portable garages, Uncle had $4000 dollars damage done to side and vinyl roof of a 75 Caprice just last winter. It sucks because car was just painted spring of 2007. He used screws to hold joints together as well as screws to his patio slab. Wind destroyed shelter completely. Not sure were it came from, but for total money spent on it and repairs, could had a good start on 2 car garage.
I used to put mine up on blocks/stands, tarped, and inside the car I put pie plates with mothballs in them to keep out the rodents. In the Spring you have to air out the car with a few fast passes!
__________________
Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
the deal is my wife get the front garage in the winter. so last year i put the 55 gmc on the back patio which is cement 22x24 and covered with a tarp. not bad except for the rope marks on the white front bumper. this year i bought one of those portable garages thats 12x20 and i have been advised to secure it down (i'll use tapcons) and keep the snow from accumulating on the roof and i should be good to go. at least i should be able to get into it over the winter last year with the tarp she was snug as a bug and not accessible.
who sells those 12x20s? cdn tire, but they never have one in stock.
Crappy Tire had them on for $299 this weekend passed, regularily for $499 and they had 15 on the floor, but i agree they usually never have enough stock.
My buddy here in Ontario and I had this discussion recently.. He has a lot of cars he stores outside and having tried all methods over the years claims putting the tarp on the ground to keep critters and moisture away but leaving the cars open to the elements as they were designed for is better than the risks of covering them w/ anything.. It's removing the snow w/ scrapers etc that hurt them and snow/rain no problem if you just leave them alone and way better than flapping tarps, ropes or structures that may fall on the vehicles..
As far as the mice go, try some dried cat$hit in the car.. If there's no pets around, build one of these bucket contraptions w/ antifreeze and the log-roller ride in the middle covered w/ glued peanuts..
the deal is my wife get the front garage in the winter. so last year i put the 55 gmc on the back patio which is cement 22x24 and covered with a tarp. not bad except for the rope marks on the white front bumper. this year i bought one of those portable garages thats 12x20 and i have been advised to secure it down (i'll use tapcons) and keep the snow from accumulating on the roof and i should be good to go. at least i should be able to get into it over the winter last year with the tarp she was snug as a bug and not accessible.
who sells those 12x20s? cdn tire, but they never have one in stock.
Crappy Tire had them on for $299 this weekend passed, regularily for $499 and they had 15 on the floor, but i agree they usually never have enough stock.
-- Edited by Stephenzone at 07:48, 2008-09-17
Princess Auto has them on sale right now for $199.
__________________
Hillar
1970 LS4 (eventually an LS5) Laurentian 2dr hdtp -and a bunch of other muscle cars...
Here are my thoughts as i have stored cars outdoors for years. There have been alot of very good ideas in this thread so far, many of which i do or have done.
If you have nice paint, use a good quality car cover, noah, evolution, wolf covers, are all good, they will not damage paint as they are breathable. Just keep in mind moisture will still seep through. usually cost under 200 for these and well worth the cost. tie them down well or the paint will chaff.
If it is a project car with crapy paint, the best tarps i have found are the silver colored ones from princess auto. they sell a 12x20 that is perfect fit. less than 20 dollars. they are virtually waterproof so they can bubble areas of paint(but not bad). nice thing is you wont have water soaking through. Again DO NOT use this tarp on good paint, it will sand the paint and bubble it. but it is a perfect tarp or a driver, project car.
If you have to store on grass, put a tarp on the grass to stop moisture from wicking up on your floor and frame. Your gastank will fall off in a year of wet grass storage!
If you get a lot of snow, be sure to showel around the car to allow air circulation underneath.
Sometimes i put a pie plate full of baking soda on the floor to wick up excess moisture inside the car too.
Mice situation. mothballs stink, and your car will always smell of them. I use bounce dryer sheets(the really strong scented ones). Hang them from the roof, visors, stuff them under the seats, dash etc. I've done it for cars i store in the field, and it seems to work so far!?. And the car smells poppin' fresh in the spring too! Carl had a good point, if possible take out the seats and materials from inside. that will prevent mice as well. Of course this would be for long term storage.
One note about car cover material. i had a squirrel eat a nice big hole in my 200 dollar car cover last year. and then proceed to shread a 1 foot section of it. just something to keep in mind.
Portable garages work good, the cheap ones tend to fly away. The expenceive ones have 14" augers that screw into the ground, they stay put. also try to keep the snow load off the roof on the canadain tire ones, they dont have much of a peak.
Hope this helps.
__________________
Beaumontguru
MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH. The other one has a longer roof.
My buddy here in Ontario and I had this discussion recently.. He has a lot of cars he stores outside and having tried all methods over the years claims putting the tarp on the ground to keep critters and moisture away but leaving the cars open to the elements as they were designed for is better than the risks of covering them w/ anything.. It's removing the snow w/ scrapers etc that hurt them and snow/rain no problem if you just leave them alone and way better than flapping tarps, ropes or structures that may fall on the vehicles..
As far as the mice go, try some dried cat$hit in the car.. If there's no pets around, build one of these bucket contraptions w/ antifreeze and the log-roller ride in the middle covered w/ glued peanuts..
I also heard about that too, someone said that they would rather put a nice coat of wax/protectant on before the winter and just leave it like that, he would rather do that then put on a car cover or tarp as well.
It will just be sitting outside and get started often, So do you think I should get the cover, or just leave it as is and just wipe the snow off it?
I've had a driver's licence for 35 years, and NEVER till now have I been able to park everything I own inside that's worth parking inside!
