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Very cold air is dry, on days when it warms up is when you'll have a problem. In New England it can stay very cold for a few weeks or more at a time but it will then jump up to the mid 30's to 40 with misty rain then get cold again. Make sure the cover can breath and that rain can't get down into doors, seams etc. If your storing outside for one winter and you'll have a garage soon you should be fine. Use Damp Rid in the trunk and interior. If you are taking it out regularly, on clean roads, that will drive out accumulated moisture. In New England late fall and early spring is when the air is cold and wet for a week or more at a time, not a nice time for a car to be outside.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Hi Dave,
It looks like you've got a lot of tips from a lot of people who have preferences for how to store a car, specifically in their neck of the woods. I would say something about storing it where I live but it doesn't apply to your situation. I'm one of the lucky ones who has a dedicated garage for my car and it's kept beautifully cold and dry.
As far as your concerns about storage here are my thoughts.
You live in a climate that I would consider very mild and most of your temps are good enough that I would expect any snow that falls would melt away very quickly. You have some rain days, but then your area will have that in other months too.
You plan to drive the car weekly. That's a perk of the climate you live in. Far as I'm concerned that makes the car almost a daily driver and doesn't need special attention that others apply when storing a car for half a year or more during winter. It keeps the suspension active, the engine and exhaust working well, and all the hoses/belts/fluids maintained as they should be for an active vehicle. Obviously you would likely prefer to not drive the car on rainy days but as long as you wash and wipe it down afterwards it should be fine. I use a compressor and air hose to blow out the moisture from the mirrors, door seals lower window fuzzies, front a rear parking/tail light areas and all the chrome trim. You'd be surprised how much water is behind all that trim after a wash and dry.
Keep up your regular maintenance for the car. Gas, Oil, Grease and washes to keep the car in good repair. Most people forget to spray under the car to remove any road crud that collects there. Don't forget to wax and chrome polish as needed to protect the paint and metal surfaces, it worth the long term reward.
Your idea to use a high end car cover is fine. In your situation I'd consider looking at a portable garage (use those words in your web browser). Having that extra protection over your car cover will make a huge difference. One thing about the cover though. After you've driven your car, give it a couple hours to cool down the engine and exhaust system before putting the cover back on. I realize most high end covers should breath, but don't trap heat under it as that could promote condensation which you want to avoid.
Since you're keeping the car outside in the driveway, there's nothing really you can do about rodent control except what others have suggested with dryer sheets and desiccant inside the car. If the car is continually being used that will likely deter rodents from nesting, but no promises on that.
Unless you opt to go for a climate controlled storage (expensive) you're pretty much sitting in the catbird seat. I'd seriously look at the portable garage as they aren't expensive and you don't need a building permit for it. One added benefit of the portable garage is it will shelter the exposed rubber on your wheels from UV, which is hard on rubber.
Good luck with your decision. You have a great car to show off all year long and I envy your situation a bit. Enjoy driving it as much as you can. Extra protection for a car stored outside. Keep the elements off the car and cover. Shazammm!!
Keeps moisture away - THIS IS CRITICAL IN A NON HEATED SPACE.
Keep the desiccant fresh and you will not have moisture/rust/mold issues.
Got 4 buckets of damp rid today (about 8 ounces each). Got one in the center of the trunk, one between the front seats and one under the hood next to the evap canister. Keeping the last bucket for a spare.
Are the three buckets enough and did I put them in the right places?
Here is the ultimate winter storage tip and one that I am using this season.
Get your body/paint work done during the winter.
I finally found a shop that would do what I wanted (which is not a complete restoration). I told them that I am not in a hurry and that as long as I have the car back by the end of March, I'm good. They were more than happy with that because they can take their time and when more urgent jobs come in, they can handle them. My cutlass is inside, in the rear area of their shop reserved for their longer term projects.
That alone just saved me $178 a month for a storage unit this winter.
DampRid is nothing more than salt. The primary constituent is CaCl (Calcium Chloride) with traces of both NaCl (Sodium Chloride) & KCl (Potassium Chloride). Salts are hygroscopic (they readily absorb H2O - in any phase [solid, liquid, gas]). Salts are ionic compounds.
Buy a bag of the least expensive water softener salt, grab several plastic one gallon (or so) containers. Punch some holes in the container and fill it with salt. All salts are ionic compounds - composed of a positive charge ion (cation) and a negative charge ion (anion) - they readily dissolve into another substance & are generally very soluble e.g. CaCl, NaCl, KCl readily dissolve in water. Pure de-ionized H2O contains no ions - it will not pass an electrical current. Distilled H2O is not de-ionized water - it is only distilled and it will pass an electrical current.
Or just dump a bag of water softener salt into a five gallon open bucket and call it a day. You now have a big gnarly water sump dump.
Or, simply punch a bunch of holes into the water softener bag and lay it on the ground, or wherever you like. You now have a big gnarly water sump dump.
The point is - all salts attract water from any phase - solid, liquid or gas. Therefore, salt will readily absorb moisture from the atmosphere.
There is nothing magic about any desiccant - they're all composed of salt. The strength of the salt is beyond this discussion. NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) is a very strong (caustic) salt. Red Devil Lye (or any Lye for that matter) is nothing more than a salt (100% NaOH). POINT: Water softener salt is about the most least expensive moisture absorbent you can find (buy a bag of the cheap stuff for $5.00)
Hey chip-powell, Good call. I'm guessing that's about 5 months of storage at $178/month = $890. That'll help pay for some of the paint/body work!
Can't help you guys on this one. This is the time of the year I've pulled my cars out of storage. I have to store them in summer. Too hot and rainy.
DampRid is nothing more than salt. The primary constituent is CaCl (Calcium Chloride) with traces of both NaCl (Sodium Chloride) & KCl (Potassium Chloride). Salts are hygroscopic (they readily absorb H2O - in any phase [solid, liquid, gas]). Salts are ionic compounds.
Buy a bag of the least expensive water softener salt, grab several plastic one gallon (or so) containers. Punch some holes in the container and fill it with salt. All salts are ionic compounds - composed of a positive charge ion (cation) and a negative charge ion (anion) - they readily dissolve into another substance & are generally very soluble e.g. CaCl, NaCl, KCl readily dissolve in water. Pure de-ionized H2O contains no ions - it will not pass an electrical current. Distilled H2O is not de-ionized water - it is only distilled and it will pass an electrical current.
Or just dump a bag of water softener salt into a five gallon open bucket and call it a day. You now have a big gnarly water sump dump.
Or, simply punch a bunch of holes into the water softener bag and lay it on the ground, or wherever you like. You now have a big gnarly water sump dump.
The point is - all salts attract water from any phase - solid, liquid or gas. Therefore, salt will readily absorb moisture from the atmosphere.
There is nothing magic about any desiccant - they're all composed of salt. The strength of the salt is beyond this discussion. NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) is a very strong (caustic) salt. Red Devil Lye (or any Lye for that matter) is nothing more than a salt (100% NaOH). POINT: Water softener salt is about the most least expensive moisture absorbent you can find (buy a bag of the cheap stuff for $5.00)
Where else but here can you get advice and a science lesson?...lol.
I actually have the damp rid and I just need to know if what I have is enough and did I put it in ideal locations.
Where else but here can you get advice and a science lesson?...lol.
I actually have the damp rid and I just need to know if what I have is enough and did I put it in ideal locations.
Like most things, unless you specifically know the exact amount of gaseous H2O contained within a specific & exact volume (space) - it's a crap shoot. In a previous life while preparing specimens for (let's say) TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), it is absolutely essential all H2O is removed from a specimen sample prior to viewing samples within an electron microscope - this is accomplished (in layman terms) via the replacement (removal) of H2O in the specimen (employing a alcohol [ETOH] dehydration series) with alcohol. Samples are then prepared (via a formaldehyde replacement series of washes) removing the ETOH and substituting/replacing the ETOH w/ paraffin (an alkane wax). You want zero H2O in an electron microscope.
POINT: You have absolutely no way of knowing the amount of gaseous H2O contained in your storage space without specifically measuring it on an hourly, daily weekly basis - and, you must assume (guarantee) the entire volume (space) is completely contained in an air-tight environment. Therefore, it's a crap shoot.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Originally Posted by 72455
Got 4 buckets of damp rid today (about 8 ounces each). Got one in the center of the trunk, one between the front seats and one under the hood next to the evap canister. Keeping the last bucket for a spare.
Are the three buckets enough and did I put them in the right places?
Honestly Dave, I just have a hunch that if you drive the car every week or more often and use the heat to keep the interior dried out it's going to be just as effective as anything else you could do. Let it cool down after you run it, as mentioned before, then cover it with you new cover and you should be golden. I'm not convinced that you need a desiccant in the car or engine compartment. Waiting on your bumper thread to hear what kind of washers you found.
Honestly Dave, I just have a hunch that if you drive the car every week or more often and use the heat to keep the interior dried out it's going to be just as effective as anything else you could do. Let it cool down after you run it, as mentioned before, then cover it with you new cover and you should be golden. I'm not convinced that you need a desiccant in the car or engine compartment. Waiting on your bumper thread to hear what kind of washers you found.
Allan, thanks for the feedback. Since this is all new territory for me with owning a classic car, I just want to make sure I take care of it. I'll be taking a look at those washers this weekend.
Today may have been the last run of the season. I washed my Cutlass, only wash this year, did most of my winter preps. It now sits in the garage with a dust cover. May not be started again till March.
Today may have been the last run of the season. I washed my Cutlass, only wash this year, did most of my winter preps. It now sits in the garage with a dust cover. May not be started again till March.
That's the way I do it too. I just spent the last two days forensically cleaning, waxing and detailing my car. Now it's tucked away in a lightly heated, dehumidified garage under a cover for as long as it takes for winter to go away. There are desiccant bags in the trunk and interior. It's got a crankcase full of fresh oil and a full tank of gas plus fuel stabilizer and the tires are all at 42 PSI. It won't be started until the weather's good enough to drive it.
Tomorrow I have to do the same with my wife's car.
November 15th, 2018, 06:25 AM
