Rain! Rain! Rain!

Gel

How many here are willing to bring out their treasured car in the rain and place it at the mercy of the rust monster?
I for one am questioning the sense of owning a classic when I can only drive it on dry days! I wanted it as a second car when the missus has the main car but I'm still stranded because of the weather!!

Dustpuppy

I drive my '67 beetle every day, raining or sunshine. If you give your classic enough attention, it is no problem. Once a year i put my baby into the garage for 2 or 3 weeks, strip it down and check it. The strip down is not fully, only all boots of, carpet and seats out, engine out and give it a very good full check. Each little rust spot i repair as soon as i find it.

Spit62500

Buy a second one that you don't mind using in the rain. Then you'll probably end up buying a third one for parts, a fourth one because it was a bargain. Before you know it, your driveway will be full and your wife'll have gone strangely silent....

Dades

Gel wrote:

How many here are willing to bring out their treasured car in the rain and place it at the mercy of the rust monster?

With the way the housing market has gone, it will be a cold day in hell before a lot of us city dwellers can afford a place with a garage.

Hence the only choice is waiting until your kids have left the nest, or keeping a classic outside and driving it it every day to shake off the moisture and keep the bits moving nicely.

qz

My Dad refuses to drive his in the rain, partly because the roof stays down 99% of the time and it's too difficult to put back up!
If we're out for a spin and we get caught in the slightest drizzle, he'll zip home, park it in the garage, dry it off with a towel, open all the doors and turn on the radiator in the garage.

I'm convinced he loves that car more than he does me.

AsphaltRisin'

Any classics i ever own get driven whenever i feel like it, if it's raining and i want to go somewhere then feck it i'll go anyway. If you just pay enough attention to it and maintain it regularly then it'll be fine, and fix up any rust that comes up. Unless it's a classic ferrari or something they only made 3 of or somethin like that then what's the point of having a nice old car without using it?

macplaxton

I'll take my classic out rain or shine. There's no point in me having any car if I don't use it. You just have to keep on top of all the work in keep the body good. If the worst happens, I'll just get the welder out again. I find that lack of use is just as bad for a car.

Alternatively, get yourself a second car like a Reliant Kitten or something similar and cheap to run with a sturdy chassis and fibreglass body.

Rich

franksm

I take mine out in all weather - but it gets washed once a week, and I take pains to scrub under the fenders. And the underside & "innards" I waxoyl once a year.

The only thing I have a problem with is the puny ventilation in the MG

MercMad

Buy a second one that you don't mind using in the rain. Then you'll probably end up buying a third one for parts, a fourth one because it was a bargain. Before you know it, your driveway will be full and your wife'll have gone strangely silent....

...........or maybe just..............gone !!

I use mine in any/all weather, and as mentioned regular use is the best thing for them. Now if I had a concours car, or something in excellent original condition I might feel different. But I dont so I just stay on top of the bodywork and spend a few hundred every year dealing with it !

No big deal !

I actually need to re-Waxoyl mine soon !

Hifive

I've just finished waxoling mine, what a job:( First i got it up on stands, then got at it with the power washer, then the wire brush, then a special anti corrosive paint called Galvafroid, which I had for boat trailers and the like and finally the waxol. My own mother wouldn't have recognised me when I came out:)

Recommendations:
1. Don't let your missus catch you heating up the waxol on her good cooker.
2. Get one of those car creepers (€20 in Aldi) to move around on, while under the car.
3.Take the cars wheels off.
4.Wear either,
a. A suit of armour.
b. A full scuba divers rig out, or
c. A space suit.

MercMad

Hifive wrote:

I've just finished waxoling mine, what a job:( First i got it up on stands, then got at it with the power washer, then the wire brush, then a special anti corrosive paint called Galvafroid, which I had for boat trailers and the like and finally the waxol. My own mother wouldn't have recognised me when I came out:)

Recommendations:
1. Don't let your missus catch you heating up the waxol on her good cooker.
2. Get one of those car creepers (€20 in Aldi) to move around on, while under the car.
3.Take the cars wheels off.
4.Wear either,
a. A suit of armour.
b. A full scuba divers rig out, or
c. A space suit.

.........tell me about it. I have done several of my own cars and others too and its a messy PITA. The first time I did it I wrecked the floor in the workshop, that took more time to clean than the job itslef, and I was weeks getting tetra seal off my hands.

corktina

yep...most days one or other of mine are OTR....4 taxed and 5 insured at the mo

2cv

Spit62500 wrote:

Buy a second one that you don't mind using in the rain. Then you'll probably end up buying a third one for parts, a fourth one because it was a bargain. Before you know it, your driveway will be full

This is what happened to me! I have 9 cars at the house.... :eek:

Eric318

What's wrong with driving the classic convertible in the rain with the top down?



Its a bit like being on a motorbike

eamon234

I drive all weathers too I hate mollycoddling classic cars it defeats the whole purpose of owning one in the first place. Just keep it leak free and keep it waxoyled it's not rocket science.

stratos

yep I agree with all of the above use it all weathers keep on top of the rust, It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

folkswagen

2cv wrote:

This is what happened to me! I have 9 cars at the house.... :eek:

I understand your addiction:) I think we have a dozen now all vw:cool: ....and not a citroen in sight!;)

and we believe in driving them when we need to - whatever the weather - life is to short to wait for dry days!!!

2cv

folkswagen wrote:

I understand your addiction:) I think we have a dozen now all vw:cool: ....and not a citroen in sight!;)

Told ya before Claire, get a 2CV !!!!! :-)

ds20prefecture

Gel wrote:

How many here are willing to bring out their treasured car in the rain and place it at the mercy of the rust monster?
I for one am questioning the sense of owning a classic when I can only drive it on dry days! I wanted it as a second car when the missus has the main car but I'm still stranded because of the weather!!

I use mine every day, hail rain or shine.

Gel

Aaaaargh!!!!!! Nooooooooo!
Okay I couldn't resist! Fed up of looking at my newly painted shiny MGB sitting in the garage so I took it out for a spin! Fifty yards up the road, rain drops on the windshield. Keep going or turn back?? which will I do? I'll turn back...no, be brave! keep going it's only a few drops! Big flood up ahead, no time to stop!, big sand lorry coming!!, Oh God! It's too late!!! SPLASH!!!
Muck, dirt, water, grit!! all over my baby!! More rain coming, it's pelting down, worst shower in days!! panic! pain! tears! maybe it's just a dream..relax, easy does it....SPLOSH!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOO! IT"S NOT A DREAM, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!
Who said it's okay to take a classic out in the rain? I'm a nervous wreck, armed with a dry towel and a heater!
Maybe I'm not cut out for classic car ownership!

stratos

Thats why you buy a second one its for bad weather, the third is for winter, the fourth can be used for weddings, the fifth is your divorce Pick me up the sixth......................