Over Winter

[Nernster]

Advice please. My MG is not a daily car and spends time in my garage waiting to play. Over the winter the temperature does drop dramatically and I have seen -10c in the garage. I live on a hill and the house faces south and the breeze seems to be constantly on the face of the house. The car will be run during the winter only not as often as just now.

In summary am I back to what my dear old pop used to suggest and throwing a blanket over the rear end of the car?

[Johnny M]

If you don't mind me asking & it's not to personal, why don't you use your car more often please

[Nernster]

not personal at all. I use a company car for work and my hours mean that I sometimes cant be bothered when I get home to have a drive. During the summer a good blast in the Borders clears the cobwebs. I do park up my Audi at the weekend and use the MG more. So it does provide silver lining opportunities!

[TipperMG]

I my experience low temperatures do no harm assuming you have the correct anti-freeze/coolant in the engine and best to get a 'battery conditioner'/charger to keep the battery healthy.

What really kills a car stored over winter is damp. Make sure your garage is well ventilated and not necessarily heated and boxed up. My dad kept his cars for years in an open carport. There was little rust and no damp musty smells from the interior. No condensation around the engine/ignition parts either so they always started OK.

Watch out for mice too! They like a cosy place to hibernate but usually eat something whilst there!

[Johnny M]

Exactly. I completely agree

[Neil.R]

Do you have power in the garage?
If so what I have done is fixed a panel heater to the wall with a timer & thermostat, & supplement this if req with a heater I got from Machine Mart just to keep the temp above freezing.
To be honest it was for the benefit of my bike not with the TF in mind, but now it lives in there it seems to do ok.
In my experience most garages have no problems with lack of ventilation..

[Nernster]

Thank you. My cats will keep the mice population down. The garage is very well ventilated as the wind blows in that direction the majority of the time. I may not put a heater in as the wife will complain. She is a cold soul and doesnt consider the car worthy of such luxury. The battery conditioner sounds like a good investment, it will appear on my present list.

[wildcat45]

I keep mine outside all year. No choice - no garage. It won't get as much use over the winter - partialy because I don't want it to get all caked in salt.

Any tips for keeping an F outside - I run it on the same basis as Nernster - weekends, high days and holidays over the colder months.

Dan.

[Nernster]

Hey Dan dont forget trips to Holy Island to race Ice cream vans!!!

[Kenny P]

Originally Posted by Nernster

Thank you. My cats will keep the mice population down. The garage is very well ventilated as the wind blows in that direction the majority of the time. I may not put a heater in as the wife will complain. She is a cold soul and doesnt consider the car worthy of such luxury. The battery conditioner sounds like a good investment, it will appear on my present list.

Whats it got to do with her?

[Mark.L]

Originally Posted by wildcat45

Any tips for keeping an F outside - I run it on the same basis as Nernster - weekends, high days and holidays over the colder months.

Dan.

Both my F and TF were sunday toys but lived outside in the winter.

I would buy a hoodcover (hoodmate or similar) to stop the hood going green and perhaps even re-proof before the real bad weather sets in. other than that I just ran the engine every 2 weeks or so untill the fans cut in meaning everything was up to temp.

I have tried a full car cover in the past but I found they tend to trap in moisture and don't allow the car to 'breath', so just opted for the hoodmate.

[wildcat45]

I'll have to wack the hard top on sometime soon. It's just an admission that the good days - what few they were - are over.

Nernster - looking forward to another trip up there next summer.