Wot No Garage

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neil4030
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Wot No Garage

Post by neil4030 »

Now then, it's been a while. Over 5 years since I sold my lovely Minor due to house move resulting in no garage. I do have a sheltered drive though and i see car covers have certainly improved with 4 layered ones available. Just how bad is it to keep a Minor outside I wonder? Is it common in UK or would I see my pride and joy rotting in no time. Withdrawal symptoms. Cravings!! I want another but always ruled it out . I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has kept Minor outside longer term.
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by Admin »

A very timely question - I have been investigating solutions for just this problem only in the past fortnight (although for a - excuse the swear word - Mini rather than a Minor). I've been reading some very negative reviews of pretty much all the covers no matter how expensive, so now considering something like this:
clarke.jpg
clarke.jpg (46.54 KiB) Viewed 1947 times
They seem to be very cheap solutions to the problem, and I've seen clones of the Clarke ones on Facebook marketplace for under £100 (so hey, maybe there is a use for Facebook other than to slag each other off after all :roll: :wink: :lol: ).
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Biggles1957
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by Biggles1957 »

Pretty impressed with the Clarke cover - son-in-law has his blob of iron oxide (Nissan something or other) under one for the last year or so in all weathers. I expect it will be a while yet before he's finished rebuilding it!
ManyMinors
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by ManyMinors »

I really wouldn't worry about it. Our Minor (1000 Convertible) lives outside come rain or shine and is used regularly all year round. I have never used any sort of car cover as so many people have told me about their car suffering under them (rising damp, micro-blistering paint, interior going mouldy, rubbing the bodywork etc etc). I am sure that my car would be "better off" kept in a garage but it has lived outside for many years without suffering unduly so I continue with it. The one model I wouldn't want to keep outside would be the Traveller as the timber frame would suffer from prolonged exposure to UK weather.
Blaketon
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by Blaketon »

I wouldn't put anything on the paint, as with any dirt on there, it'll be like sand paper. You can't beat a good, dry garage. When I lived with my parents, my Midget shared the garage with my father's car and my Mini lived outside. As it was in regular use, it tolerated this better than if it had been laid up. When I bought my house, there was an old prefab garage there, so the Mini moved into that and the Midget stayed with my parents, until such time as I got around to building a new and bigger garage. I used to clean the Mini weekly and polish a section of it each time (I'm still a Simoniz Original solid wax polisher). Even in that tatty old garage, the car kept a lot better and the polish used to last better. One of the worst polish strippers is condensation :-? :-? .

The Clarks tent is going to be better than nothing, if not very secure (Insurance costs could be affected). If there is room for one of those, is there is room for a wooden one and these days, permitted developments can allow a building of up to 30m2 without planning permission.

If the drive is sheltered (Fence one side and house the other?), you could create a garage by putting a roof over it and box it in with some high gates. Then there are lean to kits like https://www.lidget.co.uk/our-buildings/lean-garages/ or Gazeboxes like https://www.gazebox.net/ . Four good corner pillars, with a roof and roller shutters each side can also make for compact covered car storage, with easy access.
KeithL
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by KeithL »

I wanted to put some form of temporary structure like in Mike's picture on the side of our garage for our MX5 but I am limited to 2.4 metres wide (because of a lamp post) and a pent roof so all the rain runs away from the garage wall. So far I've not managed to find anything suitable so if anyone knows of anything then please let me know.

myoldjalopy
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by myoldjalopy »

The main caveat with keeping a car outside is that it must not leak. Old Minors often leak through windscreens, hinges where the rubber gaskets are perished or even holes in the bodywork such as rotten inner wings. The carpets soak up the water and go smelly and then the rot sets in. This is the kiss of death to an old car unless the leak can be found and fixed. Sometimes this is very easy, other times not so. Not always easy to spot when purchasing, especially if the car has been kept out of the rain for this very reason.
paul 300358
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by paul 300358 »

I kept mine outside, under a cover for 12 months. I made sure that I took the cover off most days, especially when it was put onto a wet car. It was ok but not ideal. Also, the car windscreen would mist up every time I went out.
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by Myrtles Man »

You can keep one outside under a cover successfully but you have to be meticulous about it, check under the cover(s) at least weekly and strip it/them off to let the car 'breathe' if there's any sign of damp. Despite what they may claim in their adverts, no covers are waterproof, certainly not after a week or two's use (trust me, I know, having used several different types of cover on various cars over many years). The best (and cheapest!) approach is to buy two car covers off eBay (you can get 'em for under twenty quid each) and a large sheet of polythene, also off the bay, then put one cover on the clean and dry car (this is vitally important), followed by the sheet of polythene to render it completely waterproof, then cover the whole lot with the second cover and strap the whole lot firmly over the car so that it cannot flap about in the wind and chafe the paintwork. Job's a good 'un.
neil4030
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by neil4030 »

Thanks very much everyone for useful advice.
Blaketon
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by Blaketon »

paul 300358 wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2020 7:04 pm I kept mine outside, under a cover for 12 months. I made sure that I took the cover off most days, especially when it was put onto a wet car. It was ok but not ideal. Also, the car windscreen would mist up every time I went out.
That's one of the troubles and you get a lot of unseen condensation. Indoors is best. Nobody would have a lathe and keep it under a tarpaulin....would they?
philthehill
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by philthehill »

Even kept indoors with a goof through flow of air and the car under a breathable cover - damp still gets inside the car. I always have a 'Kilrock' damp absorbing canister inside the car and it has to be emptied on a regular basis.

I do not have a cover over my lathe - I just make sure that it is well covered in oil. :D

Blaketon
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Re: Wot No Garage

Post by Blaketon »

My garage is pretty dry and it has some modest heating. The roller door isn't exactly air tight. As I did a fair bit of it myself, it took some time to finish off (There are still a few little bits to do, that have been sent to the back of the queue). One thing, which made a huge difference, was when the ceiling went in. Prior to that, during the first Winter, if you got a cold spell and then it warmed up and became damp, you got a lot of condensation in the garage. Separating the attic void put a stop to that.

I wasn't quite clear on the issue of the lathe. I should have said keep it outside, under a tarpaulin :wink:
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