Weatherproofing your Mog!

[Andymoor94]

Hi guys,

Since Eugene is running super blissfully, I want to now turn my head to comfort, and winter sure has shown me the nasty side of owning a classic car! I recently had to deal with condensation that had settled on the interior of the windscreen and then frozen!

So what are the main contributing factors to weather ingress and how do you go about proofing your Moggie from the outside world?

[moggiethouable]

My main concern is prevention of tin worm, via a mix of salt and water at this time of year. Water in itself on a well undersealed car I don't see as a major issue, but salted roads are a nuisance.
For that reason I keep Doris garaged at this time of year, firing up the engine from time to time to keep her warm and the battery charged.
I also have used, Captain tolley's creeping crack cure for slight leaks at the windscreen seal.
Simply lifting the rubber and squirting some underneath.

[Andymoor94]

My main concern is prevention of tin worm, via a mix of salt and water at this time of year. Water in itself on a well undersealed car I don't see as a major issue, but salted roads are a nuisance.
For that reason I keep Doris garaged at this time of year, firing up the engine from time to time to keep her warm and the battery charged.
I also have used, Captain tolley's creeping crack cure for slight leaks at the windscreen seal.
Simply lifting the rubber and squirting some underneath.

Thanks for the thought. Eugene is, however, my daily driver. He's been given a meticulous undercoating of waxoyl after a good day of inspection by myself and a fellow enthusiast friend, not to mention frequent maintenance, so that's not a concern for me.

My main concern is just the interior. I've not heard of Captain Tolley! The rubber seals are likely overdue anyway, which will be one job. Would you suggest to apply this with new seals? Or is Captain's special sauce just for when cracks are apparent?

[ManyMinors]

First, you need to find out where the water is entering the car. Most likely culprit is window rubbers, followed by those around the doors.
I would start by removing the carpets to see which areas of the floor are wet.
My Traveller was terrible and let water in almost everywhere. My saloon used to get wet in the rear floor and under the rear seat which was caused by a leaking rear screen rubber - completely cured by replacing it.
My Convertible, which you might imagine would be the worst offender, has never leaked water and remains dry all year round.

[Andymoor94]

First, you need to find out where the water is entering the car. Most likely culprit is window rubbers, followed by those around the doors.
I would start by removing the carpets to see which areas of the floor are wet.
My Traveller was terrible and let water in almost everywhere. My saloon used to get wet in the rear floor and under the rear seat which was caused by a leaking rear screen rubber - completely cured by replacing it.
My Convertible, which you might imagine would be the worst offender, has never leaked water and remains dry all year round.

Huh, it really has to be something that's wet? My carpets will usually remain dry, minus a bit from my feet.
Maybe it could be the 5L bottle of emergency water in the rear foot well haha

[geoberni]

I recently had to deal with condensation that had settled on the interior of the windscreen and then frozen!

Nothing unique to Classics about that, my wife's 64 Plate Vauxhall Corsa is bad for it.
I cleared it of snow/ice for her yesterday as she was off to the dentists and inside of windscreen had frozen dribbles of condensation on the inside, like they were rain.

[Plin]

Sorry Andymoor94 I don't have any nuggets of advice. Interior fogging up (and subsequent freezing) is something I have been used to for all my motoring years as we have never had a modern super heated car!! Always had to get hot water bottles on the dashboard for a while before I could use my old 1996 Clio in cold weather!! (You are a kind hubby scraping off ice geoberni - thought a 64 Corsa wouldn't have the internal frost!)

[Andymoor94]

Sorry Andymoor94 I don't have any nuggets of advice. Interior fogging up (and subsequent freezing) is something I have been used to for all my motoring years as we have never had a modern super heated car!! Always had to get hot water bottles on the dashboard for a while before I could use my old 1996 Clio in cold weather!! (You are a kind hubby scraping off ice geoberni - thought a 64 Corsa wouldn't have the internal frost!)

Oh dear! Well if it's something that we all suffer with, then fair enough haha

[MorrisJohn]

You’re right geo. My wife’s Kuga is bad for it too, with no apparent cause...but not as bad as her VW CC was. It was truly horrendous! Neither cars had the air set to recirculate, which makes the problem worse.

One of those little moisture traps being left in the car overnight might help reduce it for Andy though?

Or, fill a couple of socks with cat litter and leave it under the seats. It’ll also soak up any moisture and won’t roll around or fall over like a moisture trap when you’re driving.

I recently had to deal with condensation that had settled on the interior of the windscreen and then frozen!

Nothing unique to Classics about that, my wife's 64 Plate Vauxhall Corsa is bad for it.
I cleared it of snow/ice for her yesterday as she was off to the dentists and inside of windscreen had frozen dribbles of condensation on the inside, like they were rain.

[Andymoor94]

You’re right geo. My wife’s Kuga is bad for it too, with no apparent cause...but not as bad as her VW CC was. It was truly horrendous! Neither cars had the air set to recirculate, which makes the problem worse.

One of those little moisture traps being left in the car overnight might help reduce it for Andy though?

Or, fill a couple of socks with cat litter and leave it under the seats. It’ll also soak up any moisture and won’t roll around or fall over like a moisture trap when you’re driving.

I recently had to deal with condensation that had settled on the interior of the windscreen and then frozen!

Nothing unique to Classics about that, my wife's 64 Plate Vauxhall Corsa is bad for it.
I cleared it of snow/ice for her yesterday as she was off to the dentists and inside of windscreen had frozen dribbles of condensation on the inside, like they were rain.

I actually have two small traps under the seats, but today I spotted something that made me slap my head!

I had a 2L bottle of water in case of coolant emergencies, which had seemingly become a 1L bottle... All over my bloody carpet!!!

Goes without saying I'll be getting cat litter haha

[MorrisJohn]

Oh no! At least you’ve got to the bottom of it.

The cat litter in socks seems to work quite well. I leave one under each seat (a tip from the previous owner). Over winter I put in a moisture trap as well and it’s not collected any water yet...so it would seem the litter works well.

I actually have two small traps under the seats, but today I spotted something that made me slap my head!

I had a 2L bottle of water in case of coolant emergencies, which had seemingly become a 1L bottle... All over my bloody carpet!!!

Goes without saying I'll be getting cat litter haha