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MGA MGA vs. The Elements

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R6MGS

R6MGS

Yoda
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Well, as some of you know my wife has started driving the 61 MGA daily....With the Caddy misbehavin i figure I'll finish that off as my commuter and leave her the Jag, well she's not too comfortable driving that( for fear of something happening to my baby) so she's been using the MGA. Now the past 2 days have been very stormy and she's been caught in a few thunderstorms......top down all the way of corse. Anyway, my question is; does anyone see this as especially dangerous, I would hate for her to get hurt, also what can i do to keep the car from rusting any more since it's sitting outside. I've had it oil sprayed, I periodically spray the beed line down with WD-40, and I am going to mix up some oil/varsol solution to spray in the wheel wells. Anything else I should do?

Thanks
BTW: The top isn't used at all becasue it's a very old canvas top that only holds water, and the sidecurtains arn't much better....she got a full tonneau, a pickup truck tonneau that we drape of the interior, and a plasic tarp used only on really rainy days.
 
You can scotchguard the canvas top, or use any other product meant for such a purpose. Check with your local upholstory shop. That should keep the majority of the rain out and give her a fairly dry commute. Not sure what to do about the moisture inside the car since it's stored outside where it's still raining! I would recommend looking into a car tent and place a small space heater inside. Prolonged moisture can rust these cars faster than... well... I'm sure you already know!
 
Unfortnuatly no room for a tent in the driveway(which is crowded enough already, and I still need room for the LE when it comes)....I never thought about the scotch guard, but I doubt that she'll want to use the top anyway...it's a nasty tan on a white car, so it looks terrible and it's alot of effort to put it back down...I also never thought much about moisture inside the car when sitting,but how about some of those absorbing packets?(the ones that come with pool chemicals)....On really bad days she can always use the Jag, it's these on/off days like today that get ya.

Oh, I've already tried to convince her to change over to the TR6, which has a little more drivability....plus roll up windows and a nice top.....but she won't hear of it!
 
No need to tell me that, try telling that to the driver......
 
A small price to pay, othewise I'd be driving a Honda.
 
I love the attitude. Lets see, which car to drive, ahah, the MGA. I guess the the old top might be a good idea though. Just tease her that the cost of that big smile each day is to carry the top.
 
One thing I didn't really mention was that We've gat a a platic tarp about 2 feet to short to cover the entire car, which works out nicely becasue with it tied down on all four corners and the it still allows for lots of air circulation. And with the tonneau on the interior stays dry. I am more concerned about stopping on wet roads and such
Anyway, so far so good....first full week of driving(little over 100 miles) and no "I am stuck" calls yet
 
Just a word of caution... I covered my '65 B with a blue tarp once when a storm was rolling in. When the storm was over I removed the tarp. It was bunjeed down pretty tight to prevent movement, but the wind still caused the tarp to flap and move a bit. The paint on the hood and fenders was nearly worn through along the edges of the tarp.
 
I usually keep an outdoor cover underneath the tarp, but all my covers are in use....for the next few weeks at least, until the LE comes out of storage, then I can takes it's cover......The paint on this A is so thick anyway i don't think it's gunna do much.......Good point though.
 
Even thick paint is only as thick as a piece of note paper! At least put chamois or microfiber towels under the edges. It may not wear through but if the wind blows, it will scuff the crap out of it. Don't make me post pictures!
 
Alright, I'll take the outdoor cover off my 58(it's inside) and put it on here under the tarp until another cover frees up, it kills me everytime I buy another cover, I've got at least 10 of em` but I always seam to be short 1.

BTW: This is THICK paint, cars got quite a history behind it....somewhere in there someone decided it would be nice in mercedes white, ok it's a nice color and it's shiny...BUT someone must have put at least 5 or 6 really heavy coats on it...this is probably about 5 sheets of note paper thick
and yup, this is my next resto project as soon as the TC is done.
 
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