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Surviving the winter

mgbnew

Senior Member
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Does anyone have any suggestions for “winter options”, I plan to keep driving but only when there is no snow on the roads? I was going to put the “70” in storage for the winter but now I am going to install new seats and do a few repairs. With this in mind I am going to run the engine for a while every now and then and as well take her out a few times for a spin when weather and conditions are OK. I am looking for anyone who lives in Ontario who keeps their car running or from a State where the weather is similar. Not sure if I am asking the question correctly but I hope someone out there knows what I am trying to say. In a nutshell I would like to keep her in the garage (not heated) for the winter without doing any harm to the car.
 
I keep mine in an unheated garage, and as for the cold I just park it on top of a tarp to act as a vapor barrier, and I keep a fan blowing underneath to help keep things dry when there are big temperature swings. I try to start it once a month and let it run to operating temperature to keep the oil distributed and the battery charged. The vapor barrier is a necessity for me because the garage has some big cracks in the floor. Oh, be sure to keep the handbrake off in case things do get humid so the brakes don't stick.
 
Good Advice from SparkyDave...I've been storing cars in Ontario for waaaaay to long and never had any problems(indoor or outdoor) I always put a plastic tarp down to keep moisture from coming up, I don't run my cars until spring becasue I don't have the space to get in and out of them without shuffling a bunch of other cars around other wise I would run them....A friend of mine runs his MGA all year on nice days and it seams OK...the only problem I can see is all the salt dust in the air and on the roads, if you do decide to drive it put a peice of cardboard in front of the rad so it heats up faster....One more thing, even though this is pretty much common sense put the top up on a warm day and leave it up till spring(you don't want to have to move it when it's cold out)

Zack
 
Thanks both for the advice. Appreciate it.
 
Yea, I used to freeze my caboose off working in my garage during the winter. Since I'll have my 70 B for many years, and I know I'll have to work on her, I've done the following. I've had it done by someone else, but I had 12" of insulation put in the attic over the garage. Then I had my garage doors insullated as well as a barries installed that prevents air from coming around the doors (which face the north). But I priced it for a handyman (Myself) and it would run about $300. That's not a bad investment to keep the garage warm (with a space heater)during the winter months. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
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