15 replies to this topic

[Dandyer1995]

Hi all,

 

Interested to know where most people store their mini if they aren't lucky enough to have a garage at home. I currently don't have a garage and the mini is on the drive.

 

I'd like to rent a garage but its going to be away from my house and I'm worried about leaving it. Plus it'll be a pain not having power there and having to drive there every time. I'm not sure what's safer having it locked in a garage away from my house or having exposed on a drive but at home. The benefit is it'll be dry and at I can do larger projects without having to dodge rain etc. I know I'll have to notify the insurance which isn't a problem as long as the price doesn't increase to much.

 

anyone else got any experience with the same problem? Its probably worth mentioning its not exactly a show quality mini so not to worried about rust as its a resto project and is going to be stripped in a few years.

 

cheers

 

 

 

 

 

[haz]

To some extent it does depend on where you live.

 

I'm coastal so storing a mini outside really isn't an option. The salty sea air turns them into red dust in no time at all. I once stored my older mini (in my sig) for 4 years whilst I saved up a for a full body resto. 6k Saved and took it to the bodyshop where it was subsequently condemned. 4 Years had taken it from mediocre condition to not economically repairable. 6k wouldn't come close.

 

Build a car port if that's an option, that'd keep most of the rain off at least. Garage FTW though. Number 1 priority when I bought a house

[MikeRotherham]

Would an outdoor version of the Carcoon be a viable option where you live? Not cheap mind.

 

As an example:

 

https://www.demon-tw...cB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[DeadSquare]

Back in the 1970's, when "Communist Coventry Council" thought everyone should live in high-rise towers and ride a bike, I constructed for a friend, an inverted U  2" X 2" angle iron frame that was a  6' tall X 8' X 12' tube so that he could work on his Mini se7en racing car.

 

The plywood sides slightly sloped inwards and the roof was slightly curved to shed the rain and so that it wasn't a permanent building, it rolled on Go-Cart wheels, but industrial castors would have been better, and to anchor it, it had modified carpenter's clamps that gripped the tyres so that it didn't move in a high wind and touch the body.

 

Although pushed up against a wall, open at one end and 4" off the ground, it had plenty of ventalation but kept the weather at bay.

[cal844]

One of my minis is under a car cover in the driveway, it has additional locks and is always blocked in by other cars

[absx2]

If its a runner and in one piece drive it all year round and the brakes and clutch won`t seize up on you.

They are far better to be used and getting a bit of air around them so there are no square tyres, stale petrol and seized parts to deal with.

Failing that a a few cheap sheets of plywood will do the job. 

[Dandyer1995]

Sorry should have said, it’s still a runner and using it almost every weekend. Temporary cover/timber frame isn’t an option unfortunately. It’s just got a fitted mini cover on at the moment.

We plan to buy a house with a garage in the next few years but worried two years stored outside could cost me in the long run.

[DeadSquare]

So good to hear that you are using it, so long as there isn't salt on the road.

 

Damp humid conditions under a cover, which can persist from weekend to weekend at this time of year are just what tin-worm loves, so swallow your pride and treat any parts where water/damp hang around to something like WD40 and "kill" any rust as soon as it appears.

[JXC Mini GT]

I store my Mini under a Trike cover with a fitted car cover underneath, it is on my drive as I don't have a garage and have no space to build one, the reason I went for the trike cover is it's easy to get the Mini in and out and protects the car from the worst weather.

http://www.theminifo...ortable-garage/

[Dandyer1995]

I don’t need an excuse to drive it it’s out any chance I can. Salt is a no go though. It already has some rust but we’re working our way through it. The trike cover is cool but not sure the Mrs will approve. ? My daily is left abandoned down the road and the Mrs little 107 takes the other slot

Edited by Dandyer1995, 21 January 2019 - 07:19 PM.

[JXC Mini GT]

I don’t need an excuse to drive it it’s out any chance I can. Salt is a no go though. It already has some rust but we’re working our way through it. The trike cover is cool but not sure the Mrs will approve. My daily is left abandoned down the road and the Mrs little 107 takes the other slot

I have to admit it's not the prettiest of covers and my neighbour calls it an eyesore, but it protects the Mini and that's the aim.

[Dandyer1995]

If it does the job then why not. I do have my warehouse at work too so if I’ve got a job to get done at a weekend in the warm and dry.

[cal844]

You need an Every Car Covered fitted car cover, I have one on my clubman estate and it's great, I usually try to use a water proof spray over the cover before it's fitted and regularly as per bottle instructions.

You can also use old duvets to protect the car from scratches as you move the cover around

[mab01uk]

Fit something like this if garage has an up and over door:-

https://www.screwfix...-defender/79478

 

(About £50 if you shop around)

[cp2708]

Outside all year, used most weekends, if only locally, lucky they don't grit the roads too much round here. Just make sure it doesn't leak, put some moisture absorbers inside and use plenty of rustproofing.

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