39 replies to this topic

[Dolly 89]

personally i would leave it with an empty fuel tank with the filler cap off then when you fill it again rinse it out with petrol like totally fill it and then drain it straight out to get rid of any condensation in there and wheels off i wouldnt put plastic bags over the discs they will collect water but i would doo as suggested with radiator and buy a good car cover one thats meant to keep moisture out and stop condesation aswell but thats just what i would do im sure others think other bits should be done aswell

[Libby]

Hi,

Do not put a cover on your car. It will make and keep moisture inside and rust the car badly! Not withstanding the fact that when it moves on the paintwork it will rub the paintwork away!

What you need is a carcoon like this:









What the carcoon does is take all the moisture out of everywhere in and around the car. Our cars will rust from the inside out. The carcoon will stop that happening.

Mine is a twin wall so can be used outside. The only time I get a problem is with heavy snow and I have to brush it off. These are used by all the classic car people.

To give you an idea of how good it is, I will tell you that I removed mine from the carcoon and someone from this forum was going to fit new leather covered seats for me. He did not turn up on several occasions and the Mini was left in a large garage I own for about three months. This was the first time rust actually came through and on the corner of the bumpers. The car was totally re built in 2001 with a new shell and has always been kept safe. Those three months were the worst it had ever suffered! I have since paid to have the bumpers resprayed.

Web site:

http://www.carcoon.co.uk/

I paid £373.29 with vat for mine in 2007

Cost me more than that to get the bumpers and a little bit more resprayed!

Hope that helps.

Best regards

Chris

[ashmiddleton]

The petrol side of it. I inherited a 1989 orion and it had a full tank of petrol and had been sat for 9years and not started i put new battery on it and it started with 9 year old petrol. and run fine.

[E-Tizzle]

thanks for the carcoon idea but thats way out of my price range. dont forget im about to be a student!!
it hasnt got any petrol in it at the moment, (well it might have a drop) so i think ill just leave it like that.

thanks for your help everyone!!!

[l_bratch]

The petrol side of it. I inherited a 1989 orion and it had a full tank of petrol and had been sat for 9years and not started i put new battery on it and it started with 9 year old petrol. and run fine.

Yep, petrol going off does seem to be a myth. I started my old Mayfair a few months ago, which had about half a tank of petrol in it for four years and it started fine... (The rest of the car was in a very bad way, so all other storage related ideas seem to be real!)

Edited by l_bratch, 21 September 2010 - 04:40 PM.

[Dolly 89]

The petrol side of it. I inherited a 1989 orion and it had a full tank of petrol and had been sat for 9years and not started i put new battery on it and it started with 9 year old petrol. and run fine.

Yep, petrol going off does seem to be a myth. I started my old Mayfair a few months ago, which had about half a tank of petrol in it for four years and it started fine... (The rest of the car was in a very bad way, so all other storage related ideas seem to be real!)

i think fuel going off effects race engines more than anything when i used to race motocross if i left fuel in for too long about a month usually you would find the bike starting to run rather rough and not be nearly as responsive but drain the fuel out and put fresh in and it would be fine after a couple of minutes riding

[TopCatCustom]

Please don't take this the wrong way but I think you are being way too *******! I know mini's suffer with rust, but if you can get a parent or someone to put a waterproof cover over it when it rains then when we have a clear spell of a few days take it off that will keep it dry.

Sitting it on blocks wouldn't do any harm so not a bad idea, as someone else has said leave the brakes off and if you can jam the clutch on then great. If it is in the air you can turn the wheels half a turn every now and again to stop them sticking.

With regards to the petrol tank- it is best to keep tanks full. In the plant/construction world drivers are told to fill their tanks every night to stop condensation rusting them inside, this should be no different with a car, but obviously it isn't a nice thought to fill it up with the expensive stuff knowing it's not going to be used for a year! (Although you'll be happy if petrol is £5 a litre next year!!!)

Starting and running should only be done if you can run it for a good half hour if being left for that long- and ideally should be driven- not just left to idle. This way everything gets warmed up thoroughly and water/condensation evaporates from the exhaust etc so it won't start to attack the steel when warm and still damp. It will also keep your brakes and flywheel surface in good condition.

Got to be honest about the battery- I'm not sure how it will react to not being used for a year- and I wouldn't have thought leaving it on charge for that amount of time would be wise, I'd have thought maybe be put on trickle charge for a couple of days every month or two, and being used to start the car if you can use it may help.

Hope that helps?!

p.s. nobody has advised on any way of keeping it smelling fresh inside and not going musty! I dont know much about this but it could be an issue!

[sazal]

Those carcoons are a brill idea! Libby what size is yours? Size 2?

[E-Tizzle]

a couple of you have said put the battery on trickle charge, is it okay to not charge at all or will that ruin it?

i have just bought a breathable car cover of ebay. £12 YAY! (halfords £65 - go **** urself!!)

so ill just stick that on there.

i wont be able to drive the car as it has no tax, mot or insurance. but i can still run it for half an hour atleast when i come home for holidays.

i just need to get a demister thingy to go on the inside.
cheers everyone.

[Jacko-lah]

Put it in your dad's name and let him use it ?

[E-Tizzle]

nah thats not really an option.
it would be mum who would use it and im not sure she would like it for a whole year.
and then it needs tax mot and insurance just to keep it going well. its gonna cost atleast £400 for that year.

[Carlos W]

I've got a optimate battery charger designed to be left on for ages, like over the winter on classic cars or lawn mowers, keeps the battery good! Cost me about 30 quid from ebay!



This is the fuel that came out of my mini tank after 4 years, you could make sure it's empty, then put it somewhere warm and dry for a while, then put a litre of oil in and give it a good shake to coat it all, just rince it out with fuel in a year!

[Stevee]

Buy a Tent :] and keep it in a tent for a year with another sheet over it while its in the tent

[minihaven]

most battery manufacturers recomend a low or trickle charge once every three months if not used works for me .

[Libby]

Those carcoons are a brill idea! Libby what size is yours? Size 2?

Hi,

Cannot remember what size, but I gave them the car and they told me what size.

To the original poster.

The carcoon is a very low cost option if you value your car. If it has no value then I agree it is not worth spending the money.

However, your breathable cover will let damp in which will cause rust and wind moving the cover will damage the paintwork. It this does not bother you and you are happy to pay to sort this out or leave it then of course that is not a problem.

I bought a breathable very expensive and soft cover for Libby and after a month or so the paintwork was damaged. This is the reason I researched and found out the carcoon was used by a lot of owners with expensive classic cars.

The carcoon power supply also includes a trickle charger which I don't use as the car is driven at least every month.

Best regards

Chris