Seeking Outdoor Car Storage Advice

[bwv]

I have a 63 Studebaker Hawk GT. I dont have room in the garage for it to live this winter.

Before anyone says "rent a garage" or "find a barn" ... I do have two freinds who offered really nice places to keep it... but I would have to "put it away" at some point soon and leave it away 'til spring.

I want to keep it here at home and "not put away", because winter is the time of year that I will have time to work on it... so it will be spending most of the winter outside either on concrete, or solid ground.

It's not a showcar by any means.. but the paint is ok, the interior is nice .... It is a nice looking "daily driver" kinda car, and I'd like to do well by it.

I understand coolant mix, battery maintenance, engine foggers, etc...good stuff for the mechanical storage.

I'm looking more for: the covers some of you may use or have seen used...rodent control (dryer sheets worked well in my camper)... that kinda thing. I was going to put a vapor barrier under it, and a well secured cover on the car... but not sure what kind.... or.. just leave it out, cover the tires, and keep the snow off... I dunno yet. I might just cave and store it.. but i really want to tinker and that would be unrealistic if it is stored. I saw the "classic car cacoon" but they say for inside use only.

Any constructive advice about the best way to keep this car ouside in upstate NY would be greatly appreciated. It wont be in or near the salt.. but all the typical winter elements will be around.

Here's a pic if you wanna see it

 

[El Toro Joe]

Do you have room for something like this?

https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-20-ft-autoshelter-portable-garage-68772.html

 

[tcfjr]

I've used a custom cover from California Car Cover (https://www.calcarcover.com) for outdoor storage of a 1969 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, and they do the job well. They are not cheap, but the covers will last three years or more, and do a good job of protecting the finish on the car. (I don't get snow, so I don't have any personal experience with how well they work in those conditions, but the cover did handle the wind, rain, and SoCal sun quite well.)

Like most high-end covers, they have grommets on the bottom center so you can lock a cable to both sides running under the car, which minimizes theft of the cover and lookie-loos who want to gape at your car.

I tried your particular car in their custom cover selector, and they listed it as an available choice.

 

[bwv]

Do you have room for something like this?
https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-20-ft-autoshelter-portable-garage-68772.html

Hehehe... the neighbor kid bought one to cover his "backhoe project" last fall... the below picture is the result of what last winter did to it, and what i now have to look out at as i sip my coffee on the porch in the morning.

 

[bwv]

I've used a custom cover from California Car Cover (https://www.calcarcover.com) for outdoor storage of a 1969 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, and they do the job well. They are not cheap, but the covers will last three years or more, and do a good job of protecting the finish on the car. (I don't get snow, so I don't have any personal experience with how well they work in those conditions, but the cover did handle the wind, rain, and SoCal sun quite well.)
Like most high-end covers, they have grommets on the bottom center so you can lock a cable to both sides running under the car, which minimizes theft of the cover and lookie-loos who want to gape at your car.

I tried your particular car in their custom cover selector, and they listed it as an available choice.

They look nice... proabably exactly what i was looking for.... i was lookign at a similar site(carcoverworld.com) and found a material (Moum Plus) that looks good for around $229

What material did you get for yours?

 

[tcfjr]

They look nice... proabably exactly what i was looking for.... i was lookign at a similar site(carcoverworld.com) and found a material (Moum Plus) that looks good for around $229What material did you get for yours?

I used the StormWeave, but didn't have to worry about snow.

 

[bwv]

Thank you

 

[ahchiu]

I would make sure to keep rats and other rodents from getting under the hood, the can chew up the wiring harness and really mess you up.

 

[rogdeb]

Nice auto bwv

Looks remarkably like my Buds 1960 (?) Alvis TD21

 

[bwv]

Thanks

It's definetly a fun little car. Nice running little 289cu/in V8, handles pretty nice.

That Alvis is a sweet car!

So far I'm thinkin CoverKing Mosum Plus custom fit all-season cover, plastic sheet between it and the ground, and enough mothballs and dryer sheets in it to keep the fuzzy critters out.

It's gonna be in and out of my garage over the winter.. so it will be run occasionally and allowed to get warm once in a while.

 

[bwv]

Never expected Amazon to sell car covers... same cover 229 everywhere. got it for 179.. custom fit to the Stude... in 3 days.

Done. Fits nice, looks like exactly like what i wanted.

Thank you guys for your input.

 

[Geezer]

You probably already thought of this, but make sure you park the car where nothing can drop onto it, like branches or nuts. Also, keep the cover on snug so it doesn't flap in the wind. Close to a building on the side where it is protected from the prevailing wind would be best.

 

[bwv]

Thanks

Though of all that except the Nuts and bought "Gust Guards" with it to keep it as taught as possible.

I would imagine it gets as windy there in Shandaken as it does over here in Stamford. ~25 miles apart maybe? ...we need to go for a ride sometime

 

[Geezer]

Thanks

Though of all that except the Nuts

and bought "Gust Guards" with it to keep it as taught as possible.

I would imagine it gets as windy there in Shandaken as it does over here in Stamford. ~25 miles apart maybe? ...we need to go for a ride sometime

Yep, we're practically neighbors. It is not unusual for me to gas up at the intersection of 23 and 10 in Stamford. I don't think I'll be riding much the rest of this year, but we should get together next season.