Anyone keep their 02 outdoors .. or should i sell?

[flipper]

In a week or two, I'm going to take possession of a 76 Porsche and I have no choice but to give it my single garage space. That leaves me w/ a quandry concerning my 76 02. I can either keep it outside under a cover (I have the Bavauto one that everybody likes) or, shudder, sell it, shudder shudder. What would be the advice here?

If I keep it, and I really want to, it'd only be outside under cover for the summer driving months. I have indoor storage available to me for the salt and snow months but it's the kind of deal where you've got to leave it and can't be picking it up all the time.

So, what do you think?

Fact: I live along the coast in RI, if that makes a diff ...

P.S. I'd rather sell it than do damage to it ... fyi.

[bills2002]

Build another garage or keep the VW outdoors.

[ought2]

I say keep it. When you store it outdoors, be sure to have a layer of heavy poly or something similar underneath to prevent moisture migration.

[Richard]

Actually you should be fine. This is important. If you cant park the 2 on asphalt or concrete sell it. Parking on grass is the quickest way to rust the car. A comparison would be parking it on a sponge....

[72Golf]

Park the Porsche outside for two weeks. The oil slick will provide a protective layer that will prevent any damage to the '02 for at least the balance of the driving season.

[Retrogroucher]

Great comments so far!

I'm in a similar situation with a couple of my cars. I'd keep her. Park it in storage in winter and you wouldn't be touching it anyhow. You know the storage prep: fresh oil, gas stabilizer with full tank of fuel, trickle charger, pads under tires (@40psi), covered, etc.

For summer, consider Bav Auto Ultimate cover and sunshield for windshield.

Is the salt air evil where you are?

[philv]

mine is a daily driver/beater and sits outside all year. hey it a car.

[rover1]

I have a 85' targa and 76 2002 both of witch stay out side and and thats the way its bin for the last 5 years. But So Cal. winters are pretty mellow compared to N.E. if you had to make a choice i would keep the Porsche if i was you. 76 is the worst year ever for bmw 2002 and 911's make 2002's look like Yugo's and im a 2002 lover iv owned 5 2002's over the last 30 years. Rover-1

[flipper]

thanks, guys, very good and helpful stuff ... for the most part, ha ha. i do have the bavauto ultimate cover, so i guess i'm covered, ho ho, there. okay, as a minor hassle, i could keep the car on pavement but how bad would gravel and packed dirt be? probably not so good.

the 76 porsche, by the way, has 58k miles on it and does indeed have a glorified vdub motor in it. very cool car. chocolate brown.

that said, i love my 02 equally; only she's worth far less, so out in the open she must stay. sigh.

and now, here she is, whoa, Brown Betty (bam-BA-lam)!

[c.d.iesel]

sell the ===P O R S C H E=== because it's a dreadful color!!

put your time, money, indoor storage to work

on the 02

[Ian]

That's a little harsh, CD. We all make choices as to which cars we keep, and we all have different opinions.

Flipper, I think you should keep the car, as long as you can park it on cement or asphalt, to avoid the moisture that seeps up from the ground. If I understand correctly, you can store it indoors during the winter months. During the summer, a car cover would be nice to protect the paint and block any potential leaks during a storm. Just don't forget to take the cover off every couple of weeks to let trapped moisture out.

One thing you can do to protect the undercarriage is apply Mike Miller's winter elixer: One third Dexron type automatic transmission fluid and two thirds CRC Power Lube. I mixed some up in an empty 1 gallon bottle (from windshield washer fluid), put on a $7 sta-lube pump from the local autoparts store, and sprayed the suspension of my e46 last winter. A little messy, but it does protect the undercarriage from moisture.

Ian

'76 M2 (on jackstands, but on it's way back to road-worthiness)

[ray_]

http://www.carcoon.co.uk/carcoons/products.asp

Cheers,

Ray (they have a u.s. based website too)

[flipper]

Flipper, I think you should keep the car, as long as you can park it on cement or asphalt, to avoid the moisture that seeps up from the ground. If I understand correctly, you can store it indoors during the winter months. During the summer, a car cover would be nice to protect the paint and block any potential leaks during a storm. Just don't forget to take the cover off every couple of weeks to let trapped moisture out.

Sounds good, Ian. That's how I'll play it.

One thing you can do to protect the undercarriage is apply Mike Miller's winter elixer: One third Dexron type automatic transmission fluid and two thirds CRC Power Lube. I mixed some up in an empty 1 gallon bottle (from windshield washer fluid), put on a $7 sta-lube pump from the local autoparts store, and sprayed the suspension of my e46 last winter. A little messy, but it does protect the undercarriage from moisture

Wish I'd heard about this magic formula earlier! I already bought something called Corrosionx for aircraft and I plan on spraying the undercarriage with that. Maybe I'll do the Porsche w/ the Dexron mix.

Thanks again, all!

[TobyB]

make sure you drive 'em both regularly.

I hate car covers in our climate- see above re: sponge.

Now put said sponge in a ziploc.

The cover condenses moisture on its inside, then holds

it in during the day...

But if you don't leave it on long and drive it a lot,

no problems.

Both of our 2002s park outside 365...

t