I don't have a garage. Is it game over?

[DrSebWilkes]

I actually have asked this before but I feel I need to explain to you guys better what my issue is because I didn't do it awfully well - here is a clean slate:
(If you want me to remove this post, please just let me know!) Sorry for this; just feeling a bit anxious about it all. I'm so keen, so very keen, to own a classic car but I'm worried it's going to be economic suicide for no reason at all.

I really love the idea of a classic car hobby, and I've spent ages thinking of all sorts of things relating to such field. But I feel I'm kidding myself because I may fundamentally not be able to keep one. My parents don't have a garage to spare (unless I buy them a large enough shed to house the mass of my sister's junk! /rant), nor a cart port, nor do I think I can quite pay for a Carcoon. With the wind behind me, if I do get a car this summer, someone somewhere will keep it during this winter while I get the funds to get a carcoon, but I can't rely on that happening. Infact, I can't guarantee full stop it won't be covered in one way or another (though obviously I'll have to make an effort for it). 

Just need to gauge, would something like the Morris Marina (infamous for rusting) survive being in the open in the rain / frost / snow this winter? Will I start out with a good car, and when I can work on it next in the summer, see a pile of barely salvageable scrap where all my hard work is undone? (Wouldn't be driven over the salty winter roads)

[composimmonite]

I've had over 100 cars yet despite owning a garage at home never bothered putting a car in there other than when working on it in winter / restoration. Even my classics lived outside.
Basically use and enjoy as rain / snow don't do any harm. In fact sun probably does more damage to paintwork of older cars - my red MKII Golf went matt pink !

[datman]

Just buy a non-rustprone car,like a Peugeot 205, or a Delorean, or something with fibreglass body (although the chassis will still rust!)

I would never drive my classics when there's salt on the road.

[waveman1500]

If you're really that worried, then get one in the Spring/Summer.
The thing that kills cars the most is sitting still, so you're probably actually better off using it as your daily driver.

[sprintmini]

Buy one,use it,stop worrying.

[MK2VR6]

^ What they said. The KEY thing to old car survival when parked out in the elements for a prolonged period in water ingress. ANY water penetration into the cabin is bad news unless is has somewhere to easily exit. The other thing that no one ever mentions is external water traps. I parked my old cavalier Gsi facing up our driveway for 12 months whilst off the road. Turns out that some rainwater sat on the rear edge of the chassis leg, up against the bulkhead, which in turn, was covered in very absorbent sound deadening. After 12 months I had water coming through the bulkhead through a tricky to get to rot hole. If you do buy a rust prone old car, at least get it under a car port, so that the worst of the elements are kept off it. Alternatively, keep saving until you've moved out of your parents place, and have space at your own gaff

[adam73bgt]

My 2 pence worth, I bought an MGB GT for my first car at the end of my second year at uni, it wasn't a perfect example but was solid. Always used in any weather, always kept outside. It did need a couple of little bits welding come MOT time but was nothing hugely unexpected for a car of its age. And even now that I've taken it off the road for some restoration after 3 years of daily use, its still not massively rusty

I'd say just buy a classic and use it, there are products you can use to help protect the metal but I think either way its highly unlikely it'll turn from a Marina to a pile of rust within a couple of weeks use in the rain

Besides, we've got most of the summer left for you to tinker on it, get it bought!

Edit: Pic of MGB in the snow a couple years back, I even drove it to work in this!

[retromadness123]

Totally agree about using the classic as a daily, I had old golf I thought Il just keep as a summer car and garaged, so used it on days we had good weathers which isn't ti often, anyways after selling my daily I decided to not to buy another daily but to take the golf out as a daily, to be honest the car runs more better than it did when I only used it on odd day, and even have sorted out a few issues that I didn't really pick up on earlier,I feel using a car as a daily makes you more aware of any bits need seeing to, as for the weather well as said above, use it

[Deleted]

Ignore all this curse word about the weather and salty roads, 1000's use their classics and I mean classic as in pre 1970's in all weathers as a daily driver, keeping an old car in a warm garage after driving it is the worse thing you can do to it.
If you use it in the winter just make sure it is properly undersealed and give it a good wash off now and then.
Ignore all the people who say old cars rust, all cars rust and break if you don't look after them.
If someone says to you their car rusted within a year of them buying it it is either because it was rusty when they bought it of the haven't looked after it or both.

[sprintmini]

At the end of the day the car you buy may have been out in all kinds of weather for years, so you looking after it now is not going to cause any concern, it may in fact help it along for a few more years.

[MK2VR6]

May 22, 2016 22:15:41 GMT @1300dolly said:

Ignore all this curse word about the weather and salty roads.

Ignore all the people who say old cars rust, all cars rust and break if you don't look after them.

Sorry, but I totally disagree with this. Virtually no rustproofing combined with lack of arch liners and 40+ year old steel does not fare well when combined with daily use and salt. If I HAD to use a valuable classic or retro as a daily driver, I'd be layering the whole underside and every last box section in a high quality wax and rust proofer.

Alternatively, buy your own bodyshop and enjoy regular fabrication, welding and paint repair work on your daily driver.

[skoze]

If it's in use, it'll be fine. Just be prepared to work on it in the street/ on the drive like lots of use do and you'll be fine, there's also no reason why you can't rustproof the car.

I used my Capri every day for 18 months, never parked it under cover and it was fine. Looked after it, washed it, drove it.

I then stored it in a barn for 18 months, covered but with one end open. Guess what? Lots of rust to sort out...

[Deleted]

May 23, 2016 8:25:51 GMT MK2VR6 said:

May 22, 2016 22:15:41 GMT @1300dolly said:

Ignore all this curse word about the weather and salty roads.

Ignore all the people who say old cars rust, all cars rust and break if you don't look after them.

Sorry, but I totally disagree with this. Virtually no rustproofing combined with lack of arch liners and 40+ year old steel does not fare well when combined with daily use and salt. If I HAD to use a valuable classic or retro as a daily driver, I'd be layering the whole underside and every last box section in a high quality wax and rust proofer.

Alternatively, buy your own bodyshop and enjoy regular fabrication, welding and paint repair work on your daily driver.

I'm speaking from experience owning, using and keeping outdoors various 1960/70s BL made cars. obviously if the car is bare metal it will rust even if kept inside.
Oh and try reading my whole post which did say about rust proofing it.

[MK2VR6]

May 24, 2016 20:54:02 GMT @1300dolly said:

May 23, 2016 8:25:51 GMT MK2VR6 said:

Sorry, but I totally disagree with this. Virtually no rustproofing combined with lack of arch liners and 40+ year old steel does not fare well when combined with daily use and salt. If I HAD to use a valuable classic or retro as a daily driver, I'd be layering the whole underside and every last box section in a high quality wax and rust proofer.

Alternatively, buy your own bodyshop and enjoy regular fabrication, welding and paint repair work on your daily driver.

I'm speaking from experience owning, using and keeping outdoors various 1960/70s BL made cars. obviously if the car is bare metal it will rust even if kept inside.
Oh and try reading my whole post which did say about rust proofing it.

Well that's fine then. Buy a decent classic, and lap up the salt and rain, whatever the weather. Mental.

[ChasR]

May 22, 2016 12:10:09 GMT composimmonite said:

I've had over 100 cars yet despite owning a garage at home never bothered putting a car in there other than when working on it in winter / restoration. Even my classics lived outside.
Basically use and enjoy as rain / snow don't do any harm. In fact sun probably does more damage to paintwork of older cars - my red MKII Golf went matt pink !

You haven't owned BL tin then.

My Stag which was previously rust free went to me having to replace metal on the floor pans and outriggers. My MGB was no different there, rotting in places previouly that were fine.

I won't even mention my dad's 1989 XR3i. Let's just say it was so full of patched repairs everywhere before it 12th birthday that it did not see its 13th.

IMO with an older car you really do need a garage unless you buy something that is less rot prone ; Peugeots are not immune to rot but they do rot far less than other cars of the time.


@1300dolly I did use my cars daily . Underseal dries out and cracks, becoming its own worst enemy ; yup I was constantly taking loads off before winter. My Clio at 13 years old was way way way better at rot than what my dad's Escort was, which was proven when it didn't even see its birthday. There is a very good reason why the S1 RST count went from 6000 cars to just 600, many of which are probably now only a piece of paper (i.e the logbook only) or ringers from other shells. Maybe they were all rusty from the factory .

OTOH, my definition of rust is probably stronger than most others, but IME once it starts it is hard to stop unless you start chopping things out and replacing them.