First of all, in response to requests for "big bag" info:
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Pine Ridge Enterprises
13165 Center Road
Bath, MI 48808
(517) 641-6444
Put your car in baggies? How about one big baggie?! OMNIBAG is a huge plastic
bag with a special desiccant. It is supposed to preserve a car in storage.
Write or call for free brochure. OMNIBAG sells for $89.95. Inside use only.
Gee, I wonder if you could evacuate it with a vacuum cleaner? - Phil Ethier
I put my Jag in an 'Omnibag' last winter. The bag is basically a huge garbage
bag. It was a little bit of work getting the car into the bag (required three
people). And the "chip clips" that they supplied with the bag weren't too
good. They wouldn't hold the bag shut so I resorted to clamping the end down
with blocks of wood. I was disappointed enough with the clips that I
complained about them in response to a survey letter I received from the owner
of Pine Ridge Enterprises. He apologized and sent me a new kind of clip that
he will be sending out in future. The new clip looks strong enough to hold the
bag shut. When I took the Jag out of the bag this spring the car was indeed in
as good condition as when I put it away. - Robert Sansom
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gerry@probe.att.com writes >
>I NEVER will put my car up for winter storage again.
>1 - clutch plate stuck to flywheel
I personally have never had one of these stick. Has to be rust. Pushing the
clutch pedal once in a while should prevent the sticking, especially if you can
move the clutch by rolling the car a few feet in gear. This was really easy
with the Sonett and Midget, but might be a gymnastic excercise in a Europa. (I
generally prefer not to put the car on stands, but to leave it sitting on bald
old tires and roll it back and forth once in a while. I started this after I
heard about a jackstanded Sonett that had the windscreen pop out. I definitely
would not leave the Europa on stands.)
>2 - brake rotors rusted
You could put baggies over them to keep the condensation off. Or just roll it
like in 1-
>3 - Clutch slave cylinder leaks(even though it had just been rebuilt before
>storage)
I don't see how this can be blamed on storage, but if it is, the periodic
application of the clutch pedal should make the difference
>4 - Brake calipers sticking
Same thing again. Work it once in a while
>5 - Gearbox linkage stiff
Work this once in a while too.
>6 - Numerous small electrical problems - traced to corrosion on terminals
How driving the car would prevent this is beyond me.
Most of this could be prevented with an Omnibag, I suppose. I might not want
one, because I always seem to have something to work on in the winter.
>Ever since , what I do is during the weekend (when the weather permits),
>I go for a 20 miles drive, then when I get home, I hose the underside of
>the car to wash away any road salt that the car may have picked up.
You have a warm place inside to do this? You can really get ALL the salt and
get ALL the rinse water dried in ALL the cracks? I wouldn't have a chance.
All of the problems you had put together (and I don't get them with my car) are
not as disasterous and irreversible as what getting Minnesota salt on the car
will cause. We have REAL winter here, and taking your LBC out in it is just
not a good idea. . Best way to dry a car is not to get it wet.
I can't afford to pay for insurance on a car I am not driving, just to go
through all the trouble to take a 20-mile drive on the few occasions it might
be possible. For what you save on the insurance, maybe you could pay for an
Omnibag...
Phil Ethier, THE RIGHT LINE, 672 Orleans Street, Saint Paul, MN 55107-2676
h (612) 224-3105 w (612) 298-5324 phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov
"The workingman's GT-40" - Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman
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