Jim McDougal wrote:
>
> Dear Collective wisdom,
>
> I am planning on moving to the Denver/ Aurora area in about a month and
> I am unsure about what to do about my car. I have always lived in
> Northern California (San Mateo and Santa Cruz)and as such, have had the
> privilage of being able to drive Sysiphus (chrome bumpered 74 MGB)
> daily. How much should I be concerned about the snow and road salt?
> Should I purchase annother car for the winter or would I be safe in just
> giving the underbody a good coat of waxoil?
>
> Jim McDougal
> Naive in the ways of winter
Jim--
Nice state, bad minerals. Road salt works slowly enough that you won't
start seeing holes halfway thruogh January, but you will see holes
eventually. Here in NY, I won't drive my mga in winter--if I ever drive
it at all--because of a. the salt and b. the accident hazzards
associated with slippery roads.
Salt tends to corode when it's wet but remain fairly inert when it's
dry. You will have to THOROUGHLY high-pressure-wash your undercarriage
every few weeks durring the winter and give it a real good cleaning in
the spring. I'd use corolless or something on a valuable old car, though
in general rustproofing is poor insurance against rust by itself, and if
you wash the salt off, and keep your car body innards dry, you don't
need it. I'd never pay for it on a new vehicle.
Your best bet: if Colorado winters are anything like NY (and they
probably are in Denver), put it on blocks in winter. Those mountain
roads will be enough fun in the summer to compensate.
I'll leave the issue of high altitude carb adjustments to better
mechanics.
John Vallely
NY 'The Road Salt State'
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