Outside Long Term Storage Advice Needed- Cover or Leave Uncovered?

[drewdat]

FEEL FREE TO SKIP THE BACKSTORY AND GET TO THE QUESTION BY JUMPING TO THE LAST TWO PARAGRAPHS!

I have a 1970 FJ40 that I bought when I was 16 years old. It was my daily driver for 5 years and then parked outside behind a garage and for the most part forgotten about.

Before it was left and forgotten, it was in okay shape without a lot of body rust. It's far from original with a hackjob of a 350 (late 70's engine) conversion by PO. I never had much money to fix it so it was in barely running condition for most of the 5 years it served as my DD (but I was young, single, had few responsibilities and a lot of friends who were willing to come rescue me from the side of the road...so that worked).

Got married, moved to Houston (where inspections were required and she never passed), got a job with a long commute, little house, little room for it except for outside behind the garage where she was parked (with every intention of fixing her up some weekend) but out of sight... out of mind.

That was 13 years ago. Now we have 3 kids, a couple "practical" cars, a demanding job, and very busy schedule. Still strapped for cash, time, and space... but I've somehow managed to hang on to the cruiser (luckily it was the car we drove away in on our wedding day so the sentimental value has bought me a lot of mileage with the misses). I've moved a few times always towing the FJ40 along to the next place (now living in Kansas City, KS).

The body still seems to be in decent shape. A couple years before I parked it, I had taken apart a lot of the body and hit the tub and some key places with POR15 and then sprayed the whole thing with rustoleum (which has faded to a very pleasant "rose" color now) as that was all I had time or money to do. But now I've had critters living in it and the wiring is shot and I'm sure there are a plethora of mechanical issues.

Every couple of years I've started researching what a frame off restoration would look like, but always have some sort of reality check that I really don't have the time, money, or space to do it right at this point. I'm thinking in about 5 years my boys will be at the age where this could be a project that could result in quality time together rather than a time-sucking project that takes me away from the family.

Okay... now that you've read the saga... here is the question: Should I buy a car cover or keep her uncovered? Over the past 13 years she has spent half of that time covered (I've gone through 3 sub $100 car covers) and half uncovered. I haven't been able to discern much of a difference between the two. I've been reading through lots of threads and have seen some posts suggesting that a car cover could invite more rust than if left uncovered outside.

The facts are that the FJ40 will be left outside for the next 5ish years (I've looked into lots of options to store this inside... but don't have the right friends and/or financial planners to figure out how to pull this scenario off). At that point, I plan to do a frame off mod resto. Any advice on any measures I should take in the meantime?

Thanks!
Drew
PS.. i've attached the most recent picture I could find which unfortunately does very little in showing you the condition of the FJ40 but does give you a decent idea of where all my time is going...

 

[78fj40mg]

Dismantle the rig and store all the parts in the basement, crawlspace or attic. You may be able to hang them in your garage ceiling.

 

[White Stripe]

I stored my cruiser for 10 under a nice 300 dollar cover, I went through 2 or 3 covers. If I had to do it again I would but the same nice cover on, then put one of those spiderweb type tie downs over the whole thing, I think if the covers were kept from flapping around as little as possible they would have lasted longer.

 

[lostmarbles]

I vote to leave it out in the weather uncovered.

What's another 5 years on top of the 13 already it's already spent outside? - It's less than half the time.

Mine's been outside all it's life and I bet you've got a much drier climate there (judging from the lack of serious rust showing in your pic).

And yes ... I'm of the opinion a fabric car cover envigorates rust by creating a more-humid mini-climate and that it also chaffs against the paint in windy weather to encourage more rust (Not to mention the scratches you'll add via the hooks on the bungy cords.)

Just treat the rust you see in areas like the rain gutter, the inside lower regions of the driver and passenger doors, and around the lower parts of the glass weatherstripping to limit the rust damage over the next 5 years I reckon.

 

[Racer65]

Check out my reply in this thread.

 

[cjgoode]

I would cover it, why not it is cheap. A real good car cover would be best, one that allows the vehicle to breath but not get wet, these from Walmart are pretty good but not the best, for $70 seems worth it. Jeep ones should fit an fj40
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Classic-Accessories-Deluxe-PolyPro-III-Jeep-Cover-Grey/5982233

Mine I got from Walmart for my cj hangs to the ground, I am in a windy area with a lot of salt spray, seemed having the cover on was worse then not. I took some sections of 2 inch PVC pipe and filled them with sand and sealed each end. Then I put then on each side to hold the cover to the ground to keep wind from getting under the cover. Works great.

I would not got the plastic tarp route, they trap to much moisture under them and greatly increase your problems. At that point better to spray paint any exposed metal and leave it out.

 

[JohnnyC]

Does the hardtop leak?

If it does even a little I would get a cover... Can you do a temporary car port? Then you got a mini garage to work on it even when it's raining

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

I stored my 40 under a cover in Oregon for long periods of time. I put a blue tarp over it and put a nice car cover over that. I put three of these desiccant canisters inside the vehicle to keep the condensation from the humid air from building up and causing interior rust, Seemed to do pretty well.
http://www.amazon.com/DampRid-FG50T...TF8&qid=1433510885&sr=8-5&keywords=desiccants

 

[B y r o n]

Have you looked at the Harbor Freight 10' x 17' Portable Garage? For $200 with a 20% off coupon you're looking at about $160.

One word of caution, do not set the tension of the sides tight as the material does shrink with heat and time and will rip. I say cheap way to keep things dry and in better condition than leaving them to the elements.

 

[DSRTRDR]

why not find covered storage in an RV storage lot - $50/month and done

 

[cruiserkev]

Have you looked at the Harbor Freight 10' x 17' Portable Garage? For $200 with a 20% off coupon you're looking at about $160.

View attachment 1088230

One word of caution, do not set the tension of the sides tight as the material does shrink with heat and time and will rip. I say cheap way to keep things dry and in better condition than leaving them to the elements.

X2 - I bought one like this from Costco several years ago and am positive it helped slow down the rust and UV damage on my cruiser until I was able to get dedicated garage space. I ended up storing the 40 in it for about 7 years and had to replace the tarp twice during that time as UV damage made the original fabric brittle and less water resistant. Plus you can work on it in bad weather, leave the top off if you want and even use it as a makeshift paint booth like I did. Good luck!

 

[Steamer]

I tend to agree with Tom. Treat the rust that's going on now.
For rust you don't have the time or means to deal with properly, This stuff is quick and easy. Sprays on wet and gets waxy in a day or so. Works great. It's the lazy mans rust control. Just got another gallon from Zoro Tools.

 

[Fast Eddy]

It would only take you a month of weekends and some cheap tune-up parts to get it running good enough to at least drive it once in a while. Having it running will be a great motivator for the future.

I like the harbor freight temp garage thingee.

My '78 had a fairly shiny hood when I got it 8 years ago. Now that it's sat outside in the brutal CA winters, it is pretty rusty and in need of attention. I can't imagine leaving it out in a place that actually had some weather.

 

[White Stripe]

I tend to agree with Tom. Treat the rust that's going on now.
For rust you don't have the time or means to deal with properly, This stuff is quick and easy. Sprays on wet and gets waxy in a day or so. Works great. It's the lazy mans rust control. Just got another gallon from Zoro Tools.

View attachment 1088271

I would like to see what this stuff looks like when applied. Any links or pics?

 

[west aussie]

im a fan of a good clean. chassis rails. temp full of seats and fuetank to get underneath them etc

 

[kanudude]

I agree with getting a car port if you really want to cover it. But like others said what is five more years. I have seen a lot of damage done by car covers after deployments so I'm not a big fan. You should really just get it running and a little love.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I have a 50 Buick in long-term storage (waiting for time and parts as well) - and here's what I found. In a non-humid climate, outside is best. some rat poison to keep the critters at small town levels. In more humid, the best is either completely uncovered where the sun gets, or completely covered ala the HF or Costco garages. Moisture is your enemy, just putting the vehicle under an awning seems to invite the most damage, so it's either all outside or all under cover. With that said, car covers aren't worth the price, you need something that doesn't hold the moisture against the body. Since you're moving a lot, get the costco cover. I've owned one for 8 years, and just replaced its roof last year. It's portable, and can be set up by yourself. Two things with that - it has terrible snow-load abilities, so keep the snow from piling up, and wind is not its friend even with it tied down.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

X2 - I bought one like this from Costco several years ago and am positive it helped slow down the rust and UV damage on my cruiser until I was able to get dedicated garage space. I ended up storing the 40 in it for about 7 years and had to replace the tarp twice during that time as UV damage made the original fabric brittle and less water resistant. Plus you can work on it in bad weather, leave the top off if you want and even use it as a makeshift paint booth like I did. Good luck!

funny you mention that - I have a friend in Portland that has built a Austin and a 62 Ford Falcon gasser in his portable shed. He built a wood floor for his, but has worked in all manner of weather in it. The results speak for themself.

this

became this

and he built a Falcon that started every bit as rough and looks every bit as good.

 

[honk]

Have you looked at the Harbor Freight 10' x 17' Portable Garage? For $200 with a 20% off coupon you're looking at about $160.

One word of caution, do not set the tension of the sides tight as the material does shrink with heat and time and will rip. I say cheap way to keep things dry and in better condition than leaving them to the elements.

+1
I bought one to use as a temporary paint booth for an MGB job 7 years ago and the darned thing is still standing. I park my 40 in it. I admit that I never expected it to last as well as it has.

A car cover, a good one that was supposed to breath while keeping out water was the biggest reason to repaint that MGB. It soaked through and left wierd patterns in the paint where it was in contact that seemed like they were etched in and wouldn't rub out.

 

[Steamer]

I would like to see what this stuff looks like when applied. Any links or pics?

This is about all I could find. It's difficult to document my usage and results as I'd have to do a before & after and a test area that wasn't treated. Just get a small can and try it. Home Depot carries PB Blaster "Corrosion Stop" which is cheaper & easier to find. Stops rust from spreading but it stays wet and oily. Works good on leaf springs too. Seems to creep in between the leaves.