I'm afraid a car cover can't really offer any protection against rust. In
fact, your car is more likely to rust under a car cover than "bare
naked". In a humid or rainy climate, moisture will condense under the
cover and collect where it can cause rust, whereas without the cover, it
would evaporate in the sun.
What a car cover is good for is to protect the car's paint from sun,
dust, birds, trees, and cats (but then how do you protect the cover from
cats?). Rain and snow do not in themselves hurt your car in the short
term, unless combined with salt or poor drainage.
Depending on where you live, sun is usually the biggest enemy of a parked
car. It will slowly but surely destroy the paint, the top, the rear
window, the dash, the upholstery, the rubber bumpers, the window seals,
etc. Three months sitting in the sun in say, Arizona, may cause
noticeable fading. Three months sitting in the rain in Seattle probably
wouldn't hurt anything, so long as you occasionally aired it out
(otherwise you might get a crop of fungus in the carpet or somewhere).
Three months sitting under a foot of snow in Fargo probably wouldn't hurt
anything, either, although I might try to keep the soft top brushed off
so that the snow load didn't damage it.
As far as the covers go, the varieties differ in weight & bulkiness,
water resistance (none are "waterproof"), sun resistance, softness (to
the paint), and general longevity. Technalon is a relatively bulky,
soft-finished, durable material with some water resistance (a light
shower may not soak through -- heavy rains will not only soak it, but
leach all the surface dirt through and leave it on the car's paint. This
is typical of almost all covers). Polycotton is a lighter, thinner, but
still soft material. Sun will deteriorate it in short order. It has very
little water resistance, but dries relatively quickly. Fot my wife's car
i recently bought a nylon blend cover. It is a fairly light, slick
material with some water resistance but no softness to speak of. It
remains to be seen how it holds up. I selected it chiefly for sun and
tree sap protection -- when it is raining we don't use the cover. All the
car cover instructions stress "never put a cover over a wet or dirty car".
Anyway, whether a car cover is right for you mainly depends on your
climate and parking situation (under a tree, in direct sunlight, etc.).
But do not make the mistake of thinking it will somehow protect you from
rust.
Cheers
Scott Regel had this to say:
>Thanks again guys for the advice on jump starting the "B". Can I also
>borrow
>some advice on a car cover? My wifes Dad is in town for medical reasons and
>my wife wants the "B" out in the cold until he leaves 3 months from now.
>I'm
>looking for something inexpensive, but will protect the car from rust (that
>terrible four letter word). I only have a VB catalog and I see four
>different qualities: Spun-Bond, Multibond, Polycotton and Technalon. Has
>any
>body had any experience with these or know where I can get a better deal on
>one?
>
>TIA
>
>Scott
>76B
>
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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