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Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:22 pm

Here is what I am faced with. I have an unmolested Type 1 but have run out of room to keep it in my garage.

I do have one of these inexpensive 20' x 10' vinyl carports with sides I am not using. There is 5/8" minus crushed rock as a base and I could put a pretty heavy-duty vinyl tarp on top of the rock. The car would need to live in this environment for a couple of years until garage space is freed up.

I am looking for feedback from anyone who has had to do this to hear if this storage will likely cause deterioration to the car.

We get about 35 inches of rain a year, although car should remain dry, but exposed to humidity.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:58 pm

Don't close it up fully, the wind has to get through to let it breath a little. But don't make it so it scoops up the wind and becomes a sail either, serious tie downs are a must for those things, I dig holes 2 feet deep at each corner and stick a foot + of rebar through the end of a chain, put the rebar sideways across the bottom of the hole, then bury that and tie to the end of the chain.
Criss cross X cables between every bow on each side tightened with turnbuckles also prevents the wind or snow from squishing it sideways.

Fri Dec 03, 2021 7:06 pm

I've noticed in the PNW the cars rust from the inside out, from all the trapped/stagnant moisture. My dang truck has a moldy back seat I have to clean all the time. You may consider storing it with a desiccant inside, or dehumidifier. If you don't need to move it for a while, put it on jack stands. You could even drench the underside with some WD-40 if you are really trying to get away from rust. I'm sure folks have mothballed cars to make sure engines are maintained or bearings stay fresh - just gotta keep out the moisture and let it breathe. Keep the critters out too.

A cheap car cover isn't a bad idea either. They do seem fairly breathable, and are easy to manage, it'll keep prying eyes away and the sun off too.

Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:22 pm

Careful with those Dries the air products, they can produce fumes that eat electronic components. Not many in a vintage VW, but a more modern car may not do so well if one of it's computers got compromised.
Lots of air flow is important, the temperatures of thick solid parts have to equalise with the atmosphere quickly or condensation will form.

I spray down engines and the undersides of stored cars with a mix of WD-40 and engine oil in a air pump garden sprayer, WD-40 is useless as a penetrating oil, but makes a good thinner for getting stuff a little oily so it doesn't corrode.

Sat Dec 04, 2021 3:03 am

busdaddy wrote: Careful with those Dries the air products, they can produce fumes that eat electronic components.

They're also a waste of money. The car isn't a sealed box, so the humidity will just keep equalising with the atmosphere outside the car. It'd basically be trying to dry out the planet.

You'd be better off if you can safely keep the windows cracked open a little so air can flow, so any condensation that occurs can evaporate unhindered.

I would expect that you would get more condensation forming on and in the car under a canopy than you would in a garage. The lack of insulation would allow the air temperature to fluctuate quickly, while the car body lags behind. Cold car body in the morning + rapidly warming humid air as the sun comes up = condensation.

Like busdaddy said, keep the rain and snow off and keep good air flow to allow condensation to evaporate quickly.

Sat Dec 04, 2021 7:06 am

Actually a Beetle, unlike most other cars is very close to a closed box when new. Have you seen the old VW adds that showed a Beetle floating?

You are 100% correct about cars rusting from the inside out! People think that repainting a car will make the body last longer... it will not! Moisture inside the body panels runs down and sits in the bottom, there is no air circulation there and it goes to work feeding the sheet metal worms! A car that is used regularly will last longer because the doors are opening and closing, the fan is on and the air is changing.

American made cars have drain holes in the bottom of most panels but they plug up with dirt and on one ever thinks to clean them out. Beetles do not or they wouldn't float!

What really should be done for a car in storage is whatever your secret formula is that you spray under the car, pop off the interior upholstery panels and wet down the lower 1/4 of the inside of the body. Down the windshield pillars and inside the heater channels too.

Don't forget to remove the battery, leave it out for the duration of storage and wet down the area it sits on too.

Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:08 pm

oprn wrote:
American made cars have drain holes in the bottom of most panels but they plug up with dirt and on one ever thinks to clean them out. Beetles do not or they wouldn't float!

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?searc..._chars=200

Steven

Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:22 pm

empi3 wrote: oprn wrote:
American made cars have drain holes in the bottom of most panels but they plug up with dirt and on one ever thinks to clean them out. Beetles do not or they wouldn't float!

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?searc..._chars=200

Steven

There's nothing special about Beetles in this respect (with apologies to the OP for the thread-drift) most cars float for a while, Beetles don't properly float though.

As a kid here in the UK, I remember watching a BBC series called 'Duncan Dares' with a former childrens' TV presenter who tried to cross the Irish Sea in a Beetle. As pre-trip preparation he tried getting it wet (initially by driving it in to the sea, then by lowering it slowly in to a canal). Unsurprisingly; both times it filled up with water and sank. I tried to find a video of it on YouTube, with no luck, but this article is on Volksworld Archives.

It took a lot to make the Beetle float...

Quote: "..after a lot of hard work it floated,” he added. All the openings – drain holes, heater inlets etc – were blocked off, the underside completely sealed, the doors welded and a sunroof-style escape hatch cut in the roof. The front luggage compartment was filled with styrofoam for buoyancy, and electric bilge pumps were fitted, with outlets on the roof.

https://volksworld.com/workshop/archives/volksworld-archives-water-beetles-set-sail/

Spoiler alert - it broke down early in to the trip, capsized once and had to be towed the rest of the way.

Sun Dec 05, 2021 4:08 am

I can't imagine any Beetle found today would be tight enough to float still.