Winter

[Harvz]

So hi guys I have recently purchased a 1985 ford Capri mk3 1.6 laser it is in alright condition however it needs some work! As winter is now approaching I would like to now what you guys do with your capris .I have considered looking at a storm force cover or something as I have no place to store the Capri at the moment.My main worry is it gathering more rust.
What should I do ???

[andyd]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Capri-2- ... 3cb8e483db

This is the cheapest place to get one and very helpful with any questions

I have used them they are great, make sure you follow instructions and you can't go wrong

[-JC-]

Winter sucks. I wish I could just emigrate with my car to the southern hemisphere for the 7 months of winter we get

[Jim]

Be careful with the covers as they can scratch paint with the smallest bit of grit caught under them and even the storm force ones can condensate underneath as I've learnt. As long as every bit of metal on the car is waxed, your seals are good and any rust you have is treated now you should be okay.

I'm just prepping my car for winter now as I'm going to be driving it in all weathers to uni. Obviously salt is the main enemy but if you won't be driving in it in the winter you won't have to worry about that.

[nickmatteri]

Put some de-humidifiers in ,I use 4 egg shaped things with silicone inside .When theyre "full" you put em in the microwave for 10 mins and theyre ready to go again.
Nick M

[Jim]

Put some de-humidifiers in ,I use 4 egg shaped things with silicone inside .When theyre "full" you put em in the microwave for 10 mins and theyre ready to go again.
Nick M

These sound good. Where can you get them from?

[Jayman]

I've been renting a garage since last december to work on my car. It'll be going back in as soon as the dicks start salting the roads.

[jackinthegreen]

Sorry to resurrect a thread that's a few weeks old now, but one thing I found to be extremely important when I first got my Capri was keeping all water on the outside of it! (i.e. things like the seals). It was still on what looked like all the original 1985 ones, which had softened and worn. Doublecheck all the rubber seals for things like your doors, the sunroof, boot... if any are letting water in, new ones are readily available from people like CCI and East Kent Trims, probably also Martin (Capri Gear) on here too. Don't forget the weather strips on the windows. These crack and perish but are easy to replace (with window wound down, pull off, cut new to size, push on). They're not a seal as such, but they do prevent most of the rain getting inside the door.

If water still gets in to your car, it could be via the door cards, pull them off and you'll find the protective plastic membrane inside your door is either damaged or missing. Use thin plastic (e.g. non-biodegradable binliners, compost-bag etc) and duck tape to repair this. Hopefully some of the original membrane or its outline will be visible as a guide. When water gets past the weather strip, it runs down the window and should be channelled by this membrane to the drain holes in the bottom of your door. Whilst you're there, make sure the drain holes themselves are free of grot or rust so the water actually escapes through them!

Don't jetwash your car as water *will* find its way everywhere it shouldn't. I did mine recently as an experiment to test how watertight she was, and found that the pressure is too much. It even got in via my rear windows, which don't even open! The car's since been out in the rain and no more has got in, so at the moment I'm counting myself lucky!

Finally, if water still gets inside, condider that you might have a hole rotted through your bulkhead somewhere, or that it's getting in wherever a cable etc. needs to pass from the cabin into the engine bay.

I assume you've already sprayed the underside of the car with something like Waxoyl? If you haven't, it's possibly too late for this year as it should ideally be dry so you don't trap water there. If you have, top up wherever it's been scuffed off by speed-bumps.

Also have a look to see if those A-post protector plates are fitted. They were originally fitted to V6 cars to reduce road noise, but seem to be often found on Lasers too. If they're not there, they're available new (I got some from CCI). They stop crud getting flung up from your wheel and rotting the area behind the door hinges.

Apart from that, if nothing else touch in rust with something like Kurust to stop it creeping further (or at least slow it down). Have a good look at anywhere that gets impacted by stones or water is likely to pool.

If/when your bodywork is all perfect, you could perhaps consider something from Lokari - either their horrendously expensive wheelarch liners, or their press-on edge protection for wheelarches (I think it's called Karos).

I second what others are saying about those little dehumidifier thingies. I've got one filled with little beads. It's not a microwave one though. You plug it in to drive the moisture off. They do seem to work. If you're feeling cheap, you could just screw up some old newspapers into loads of loose balls and scatter them all over your footwells and they'll attract any moisture that's present.

If you protect the inside of your car, hopefully the only rot to then worry about will be what you can actually see on the outside!

[AndyPandy56]

I recently purchased a new heavy duty car cover for my Laser (as I managed to rip the old one !) from a company called 'Cover-Zone'. They are based in Worthing, Sussex. Check out their website, or call them on 01903 764689.
All their covers are tailor made for a host of classic vehicles, and in the case of the Capri, even have pockets in the correct position for the window mirrors. There are also many different types, offering different levels of protection, and different prices to suit individual pockets.

All the best,

Andy.

[capri dave]

I've been renting a garage since last december to work on my car. It'll be going back in as soon as the dicks start salting the roads.

Thats exactly what I have just done, The best £40 a month you will spend on your capri.

[Fordoholic Nick]

Put some de-humidifiers in ,I use 4 egg shaped things with silicone inside .When theyre "full" you put em in the microwave for 10 mins and theyre ready to go again.
Nick M

These sound good. Where can you get them from?

Jim,

Here you go fella,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-PORTABLE- ... 54105c3556

I have seen other versions of these in b&q but you have to "buy" refills rather than "microwave and re-use" as in the egg version.

http://www.diy.com/departments/unibond- ... 283_BQ.prd

Hope this helps,

All the best

Nick

[nickmatteri]

Hi Nick,Jim,bought one of those unibond thingys and it actually works,Ive tipped out 1/2 pint moisture in 2 weeks and its not really winter yet.so that goes inthe footwell and my egg shaped wotsits spread around the car.
Nick m

[Jim]

Cool, thanks guys. Sounds like good stuff. I'm definitely going to have to get one of these dehumidifier things.

[sheff]

I've just bought one for my Capri and a few for around the house. They seem cheapest on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/UniBond-1807937 ... nibond+360

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,

At that sort of price, it's better to buy the re-usable ones that Nick linked to.

These disposable ones are cheap enough to buy and do the same job as the unibond one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-X-DEHUMIDIF ... 0854830529

It's worth putting one in the car over winter and throwing it away when the car is taken out of storage.

Andrew.