Keeping the interior dry

[SteveR]

Now that we are getting into the cold season. Here in England it gets rather damp and as my 1937 Plymouth must stand outside under cover. I need to keep the interior dry to prevent mold. Any suggestions?

[Merle Coggins]

Do you have DampRid in the UK? I always put a couple of DampRid buckets in my camper for winter storage. They help keep the moisture at bay. 

[Dan Hiebert]

By under cover, do you mean covered with a tarp/car cover, or under an open carport, or both?  If the car is covered with a tarp or waterproof cover, I open the windows about a 1/4 inch for some ventilation.  If I have to keep the car sealed up, I don't do anything special, except ensure the inside of the car is as dry as can be before closing it up.  As Merle noted, DampRid or a similar product would work, but you have to keep an eye on it, if your location is really humid, you'll need to check and replace that stuff often.  I think the main thing to avoid is letting the interior of the car get stagnant. 

[SteveR]

Yes my car is under a car cover. I was wondering about keeping the windows open a bit. I will give that a try, along with Merle's suggestion of DampRid

[JerseyHarold]

I once heard that Damp Rid is calcium chloride and is a lot less expensive than Damp Rid.  Might be worth looking into.

[desoto1939]

also rodent proof your car. I use Irish Spring soap pieces on the floor and around the seats and in the truck area.  Clean out the car so there is no food left in the car or glovebox area.  Also pull the sun visors down and pull then away from the window frame and leave them at an angle almost straight flat outwards.  Mice like dark places so when the the sun visor our outwards they can not build any nests. Plug your tailpipe with steel wool.

 

I also at this time of year put in a pint bottle of water pump lube and antirusting agent to keep the AF up to par.  Do the normal gas prep with Stable 360 check the level of protection of your AF and if need to add more make sure it is the old Style GREEN AF not the new modern AF fluid. The new stuff is not good for the head gaskets.

 

Put extra air into the tires and spare also if you have Biasply tires put a piece of rug under each tire it prevents the tire from getting flat sports and slows down the dryrot affect on the rubber side walls and tires.

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

[Roger Blagborne]

   Good reply Rich

   Old style AF is not necessarily green anymore....Referred to as IAT (in organic antifreeze technology, ie ethylene glycol)  Modern AF, Rich is referring to is classed as OAT (organic antifreze technology) and is not good for vintage vehicles (designed for aluminum systems.)

Cheers