308 out in the elements

Wow, I'd find a garage ASAP. First thing, do you have one of the Hill Engineering shift gate locks? If not, get one NOW! Ricambi should have them in stock and can overnight one to you.

Other than that it is like any other car. Keep a good coat of wax on it at all times, make sure all the weather seals are new or like new and get a cable with that car cover to keep it from blowing off in high winds. Oh, and don't go cheap on the cover.

 

No, it will not be alright. Use of a cover outside is for short term storage only, perhaps a few days to a couple weeks. Any longer will begin to take it's toll, garanteed. Find it a home.

edit: And security is another big issue, whether from theft or vandalism.

 

get foster parents for her ASAP mate or your gonna..... LOOSE...... her if not to the elements it will be to some snot nosed.. pimple faced little f##ker wanting to thrash the f##K out of her.... i would sleep out side before my 308...... how could you even think about putting her outside

 

I have to disagree with this one. I've had a BMW outside for over a year under a cover that is taken on and off at least 5 days a week. No problems yet. BUT, I make sure it is washed and waxed and I use a California Duster to remove any dust BEFORE I put the cover back on.

But, I'd still find that Ferrari a garage...

 

you don't have a friend who has a extra space in the garage,even if you let him look at it every nite b4 he goes to bed,then bring it to my house glad to help

 

What he said.

Rent a garage, maybe?

 

Might be time to sell the Ferrari if money is that tight.

I live in a good nieghborhood and I wouldnt leave mine outside for long

 

You only hope against vandalism is to leave a bag of cash dangling from a nearby tree. The cash MIGHT draw their attention away from the Ferrari. I think that I would sell my TV and furniture to scrape up enough cash to rent a car sized storage unit for at least a month at a time.

 

When I bought my car, I had "only" a carport at my house. I live in Phoenix, AZ so weather isnt too much of an issue, and it was in the Springtime when I purchased it. In any event, it sat in my carport under just one of the factory light-weight covers for two months and I thought it was going to be fine. One morning I woke up to a large hole in the stucco of the carport wall in front of the car. On the floor of the carport was a large rock about the size of a softball. Horrified, I pulled the cover on the car to find the bouncing point of the rock on the rear decklid of my baby. I nice dent and some scratches clear through the paint. Some jack@ss had chucked a rock at the fancy schmancy little sportscar under the cover in my carport. Why? I have no idea. Some people simply defy logic, (let alone civility). In any event, I have since closed in my carport to be a garage. Just in time too. We are having one of the coldest, and wettest winters in sometime this year, although not anything in comparison to D.C. area!
I live in a nicer neighborhood in an upscale area of town here. It just goes to show that idiots are mobile.
Do yourself a favor. Get your car under cover!! If the weather doesnt get it, some moron with nothing better to do, will.

 

It will rust from the bottom up. The dampness will get it and start the rusting process from under the car. So you should either buy a "bubble" or place a tarp on the ground and lay a few sheets of treated plywood and park the car on that . Then put on a good cover. Also load the car up with "decon" mouse killer in as many places as possible. If the car sits for any period of time the dampness will kill it.

 

Car covers are only good if the car and (inside of the) cover are perfectly clean. Anything less and it will scratch your finish. Every little ripple in the wind will rub dirt against your paint. And whereas car covers are supposedly designed to breathe -- let moisture out but not let it in -- the truth is they trap moisture, no matter how good they claim to be. Even if water rolls off of the top of it, at least a small portion of whatever is on the ground will evaporate and find its way up under the cover, and there under the cover it will sit. You may gain from a cover in protecting it from sun and protecting some areas of the paint, but you will lose in other areas of the paint and in loss of air circulation (moisture/corrosion).

It takes a lot of detailing and reconditioning to return a car to its former condition after just one season outdoors under a car cover. Sell it, or find a place to store it. Consider somewhere an hour or two away from the city, where rent might be cheaper. Good luck.


EDIT: Was typing the same time as Steve King above (if I sound redundant). Great advice--especially the plywood. I even do that in the garage.

 

I see your car is a 1981 car - this pre-dates Ferrari undercarriage rust-proofing? That's not good....oh, and you're in Washington DC area. A high car-theft area. You're also in a climate that is prone to snow and spring condensation. A simple car cover will NOT suffice, I would recommend you find a garage. There are some folks in the Mid-Atlantic Region who can help out.....

 

It's a bit of a drive but I would seriously consider it since the 81s have no rust proofing.... see link below

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=183749


Also you may want to call Competizione up in Gaithersburg. Richard may be willing to help you out.


good luck

 

I kept mine outside in new england under a good cover for over 10 years. It suffered from some small rust issues, in the usual spots that absolutly stopped when I moved to atlanta 15 years ago & now its garaged.

That being said, It could have been all the salt & wet weather typical of the area.I did drive it daily & in all sorts of weather. I didnt drive it when it snowed & then I stored it in moms garage in another state during the heavy snow months.

You should have no more issues than storing any othe 35 year old car.
Also on the theft front, I own an an insurance agency & our cars have one of the lowest theft claims on any car

 

i keep a couple cars outside under car covers. not great, but better than nothing. post in the mid atlantic section to see if anyone can lend a garage spot. i would, but i'm already -2 spots!!

john

 

About 10 years ago, on a summer evening, a friend of mine was watching TV at his house. He was about 20 feet from his 1964 Corvette convertible that was parked under his carport. He drove it every day. While watching TV, he heard a strange rumbling sound, like a car running. As he stood up and looked out his front window to see who might have been driving up to his house, he saw his Corvette backing out into the street and drive off with some unknown thief behind the wheel. He never saw the car again. He was dialing 911 within seconds and the police were there within 3 minutes, but they never crossed paths with the car. Stolen right out from under his nose as he sat within 20 feet of the car. I never understood why he would park the car out in the open on a MAJOR street where a zillion people could see it. The insurance company paid off and he bought a numbers matching 1965 Corvette convertible that was better than the one that was stolen. But all things considered, it was a tragic situation.

 

I guess it depends on your karma, as I leave mine laying around all over........one of them is in the apartment parking garage under a fitted cover, no one has ever bothered it.

But if one does get left totally in the elements I agree it's hard on them, moisture will get into the instruments and fog them, any leakage of the glass will wet the carpets, and seats will mildew.....

Storage IS expensive but it's cheaper than ruining a nice example....

 

Ferraris are not the same Horsefly, as I always brag to everyone:

"A thief would only keep it until they got a $$$$ Bill for the maintenance, then they'd bring it right back and park it where they found it!"

I have never seen any problems with squirrels?? Well, they drop an acorn now and then...cats find them comfortable to sleep on, and mice will bite your washer/fuel lines as well as wiring.

 

My friend left his Nissan Pathfinder outside on vacation for 2 weeks during the summer here in colorado. He got back and it would not start....

Opened up the hood and a squirrel ran out of a "box", he went to investigate and it was the main wiring box/ecu and all the wires were eaten thru. Spliced the wires and traded it in within a week.

If you're in the market for a black late 90s nissan from Denver, look under the hood

Squirrels must like the wire taste. I would NOT leave a Ferrari outside unless I had too.

James in Denver

 

I DID find a red rag nest and shells after driving #22641 from Portland OR....under the spare!

 

You live in DC, and you're going to park a Ferrari outside?!

Hell --- you might as well just give the car to the first group of crack-heads you see and save yourself the hastle of even trying to look after the car!!

If left outside, that car will be gone / trashed in less than 2 weeks...

Rent a garage-size storage unit in one of those you-store-it-places that has an overhead door and good security --- used to keep my 308 in one for years... before I got my garage built.

 

I did have a mice problem when i stored it @ my mothers garage, i recommisioned it for its march thaw, later when i was pulled over for speeding, My registration I which I kept in an empty fuse block cover was now filled with my chewed up registration & some mice turds. Took a while to catch the lil bstard.

 

Call Hal !@ 540 364 3647. He has heated secure car storage for rent. Car will sit real nice surrounded by other nice cars all covered, clean, heated and hooked to battery tender. N Va. He does car storage only and the building he stores the cars in is on the same property as his home so he's not interested in renting if you want to come drive it every weekend but If you need a place to keep it for a few months till you find something else this is a great place to keep the car. Last time I talked with him it was $150 per mo.

PS, he has mouse traps all over the place just in case one does get inside the building.