As temps drop, weather gets precipitous and the dreaded salt spreaders come out, our driving patterns change. In LA the only difference is that we might have to actually check the weather report for the chance of rain. The rest of the world, however, may need to cope.
How do you prepare your JNC for winter?
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How do you park your JNC?”
Many techniques for car preservation were shared by you guys last week. From Scotty G‘s shopping cart avoidance tactics Spudenater‘s sun evasion strategies. Tedman went so far as to gauge the wind direction, while Serg simply keeps it on jack stands. The most dedicated method had to be from Schumann, who actually tries to completely disguise his Silvia as another car:
Nervously. Point A to A driving only.
Having a roof made out of fabric doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, especially when you only have a car port visible from the street available for it, and with the knowledge that its been broken into multiple times according to previous owners.
Thus, it resides under a car cover, with a twist. Ive used cardboard to change the shape to the appearance of a wagon, and not the Silvia that dwells beneath.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Winter; surely you jest. Downunder we may have most of the world’s most poisonous snakes, man-eating sharks and crocodiles, deadly marine stingers and just about any creature stalking the face of the earth that can kill!, but we are right-hand drive, a favoured market for Japanese cars and, most importantly, no serious winter. Here you can drive your JNC year round with no impact or consequence, and precisely nothing is required.
Same here in Texas. I make sure and crank up the defroster and heater before i end up needing them though, don’t want to need them and end up blowing dust all over my windshield at a critical moment instead of defogging it hehe
hahaha yup, Aussie here too 🙂 Sometimes I wear a slightly thicker T-shirt….
Ha!
As someone who’s been sitting inside since Friday due to ice storms rolling through, I can honestly say I did nothing. Read up on carb performance in winter/cold weather? NOPE! Seek out some decent tires for the winter? NOPE! Pack up a winter/emergency kit and place it in my car?!? NOPE!
I’ve weathered 4 winters since I’ve been back to Oklahoma. All but one in RWD sports cars (AW11 MR2 and 350Z). It’s usually never so bad that any real prep, aside from mental gymnastics to deal with the bad drivers, is required. This year an RA29 Celica with a janky Weber carb, slippery transmission and diff, and almost no heating (unless you crank the fan ALL the way up) will make my winter very interesting and fun.
Simple: parked in the garage with the battery disconnected. Should be enough for the three months of the car being locked.
I cake the bottom side of my Subaru in bedliner and hope for the best. A few other guys here in Minnesota that don’t have garages plastidip their cars before putting a tarp and car cover over their cars.
Other people seem to embrace the rust and let it happen. See the rust. Be the rust.
I mostly prepare for winter by learning new and imaginative ways to insult the local council for turning the roads into a salty, car-eating rally stage.
change the oil, pump up the tires, disconnect the battery, fill up the tank and store it in a garage. but its in the garage even in summer because its not ready yet! 😀
Bugger Brett, you beat me to it. Winter? What is that cruel beast?
Can not say we have one here in Australia, compared to around the world.
Preparation? Um, nothing. Winter here is a better time to drive. Cool air, a few more neddies, time to drive and enjoy my cars more.
I’m going to paint it yellow and put red lights on the roof to enhance its snowdrift locatability. (real word).
Winter is quite simple. SVX goes indoors to hibernate. 86 DL comes outside to play in the snow. Reverse come spring.
you guys and your “winter prep,” haha.
Before my grandparents left for winter I was going to use a old table cloth to cover the windshield to keep from frosting over. Fun fact though is my both front and back windows leak so it would still frost up on the inside……….
Now I get to use the garage while they are gone.
Thanks so much guys! I hope you’ve received my details 🙂
Salt state… Massive amounts of snow annually… JNC..?
Around here winter proofing isn’t a chore, its a matter of survival! Not only is it damn near impossible to find a healthy surviving example of a 40+ year old JNC around here, but keeping it in good shape damn near requires life support!
As the snow piles up and the hoarde of dreaded salt trucks roam mindlessly from street to street, starved for fresh metal to devour, My preparations are already well underway.
Anyone not familiar with how to protect their beloved classics from harsh Midwest winters can take que’s from any post-apocolyptic/zombie survival movie or TV show. Start by barricading and sealing off the garage doors, Stockpile all the supplies and tools you’ll need for a worst case scenario, including a few bags of sand to grit the driveway.
Then you wait…likely for the next 6 months… Good preparation, hope, and the occasional prayer will help ensure you dont get stuck cutting out those floor pans next spring! :p
My Mazda is only registered from March to November, so my preperation steps are:
Clean the car, fill up the tank, control the tire presure and park it in the garage. The battery is attached to a charger and from time to time I move in the garage to preserve the tires. The dark winter months are days of mourning but I am looking forward to March and the first day, when the rotary engine sounds again!
Winter has arrived in Canada when my 510 is pushed a little deeper into the garage and the snow blower now has first dibs to the garage door.
I try to fire up my KA24e every 2-3 weeks (block heater installed to help the grumpy-when-cold R1 carbs) so I don’t really prep the engine/fuel system for storage.
I turn the heater on.