Protecting your 7.. How?

[Benzo]

Hi Guys,

Some of you may have had a look at my build thread in the project section, to many its probably not of much interest and probably feel that im loosing alot of the 7 character but we all have one this in common when it comes to TR7's and thats rust.

My question is, how can i keep it in top condition to ensure that it stays this way? and what do you guys do?

I've treated the inner wings, inside the sills and most of the hidden areas that ive been in with red oxide paint, when the car is painted it will be stored in a dry garage, i will still use the car in the summer and on wet days but what is the best way/ process of keeping the car in tip top condition?

Is storing the car in a dry garage enough? Are the Carcoon type arrangements any good to store cars in? Should the car is washed and dried down after every use to help save it agains rust?

I know these are probably silly questions, but this is my first classic/ restoration project, and i would like to know how i can keep the car looking its best for longest after having invested a fair amount into it.

Iain



Currently back to Basics with my BMW V8 Engined Build.

[RUDDY]

Hi, Carcoons are pretty good at wht they do however the down side is the amount of room they take up and they are a long term storage solution, you can't be taking them out every other week or so.



During your resto and prior to paint ensure that any seam on the body is sealed with a modern sealer, 3M do some very good products, spray able sealers can be used under the arches and floor pan, the texture can be altered via pressure/ distance, 3M Bag Seal is the one a lot of concours restorers use.

With regards to inner sill areas and cavities you need to use a cavity wax from Dinitrol, about £35 for 4 large aerosol cans and lance on EBay , best done after the cars painted.

Paintwork, a good quality wax and glaze, always dry the car off if it gets wet, spray WD40 on mechanical parts and wipe over with a cloth, dry behind any door/boot seals.

The white on my shell is spray able sealer on all the vulnerable areas



The underside was then protected using Teroson Super 2000 which comes in black or cream and is over paintable. I will be using this again on my current project.







Cheers, Paul

[Benzo]

Thank you Paul, that's a great run down.

My shell should be going to paint between new year and Easter if all goes to plan.

I blasted and scraped all the seem sealer/ underseal and waxoil off my car to seam weld it.

With my race cars I'm used to the process of degreasing, hot washing, blowing off with the airline and wd40'ing all the suspension arm, manifolds etc so I try to do this as much as possible.

I suppose I just wanted to know if there was anything else I could do to help with panel rust, gaps etc as I'm used to working with GRP panels on the race cars too..

I had considered having the car e-coated but my friend had it done and not the acid is eating the paint/ panels in some of the joins not to mention the fact that I'd have to take the shell to England to have it done.





Currently back to Basics with my BMW V8 Engined Build.

[Neil_W]

I can vouch for the Carcoon System - it does take up the complete width of my single garage but mine is different to Pauls EVO in that it is the one colour non see through coded type so you can squeeze past it ok without the clear plastic being damaged as there is none.

They do a framed Veloce Carcoon but I felt it took even more room up as it it like a tent so you unzip the end & pull the car out.
My solution was to build a frame which fits through the loops which are sewn into the top so when the fans go off it hangs up then I can unzip it & pull the car out without the Carcoon lying on the car. I used 1.5 inch or near enough white domestic internal plastic drain pipe plus a couple T / 90 deg bends push fit connectors to make the rectangular frame which is secured to the garage rafters.

Also it has a zip at the rear so you can put the car in wet & after about a day it will be dry.

In the summer say June & July I fold the Carcoon up as the humidity is ok & leave the car just in the garage but all other times it's in it's ballon.
https://www.carcoon.com/

[Benzo]

Thanks guys, carcoon seems like a good idea but it would probably get tatty in my garage with some of the fabrication that goes on.

Are there good breathable TR7 car covers available that are alittle cheaper.

I dont have a storage garage and a workshop unfortunately, all one



Building - TR7 V8 - M62B44.

[RUDDY]

I have heard many horror stories on acid dipping and ecoating of classics, the moisture cannot be fully dried out in the cavities, painted body shells have began to blister, seep brown stains and shed paint in as short a time as 12 months .

It was never designed for classic car restoration.

My shell will be plastic media blasted, plastic does not generated heat so no fear of rippling and warping (not always caused by high pressure), I had my new old stock shell plastic blasted.



Cheers, Paul

[Beans]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by RUDDY</i>

I have heard many horror stories on acid dipping and ecoating of classics, the moisture cannot be fully dried out in the cavities, painted body shells have began to blister, seep brown stains and shed paint in as short a time as 12 months <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
See my weblog ("Bodywork" early 2012) ... [B)]



<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="3"><font color="red">My full Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size3"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[FI Spyder]

For areas that are not directly exposed I would Waxoil (brand name) with similar type stuff. It will creep into nooks and crannies. I use a mixture of brand I get locally, mix 50/50 with turpentine (low VOC or it will stink for weeks, ask me how I know) and blow it in with a compressor and engine cleaner wand. I sprayed it in sills (did this when I had the interior out). When I had the front bumper off (can't recall if this was necessary or just when I did it) I blew in the front holes on either side of front of car. It gets blown up over the inner and outer wing and comes out the holes at the bottom in front of the A post (you can see the mist spraying out). I also did the area above and around the gas tank when I had it out for sealing. In the exposed areas like wheel wells and bottom of sill I sprayed with undercoating as there is rocks/sand being thrown up by the tires not to mention the spray in the inevitable rain shower. I just store my car in the garage. In the wet winter weather I have a dehumidifier with auto defrost when it's 45F or colder. I only use this when I'm not going to be opening the garage door for a few days. While the garage is insulated and heated I have the heat turned off.

The car has not been restored and still looks like new underneath although I've only had it since 2006. I assume it was garage kept by previous owner (1985-2006).

I don't use it in the winter when it's wet as I have other cars to drive.

There is no rust on the car (the only area I haven't seen yet is under rear bumper).

Picture of freshly sprayed (drying) above tank. Silver lugs are original and uncleaned. Whole area was like this. What looks like rust in the picture is actually dirt, it doesn't present that way to the naked eye (trick of the camera).




- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

[jeffremj]

I leave my TR7 V8 in a normal UK type garage (metal door with gaps all around, etc. - integral to house). I keep a £100 type dehumidifier on all the time - it activates occasionally. Brake discs never rust over the winter months when car is laid up, so I assume the car will not get rustier - it hasn't so far (8 years).

[Benzo]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jeffremj</i>

I leave my TR7 V8 in a normal UK type garage (metal door with gaps all around, etc. - integral to house). I keep a £100 type dehumidifier on all the time - it activates occasionally. Brake discs never rust over the winter months when car is laid up, so I assume the car will not get rustier - it hasn't so far (8 years).
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's good to know, I have a dehumidifier so I must start running it over the winter months to be sure! Thanks

Also thanks for the advice on the areas to protect and what to protect it with.



Building - TR7 V8 - M62B44.

[supercass]

I think it's always beneficial to repeat cavity protection at frequent intervals so that you gat a build up of protection and hopefully cover any areas missed the first time. supercass