MTFCA Forum

Crazy question, just curious after I get done with my T model restoration, all I have to store her under is a metal carport with open sides and back. My car is a touring and I do fear for the wood. Anybody store in a similar situation? I'm in East Tennessee as well mild to minor winters and mild summers. Thanks

Get you a car cover and use that when not driving or using it a lot. Should work OK with the Touring top put down. Model T’s can’t take many years being left partially out in the open. They aren’t weather proof.

Thanks John thought about the car cover route but was afraid of trapping moisture.

A simple roof alone will not protect against heavy blowing rain and snow, or overnight dew which is a nightly occurrence. Damp conditions create the ideal climate for the formation of mold and mildew to form on all surfaces. Jim Patrick

Look into Car capsules. They make outdoor totally enclosed car covers that stay inflated by a dual fan system. The air is constantly circulated. So no moisture build up. There is a heavy duty zipper to open cover and store your car. Plug in fan and car capsule inflates.
Look on internet for Car Capsule

I think it will depend on the moisture in the air where you live. Here in Florida it is very humid and a car cover will trap the humidity. Our car, 1926 touring, was in the driveway, cloth covered, for a month while we did the spokes on our wheels. First the wrong spokes delivered returned and the proper spokes delivered while doing a full time job. The moisture caused mold to form on the underside of the top and surface rust on anything not painted. This did not happen when the car was in the garage, not covered.

I think if you have a cover it would need to have air circulation by a fan or something else. You may not have the humidity we do and it would work.

Nick

23Orange
If you carport has the open sides that’s popular here in Texas you can add the sides to it. They match the roof sheet metal roof material and look pretty good. There are also a front section that is avaliable to make it totally enclosed.
I don’t what type you have but the new neighbor down the road from me is doing that to his.

His is the two car type carport and the sides going on it look pretty good. Theses carports arent like a sheet metal heavy steel frame bldg. but a reasonable alternative to spending a lot of money.

Some of the above posts confirm exactly why I don't particularly like covers on anything. Can't remember what thread I posted
my disdain for them on. Same went for when I used to winter store my sailboat(s) out in the open. They fared much better left alone. Others that were covered came out in the spring all scuffed up and plenty had mold and mildew. The guys wouldn't listen to me. My boats stayed factory fresh other than just needing a bath. I would do what I could to get that open carport into a mostly closed carport! Then if you still feel the need to cover the car to say keep dust off, you could loosely drape old bedsheets over it. Works well, self ventilating, no mold or mildew.

Thanks for all the replies! I'm thinking of closing off all 3 sides and putting a gable up for now. I think they will hold a lot of the rain and snow out. We barely get snow here anyways.

I don't use a car cover mostly because it makes it dark inside and the rodents like to build in the dark, I would rather clean dirt off the car than rodent housing out of the car and of course they are using the car for a builder supply center. If you enclose your carport make sure to put some sort of vapor barrier on the inside of the roof or it will rain inside.

I’d like to ask a question. The inflatable car covers. If the fan that keeps it inflated is outside, and the humidity goes up when it rains, does the fan blow moisture in to the enclosure?

Good point, I've read some hold humidity pretty bad.

How long do you want to keep it looking good? One or two years under a carport, and the moisture and sun will take it's toll. After all your time and money to restore her, you will want to protect your investment by storing it somewhere dry and away from direct sunlight. Before I had my own garage, I rented one in the neighborhood. It's amazing and crazy how many people who have garages and don't park their cars in them!

I've had no choice lately but to put my 66 F100 under a carport type structure, except it's closed on the sides and open on the ends.

It's not ideal and does allow moisture to gather, especially in the Houston humidity. I take it out once a week, run it up to operating temperature, clean it off and put it back.

Several of yall have asked about it. I've reduced my price to $11k. I don't want it sitting in the carport anymore. It's an original paint, solid Texas truck.

If you have room for one, an enclosed trailer makes a good parking place for a Model T. It can also be used to transport it to the starting place for a tour, or for picking the T up in case it breaks down.
Norm

Couldn't you just hang some poly tarps from the sides of the carport and anchor on the bottom? Also don't forget to plug all tail pipe to prevent critter homesteaders - I also heard that some one lifted/flipped seat cushions for the same reason.

When he was alive, my Dad was into flowers, plants and landscaping and had a lot of potted plants. Florida has very mild winters, but occasionally we have some very cold days and nights any one of which can kill plants, or a entire orange grove so every year, Dad and I would build a PVC pipe Quonset hut greenhouse to protect his plants from the cold. We could build it in a matter of hours the size of which was governed by the length of the flexible PVC pipes. It was covered with clear 6 mil Visqueen which comes in 20’ x 100’ rolls secured to the PVC pipe with clear 2” packing tape and was surprisingly warm enough to keep his plants from freezing and protected them from the frost.

This type of shelter can also serve as a temporary shelter for your T in your yard or in your driveway, if you don’t have a garage and is light enough that several friends can lift it over your T. It will also serve as a clean room for spray painting your T, if you rig up filtered vents at one end and a fan at the other end to suck out the overspray. Visqueen also comes in black to put on top to keep out the harmful UV rays. Jim Patrick

Bear in mind that Hagerty will not cover a vintage vehicle kept in either a trailer or a carport. It must be a permanent garage or pole building.

The other thing to think about is critters. I used to keep my Touring outside with a cover in the summer, here in Canada, until mice ate a hole in the upholstery and then hornets made a nest in the hole. Not fun. Not on a T, but I once had a porcupine chew through a rubber propane hose on an RV. The propane dealer laughed and said he sells lots of hoses due to porcupines. No matter where you live, I think critters will be a problem if your T is not garaged. A friend of mine in Florida had the vultures tear all of the window rubbers out of his truck while he was fishing for a couple of days. In my experience in Florida, mud wasps are also a big nuisance on any vehicle not garaged.

Norman Kling wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 04, 2020 9:28 pm

If you have room for one, an enclosed trailer makes a good parking place for a Model T.

Just make sure that it is VERY WELL SECURED! How often have we read the posts and stories of someones trailer being stolen with the vehicle inside, there is a post right now in the Forum Support Questions section about a stolen 1915 Runabout, in a trailer. More often than not, they do not want the vehicle, just the trailer.

A few things about storing in a carport. If you have strong winds, it will get blasted by the wind. And if you use a car cover, the wind will whip it around against the paint, so if you are expecting strong winds, remove the cover. Condensation from high humidity or low dewpoint will not only get into the engine, which can be dealt with by frequent starting and warming up the engine. There is one area where condensation will ruin the body. That is on the inside of the body panels. Especially where fastened to the wood which wood can draw moisture and keep it damp even after being in the sun. The only way to defeat this problem without moving indoors is removing all upholstery and thoroughly coating the inside of the body panels with a good primer sealer. Even the areas behind the wood or between two metal panels such as the seam where fenders are bolted to the body and down in the seams at the bottom of the doors etc.
Norm