a friend of mine had a new rx-7, dealer did the rust protection where the inside of the doors is sprayed with under coat

Good idea?

The doors rusted from the inside out because the undercoat plugged the drain holes.

Dealer laughed in his face when he tried to recoupe his losses!!

 

The problem with this is if you dont drive it 7 - 15 miles, you dont get it warm enough burn out the acids that form and moisture from the combustion process that remains in the oil and would most likely do more harm than good (water / acid remaining in the oil = internal engine rust or aluminum perosity), this is why they recommend changing oil more often in cars if you only drive short trips. Do not start the car periodically without driving the distance to burn out the moisture and acids formed during combustion, I can't stress this enough.

Storage: Drive the car 20 miles or more, come back and park it where you are going to store it, preferably inside, immediately change the oil. You can do one of two things at this point, pull the plugs and sqiurt a little oil in each plug hole and replace the plugs (don't forget the antiseize on the plug threads) or after the oil change with it running, pour a half cup of oil down the carb and shut it right off or let it stall. Don't start it again until you are able to drive it long enough to burn the acids and moisture out. Either pull the battery out of it or put a little trickle charger on it or both.

Optional: Carpet under the tires to keep flat spots from forming on tires - this usually goes away after you pull it outa storage and drive for a little while, new radial steel belted tires are not as prone to this as were the old bias only ply tires. You could put the car up on jackstands as well if you wish. Your done.

 

Beware, the slightest hint of rust may indicate more rust that you don't actually see, such as under the doors. Get it taken care of immediately, once it starts, I have never seen a car that rusts so quickly once it starts! If you do it yourself, dont just primer the rust area, be sure to paint over the primer after removing the rust. Primer does not stop rust, its the paint over the primer that does. It will rust right thru primer in a short while.

 

All stock, 72 k or 45,000 miles. Original paint, never seen a winter. I'm going to store before the snow flies.

Also I agree with not starting her, since I won't be able to drive it anywhere. I'm going to fog the motor, park her on plastic, cover the intake and exhaust, change the oil, change the brake fluid etc. In a self storage unit. For a car cover I'm going to use some bed sheets (better than nothing).

We usually don't get any snow until late December or early January. So I'm safe for a while.


Cheers

 

Here is a link to some pics, a few months old, but nothing has changed, just a few miles!

http://homepage.mac.com/ma.henderson/PhotoAlbum31.html

Adam

 

I have bought an already rusted FB for my winter beater each of the last 2 years, neither cost me more than $300, buy a rough one and use it then your spares work on either car and you can swap the insurance back and forwards when one is parked. IMHO. I love driving a RWD LSD sports car in the snow but not a clean one.

Salt will be your downfall in these cars