Need recommendation on a Car Cover for garage storage of Vette

Its time for the Vette to go into hybernation for the long Illinois winter , and im wondering which Car Cover to get . Which do u have and have you been happy with it ?

Thanks, Dave

2006 C6
Reply to
dave
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That's an easy one:

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On the C4 I use an old flannelized poly drill from North Coast Tarpaulin Works (before they changed their name). Inside as soft as an angel's kiss. Slightly porous and I have to wisk dust off the car when you remove it. This is a year-round indoor cover and I shake the garage dust out of it every couple of months.

New cover that I use on the C5 is a "Dustop" from Coast Covers. A bit less porous than the Tan Flannel. No need to provide measurements, just give them the year & model.

Reply to
PJ

Haven't used it on my Corvette, so I'm not sure they make one for a

2006, but the best INDOOR cover I've owned (and heartily recommend) is a pricey soft canvas one with a soft flannel nap inside... luxurious; I've had it for at least a dozen years and it's still in very nice shape:

The Canvas Shop (Flint MI, I think)

800-345-3690 is the number I had for them

They made covers for a lot of the old classic cars of the 20's to 40's and were well-known in those circles. Mine is a camel brown, and I'm not sure if they offered any choices in colors. I don't think they have a website, although I did find this website for a "Canvas Shoppe" in Flint that specializes in outdoor boat covers...

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they ONLY mention boat covers and don't show any soft canvas materials.The website shows a slightly different 800 number, too (800-345-3670), so possibly my number is wrong, or perhaps they use a different number for cars than for boats, or maybe the company changed hands and now only does boats.

Reply to
WayneC

======================= Dave: I had found that the liggtweight indoor covers sold by the chain auto stores (Pep Boys, Auto Zone etc) work as well as any... But to be truthful I have not even bothered to cover any of my cars in years during the winter... just a waste of time in my opinion...

Bob G.

64 72 & 98 Convertibles 76 & 79 Coupes
Reply to
Bob G.

I use a $50 cover made by Wolf Automotive that I bought from Eckler's. Works fine for me.

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AJM '93 Ruby coupe, 6 sp (both tops)

Reply to
CardsFan

Not a waste of time, how else would the mice clime up as easy as they do on a cloth cover? Saves them the possibility of breaking their nails and also provides them with cover that doubles as nesting material. Another plus is that if a cat gets in there he/she is going to piss on it to mark it's territory. Cat urine on a cloth pad stuck to a car finish is an awesome sight in the spring. The good side to that is that if there are enough cats that piss on it the mice won't come near it again.

Tis the season though when the plastic and aluminum cars are put away and the tin cars are driven. What's up with that? Personally both my Corvettes get driven all winter, with only salty, sloppy roads as an exception for enjoying them all year long. The '72 will take me to the Halloween party since it is in the country and the jerks normally stay in the cities with their soap bars.

Reply to
Dad

Dave, first, I don't own a vette yet (but I'm thinking about it in my near retirement years) so you can take this post fwiw. But if I were to cover any car, I'd probably sew a couple of thin blankets (oversized) together to cover the car and then a large oversized plastic tarp on top of that. Then I'd just use say bricks to hold it down to the concrete (perhaps in the corners). I don't think you want this cover to be air tight and yes, I suppose mice could get in between layers. If that's a real concern, I guess you could sew the two together on the edges. But as some others suggested, I'm not sure covering up a car (months at a time) is a good thing (yeah I know others do it but just my gut instinct owning a lot of cars over the years). I'd probably only cover it with a plastic tarp temporarily if I was doing dusty type work around it.

Now if you think my not owning a vette disqualifies me from answering your post, ok.

Reply to
RnR

No plastic period! Regardless of what you think, moisture can form under the plastic in the soft material and stick it to the surface. I have some pictures of a C3 that was stored like that and when the cover came off so did the original paint. Also spent a full day polishing out a maroon 2002 that had the cat piss I mentioned. Covered a '69 Camaro with plastic a week after I painted it and didn't get back to it for a few of hours after it rained on it (reason it was covered) and that took hours and hours to fix.

I also knew a few guys that had lots of plans when they retired and did so toes up. Quit talking about it and do it soon.

Reply to
Dad

I won't argue with you. I didn't like the idea of covering a car just from my gut anyway except for a short time (1 day perhaps) when you are doing dusty type work. Anyway, I'll shut up and let those experienced speak .

Reply to
RnR

No problem, and it was a good thought, just not what I have experienced YMMV hopefully. Didn't mean to push you to be quiet about your thinking, just expressing mine. A thin light cloth cover while doing dusty work is great, soft and light won't scratch it when you remove the cover and was a good suggestion.

I saw one guy that had his car covered every time he closed the garage door. He setup a network of pulleys and ropes to lower a cloth cover onto his car when the garage door went down. I found it,,,,,,,,,, see, if you hadn't said something all of this good information would never have been shared.

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Reply to
Dad

Thanks much for all the suggestions. I think im going to try an inexpensive breathable Indoor Car Cover from J.C. Whitney catalogue for about $75 .

Dave

Reply to
dave

Reminds me of driving in Ohio Dec 1969 in my 300/350 Vette roadster -- posi and 4 speed -- and hitting an ice covered bridge with cars sliding all over the place. Managed to keep calm and get over it without anyone hitting me -- heart in mouth. The stock tires were not too great in the snow or ice.

Reply to
tww

Reminds me of picking up one of the first Vettes I had. I had to pick it up after a huge snowstorm because the idiot seller was still showing the car and having people come look at it after he gave me a bill of sale and took my deposit. He called me to say another guy was leaving a deposit. I had to get it out of there before he sold it again.

It was about 40 miles home, most of it two-lane country highways that the plows had been over maybe once that day. I remember those Goodyear F70-15 bias ply didn't do much to inspire confidence on snow-packed and icy roads in the dark. A friend took me in his Vette and I always remember the surreal feeling on the way back, driving much slower than the cars would normally drive, in the dark, two Corvettes alone on lonely old highways. Part of the way back, KSHE played "Truckin'" and it gave me a whole new meaning to "what a long, strange trip it's been."

Your trip also reminds me of working in Akron one year, and headed home for Thanksgiving. About 5 am, the windshield wipers began to get sluggish, and I realized the rain was turning to ice. Good thing to know, because the next bridge was frozen, and there were cars everywhere, just like yours. Luckily, I had already slowed anticipating frozen bridges. Next several bridges were the same way.

Winter driving, it is such a treat.

Reply to
Tom in Missouri

Not sure why driving a Corvette on snow or ice covered roads can be any different than any other vehicle during its early years. Especially back when the tires were much more narrow than they are today. Even the small amount of ground clearance can be negotiated if you think about what you're driving. The short wheel base is quicker and should be reckoned with is the only thing that ever was an issue different than my family car in bad weather. My guess is that even a snow plow with tons of traction can have a problem with black ice on a bridge.

I will admit that I wasn't driving in Ohio then, but then in Michigan we had snow also, still drove the Corvette year round. Just gets harder to do with 10" wide tires that are on the Corvettes now.

Reply to
Dad

For the most part, I found Corvettes to do well in snow. Nothing is good on ice, but the 4 speed let you kick in the clutch and not drive helplessly into something in front of you, like an automatic. Of course, you can simply push it into neutral but few think of that. That and the roughly 50/50 balance of them.

My problem was the old F70-15 bias ply tires with maybe 50% tread. They weren't good new, and when worn, worse. My friend in his new '76 with GR70 radials was doing much better. Of course, we hit drifts that were higher than our clearance that was not helpful.

Two factors to get one in trouble fast were the high horsepower and the Positraction. Yes, I know the posi was to "help" in poor traction, but on ice and some wet roads, it was too easy to spin the rear around. Add 350-400 hp to the mix and it was a recipe for many to have trouble with.

I used to start each winter on a parking lot in the first snow. Far away from every car and pole, I'd spin it, slide it, turn it around, until I was use to it. Then drive on the streets. Today, some cop will try to ticket you for preparing for dangerous driving conditions.

Reply to
Tom in Missouri

Nothing does well on bridges covered with ice. In my 1969 Ohio experience referenced in this post, I made it across the four lane bridge with the clutch in, as you observed. My problem was other cars.

Reply to
tww

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