Since the car shows have been cancelled I have been taking the car out for a lot of cruising time as a break from yard work, honey do lists ect. If you head west or south out of Boise you go thru the farmlands and into the desert canyon lands along the snake river. If you go north or east you head into the pine trees and the mountains. One of my favorite drives I call my pepperoni run. I head north over Horse Shoe Bend hill up the North fork Payette river to Banks, make a right and go up the South fork Payette to Garden valley over to Lowman. A Chevron station in Garden valley sells a large fresh pepperoni stick. My last run up here I went just over 200 Miles. You kill a lot of bugs on these little blasts around the valley. There are sections of these drives where you can get in a little spirited driving. Nothing like blasting thru an outbreak of little black nats at 90+ mph. Needless to say when I get back I have to really wash the car. Which brings up a situation I have ran into more than once. i have talked to a 1/2 dozen guys that have told me they have never washed their cars??? A good car buddy of mine had a beautiful viper yellow 70 charger R/T with a very expensive paint job. He'd bring it out to the shows and cruise nights but not really drive it hard. Just used a detail product to keep it cleaned up--no water???. A few shows I have been at had iffy weather conditions/ slight chance of rain. A guy with a nice 69 Camero next to me was eye ballin the sky the whole time. One lone black cloud was coming over and he freaked out. Said his car had never been in the rain so he packed up and headed to the garage. WTH??? Been others like that also. Granted--most of these guys had top end cars with high quality paint jobs /trailer queen type so you know they are not driven far. But still ---when did these thing get so fragile. ME --I like killing bugs. A little water does not bother me one bit. Do you wash yours ????
Roads aren't too dirty here.
Less worried about Bugs.
More concerned about loose Gravel.
When it comes to 71' Cuda's, it does pay to take the headlight rings off every few years to clean those areas.
WD 40 sprayed softly, and use a rag with a soft toothbrush.
Repeat again with a wax and grease remover spray. Done!
Optional: Add music and a few Beers. :cheers:
Never!!! Ever!!! Let your car get wet.....
I got rained on Friday, but I was already planning on washing it today so who cares.
I'm not happy to see rain soon after washing it but it's no deal breaker on taking it out.
It sprinkles a lot in the front range of Colorado, I'd never drive it if I was worried about a little rain, it can look clear skies all morning into the afternoon then turn to threats of rain around 3, but generally 15 minutes or less and not very hard. Sometimes it sprinkles a little every day for weeks straight.
Hmmm. This thread reminds me my wiper motor needs work. They stopped parking late last year.
If it rains when I'm out with the Challenger, so be it. If it looks like crap weather coming in before I leave, I'll likely take a different vehicle.
Quote from: dodj on May 17, 2020, 07:09:31 PM
Hmmm. This thread reminds me my wiper motor needs work. They stopped parking late last year.
If it rains when I'm out with the Challenger, so be it. If it looks like crap weather coming in before I leave, I'll likely take a different vehicle.
Always, always keep this on your glass.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rain+x+windshield&crid=E63B7N26X1T6&sprefix=Rain+X%2Caps%2C230&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_6_6
Quote from: dodj on May 17, 2020, 07:09:31 PM
Hmmm. This thread reminds me my wiper motor needs work. They stopped parking late last year.
If it rains when I'm out with the Challenger, so be it. If it looks like crap weather coming in before I leave, I'll likely take a different vehicle.
Funny thing, the wipers work just fine, and I'd applied RainX so normally the water would be flying away... But we were in a group that had slowed down to about 30 MPH & with RainX the water stops sheeting below around 40-45 MPH... I probably hit the wipers a second after that picture was taken...
I never wash mine, spot treatment only. Main reason is that my old girls leak so I'd rather not get water into place where it might sit for a while. Having said that if i do get caught in a rain I don't stress out over it.
My barracuda is setting out in the rain right now. :dunno: It is water tight. :yes:
I wash it once a week usually. Driving is more important to me than anything else and I get them too dirty to dust off.
I rarely wash, maybe once a year, and it's a very controlled wash. I use detail spray (not cheap) with a soft rag to clean the dust off most of the time.
The reason I don't drive in rain (won't do it) is because like another poster said, my trunk area is not sealed due to some corrosion that won't be fixed for quite some more time. That means I get rain on my trunk pan, underneath the mat. It's a pain in the ass and requires me to dissemble my trunk area. Basically, there are places where I don't want water to go.
If I see a chance of a rain, I simply turn back to the garage.
I don't wash mine but I usually give it a quick detail every time I'm done driving it to keep it clean. I rather not get them wet but I do drive them to Carlisle and other big shows and they've all been caught in pretty big rain storms. Then I'll wash them. Griots windshield sealant works really good too. A little better then rain X .
My car has had all the bodywork and paint done years ago. Every nut and bolt cleaned and wire wheeled. So far, I've washed my car about 3 times already and it doesn't even have any glass in it yet. I wash it carefully now that it has carpet. It gets dusty. By the time the car will be finished, it's gonna need a complete detailing cause it's taking so damn long to get done and there's dust everywhere on it. lol
When it's done, I won't be taking it through a car wash, but I'm definitely gonna wash it with a hose. Water isn't gonna hurt it too much. Up here in the northeast, it's the salt that you have to worry about. I won't be taking it out when there's salt on the roads. No freakin' way. My car already had its fight with cancer. It's gonna live in an insulated, climate controlled garage from now on. It will burn rubber by day and sleep with a chocolate under the pillow by night.
The first few years after getting it done I would clean and detail fairly often, as the years went by I do it less and less. Now I just give it a quick wash on the outside, beat out the floor mats and drive it. Not a huge fan of driving it in the rain as the rear end likes to skate around too much but otherwise doesn`t bother me - it won`t melt!
I have only owned my car for 5 years but it has yet to see rain or a hose. The window seals aren't exactly water tight but I bought it for sunny day drives, if it looks like rain I take my truck or journey, plus they already have the kids seats installed so its easier, oh and they have ac as well. That being said, if its nice out and we are going somewhere the car gets the nod.
Washem and drivem in the rain. My cars take turns sheltering in the garage as there is only room nuff for one at a time. Never let a lil rain get in the way of a opportunity to roadtrip. Now if I lived in a place that got snow and salt on the road... probably be singing a different tune.
my dad drove my Barracuda on dirt roads for 20 years and it barely had any front end chips except on the front valence which was pretty peppered. I'll be daily driving it too and plan on doing a clear bra for the front to protect it from chips and bug gut damage, debating on whether to go the 3M clearbra route (a little more permanent) or use a clear plastidip that I can more easily peal off if/when I want to show it. cars are meant to be driven :alan2cents:
Quote from: blown motor on May 18, 2020, 05:29:11 AM
Main reason is that my old girls leak so I'd rather not get water into place where it might sit for a while. Having said that if i do get caught in a rain I don't stress out over it.
I know that's right.... :haha: :ohyeah:
The last time NIKKI had a bath I made a video! She has not had one since... :thinking:
I know thats good news. Nice that you are making some progress
Going to resurrect an old thread. This is a good question. My car is going in shortly for a complete resto. when it is all beautimus I don't think I will be interested in driving in the rain. Mainly because it throws all kinds of road crap everywhere. I doubt that I will flip out over the car getting wet, but I will most likely sit the rain out until the roads are dry. Of course I will wash the car, but maybe not with a hose. Unless the car somehow got really filthy, like driving in the rain. :haha:
But I'm with bentpshrods, I want to drive the wheels off the car. :stayinlane: :burnout:
I only take the car out if there is zero chance of rain, I hate rain anytime. As far as washing I usually wash it about twice a year with two buckets, one with soap and water and a larger one with just water. I don't spray the car all. I mostly just use a quick detailer to keep her looking good, but nothing makes her shine like a real bath.
I avoid the rain because I hate cleaning cars. Despise it. One of the worst tasks on earth. I will do everything I can to avoid it.
I did get caught in rain the other day when I was taking my car home from the shop. Sometimes you just can't avoid it. I was more annoyed because I had just detailed it top to bottom after it's winter storage.
OK, I'll say it. These cars rusted out back in the day for a reason. I know that the restoration jobs people do are probably better than factory production in terms of paint/coating for rust control. I like to think I'm just a custodian of this car while I own it and hope it lasts another 50 years. I have a few vintage bass guitars > 60 years old and feel the same about those. I play them but am careful about how I handle and store them.
Mine doesn't get washed except with a damp cloth and/or detailer. Won't take her out if threatening rain, but don't think I would freak out if I got caught in the rain (which hasn't happened yet). We have enough times around here without rain so not a problem. If I lived somewhere with a lot higher frequency of rain, I may think differently.