Britain has a love affair with vintage and classic cars. Even the girls are increasingly getting in on the show, with a little over 10% of classic car owners now being women. Whether it’s the glitz and glamour of the Aston Martin-era Bonds, or just a life-long love affair with the power under the hood, you take great care of your baby. What’s keeping it safe over winter, however? If you’re smart, it’s a bespoke oak framed garage from Monarch Oak!
The fascinating world of vintage cars
Car guys and girls are a breed apart. It doesn’t matter if you’re in it for the concourse wins, or you just like to take your precious baby for a spin on the weekends, it’s a timeless love affair. You can tell us all about the engine under the hood, the meticulous body panelling, and how you lovingly restored the car from a rusty pile of bolts to the beauty we see today.
The weather, however, is no car’s friend. From harsh UV that destroys dashes and discolours interiors and paint alike, right through to rust from the persistent British rain and ice erosion, it’s very easy to see hundreds of pounds worth of work go up in smoke in just a week or two.
For vintage and classic cars, this can be exacerbated, as you may not be taking your beauty out at all during the harshest of the winter weather. As fans know, this is why winter car storage, and ‘winterising’ your car, is so very critical. Yet it can all be for nothing if you don’t have somewhere suitable to berth your pride and joy during the worst winter weather. Don’t worry- our oak garage kits get the problem solved in just a few days!
Winter car storage for classic vehicles
While your robust runaround may need nothing more than winter tyres, any vehicle you lavish love and care on needs a lot of attention to stay safe in the winter months. Gas tanks can corrode if not in regular use, so you face the decision of whether to drain the tank and risk rust, or fill it to the brim with a stabilizer. The same goes for all the other fluids in the car, from the oil to the brake fluid. Needless to say, antifreeze is a must!
Even under the protection of shelter, or in a concrete and brick garage, these protections from temperature fluctuations are critical. Did you know, however, that while concrete is the best floor for winter car storage, brick is a very energy inefficient and cold building material? In an unheated room- like a garage- it can allow a wide range of temperature fluctuations, and in the depths of a British winter, will barely stay warmer than the outdoor air. Freeze and thaw cycles can be disastrous for the car, as items can freeze or burst, nd these varied temperatures encourage moisture to condense.
An oak framed garage, on the other hand, has the natural insulative properties of oak to fall back on, meaning it will stay a few degrees warmer and keep the temperature steadier. This also helps marginally to discourage moisture pooling.
Warm and dry
Moisture during long-term storage is, of course, the number one concern for classic and vintage car owners when putting their delight into winter car storage. A little moisture here-and-there isn’t the biggest deal if the car is running regularly, but once it stands it can spell catastrophe. This goes double for cars from an era where many parts were made of ‘real’ metal, not aluminium and carbon fibre as they are now. One patch of melting snow could destroy your careful restoration work, or mean you’re trying to hunt down key engine components on the classic circuit.
What’s wrong with a cover under shelter for winter? When it comes to winter car storage, a lot, frankly. From the mundane, but highly likely, risks like rust, right through to the substantial, yet often forgotten, physical risks from snowfall, you’re courting disaster leaving a classic or vintage car anywhere outside over winter, even with shelter. Storm damage could well bring down branches on the car, or, more insidiously, one tiny pinprick hole in the cover could allow moisture to wreck your interior without you discovering it until next summer. The weight of ice, sleet, and snow can damage surfaces even if the cover keeps the damp out. Not to mention the substantial risk of wintering pests deciding your carefully restored engine looks like a warm winter burrow! Even in a garage, we’d recommend covering the more obvious access points, like the exhaust.
In an oak framed garage, you have a safe, steady, and moderately insulated environment to ensure your vintage vehicle makes it through the winter in perfect condition. Wind cannot lift a corner of the cover and allow dirt and debris to cling to the bodywork. Moisture won’t come anywhere near the vehicle, and a steadier temperature and consistent environment ensure no undue pressures damage the engine or upholstery. You are 100% guaranteed that exposure to the elements won’t occur, and it’s more pleasant for you to check on and enjoy your car through winter, too, as you don’t need to stand in the pelting sleet or snow to do it. If you use a trickle charger, or any other kind of electronics, when your car is winterized, you can easily install electric points in the garage for convenience, too.
What’s better than that? The ease with which you can get your oak framed garage installed! With our oak garage kits, installation is simple and construction work minimal, so there’s very little disruption to your home life. And, when it’s up, you’ll have the perfect setting to keep your vintage or classic car in all her beauty, year-round, safe from the elements and easy to display. Keen to get your oak garage kit organised today? The Monarch Oak team is here for you.