Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 The birds are driving me crazy, crapping all over my Mustang!

The hood was a frequent target,
but the deck lid suffered the worst.

I'm not going to show you any pictures of that!

The tree in the green strip is so big that branches
extend over the driveway.

There are a couple of large trees that extend over my driveway, a redwood and another large very messy one. That's the one that drops all the seed pods. My court has many of these big trees growing in the green strip alongside the curb.

My truck is parked at the curb,
under this tree.

I park my truck at the curb under another of those large messy trees that has three birds nests hanging over the poor truck!

Now let me say that I actually like birds. I have a birdbath with a solar powered fountain in my back patio. I enjoy watching the humming birds and other types of birds enjoying themselves in the water. I have even been visited by larger birds like hawks and falcons. The falcons often nest in the large trees in the front yard.

I snapped a photo of a recent visitor. He also enjoyed
the bird bath.

Since I've gotten my motorcycle, the Mustang has had to live outside during the Winter.

This should give me the incentive I need to put up a shed for my bike, then I can park the Mustang back inside the garage. 

I usually keep it covered up during dry weather. If the birds poop on the cover I don't really care. I care about preserving the paint on my car.

A few months back I had the Mustang covered up with the cloth car cover. It is rain resistant, but not waterproof. I let it get soaked and should have taken it off and let it and they car dry. Instead I just let it sit on the car. I thought that I'd just let it dry out in place. I'd read that you shouldn't do this. The wet cover in contact with the paint, combined with the heat of drying out could damage the paint. It had never happened to me before with my other cars, but wouldn't you know it, I found some discolored spots on the hood when I removed the cover. They thankfully a little hard to see from most angles.

This is just one of them. They are hard to see.

I refer to these as "ghost stains." As opposed to "ghost flames."

Boy was I mad, but it was my own fault.

So I have resolved to keep the car uncovered whenever it looks like rain. But now there is another problem. The birds are very busy in the branches that hang over the Mustang. The birds hang out and poop every morning! If it was actually raining it wouldn't be so bad, The stuff would never get to dry out. I go out every morning and wash the spots off. It's also lucky for me that the birds haven't been eating berries or whatever that gives them acidic droppings that will damage the paint. Mostly the droppings just dry out, and once removed they haven't left a trace. 

We have been expecting a big storm for almost a week. so I have left the car uncovered. I've spent a lot of time cleaning it every morning. I've been hoping for the rain to start!

My neighbor up the street has several very nice cars that he keeps parked in his driveway. Lucky for him, there are no trees overhanging his driveway. He always has a cloth cover on them, and adds a waterproof plastic cover on top of that during the rainy season. He told me that he hasn't had a problem with this set up. These are really nice cars, nicely painted, desirable models that are probably worth around 40K+ on the average.

So I decided that I would buy some waterproof covers off the internet. I took a look at Amazon and found some at a good price. They also have three tie down straps sewn onto them to keep them on in case of windy conditions. They come from a company named "Gunhyi," a name that you can trust! 

I might laugh a bit about these off brand names, but I'll be that they manufacture the same product for other well known retail outlets which market them under their own name. 

The rain has just started so I'll have to wait until there is a break of a day or so that the car can dry out and I'll wash it before covering it up. After that, I'll just let the Mustang sit unless I plan on taking it out for a long drive. 

We had an intense storm that has ended yesterday, and the afternoon was dry. Today was dry and even a bit sunny with no rain predicted for several days. I took advantage of the window of opportunity. 

First I blew off as many leaves as possible with the yard blower. Then I lowered the top about a fourth of the way. This allowed me better access around the base of the top and the well. I vacuumed that area and then under the hood and cowl. I popped open the trunk and vacuumed the leaves that were in the area of the weatherstripping. The top on the car may fit a bit funky but it has proven to be watertight.

I had noted that there were many bird strikes on the car and gave it a careful washing. After that I parked it across the street where there are no overhanging trees, and let it drip dry.

After lunch I took it out for a drive to dry it out. A short distance from my house there is a steep hill that helps the water drain to the rear and front. Then I got on the freeway. Driving it at freeway speeds I put 25 miles on it then parked it in the driveway when I got home.

I took the boxed cover outside and carefully cut through the sealing tape with a key. Inside was a large storage bag for the cover, as well as a large microfiber towel The cover was sealed in a plastic bag but it was not shrunken, unlike the vacuum packed cloth covers that I've bought. Those are super wrinkled and take a couple of weeks for them to work themselves out.

It fits well and the reflective stripe is a thoughtfully extra.

I laid the cover on the top of the car and started to unfold it. The company did include a tag indicating the front on the front elastic hem. The cover appeared to be of heavy material, and well made, with even stitching. The underside was covered with a thin layer of soft flannel like flocking. The cover features three sewed on tie down straps to keep it secure in windy conditions. Most importantly the cover fit very well, and it was a generic sized, not custom fit item. My initial impressions of the cover are very positive. I had also ordered a cover for my truck, but I haven't opened that yet.

The cover would fit better if the Mustang had folding side mirrors.

To make finding the front end of the cover easier, I put a ten inch long piece of white duct tape on the front elastic seam visible from the outside.

These are a great idea.

The cover also features a zippered seam so that the driver's door can be opened without having to remove the cover. There are also a pair of covered vents to allow for the escape of moisture located near the rearview mirrors, a good feature. 

My plan is to keep the Mustang covered with this waterproof cover during the rainy season. Not only will the car be kept dry (hopefully) but it will be kept clean. Those horrible little seed pod leaves and bird droppings will be stopped by the cover, protecting the paint. I do plan to keep an eye on what's happening under the cover after a rainstorm, to see if there is any moisture build up under the cover.

How long will this cover last?

The cheap Budge cloth covers that I have bought last for two to three years before they start to tear. We'll see how this cover fares, I hope that it will last at least as long as cheap cloth covers.

What should I do about those ghost stains?

Those stains are mostly visible from certain angles.

They are only visible from certain angles. I could just have the hood and front bumper resprayed. But I've come up with another idea. I could add some wide white Shelby type hood stripes that should cover most of the stains. I would also add them to the trunk lid. 

I'd always wanted a Mustang done up that way. I'll take a look and see what's available online.

I suppose that some people might think that I fuss over this car too much. It is kind of a hassle and a lot of work, but it's my choice, and I'm the one doing the work. It is important to me to protect and preserve my cars, especially my hobby cars. What would be the point of having a hobby car if you're just going to let it deteriorate on your watch? A car guy can take pride in having a well taken care of and preserved older car. That has always been the basis of the entire hobby. I think that I take reasonable precautions with my fleet, and it's also a much cheaper route in the long term.