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  Sept. 30, 2008 8:42 a.m. bikesnrovers New Reader

  OK, my turn to rant about the weekly question... well, as much of a rant as I do.

  Not a fair question! It really depends on your classic, where you live, and what the laws are.

  Since I live in Wisconsin, the land of salted roads in the winter, when my GT6 is done there is no way I will put it out there as long as salt remains on the roadway.

  However, the Land Rover lives for adverse conditions! Deep snow + stuck cars = fun!

  I was going to but a "collector" plate on the Land Rover, but I won't. Wisconsin law says that vehicles tagged with a collector plate drive during the month of January, unless a special five day tag is purchased.

  The advantage to collector plates is the registration doesn't expire. You pay a higher fee to get the plate but that is it.

  Now my friends in Arizona "winter" is the time to bring out the classics. Cooler temperatures allow top down driving - or a/c less driving. Where the summer temps are prohibitive.

  So not a fair question!

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  Sept. 30, 2008 10:40 a.m. Ian F Reader

  Agreed. After spending untold amounts of time restoring and cleaning up an old car, it just seems silly to subject it to the abuse of winter driving here in the salt-belt. Heck... we don't even like driving them in the rain.

  We pretty much moth-ball the classic fleet around Thanksgiving. We could probably stretch driving time into December, but the show season is basically done and holiday events start to consume the weekends.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 11:05 a.m. devine10 New Reader

  Yeah my MGB goes away just around thanksgiving, and makes it's return around the first week of april..

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  Sept. 30, 2008 11:42 a.m. André Rousseau Reader

  Are you out of your mind?

  

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  Sept. 30, 2008 11:53 a.m. WilD Reader

  I wish I had a snowblower. :(

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  Sept. 30, 2008 12:06 p.m. André Rousseau Reader

  Cough, like my GT6 its older then me!

  A.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 12:27 p.m. TR3only New Reader

  Because I also agree with the points made above, I voted no. I owned a TR3 and a Volvo PV544 when I lived in Florida and both were daily drivers...365 days a year. I moved the TR3 to my folks home in Pa. and needless to say after THAT move it was not used during the worst of the winter months...even when there were a few days that driving with the top down/off would have been "refreshing".

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  Sept. 30, 2008 12:36 p.m. bikesnrovers New Reader

  Andre, that snowblower is bigger than your GT6, too!

  Here is how we do a lube job in the winter in Wisconsin (if I can get a picture to post!):

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  Sept. 30, 2008 12:56 p.m. André Rousseau Reader

  Outstanding. Please tell me you had wheel blocks on the rear!

  as for the blower vs the GT6.

  Its a modest machine, but was worth its weight in gold last winter.

  I guess she'll come out of her sleeping place next month and replace the lawn mower in the garage.

  Sign.

  A.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 1:34 p.m. KaptKaos Reader

  I voted no too, but I live in SoCal so it really doesn't apply to me

  Bikesnrovers - you couldn't pay me to get under that Rover like that. That's crazy! But then again, you can likely crawl under the Rover when all 4 are on the ground. Unlike a Porsche or MG.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 1:41 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director

  Just to quell any fears, don't worry, no one is being graded on these questions. Just trying to get people talking. And if anyone would like to submit some questions, I'm sure that can be accommodated.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 2:04 p.m. rconlon Reader

  I suspected that you were running out of ideas. I will send you some questions.

  Cheers Ron

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  Sept. 30, 2008 2:20 p.m. bikesnrovers New Reader

  To quash all fears... no I wasn't changing the oil or crawling around under the Landy... just goofing around driving up snowbanks! I am never at a loss for a parking place in the winter!

  Yeah, it is pretty nice not having to jack-up the car to crawl underneath, even without a snowbank! However, some parking garages are out!

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  Sept. 30, 2008 7:25 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director

  Funny, you can change the oil without a jack. I need to park on a block of wood just so I can get my aluminum jack under the differential. Not sure how the car would do in snow.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 7:56 p.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

  Around here, classic cars disapear because people drive them year round. We salt on a roughly inch for inch basis if it snows. I think I've skidded more on loose salt than on snow.

  Seriously though, I've seen and experienced remarkable damage to a car due to the road salt. I'm willing to accept that on my generic trucks and cars, but a semi-precious classic car... no.
  

  These days, with my genuine nice classic (never had one so nice), I even keep it garaged. It's not rusty, not tatty, not bashed up, and I don't really want it to become any of those things. So I rather watch out for it.
  

  Trailer queen it certainly isn't. But it's certainly not a beater either, and I don't plan on making it into one.

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  Sept. 30, 2008 11:17 p.m. zinteck New Reader

  My cars would go off the road around thanksgiving and go back on mid April.

  My Saab 96 would go on the road for thanksgiving and off mid A.pril when I would tranfer the plates

  Can I change my vote to "it depends"

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  Oct. 1, 2008 6:12 a.m. ddavidv SuperDork

  First, Italian cars. Now, a Mini. Not driving them during the salt season isn't really a choice so much as a means of insuring I still have a car to drive come springtime.

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  Oct. 1, 2008 11:36 a.m. Karl La Follette Reader

  I put away cars for the summer here in florida to freakin hot as i sleep in and dont want to drive at 7/8 in the morning , Nights are out mostly british stuff . Now is coming the good part of the season cooling down !! Driving and working on projects are gonna be alot easier due to the cool months ahead . Rain is a factor here also as most of my stuff is topless ,No Top No covertable just open car . I have been caught out in a rain storm plenty of times torrential rainstorms .

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  Oct. 5, 2008 2:22 a.m. gblawson New Reader

  Hahaha

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  Oct. 5, 2008 7:17 a.m. André Rousseau Reader

  If you remove environmental factors. IE SALT.

  The drivers in the winter seem to loose their minds.

  I run my Madza on some pretty serious snow tires so I feel safe and can actually brake when needed.

  You know all this talk of snow is making me very upset. You know that impending doom feeling...

  I need to get out and enjoy the GT6 a few more times this month. I feel winter coming.

  Hmm maybe I can pack the family up in Jan or Feb and go see Mickey Mouse and the gang.

  A.

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  Oct. 5, 2008 2:31 p.m. Tim Baxter Online Editor

  That is an awesome pic. Voted up.

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  Oct. 5, 2008 5:36 p.m. aeronca65t Reader

  gblawson:

  Great shot! I assume that's a TD?

  Here in northwest NJ, my Miata (not exactly a "classic") does not rate a garage. It gets Bizzaks for the Winter and sees plenty of use. This is the first year I'll have ~My '69 MGB~ on the street and I plan to give it an occasional Winter run.

  My Miata

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  Oct. 7, 2008 4:27 p.m. gblawson New Reader

  Yes...a '53 TD... had it in for a new set of 4.3 MGA rear end gears and left for my garage on a sunny day in January...within two miles it started to snow and by the time I got the 5 miles home, this is what it was like... my favourite photo!

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  Oct. 7, 2008 9:04 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director

  By the way, we have some reader-submitted poll questions on the way.

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  Oct. 8, 2008 10:37 a.m. VClassics None

  No salt on the roads around here...

  

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