Do any of you drive your 914s in the rain?, Why or why not? Options

[Ace Le Count]

Title says it all. If you do, what precautions do you take to prevent rust?

[dtmehall]

i don't. i am an original owner, and haven't driven it it the elements in 40+ years

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[Jamie]

Title says it all. If you do, what precautions do you take to prevent rust?

I've been caught in rain several times over the years, including a couple of toad stranglers, and know where the leaks in the cabin are. I get the car into the garage when back home, then use towels and fans to dry out any water that I can find. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[Patrick_139]

Living in Southern California it's not much of an inconvenience to not drive in the rain. I take it one step further by only giving the car a very occasional sponge bath. In between those I dust it and use a spray wash. Prefer to to keep the rust asleep as much as possible.

[anderssj]

Title says it all. If you do, what precautions do you take to prevent rust?

I've been caught in rain several times over the years, including a couple of toad stranglers, and know where the leaks in the cabin are. I get the car into the garage when back home, then use towels and fans to dry out any water that I can find. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

Original owner, I was stationed in the Seattle area twice while the car was my daily driver. Updated the weatherstripping on the top, resealed the rear window, put towels under the known leaks, and kept all of the chassis drains clear. Over 248000 miles now….and garage kept.

[SO.O.C914er]

Yeah I don’t drive it in the rain and rarely wash it. I keep it clean inside and out though!
She spends 90% of the time with the roof off!

[Shivers]

Title says it all. If you do, what precautions do you take to prevent rust?

It was my daily transportation in the 80's. It doesn't rain much in SoCal but it does, so yes I did. It was rusty when I got it in 82 and it just got worse. I tried while it was my daily transportation to fight the rust but it was straightening deck chairs on the titanic. If you are moving above 45-50 mph the rain does not come in the car without the top on, even hard rain. Underpass is a great place to stop and put the top back on. That's about all I know about rain.

[Steve]

I live in so cal and do not go out in the rain, but I have been caught occasionally in the rain. Since we do not get much rain, when it does rain the roads are slick from the oil and idiot drivers everywhere. I am more scared of the idiot drivers with bald tires on their cell phones, then the rain. Funny seeing SUV's upside down every time it rains.

[VaccaRabite]

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If i tried never to drive my car in the rain, I'd never be able to drive it for any event lasting longer then a day.

I drive my old VWs and the 914 for week long road trips at least once a year. I've had my 914 driving back from a campout 120 miles away from home base, throwing twin rooster tails of water from the back wheels for the entire last 80 miles of the trip till I got home. I've been caught in rain going over the Delaware Memorial Bridge that was so rough I could not see 1/2way past my front trunk lid at noon.

2x this year I've had to drive my freshly restored VW bus through storms so bad there was flash flooding - 1 was a tropical storm that hit the last day of a camp out 200ish miles from home...

Unless you live in a climate where it just does not rain for months at a time, or are willing to just not drive them other then local rips around your neighborhood, I suggest making sure your wipers work, and carry a roll of blue tape. And always bring an umbrella cover for your car for overnight - though I don't bother doing that for the bus.

I won't leave the shop if its pouring at the start of a trip, but I've just come to accept that it rains where I live. I'd rather be known as the road warrior that shows then the wimp that doesn't.

Zach

[Optimusglen]

Yes, I'll take it out in anything. Even in snow, in the Midwest. I don't make a habit of it; I have zero HVAC, so that puts a damper on weather driving. But, I've driven it from MN to Utah for a weeklong road trip, and the next year to Idaho and back for another trip. Both times, I encountered all sorts of weather.

For snow, I'll generally not take it out after the first salting of the season. For rain, I just send it.

The why: These cars are meant to be used and enjoyed. They aren't going to last forever, and they were never intended to. It might be from rust, it might be from being rear-ended by a soccer mom changing the radio station, it might be from a giant meteor, or even an AI-instigated massive disaster, but all of these cars will reach their end.

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[VaccaRabite]

For snow, I'll generally not take it out after the first salting of the season. For rain, I just send it.

Salt is the one thing that I DO try to avoid.
The last campout of the year is early December. Like you, my cars have no HVAC - but I can layer my clothes. But I can't layer out of salt, and the salt is what will kill these cars fast. Water dries, salt stays. USUALLY they have not started brining the roads for the December camp, but I have wimped out and driven a modern car when an early storm brought the salt trucks out early.

Zach

[Cairo94507]

Mine has been in the rain several times; never planned, but when weather happens it happens. Once I get it home I wipe it down and make sure there is no standing water. The first time I got caught in the rain, if I am honest, I freaked a bit. Then I got over it and now it does not bother me.

I have never washed my car traditionally. I always use P&S Showroom Finish detail spray and microfiber towels. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[ConeDodger]

Never. I wouldn’t purposely drive it in the rain, but I wouldn’t be afraid to either. Mine spends down time on the top shelf of a four post lift with a battery tender and a car cover.

I have owned mine since 2000 and it hasn’t seen rain in that time. It gets waterless washes and

[SKL1]

Drove my early '71 in the snow and rain for the first 4 years as it was the only car I had. Took the rockers off a coupe times each winter and cleaned every thing off. Still have the car and the hell hole head up fine but haven't used the wipers for probably 40 years...
Have had my '73 for 26 years and have never used the wipers... yeah, I know, it's a sickness...

[flxzcat]

I love canyon carving or any driving at high speed in the rain. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) This requires the most skill and is the most rewarding to me. I never go out on the first day, only after a day or two of enough rain to clean the roads.

[flxzcat]

double post

[914werke]

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[930cabman]

Mine stays indoors well before salt hits the roadways, I try to not take her our in the rain, but have gotten caught several times.

At 74 y/o I'm not gonna worry about much especially being in the 4th quarter, approching OT

[TRP]

@Jamie - what the hell is a 'toad strangler'? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[dtmehall]

like some of the other posters said, my 73 only gets cleaned with Meguiar's Ultimate Waterless Wash & Wax, 2-in-1 Wash and Wax and microfiber towels