Series III Storage?
 

Hi, all! I'm new here. I did some snooping and decided this would be the best place to ask a noobish question. Y'all seem friendly enough!

I'm a freshman at a college that necessitates that I have a way of getting around. I remembered about a year ago that my dad has his '85 XJ6 sitting in a garage somewhere, and he's said that he's open to "negotiations." I immediately became rather obsessed with the car and I've done a bunch of research on it. I've heard that it's rather prone to rust around the doors, windows, fuel tanks, etc., and I was wondering if it's a realistic option to store the old girl outside. Since there's no enclosed parking on my campus, that's where she'd have to be for the school year. Are things like weather tarps protective enough, or is the most viable option to keep her in storage and buy myself some junker?

Thanks so much,
Max

I wouldn't even try to do that in my climate, which is much more benign than New York State. Tarps will probably just make it sweat and accelerate deterioration if used long term.Keep the car for later restoration (maybe) and go the junker. A freshman at college is probably (going out on a limb here) going to have a few distractions that may make dealing with a needy XJ6 a low priority. I'm sure some knowledgeable locals will chime in soon.

Depends on your skills. My series 1, which are very rusty as well, is always outside. I can weld, so if a bad spot occurs, I weld it, make it straight and paint it. So I can't really be bothered by some rust.

If your intention is to keep the car in good condition, it's better to store them dry.

Droz: Well, here's all you need to know. Classes: nothing before eleven. Beer: it's your best friend, you drink a lot. Women? You're a freshman, so it's pretty much out of the question. Will you have a car?

Tom: Uh, no.

Droz: Someone on your floor will. Find them and make friends with them on the first day.

I had a '56 Chevy (4-door, with 265 V8, though) I drove for years at college. Freshly repainted. It did suffer immensely.

However, I had a good friend with a Barracuda that kept his outside. He paid for a *very* nice car cover and didn't seem to have any problems with condensation, etc. If your choice is between full exposure and a *high quality* car over, go with the latter.

I have had ONLY cheap/relatively deteriorated Xj6 series IIIs for the entirety of my educational career so far (through undergraduate, grad school and now through my first half of law school so far...). I haven't had any egregious problems with deterioration from exposure - I have a very very tiny garage so my car is almost exclusively stored outside in my driveway unless there is hail or snow/ice on the way. Sure the water build up encourages rust but honestly, so does driving in the rain, or snow, etc. etc. I just take a dry rag and rub down around all seals after a storm or after driving in the rain.

I think it is more important to think long term about what you want to use that family car for - if you anticipate at some point in the future sinking 4-5,000$ into a real restoration of the car's failing systems and the inevitable minor body, paint, rust problems, then I would leave the car in storage through college and come back to it later when you have money/time to do it properly.

But if the car is just sitting there deteriorating more slowly indoors and is not a viable candidate for this type of full restoration or you simply just don't care about repairing the small 1" faint scratch on the drivers door or ensuring the completely even smoothness of the paint job for example, I would just do what's necessary to get it to be safe, somewhat reliable daily driver and just use an exterior car cover. From every example I've seen though, unless it's already been through a full restoration in the last 5 years, there are going to be minor cosmetic problems aplenty with that car.

Remember, its not just the elements that cause deterioration - sometimes sitting in a garage without being driven for years is as bad or worse than full exposure but driving - that car probably has fuel in the lines and tank from the last time it was driven regularly, probably has old coolant in the system, old oil in the pump and pan, and rubber tires which are slowly rotting away (and unevenly rotting as it is not being driven).

Then again, your location says New York and that's a world of difference from Texas. We get snow and ice maybe 3-4 times a Winter for a day or two at a time so I have about a full 4 months of time where my climate is significantly less cold and wet than yours so that may change your idea of whether outside storage is 'viable'.

Also, if you can swing it, you could always just get a shelter/car port - 150$ at Harbor Freight: 10 Ft. x 20 Ft. Portable Car Canopy
Or an exterior car cover if you don't have somewhere you can set yourself up a canopy:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Regarding reliability:
You will have problems. It's just that simple - I successfully completed all my classes and found that if you are willing to come to your car expecting it to turn it on and take off and instead sink a few hours into solving a problem at least 4-5 times a year (and of course, never at the most convenient times). Just know a good, reliable friend who can at least give you a ride to an interview/final/emergency situation - always good to have a backup.

I would say 'its worth it' if the experience weren't the whole reason for the purchase but it sounds like you just need to ask if this is the experience for you. I love(d) it. Other people think I'm crazy.

Also, it's a very minor thing but especially with older, untinted windows like those on the Xj6 - be sure to get a windshield screen/cover as well if you plan on parking the car in the outdoors exposed to the sun. All cars are like ovens in the sun with windows closed but these cars seem to exacerbate that with the angle/thickness of the glass and the fact that they are rarely if ever tinted/UV protected. The sun wear really adds up especially on the dash and the front of the front seats and the rear headrests in the back (VDP).

Leave it in storage, buy an affordable POS and save the Jag for after graduation when you will have the time & money to actually enjoy owning it. With any luck, the POS will last long enough to be your DD until the Jag is street ready.

Just make sure your father understands that you will be buying it off him in a few years. Who knows, maybe he'll give it to you as a graduation present?!