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MG Midget and Sprite General - Winter driving tips?

This will be my 5th winter driving the Midget.
I've used a hardtop for 2 or 3 of them, and my soft top (hood) for a couple.
Using the vinyl hood again this winter as I've sold the hardtop.

This week has been very wet and I'm finding my hood is leaking. There are no rips or tears, it's just soaking through as the rain has been plentiful.

Is there a preferred treatment for the vinyl that will waterproof it and help to preserve it?

Any other winter weather tips?
I know there are plenty here who drive their cars throughout the year instead of putting them away in nice warm garages, so there must be some accumulated wisdom that could be shared.

Here are a few things I've done:
Changed out my old original fuse holder for two of the blade fuse style boxes. One is for circuits that always have power available and the other is for ignition switched circuits.

Previous winters provided me with the incentive to do this, as I was always having trouble with the old 4 position glass fuse holder. Also now that I have 12 fused circuits instead of 3 things are a lot easier to track down and one thing failing doesn't necessarily bring down several others.

I also put halogen lights in and these are fed by a relay for each lamp. These are each on their own fuse.

I also have a relay feeding my heater fan so it gets all the amps it needs, this helps defrost the screen a lot better. The heater is also on it's own dedicated fuse.

This year I put in a new ignition switch, not the key part but the electrical part. 30+ years of running powered items through the old one were not kind to it's soldered connections and since it was looking (as you might say) tatty I thought it would be good to replace it. I also have a spare generic key switch with the right plug on it for my car should the standard switch fail I can plug in the spare right under the dash and start easily.

Brakes and suspension are good to check thoroughly, making sure everything is tight and right.
Tires should be examined.

What (if anything) do you carry for emergency gear - should you get stuck out there in snow or other foul weather?
I'm thinking something to keep you warm that's wrapped in enough plastic to keep it dry even under water (or in the Midget's boot whichever is more wet). Maybe some high energy dry packaged food and some liquid that won't freeze packed in there too. :)

Other ideas?
Rick Bastedo

check your battery 'water' levels and that the battery is charge and in good condition and it connections and leads are all sercure, clean and protected

I didn't think vynil went porous(?) - check your seals especially header rail seal, new one seem to need seating each time the hood is put up

make sure all light are clean and all working properly, no darkened bulbs

where I am has quite mild winters so no real special precautions are required

if the roads are really bad I don't make unecessary journeys as other idiots will have accidents and/or get stuck so making progress difficult for me or even getting me stuck too or possibly invovling me in their accident

I think a lot of modern drivers think they can drive in the same way as summer and just press a button or just leave it to the car's electronics to get them out of trouble

clearing anything but a few inches of snow or ice of the windscreen only seems to be beyond many

and of course the fashion for really wide and low tyres helps . . . oh, no, I'm in a rant
Nigel Atkins

Maybe it's the seams, this hood has had problems with it's thread rotting out before.
I most likely need to apply something to at least the seams to keep them from leaking or coming undone.
I will never buy another product from the same vendor again.
Sorry to say it's one in the UK - not my usual high praise but there it is.
Rick Bastedo

Vinyl does not go porous could it be condensation?

My way to het through the winter:
Cardboard in front of the rad to keep the temp up
Grease all seals
Fitted an electric washer pump

And mods not special for the winter:
Relaised halogens
Electronic ignition

In winter I
Wash once a week
Go through a lot of washer fluid
Drive the way the weather permits
Onno K

My winter tip used to be good gloves and waterproof trousers but now it's just good gloves.
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

When it rains hard I get dripping inside, not condensation. If you put a bucket under the drip it would collect significantly.
I believe after thinking about the problems I've had with seams in the past that's what is happening now.
I'll have to find something to apply that will help seal it up.
Rick Bastedo

yeah a lot of rubbish hoods about - but they're usually cheaper so end up on cars

you could try Fabsil spray I think it would work on vinyl(?)

you'd need to clear any polish off first I'd guess then just spray on the Fabsil all over for colour match and top up on seams or whole hood as required

'Fabsil Aerosol is a highly effective silicone-based water repellent treatment for all kinds of tent, tarpaulin, canopies and awning fabrics. The aerosol has a spray application which dries to an odourless and colourless finish.'
Nigel Atkins

Or the stuff you use to seal shoes.
Is water and dirt repellent so should also help with the bird poo
Onno K

I've used the renovo cleaner & proofer & they seem good, might help you. I've also got some McNett Seam Grip for sealing the seams of my tonneau, its designed for tents and waterproof clothes so should be 'gentle' enough for hoods.

If you're getting that much water in then ondensation does sound like it might be an issue. I tend to pull the carpets when they get wet and dry them in the bath. Got a slightly strange look in the hotel after Midget 50 as we carted all the carpets up the stairs to our room - one was actually sodden so dripped rather a lot!

-C
C Robertson

Try something like Hydrobloc for you seams. Its designed for hiking boots and it certainly keeps the water out of those. Walking through streams, bogs or heavy snow not a dribble penetrates so I can't see why it wouldn't work rubbed into stitched seams on a vinyl roof or tonneau. The good thing is its not greasy and easy to apply with a soft cloth or your fingers. Smells nice too!
Matt1275Bucks

Hi Rick,
there was a discussion about winter driving, over at the MG Experience (US) this week as well!

Here's a link to it:

http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?3,1907239,1907796#msg-1907796

and here's what my advice was, to a young driver learning how to drive in the snow:

be sure to buy some quality snow tires, as they are responsible for about 99% of the traction for any car in snow/slush/ice, regardless of the car you are driving, or which wheels are doing the pushing

the best snow tires are marketed as, "studless", as their rubber formulation is unique and closely approaches steel studded tires in handling - I have driven in heavy snow all of my life and have been amazed at the traction available with 4 studless tires, almost like there is no snow at all, compared with all of the other folks (the big concern then becomes not being hit by one of them)

do not ever assume that "all season" are good enough for snow, because those are really just, "regular" tires, in comparison


some more winter driving tips for a young driver, when it is really slippery:
- use one gear higher than normal, to reduce the amount of power going to the wheels (this is one reason why a manual transmission is better for winter driving)
- when cornering or braking (and especially when you have to do both), put in the clutch to take the engine out of the equation (the goal is to balance all four wheels all of the time, and to always keep the load on any one wheel below that at which the tire will break away from the road, and this limit can be awfully low, so that balance can be very touchy. This is the other big reason why a manual is better than an automatic, in winter.
- once you break away and start heading for the scenery, the hardest thing to do next is to avoid over correcting, but the smoother, and gentler your changes in input can be, the better the chances are of gathering it back up before you run out of room
- like Jackie Stewart always said, drive smoothly, all inputs gentle and gradual. He was doing that at 150mph on race tires, and you'll be doing it at 28mph on ice. Same concept, both will depend on staying below the limits of adhesion, which will be constantly changing.
- the hardest part of winter driving is that most of the time it will be just like summer driving, until that one corner, or that one crowded intersection that is slippery all of a sudden, so it is easy to become complacent and then be surprised. That's when the accidents happen. Ideally, you'll develop your driving skills to react better each time, and hopefully, the surprises that do come will be ones that you can learn from, even if once in a while you end up needing a tow because it went too far (that's what learning is all about, at age 19!).
- if it snows a lot, get up early and go practice on back roads before they get crowded. Skills take time and practice to develop.

Keep warm, gets lots of practice and have fun!

Norm
Norm Kerr

they used to use dubbin (wax) for waterproofing walking boots, you could get it in natural or black

thinking about it I thought vinyl hoods had welted?/welded? seams
Nigel Atkins

Snow tyres and a couple of cwt of sandbags in the boot to aid traction. And, if you have the choice drive on the less well travelled roads, or at quieter times. It is invariably other cars and wagons getting stuck that will cause you problems. If you can drive on a deserted road then you can maintain the necessary momentum. Don't drive timid.
Guy

This thread was discussed between 23/11/2011 and 24/11/2011

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