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Wet Weather TR’ing


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Hi all

With the lack of dry sunny weather of late I’ve developed something of a wet weather fetish for TR’ing in the rain !

It is slightly boring only to take our cars out on warm sunny days or just simply to park them up in showgrounds all day, highly polished but sitting doing nothing. So on  Saturday I took my 4a out in a heavy storm and I can only say how enjoyable it was.

Surprisingly the Surrey let no water in albeit a few drops between the top of the windows and the canvass. I GoPro’d the whole run up over Beachy Head and parked up on the seafront for a coffee in near storm force winds with no leakage. It was an enjoyable experience! The only drawback is the fairly inefficient venting and de-misting and the rear screen misting. 

Anyone got any good wet weather TR driving tips like Rainex, uprated blowers / de-misters etc, and anyone else got out do do some serious wet weather TR’ing!!?

Kevin

 

 

Edited by boxofbits
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Good job Kevin. I drive my TR6 in all weathers. I just keep a towel handy to deal with the occasional drips. The TR6 heater, de-mister and eyeball vents do a reasonable job in all but the worst of weathers. I change the wipers every year as the rubber gets hard and brittle after a while and I keep the windshield clean inside and out. We were out last summer in the middle of a massive storm and tornado warnings going off.

Where is the gopro video ?

Stan

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I enjoy driving my TR6 (and TR2 when I had it) in the rain - in fact all weather except gritted roads. Fresh snow is great too!

Part of that came out of necessity when using them as daily drivers for various reasons.

I'll try to find some pictures, but to be honest a photo is the last thing on my mind in those situations.

Rog

 

 

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1 hour ago, boxofbits said:

Hi all

With the lack of dry sunny weather of late I’ve developed something of a wet weather fetish for TR’ing in the rain !

It is slightly boring only to take our cars out on warm sunny days or just simply to park them up in showgrounds all day, highly polished but sitting doing nothing. So on  Saturday I took my 4a out in a heavy storm and I can only say how enjoyable it was.

Surprisingly the Surrey let no water in albeit a few drops between the top of the windows and the canvass. I GoPro’d the whole run up over Beachy Head and parked up on the seafront for a coffee in near storm force winds with no leakage. It was an enjoyable experience! The only drawback is the fairly inefficient venting and de-misting and the rear screen misting. 

Anyone got any good wet weather TR driving tips like Rainex, uprated blowers / de-misters etc, and anyone else got out do do some serious wet weather TR’ing!!?

Kevin

 

 

Recently had a tip on Rainex from a Motorsport friend. Put on a good application & if possible leave on overnight or a long while before polishing off. More fife time apparently.

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My Tr4a has been out in some atrocious weather no problem at all, the only time water comes in is if you have the drivers window down a little when going fast you do get a little water coming off the bottom edge of the screen from the wiper sweep.

Us at a very wet Harrogate a few years ago.

Stuart.

photo1828.jpg

photo1829.jpg

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Hi kevin,

regarding extra oomph for the demist.

RodBR in Scotlandshire did a post in the early summer saying he either had fitted or was about to fit some small powerful computer server cooling fans.

I bought two pairs (only need one pair) and will fit this winter. In checking them out they gave a very good breeze compared to the warm balmy summer day type waft from the existing set-up.

 

Do a search - it is there somewhere.

 

Roger

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Both my hard and Surrey tops are completely weatherproof in the worst conditions. I too find Rain-X a benefit and PIAA silicone blades clear the best ( SKR52E from www.tdcautomotive.com  when cut in half will provide two blades for TRs 2-6). When rain is expected I also use Holts anti mist spray on the inside of windows. I always have a cloth handy in case it is necessary to clear that annoying area in the centre of the windscreen not reached by the vents. Worth overhauling/ replacing wiper wheel boxes, rack and motor to eliminate slop as much as possible.

The Smiths rear screen heater is very effective in clearing/keeping mist at bay - it came from Halfords over 40 years ago - good luck finding one now, I should imagine if one were to come up at an auto jumble the adhesive has probably lost its stick by now!

Tim 

DSC01140.JPG

Sennen Cove, RBRR 2008.JPG

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Mine is used for my daily commute, whatever the weather, wouldn’t say it is completely watertight but probably never was when it left the factory either. 

Rainex and heated seats are my friends. I do have a cheap-as-chips 12v aux blower to help with demisting but it never wants to stay at the right angle and I rarely bother with it these days.

....... Andy

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Thanks for the replies and good to see photos of some TR's out in wet/ winter weather action!

I'll see if I can upload a segment of GoPro in my recent run in storm force conditions. The car surprised me how stable it was in high winds through bends/ turns etc.

This is one rear screen demister product that's come onto the market from Holden, and seems along the lines of Tim's Smiths product from a few years ago. I might invest in one of these as not too costly at £35.

https://www.holden.co.uk/p/screen_heater_12_volt

There is also another from the states which can be cut to size.

https://www.frostfighter.com/clear-view-defrosters-about.htm

Ive not looked into shipping costs from the states or if it's actually Frosts, the classic car product supplier who sells it. I'll have a look round the NEC show this coming Friday. That's a great photo Deggers, was it taken in Cornwall and how good are the tyres ?

Rainex and as Tim says the Holts anti-mist spray look good choices.

Pity Moss or Revington haven't come up with an upgraded heater/ demister unit package for the TR's. Be interesting to know how you get on with the computer fans Roger.

My body shop is going to quote me to spray chassis / inside and out and underside of body sections/sills with dinitrol or similar to get some extra wet weather protection. I also gave the chrome work a good dowsing of WD40 when I returned, so bring on the rain!

Kevin

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I had no idea such products were still made Kevin, since cars have had heated rear windows as standard for so long now. The Holden product looks reasonably priced and  at 1200mm in length it will go further round the 4A rear screen than mine does.

Tim 

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9 minutes ago, tim hunt said:

I had no idea such products were still made Kevin, since cars have had heated rear windows as standard for so long now. The Holden product looks reasonably priced and  at 1200mm in length it will go further round the 4A rear screen than mine does.

Tim 

I agree Tim, I think it might be a fairly recent introduction but a much needed product in the classic car fraternity I would’ve thought!

I think for 35 quid I’ll give it a whirl and see how it performs. As you say the de-misted area is quite wide too.

Kevin

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21 hours ago, tim hunt said:

Both my hard and Surrey tops are completely weatherproof in the worst conditions. I too find Rain-X a benefit and PIAA silicone blades clear the best ( SKR52E from www.tdcautomotive.com  when cut in half will provide two blades for TRs 2-6). When rain is expected I also use Holts anti mist spray on the inside of windows. I always have a cloth handy in case it is necessary to clear that annoying area in the centre of the windscreen not reached by the vents. Worth overhauling/ replacing wiper wheel boxes, rack and motor to eliminate slop as much as possible.

The Smiths rear screen heater is very effective in clearing/keeping mist at bay - it came from Halfords over 40 years ago - good luck finding one now, I should imagine if one were to come up at an auto jumble the adhesive has probably lost its stick by now!

Tim 

DSC01140.JPG

Sennen Cove, RBRR 2008.JPG

Nice photos Tim. Interestingly you have a TR5 rear valence. I have the same on my TR4 fitted by the previous owner & with a reversing lamp on the near side & a red fog lamp on the offside. A good modification & mine & yours the only 4's I have seen fitted! I guess there must be more.

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I've never been able to get wipers to work for very long - seems like sitting on the curved outside of the screen for the vast majority of their lives, leads to lack of wiping right through the middle of my viewing.

I always use Rain-ex inside (anti-fog) and out (invisible wiper) and only have any kind of problem if the rain is very light or big mud splashes...

Tim

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On 11/4/2019 at 4:26 PM, monty said:

Recently had a tip on Rainex from a Motorsport friend. Put on a good application & if possible leave on overnight or a long while before polishing off. More fife time apparently.

Another thing is to make sure the screen is really clean (meths, ammonia, glass burnishing compound) before you apply it. Makes a big difference.

Pete

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It's a 4A valance Monty. The reversing lights are Wipac after market items I fitted many moons ago, together with a switch on the gearbox.

Tim

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16 hours ago, TorontoTim said:

I've never been able to get wipers to work for very long - seems like sitting on the curved outside of the screen for the vast majority of their lives, leads to lack of wiping right through the middle of my viewing.

I always use Rain-ex inside (anti-fog) and out (invisible wiper) and only have any kind of problem if the rain is very light or big mud splashes...

Tim

Hi Tim,

TRy and remember to leave the wiper blades vertical when you turn the ignition off. 

This will allow them to take up the shape of the flat part of the screen.

Or use the silicon blades as suggested by Tim Hunt.

 

Roger

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8 minutes ago, RogerH said:

Hi Tim,

TRy and remember to leave the wiper blades vertical when you turn the ignition off. 

This will allow them to take up the shape of the flat part of the screen.

Or use the silicon blades as suggested by Tim Hunt.

 

Roger

Thanks, Roger - I'll look at turning my parking mechanism through 180 degrees to have them park on a flatter bit (very MGB on the Monte).  I'll also try better blades...

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22 minutes ago, TorontoTim said:

Thanks, Roger - I'll look at turning my parking mechanism through 180 degrees to have them park on a flatter bit (very MGB on the Monte).  I'll also try better blades...

I wouldnt alter the park position as they would be in the way when your not using them,, your better off just switching them off in the upright position on the ignition then they stay flat better.

Stuart.

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Hello All,

This is not my idea, it was suggested by forum member David Edwards when I spoke to him a few weeks ago.
He has an MG TC. We were talking about demisters and he said he uses 12-volt hairdryers. It occurred to me that they could quite easily be plumbed onto the pipes that go to the TR demister vents and, being not too big, could be tie wrapped somewhere behind the dash.

One advantage of them is that they supply “Instant heat”. No need to wait for the engine to warm up.

I think camping shops sell them but would be cheaper elsewhere.


Charlie.

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