Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Ferraris & Rain

[Tom Reynolds (kjtar]

Steve,
     I think this thread started with Gavin deciding not to drive his '78
308GTB because the weather for the trip looked to be inclement and he
wouldn't enjoy driving it in that weather.  Later on, after asking for
comments, other concerns emerged, such as the rain+water=rust equation,
perhaps being clipped by other drivers due to the expected bad weather.
     But, I don't think you can/should consider a 1978 Ferrari "a modern
car." I don't know when Ferrari started to galvanize their chassis, but I
did see a photo of two chassis waiting on a trolley outside the factory
after being delivered, and the author stated that chassis being stored
outside in the weather, when it frequently rained, was a certain contributor
to rust in the 250 series cars.  I don't know when this storing of the
chassis outside habit ended, but after seeing the pictures Rick took, and
knowing that Porsche, by Ferrari standards a volume producer, only started
galvanizing their bodies in, I believe, 1977, I would have to doubt that
Ferraris were similarly protected by M.Y. 1978.  Just not a modern car by
today's standards.  For better AND worse, I suppose.
Best,
Tom
Tulsa, OK
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <BRIGANDBAR [at] aol.com>
To: "Tom Reynolds" <kjtar [at] cox.net>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Ferraris & Rain


>
> I would have to admit some degree of surprise that any modern car would be
> particularly vulnerable to having been driven in the rain. Be it daily
driving,
>  racing or simply travelling one must expect to encounter rain at some
stage
> of  the life of the car, and probably more often than that for most
drivers.
>
> Think about it, and my guess is that Clyde can verify this, weather
> forecasting, which improving over recent years,  is still pretty much more
an art
> than a science and these forecasters are probably statistically wrong as
much as
> 25% of the time. If you add in the TV "meteorologists" (which generally
in
> smaller markets means the new guy on the block who hasn't earned a place
> behind any other desk and who just pulls up something off the weather
channel or
> some other service and parrots its predictions to their erstwhile viewers)
my
> guess would be that the error rate would probably be greater than or equal
to
> 33%. All this having been said only in support of the hypothesis that
anyone
> who  drives, rather than worships in a stationary mode, or owns a trailer
> queen, will  eventually, and with some degree of regularity, expose theire
Ferrari
> to rain.  And, then again, if the car is parked anywhere, for any length
of
> time, it will  probably be rained on as well.
>
> There are a lot of extraneous factors that will effect the rate of
> corrosion, including the type of road surface upon which the car is
driven, road
> maintenance quality, etc. Obviously driving on a roadway that has been
> preconditioned for snow or ice coverage with a brine solution when it has
rained  rather
> than snowed (there you go, listening to the TV weather guy) will create a
> greater probability of corrosion than driving through a desert rain shower
on a
> rural highway. The condition of the paint on the car, e.g. unrepaired
paint
> chips, body damage that has not been properly repaired, parking lot dings
that
> break the paintm, etc. will also contribute to corrosion.
>
> Finally, as with every car that anyone owns, some degree of corrosion is
to
> be expected, and if an obsession with the possibility of corrosion causes
one
> to  refrain from driving the car except in ideal conditions some degree of
> utility  of the automobile, utility being defined as something of value as
> perceived by  the owner or the automotive community in general will be
lost.
>
> All of my cars have been driven in the rain, and most probably will be
> driven in the rain again. Go on a road trip or run with other car owners
and if
> you go any distance at all, or stay out overnight or longer you risk
exposure to
>  the rain. I make a concerted effort to avoid ice and snow, not only
because
> of  the deicing agents that highway department use on roadways but also
> because many  drivers, particularly in the South where snow is rarely a
factor and
> ice is not  far behind it, don't have a clue how to drive on it and stand
a
> much increased  chance of sliding or skidding into my car causing body
damage
> that exposes the  car's now unprotected due to the damage,surfaces to be
subject
> to corrosion and  of course the quality of the repair and the methodology
used
> may result in an  permanently increased succeptibility to corrosion over
the
> long term. In any  event, rain, just like sh*t happens. Painted and
protected
> surfaces should  readily withstand such exposure to the elements and all
> external surfaces and  components of an automobile should be protected
during the
> manufacturing  process. Most of the time my cars just "drip dry" from
simple
> rain exposure  though I do wash them if there is an issue with road
surface
> contamination.  And, I'm not convinced that direct sunlight cannot do as
much
> damage to the  "soft" surface components of an automobile as getting wet
does to
> the "hard"  surfaces of that automobile.
>
> I guess to a certain extent I'm concerned about both because virtually
> everything I own, except for the fire truck and the farm truck/wrecker are
housed
> in a garage when not being used but there are a lot of other reasons,
> including contributions by the birds that fly overhead or park on the
overhead  power
> lines, for keeping them in the garage.
>
> Dr. Steve
>
> Dr.  Stephen B. Spies, CES, CFI
> Director, Forensic Sciences  Laboratory
> Explosives Engineering Technologies
>
> 1964 Rolls Royce Silver  Cloud III.....1975 Pontiac Grandville
> 1980 MB 450  SL............................1982 Rolls Royce Corniche DHC
> 1988 Rolls Royce  Silver Spur..........1994 F-350 PowerStroke Diesel
> 1995 Ferrari 348  Spyder.................1996 Ford Bronco
> 2000 Lincoln Town  Car....................2004 Ford Excursion
> + a
> 1985 MB 280GE Galedenwagen  for Explorations
> + a
> 1976 HAHN- WARNER & SWASEY- DUPLEX DIVISION HOWE  APPARTUS. THE MODEL
#R400
> FIRE TRUCK w/a 100' Tower System
> +  a
> 1985 GMC  Brigadier Farm Truck/20T Wrecker
> &
> Audrey's 2 MB's [1980 450SL &  1987 420SEL] to care for...
>
> Legal Notice:
> This message does  not constitute legal or other professional advice, nor
> does it create an  Attorney/Client, or other confidential or fiduciary
> relationship between the  sender and/or any other party
>
> Confidentiality Notice: This  e-mail (including attachments) is covered by
> the Electronic Communications  Privacy Act, 18 U. S. C., Sections
2510-2521, and
> is intended only for the  person or entity to which it is addressed, and
may
> contain confidential or  privileged material. Any unauthorized review,
use,
> disclosure, dissemination,  copying, forwarding or distribution is
prohibited.
> If you are not the intended  recipient contact the sender by reply e-mail
and
> destroy all copies of the  original message. If you are the intended
recipient
> but do not wish to receive  communications through this medium please so
> advise the sender  immediately.
>
> Electronic Transmission Security Notice: Email  transmission cannot be
> guaranteed to be secure or error-free. The sender does  not accept
liability for any
> errors or omissions in the contents of the message  that arise as a result
of
> its electronic (e-mail) transmission.
>
>
>
>
> **************Start the year off right.  Easy ways to stay in shape.
> http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
> _________________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, please visit:
> http://lists.ferrarilist.com/mailman/options/ferrari/kjtar%40cox.net
>
> Sponsored by BidNip.com eBay Auction Sniper
> http://www.BidNip.com/
> and F1 Headlines
> http://www.F1Headlines.com/
>
>
> -- 
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.18.8/714 - Release Date: 3/8/07
>
>