Technical Bringing home a classic on salty roads

so June? lol the last time I lived in Iowa we got snow all the way threw Easter

 

Living in Buffalo NY I totally understand the concern, this county uses over 40,000 TONS of salt for the winter season !
We have a couple of indoor winter car shows the first of March and it's always a challenge getting a car there if you don't have an enclosed trailer.
I've seen guys put a soft car cover or blankets over the car the shrink wrap the whole car, blanket the car then cover the car in blue tarps but you need a lot of rope to secure the tarp so it doesn't beat the paint up.
I'd look into finding local storage or the blanket shrink wrap deal with maybe a blue tarp on the nose of the car, take trailer to local car wash after unloaded.
This is the last time I did the winter car show here, swore I'd never do the show again unless I got an enclosed trailer. This is from only a 15 mile trip, the whole front suspension was packed with about 2 inch thick frozen salt slush that was impossible to get out, trailer was about 6 inches thick !
People that have never dealt with salt into every tiny nook and crany have no idea how bad it eats metal.

 

No wonder I like living in Australia. The only salt needed here is what you put on your fish 'n chips. Or if in New Zealand, on your fush 'n chups.
Just kidding, happy new year to all.

 

Never been to the salt flats. I have cleaned up the mess.
Trailers and tow vehicles were cleaned. Wheels and tires came off, pressure washed underneath and some kind of dissolving agent used.
The cars are taken apart. Removed belly pans, panels and suspension. Cleaned em.
Condoms were used on a lot of the electrical connections. Shutes sent off to be inspected.
Any bolt that had rust was replaced.

Fun fun

 

So, basically, you hibernate?

 

Looks to be a very nice car. I don't blame you for being worried. If it looks good underneath, you could do more damage in one trip than years have done to it before now.
Ignore the folks that are saying " Fuck it! Just go get it!"
It ain't their car.
Don't let one trip fuck it up.

 

Also make sure to have some frontal protection from "stuff" slinging off the tow vehicles' rear tires.
I recall reading about some guys years back that were taking a freshly built show car to a big show on an unprotected open trailer, the front of the car got peppered and had to be painted before putting it in the show.

 

it maybe a bit of a stretch, but that’s his story and he is sticking to it.

 

Well if it helps the roads clear and salt free from Texas to Desmoines right now.

 

Not me. Have brought home plenty of vehicles on salty roads. Parts cars and projects. I have a $2500 diesel 4x4 and $1500 trailer. If either rots out due to salt erosion I'll get another one.
Never one as nice as the OP's Mercury. I would finagle a enclosed trailer for that.

 

Those Bonneville Studes do rust. The 219 car had to have a serious structural overhaul because of it. Every Bonneville veteran has a whole ritual they go through every year to try and rinse out as much as possible, with all manner of spray equipment and sprinkler systems employed. They use lots of stainless hardware and anti-seize, powder coating and fiberglass panels to mitigate damage. Their trucks, trailers, all tools and equipment get eaten up by the stuff. It's one of the prices they pay to play on the salt. I hate salt. I grew up in the rust belt, and for me, it was bad enough that I packed up everything and left!

 

I would have already gone and got it. Judging by this thread I’m amazed there is enough left on any of my cars to drive. Despite driving my daily beaters all winter and very rarely washing them, they still last decades. Trust me, trailering that car and washing it at the nearest car wash is no big deal.

 

This is a good point. If you try to haul a car on a trailer with a cover on the car, the cover might do more damage from flapping around than it saves. Also if it's wet slush/slop, the car cover might not necessarily even keep it off of the car.

Swade41's pic above illustrates very well where the majority of the salt and slop is going to hit, it's on the front of the trailer'd car, from the pulling vehicle kicking it up. That's why some sort of barrier there would really help.

It would be great if the seller was willing to hold the car, but in my experience, people who are really eager to get a car sold just before January 1st are losing their storage and hurting for cash simultaneously.

Precautions are well worth the effort. But I wouldn't miss out on a killer deal just because the conditions weren't perfect. Do the best you can, but at some point, you just gotta go for it.

 

Put something like this on your truck.

 

Guess I think differently, but what precautions-post solutions will you take for the truck you’re pulling the trailer with?

 

Go get the car on a dry day @Mopar Tony.

I live about an hour southeast of Albany NY, I brought my model A home on an open trailer in late winter early spring from Springfield Mass. (about a two and a half hour trip) There is still plenty of salt on the roads here in the northeast at that time.

As long as the roads aren't wet salt shouldn't be an issue. Washing it once you get home wouldn't be a bad idea, I try to wash my all my vehicles on a regular basis dirty cars drive me nuts!

The car in Mass when I picked it up.


Proof it was still slat on the rad in here in the northeast, note the side of my truck I hadn't had a chance to wash it before we left.


Right after we got it home, note no salt.

 

https://i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article13662051.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/JS131579292.jpg

 

I think a rock guard on the trailer would solve 70 percent of your issue, and a good wash down after would take care of the rest. If the trailer doesn’t have a rock guard, you can make one out of plywood, like I did:

 

in my younger days my best friend and I would get up early after it snowed the night before to make sure and be the first on fresh snow in parking lots in town, we spent many fun filled hours spinning around in all that fresh snow.
we had big ole grins as well!!! but thats another story, never had to wash the car right away because salt was never used.
I say drive it and then wash it.

 

I like it too, but Im beginning to wonder about myself.

 

Please tell me she had big ears. I don't want to think about any other reasons.............

 

I think she was a retired trucker

 

might be pricey but anyone near you or the merc have an enclosed roll back?
My other old work place has this one.

 

I’d go get it and just return on gravel roads only. No pavement....no salt.
Might take a few days though.

 

Yes, wrapping it is a good idea as long as it's a cling wrap and cannot flap in the breeze to abuse the paint. And the slower you drive, the better: both for the spray and the wind whipping the wrap. Back roads, 40 MPHish. And do all of the other things: mud flaps on the truck, protection around the open trailer, etc. But why not rent a storage garage in the buyer's area for several months?

 

If the car is to be towed on an open trailer then put cardboard over the radiator to reduce salt mist going into the engine compartment. Stick to the busy highways as the transports do a lot to dry up the roads as they pick the water & salt up in the back draft to blow off the roads in a day. Before washing the car it would be good to make sure the drain holes on the door bottoms are clear. Give it a thorough rinse when you get it home and it should be good. After you rinse it off you could take a leaf blower and chase any water off the frame etc. It won't rust with just one exposure. I live in a salt belt and it takes a couple years for rust to set in on the frame and about 8-10 years for GM trucks to rot out over the wheel wells.

 

The eagle has landed