Auto Storage in a Barn?

[Timo04]

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with storing cars in a barn with dirt floors? I ran across some "in door" storage space in a large barn that must be at least 80 years old. It seems to be a solid structure and the owner claims there are no leaks in the roof, no floods and no rodent issues. Supposedly "dry storage". I was also wondering about the dirt floor and if this could have any moisture issues. This barn is located in a relatively mild climate here in Northern California, we can and do get a fair amount of rain. All advice and opinions are much appreciated. Thank you.

P.S. We always here of those rare "barn finds" and some of these finds seem to be well preserved.

[davidb]

I would imagine air flow vis-a-vis humidity would be important,
i.e. a barn w/leaky siding would be preferable to a tight one .
Buy one of big blue Home Depot or Lowes plastic ground tarps
to control moisture from the dirt floor . Pull it onto that tarp,
put her on jackstands to allow air flow beneath the vehicle .
Windows down & a breathable cover over her . I'm guessing
air flow is critical . My 2 cents, never done it, not sure how
???

[KeppelmanJ]

I don't know how to assure the rodents don't invade. I put several lancias in a barn in the Pacific Northwest and the mice moved into all but one within months. Seats gutted and nests in the glove boxes. Hantvirus? Very messy.

[Will]

I guess it depends what he means by "storage" , whether garaging or long-term. Long term would probably warrant a car condom with dri-z-airs in it and of course all the other stuff you need to do like lift the wheels, boeshield the brake rotors, top cylinder lube, etc.

Garaging-type storage then ground tarp and a few mousetraps to stop mice, close the car up so birds, etc.don't get into the interior but I've no idea how to keep them out from under the hood without the car condom. Every one of those "barn finds" that I've seen has about four inches of bird shit on it 'cause swallows, owls, pigeons, and a host of other avarian species simply adore barns. I reckon simply looking around and seeing if ther's evidence of bird droppings or nests on overhead beams ought to be a fair indication. I'd probably opt for tarp under, drop cloths or cover over, and dri-z airs inside the trunk and passenger compartment.

My big problem is mold/mildew type stuff (garage mostly underground) but that may not apply to Cali. I found that molds apparently love to eat Armor-all and Meguiar's treated rubber.

[1,6 HF]

davidb's right--a lot depends on air flow. but this is tough to control in a barn.

to fight mold & mildew, you ideally want 2 - 3 air changes per hour. it's a pretty easy calculation to figure our how big a fan or blower you need to achieve this (they're all rated in cu ft / min), but the typical barn holds a lot of cubic feet of air, so it would require a big blower. and, of course, this assumes that the barn has reliable power (and someone to pay for running a blower 24/7)

the idea of using 'dri-z-air' of some other silica gel product in the closed compartments makes a lot of sense. as does using a breathable cover.