My father has left me his AP2 S2000 to winter in Cincinnati. He lives on an island in the outerbanks with a island wide 25 mph speed limit and he gfigures the salt and sand wont do it any good either, so he is leaving it too me along with some "custodial privileges" ;)
He has a good (~$400) out door grade car cover, i have a gravel base in a fenced in area out back and we cut away trees so nothing should land on it. He suggested putting moth balls around and under it to keep away rodents and ofc ill store it with properly inflated tires, a full tank o gas, and some stabil in there as well.
Any other things i should consider or look for, i have seen some strays around, any way to keep them from getting up into it or on it, or will moth balls do the trick? I have though about discouraging them with my S&W M&P clone C02 BB gun....
Any help appreciated!
How much snow do you get?
Stray dogs? You think they'd try to climb inside a closed-up car and hang out?
Snow - not more than a foot at a time....
Stray CATS... i should have been more specific hahahaha
lol.....well I don't think cats really have the ability to get inside a closed-up car either. Unless they're those really smart Egyptian hairless cats maybe. 
on a serious note though - my GT6 sits in an unfinished shed in the winter (known to be accessed by chipmunks, field mice, and other small critters.
When I put it away I put down a big plastic tarp below it, and drive the car onto it. Then I wrap it from the bottom (holding it up with bungees or whatever). Then I put a breathable car cover on it (so any moisture can still get out).
I'm sure the little bastards could get in if they really tried, but haven't had any issues in the last two years of doing it.
In reply to irish44j:
My father in law winters a 48 Chevy truck in similar circumstances. The 48 has the fun feature of plenty of holes and cracks that allow rodent ingress to the interior. He's found a solution with fabric softener sheets. The mice apparently hate them and won't enter the truck at all. A few under the hood seem to be protecting the wiring as well. He's gone from having to do an annual spring clean out of nests to a rodent free existence.
Plus a billionz on dryer sheets, the smellier the better. I been using them for over 5 yrs now... it was a tough lesson.
Mice stripped firewall insulation from the firewall of my '02 Silverado and built nests in the intake valley and under the electrical center. While nesting they chewed the insulation from wires in the elec. center... what a berkeleying mess.... and what a diagnostic bill for electrical problems.
Same w/ my '81 Chevy PU but they packed the heater core/ fan housing and vents w/ insulation.... looked like a friggin' five room condo. Insulation prevented draining so the firewall, fan housing and some cowling rotted out... ugh. A huge chunk of time, sheetmetal and a MIG welder fixed that.
Thanks, reminds me to apply fresh dryer sheets to all my vehicles.
Put some steel wool in the exhaust tip, keeps the small rodents out. Also if easily accessible, put it in the air intake track before the filter. Park over a tarp, as moisture will seep up from the ground.
I did not have good luck with dryer sheets last winter for my Samurai. That, however, is the ONLY thing I did to it for the winter, and it is parked in a field. So, I'm not too surprised it didn't keep them away.
This winter I may just try Mothballs. I think they are vile, nasty, things (mothballs)...but that's pretty much the point, I suppose.
Clem
Put bags or something over the wheel/tire. Helps keep the UV damage to the tire down, but also keeps moisture off the brake rotor so that it doesn't get rusty.
i plan to use moth balls, good call on steel wool in exhaust, though the car cover covers the exhaust tips, it also covers all but the tiniest bit of the tires, no outlet near by for a batt tender but i intend to start it up once a month-ish. I did NOT park on a tarp, perhaps i should re arrange it and do that, it sounds like solid logic.
Cool tips. To help generate some more help, I'm going to move this from the build section to the general GRM forum.
Car cover won't keep a mouse out. A mouse can fit anywhere you can fit a pencil eraser.
Hopefully you gave it a good wax prior to covering. The covers have tendency to rub in imperfections on the car.
bigbens6 wrote:
or will moth balls do the trick?
Moth balls will work for rodent types but put them in a breathable bag of some kind. They melt and stick to stuff.
There are rodent resistant powders made from fox urine that I have heard work well.
A car cover makes mice all happy, as they are in a nice darkened environment, and will nest everywhere in that car. They will pee on everything, stuff seeds everywhere, and gnaw wiring with delight. Not my idea of what I'd want done to that car. Mothballs help, quite a bit. But if you can't stand the smell, then you've a problem.
Might I suggest one of those baggies you stuff a car into? I've used one for years now, and love it. Put the car in it, put the car cover over it (to protect the baggie), and let it sit.
Vacuum bag the car...
... much larger scale tho 
Raze
SuperDork
10/8/12 6:19 p.m.
http://www.autoanything.com/car-covers/65A3648A0A0.aspx
end thread...
Do not start the car periodically, it will not get hot enough to boil off the moisture in the crankcase. Just pull the battery and pack the intake/exhaust with steel wool.
I've been storing a Ford van outside for over 10 years. It's not a S2000 but the only problem I've had is paint fade and birds building nests under the hood on top of the battery, under the master cylinder, and down below the battery. This occured 3 years in a row until I covered the grill with cheap fiberglass screen like for windows. No problems since. Never had rodent problems but the van sits up a bit higher then a S2000. I use a solar battery charger to keep the battery charged over the winter since I have no power available where I store the van.
I covered a car that was stored out doors for long term storage once nd I would use one of those "bagge" things rather then a car cover. It will keep everything out where the car cover at best keeps the sun off the paint and interior. Any moisture and dirt will find it's way under the cover and a water proof cover would only make it worse with trapped moisture under the cover.
This is the baggie I use. I've been well pleased with it for several years now.
http://www.carbag.com/index.html
well im gonna do a combination of moth balls and dryer sheets and see how it goes i guess..... think the moth ball smell will get into the car itself?
