As some of you may already know, I've got some big 'ole holes in my 240 and I wanted to fix most of it before the winter, but didn't get to it all. I've got an unheated garage space. I know painting will be an issue, although none of it's visible. Has anyone worked through the winter? Tips?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

I am doing a similar deal. Is the car off the road for the winter? If not, good luck.

This is actually my 3rd over-winter restoration project. I'm not sure how cold it gets there, but I can work down to 0 degrees F in my garage, which is neither insulated nor heated. I use an electric radiator heater, a Mr Buddy propane heater, and an infrared heater for warmth. The propane heater is turned on when I first wake up and gets turned off when I go out to the garage. The infrared and radiator keep the temp around 50.

Dress in layers. I wear long johns under insulated blue jeans and wear 2 or 3 shirts topped off by a sweatshirt. A hat is a necessity and an old pair of Mickey Mouse boots keep my feet toasty warm.

Depending on what you are painting you are probably going to be better off waiting for warmer weather. If you are painting a small area using a rattle can then you will be ok, but 50 or 60 is the coldest you would want to spray most modern paints.

Even though winter is a little different here for me, I find winter time is the best time to do rust repair and restoration work.

Humidity inside your work area is usually low, the doors aren't open to allow that one single stupid fly to buzz around your ears and across that area you FINALLY got to accept a smooth coat of paint, dust from the guy next door mowing his lawn doesn't drift across the fresh paint, it's not so gawd-awful hot to where wearing welding gloves, goggles and ear protection becomes your own version of "Survival" and your beer stays a lot colder.

It's also easy to get rid of the people who want to hang out and bother you. Simply open the door to "air out" your work area and the cold air usually chases them away. Prevents people from leaning on parts you just straightened, polished smooth, freshly painted or arranged in the order you wanted for re-assembly. Cuts down on beer buying also.

It can get lonely but you get to practice on your creative cursing and learning more than 4 lines of the Rolling Stones songs you USED to know by heart when you were a kid.

The car's not off the road, but I don't depend on it heavily. It could be off long enough for a section of repair at a time. It does get to about the temp. over here, if not warmer.

In Arizona, that's a no brainer. I couldn't imagine doing ANY kind of work in the summer. At night would be alright, though I imagine. Unfortunately, I'm not legally permitted to consume alcohol, so the beer factor doesn't really apply now. How cold does it get there, anyway?

I suppose the biggest imposition is the paint. How will something not sprayed, like POR-15 do in the cold?

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

I think POR-15 relies on chemical reaction to do it's work and below 50 it's not going to happen. You'll need to warm it up, IMO.

What? No beer drinking for you? I dunno if that is allowed without a special permit. Let me check the manual. Okay, here it is on page 142, section A, sub-section "C" and I quote, "Any beverage may be substituted for an alcohol based beverage as long as the proper decorum is used". Whew! Had me worried for a minute there. If there ever was a time to sip on a cold one it would be after about three hours of welding and the ensuing grinding.

No go on the POR15 below 50 degrees. I have an electric space heater (oil filled radiator type) I put in the car or near the repair area to get the temperature up.

It will upon occaision get into the lower 20's here but on average, low's are in the mid 40's. It's a rare day when the daytime highs doesn't get into at least the 60's.

So what would be the best course of action on the paint? Space heat the metal and keep paint inside? Or do what I can in the cold and repaint in the spring? These are not visible places...

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

Anything you paint now will have to sanded or removed by next spring, with the exception of the POR15. Do NOT sand the POR15! You can lightly "scuff" it to accept primer but if you break the finish then you have seriously compromised its effectiveness.

Are you talking about painting the interior floor pan and other interior parts? If so then you can; warm up the interior, remove the space heater, spray the parts, wait half an hour, put the space heater back in (which is why I recommend the electric, oil filled type) and allow the paint to cure over-night. It takes longer but it works well.

Exterior is another story. Paint requires specific temperatures to cure and bind properly.

Yep, that is right. You need temperature for proper curing.

I would wait for spring. Cars do not rust in the winter. They only get catalyst (road salt). Most of the rusting happens in the summer. If you scrub your underbody off (and I mean scrub) with soap and water and rinse with a pressure sprayer until the water runs clean, you will dramatically slow down rust.

I knew someone who kept a '56 Olds running for 30 years without sigificant rusting by meticulously washing it. The family kept it running until the '80's then sold it to a collector.

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2010 Toyota matrix

'93 500 SEL
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'18 Mazda Miata
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Well, I'm more concerned with the exterior, seeing as that's going to see most of the salt/water. I imagine the interior can stay unpainted longer, although if I need to paint it, I will do that. So I guess do the best I can and repaint in spring. Thanks.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition