Overheard a guy at the parts store saying concrete floors ruin classic cars

I was picking up some cleaner and this older fellow was going on about how you should never store a classic on concrete because it wicks up moisture and rots the frame. He said you need a gravel floor or wood planks underneath. I don't buy it though, I've had my 67 Mustang sitting on my garage slab in Cleveland for 12 years now and the floor pans are fine. A good mat and some ventilation do the trick way better than tearing out your foundation. Has anyone else here actually had rust problems from a concrete floor, or is this just an old wives tale that keeps getting passed around?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_shah8d ago

So you're really gonna tell me that concrete is the problem and not the fact that your buddy in Ohio probably had a leaky garage or didn't check his floor for cracks for eight years? I've got a 70 Challenger that's been sitting on bare concrete in my Michigan garage for over 15 years with zero rust through on the frame, and I don't even run a dehumidifier most of the time. The idea that concrete wicks up moisture like a sponge is plain wrong, concrete is porous but it's not a straw, and a modern slab with a proper vapor barrier stops that water dead in its tracks. You're telling me a tarp thrown on top of the concrete does anything more than trap condensation underneath it? I'd rather have my car sitting on a dry slab with airflow than on a wet tarp any day of the week.

tarabell9d ago

My buddy stored his 62 Impala on a concrete floor here in Ohio for about eight years before he had to move it out. The frame was completely shot where it sat, all flaky and rusted through in spots. He kicked himself because he thought the same thing, that a slab was fine as long as the garage was dry. Turns out that moisture does wick up from the ground through the concrete, even with a vapor barrier underneath. I still park my stuff on concrete, but I throw a tarp down underneath it now, just in case.