Just before Christmas I sold my 68 Porsche that I was keeping in Florida. Rather than finding a new toy in the South I decided it would be a good idea to get my 69 Porsche back down for the remainder of the cool season. The problem is, How do you get an early Porsche (with little to no rust protection) across country in winter?

I reviewed my options:

• Buy an enclosed trailer- $4500-$6500 (I couldn’t find any nationwide enclosed rentals)
• Buy a Flat Bed trailer- $1600-$2500
• Rent a Uhaul Trailer- $404.00

After consulting with people who have the same disorder (OCPD Obsessive Compulsive Porsche Disorder) as myself, it was unanimous. Shrink wrap the car, rent a trailer and tow it home.

So how do you shrink wrap a car?

• Shrink Wrap: Office Max has large and small rolls- $40/per 1000′ roll (you’ll need one)
• Duct Tape: Office Max had this too but it was the mid-grade stuff. I’d spring for the heavy  duty $5.00/Roll (You’ll need 3 to start and 2 extra for the trip)
• A helper: My wife thought I was nuts. I couldn’t have done the underside of the pan without her.

The Tow Vehicle. 2002 Chevy 3500HD DRW

1-Make sure you’re car is dirt and dust free. I gave the car a good one-over detailing. You could take a new/unused rubber fuel line type of hose, slit it long-ways and slip it over the rain gutters for protection. get the car up on your trailer and secured. Be sure to have access to the tie-down system so you can periodically check it.

Here’s the car detailed and ready to pull onto the trailer

2-I started wrapping horizontally from the back bumper toward and around the front. Round and round. Have someone hold your starting point and just start wrapping. I always kept airflow in mind when wrapping but it’s most important on your final layer. The area’s of the car that could get the most friction like fender’s, roof top. rain gutters.

3- Wrap the car around from lower rocker over the top working your way forward.

4- Once you have the whole car covered with a good thick layer. Run Duct tape bands spaced evenly over the car (Mine didn’t look too pretty). Do this both vertically and horizontally…

First Layer

5- My final shiny-side (over the paint) layer was from front to back starting in the middle of the front bumper, up over the hood, windshield and down the back. I worked my way outward. It would be best to duct tape the entire seem between each sheet of wrap.

6- Underside of the pan. This was the trickiest. I had my wife hold the roll of wrap and I pulled out 8 feet of it. Ran it behind each wheel and then made it to the back of the car. She’s now standing at the front and I pull enough to get a nice straight section down the pan of the car. I wrap it up over the rear bumper and put a run of duct tape to hold it. She cuts the front and does the same. We work our way outward toward each rocker. You’ll be working around whatever tie-downs/Ratchet straps you’re using. I applied duct tape over any area I thought could be punctured or weakened from the wind. One layer was enough to last 1600 miles on the undercarriage. The topside takes about 5 layers.

Here she is ready to go

During the trip I periodically tightened the straps and duct taped a few spots that looked like they might come loose. I received many looks of disgust and what the H$(( is that. I think I got 1 thumbs up and I had a guy follow me into Zaxby’s to ask about the car and if it were for sale. With a steady cruising speed of 71mph we arrived without problem in Florida. Upon removal of the wrap and inspection of the car there were a few areas that showed rubbing. I freaked out at first and then realized it was from moisture from the 12 degree below 0 Temps when we left to the 69 degree temps on arrival. They wiped off with a towel. I still went over the entire car with a good polish, wax and seal. She looks great and I found no new flaws.

Tags | Auto Transport, DIY, Porsche Transportation, Winter Driving