Over the years I have purchased a number of car covers. The reasons varied from outdoor protection, short term car show dust protection, and long term indoor storage protection. I have always had a love-hate with these products. Although, for the most part, they do help but putting them on, taking them off and storing them is a real issue.
As the Coronavirus stay at home order takes its toll, my thoughts for the need of a car cover reappeared. I decided it would be good to have a quality cover for our Talladega for those times when it isn’t locked safely away in my climate and humidity controlled Man Cave. I did some research and eventually ended up ordering three. One for the Talladega, one for the Daytona, and one for the Corvette. Each represents a different challenge but we will only deal with the Talladega here.
When you go shopping for a car cover, take your time and decide why you want one. They are not all the same. There are two basic types, indoor and outdoor (some high-quality ones will work for both, that is what I got.) Once that decision is made you need to consider fit, price, material, and warranty.
When ordering a car cover for any car that is as rare as a Talladega you expect complications. The Talladega is obviously very similar to a Torino but just a little longer. How does that impact the fit of a car cover? I ordered all three covers from CarCover.com. I DID NOT rely on the web site to place my order. I emailed the company and explained my fit concerns. Very quickly I received a callback and worked out all my issues to my satisfaction. I placed the order and within one week I had my covers.
Very few companies make fully custom tailored fit car covers for our cars and those that do are very expensive. Car Covers.com has a semi-custom cover that they make for us. Because the Talladega and Spoiler II are basically a Torino or Cyclone they have the ability to add a little extra length to fit out cars. I had 3 or 4 inches added to mine and I really like the way it fits the car.
There is a Front and Rear to the covers. These are custom fit and must be installed correctly. 
To get the cover out of its vacuum bag I used a razor blade and was very careful not to cut into the car cover. 
To install the car cover find the front and place the elastic edge under the front bumper and the rear elastic edge under the rear bumper. If you have an antenna and all Talladegas do, pull the cover tight against the antenna base. Next, mark the center of the antenna on the outside of the cover. An option is to remove the antenna before installation of the cover. 
From experience you may want to cut the hole approximately an inch or so towards the outside edge of the car from where you marked the antenna. 
Put a piece of thick cardboard under the cover where you marked the antenna and cut a hole large enough for the antenna to go through. 
If you measured correctly, you should now be able to pull the cover over the antenna. 
This is the reinforcement patch for the antenna hole. It is too small for the big ball on the top of a Talladega antenna to pass through. 
Fold the patch in half, take a pair of scissors and carefully cut a half circle large enough for the antenna. 
After the cut. 
Open it up, remove the paper backing, place over the antenna and slide it down to the cover and press it sticky side down on to the cover. Push firmly to get a good fit. 
One big complaint I have is that the front of the cover is marked by a little piece of paper inside the center of the front of the cover. It is not easy to find. Once installed I took a back Sharpie and printed “FRONT” on the cover on the outside where the paper sticker is located. 
To install the cover I like to find the front, lay it on the hood and lay the cover over the car and then tuck it under the front and then rear bumpers. CAUTION: if your car is well waxed, the cover will tend to slide off. You do not want to get dirt on the underside of the cover and then place it on your clean car, scratches will result! NEVER, install the cover on a dirty car. 
To remove the cover just reverse the process. Pull the end of the cover out from under the front and rear bumpers. 
Next, carefully fold the sides up and over to the center of the top. I prefer to keep the clean inside next to the clean inside. That is never fold it so the outside of the cover comes in contact with the outside of the cover. This help ensure the inside that makes contact with the car’s paint remains uncontaminated with dirt. 
Keep folding until you have the cover folded to approximately a ribbon 2 feet wide. 
You can then either begin folding it up or, as I prefer, start at the front and tightly roll it up towards the rear. If you do this it makes it much easier to install the next time. you simply place it on the front of the car and unroll it towards the rear. 
I believe the rolled approach is also tighter and easier to put in the bag. 
It takes some effort, but if you compress the cover it is reasonably easy to put into the storage bag. The storage bags all appear to be the same size. A cover for a smaller car is much easier to place in the bag than one for a big car! 
If you have more than one car and more than one cover I highly suggest pulling out that Sharpie again and writing the name of the car on the outside of the bag. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be otherwise the next time you want to install one.
There are a few things to remember with a car cover.
- Never use a car cover on an open trailer. The flapping of the cover on the car will rub the paint off!
- In high winds, a car cover will blow off.
- Never install a car cover on a dirty car, the inside of your cover will get dirty and it can scratch your paint.
- If you are putting the cover on your car outside with even mild winds you will likely need a helper.
- A car cover will help protect your car from dust and dirt etc. It may help prevent some door dings and prying eyes but it is not a shield. Hail, branches, and other hard objects can still harm your paint and body. And, don’t forget those nasty bird droppings!
