Lady's To Bed... :(

[DUCeditor]

We are still having unseasonably warm weather here in The Monadnocks area of New Hampshire. High forties to low fifties. No snow yet on the ground. But still the time was right to put my Lady to bed.

Didn't take much. A full tank of gas well laced with fuel preservative run long enough to get into the float bowls. Parked in the car shed with tasty chucks of rodent poison placed around each of the four wheels, with some more niblets of the same in the trunk and cabin. Exhaust system blocked. Battery out and on the smart charger. A kiss and hug. Cover on.

Had our `77 now for almost 28 years. She still runs great and looks great.

I miss her already.

See you in the Spring sweet Italian Lady!

-don

[Surf65]

Don,

No wonder you've had her that long with that type of winter care. I love that color and your barn too. I have a junior at Dartmouth so it is only fitting that the Fiat Spider is dark metallic green. Such a great state to drive around in.

Best, Matt

[stuartrubin]

I just did some similar things to my Spider (Il Mostro). This is my first winter with it. We also get pretty cold weather here (Cleveland, OH), so I was wondering if it is sufficient to keep the battery on the maintainer in the garage, or if it needs to be brought inside.

Thoughts?

Stuart

[DUCeditor]

I just did some similar things to my Spider (Il Mostro). This is my first winter with it. We also get pretty cold weather here (Cleveland, OH), so I was wondering if it is sufficient to keep the battery on the maintainer in the garage, or if it needs to be brought inside.

Thoughts?

Stuart

Yes, with one caveat.

A well-charged battery will not freeze. But if the charger was to lose power for an extended period its attachment to the battery would increase the speed of discharge. Thus this question: Can you access the car's storage space and monitor it from time to time? If so then yes, you can leave the battery in.

I, btw, cannot. My Spider is not stored in the garage in my photo. It is placed in a car shed a good distance from the house. Far enough away to be inaccessible from when the snow falls until the Spring melt is largely complete. (Oh, and there is no electricity there in any case)

-don

PS - Couldn't help but wonder about your forum name Matt --"Surf65." Is it the sport or the music that it represents?

[stuartrubin]

Don, thanks for the advice. The garage is attached and we do regularly (at least daily) pass through it and it's easy enough to look at the lights on the tender. If the power does go out, I'll just disconnect it and bring the battery inside.

As an aside, I do love having a big attached garage, but your "shed" is absolutely picturesque and with the Spider in front, it could have been on the FIAT catalog 40 years ago.

Enjoy your NH winter.

Stuart

[DUCeditor]

Don, thanks for the advice. The garage is attached and we do regularly (at least daily) pass through it and it's easy enough to look at the lights on the tender. If the power does go out, I'll just disconnect it and bring the battery inside.

As an aside, I do love having a big attached garage, but your "shed" is absolutely picturesque and with the Spider in front, it could have been on the FIAT catalog 40 years ago.

Enjoy your NH winter.

Ah, that's perfect! And you (unlike me) are free to admire your baby all Winter long!

In fact the "garage" in the photo is just that -- an attached garage. I do keep the Spider in there during the its season, but need both bays for my wife and my daily driver during the Winter. So the Spider is, indeed, in a distant shed across a field of what typically becomes deep snow.

You can see the attached garage for what it is in this shot from about this time last year, just after the first snow fall. The car shed is off to camera right at some considerable distance.

Our home is on some 29 acres with several cottages and the like plus an old stone amphitheater from back when the property was a seasonal theater just after the turn of the last century.



-Don

[RRoller123]

That is a beautiful property! I miss my old shop/barn. Downsized to a condo when Jeannie got sick, but still have a space for the Spider in the garage. Gotta keep one's priorities right....

[KevAndAndi]

Ah, the forecast for Sunday (Dec. 13th!) here in NJ is a high of 68 degrees. Looks like an opportunity for the missus and me to go for one last drive before spring. (That means I have to get busy and reinstall the driveshaft and a few other items!)

[DUCeditor]

Ah, the forecast for Sunday (Dec. 13th!) here in NJ is a high of 68 degrees. Looks like an opportunity for the missus and me to go for one last drive before spring. (That means I have to get busy and reinstall the driveshaft and a few other items!)

And not too much cooler here. Kind'a kickin' myself for putting Lady away!

-Don