Winter Storage

[Specialk]

Hey! Starting to feel like winter up here in the great white north and I was wondering if someone could suggest what I need to do (besides finding an indoor garage!) to store my car for the winter? Thks

[KillerB]

I live in a condo and don't have any indoor parking, so usually in mid/late Sep, I start looking for a secure parking spot in the underground parking of one of the near-by apartment/condo buildings... I then fog the engine and put stabilizer in the the fuel tank.

Fogging oil is sprayed into the carb (follow the directions on the can), and fuel stabilizer is pretty straight forward. Both are readily available at Canadian Tire or Walmart.

Some other things you might want to consider doing are:

1) Jacking the vehicle and putting it on stands, to take the weight and stress off of the suspension.

2) For cold storage; check the coolant/anti-freeze mixture with a hygrometer (Canadian tire again)... if it freezes solid in the block it will cause all kinds of problems...

3) Fill the fuel tank to capacity; a half full tank will have condensation and the moisture will cause corrosion and micro-organisms to grow in the gas.

4) Buy a trickle charger for your battery and keep it charged and happy.... ( I never do this)

5) put a car cover over your car to keep the dust off.

6) oh, and change the oil while you are at it...


Because I like to work on my car when I have a free weekend, I don't always perform all these steps... but I always stabilize my gas and spray fogger into the engine if/when I run it.


Did I miss anything?

[KillerB]

Or even better check these out...

http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=20503
http://canadianrods.blogspot.com/2007/1 ... inter.html
http://canadianrods.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... orage.html
http://classiccars.about.com/od/mainten ... torage.htm

Some of the suggestions are a bit over the top, and would only work if you were storing it in your own garage, but hey it gives you a good broad spectrum of suggestions!

[kristoj]

I generally just use fuel stabilizer, a battery tender, and an indoor car cover. I also change the oil just before storing. Make sure you store it with the top up.
It's starting to get cold here too. I just drove my car with the top up for the first time this year as it is getting pretty darn cold in the mornings. Keep your comments to yourself, Ron!

[pope]

John, I am with you on the temp change, but its perfect weather to work on the spider. I have been spraying epoxy primer on bare metal all week and it is great! I am not sweating like I did in Aug when it was in the high 80's to 90's. Give me two months of this and I would love it.

[kristoj]

Agreed. Unfortunately, it won't stay this nice for two months!

[rdrtech]

SpecialK,

Another thing I do in addition to the above is place moth balls throughout the vehicle. This helps keeps all the mice away. I spread them throughout the trunk, I take out the rear seat and put some there and also under the seats.
Mice like to find small cozy spots where they can insulate themselves with anything that may be available from the vehicle. The first year I had my spider, they went under the back seat, tore some of the foam apart and made themselve a little nest. Now I take out the back seat, the floormats, the rug in the trunk and anything else I can think of and store those in my garage. Only then do I put the spider into storage.

TTYL

Carl

[pope]

What you need is a XXXXXLarge Zip-Lock bag that you can drive the car into and zip close.

[rlux4]

I was just reaching for the keyboard when I read you're admonishment John.
OK, I won't say anything about the weather.
Yet.
Ron

[kristoj]

What you need is a XXXXXLarge Zip-Lock bag that you can drive the car into and zip close.

They actually do make such a bag. I store my BMW off site in the winters and I bought a car bag. You unfold it and lay it flat on the ground and drive onto one side of the bag. Then you take the other side and fold it over the top of the car. It has a perimeter zipper all the way around like a sleeping bag. You have to put a car cover on first so the bag doesn't scratch up your finish. Works great!

http://www.autoanything.com/car-covers/ ... =ffproduct

[mdrburchette]

Man, all these tips for winterizing sound like too much work. I'll just stay in the south and drive mine a couple times a month.

[73Spider]

Being from NY and recently moving to NC I have to say that where I am in NC has some pretty mild winters. I recall plenty of days last winter where I could have had the top down. ;P All I will be doing is filling her up with gas and leaving her in the garage. I will start her up and let her run for a couple of minutes here and there and on the real nice days taking her out for a quick spin.

[Gunsmith]

I usually just put a couple of sweaters in the trunk for my wife and daughter in case it gets below 70' when the sun goes down

[ga.spyder]

For me ,winterizing means buying a couple flannel shirts with the sleeves NOT cut off of them .... Git er done!
Craig

[kristoj]

Here we go. It's only September and you guys are already poking fun at us snow birds. Well I'll have you know it was 89 degrees and sunny here today. So there!

JK