Well, Buffalo got 2 feet of snow last night so we here in Syracuse are only days behind. Its time to put my project 'Maro in the garage. I plan on doing some limited work on it over the winter, mostly body and interior work. (I have VERY little space. Does anybody have any suggestions as proper winter storage, mainly:

1) Tires. I have BRAND new skins that have never seen the road. Should I over inflate them?

2) Any way to avoid some of the old seals from shrinking up and leaking? This car already leaks from every possible oriface, Id like to avoid worsening things.

3) Fuel system. Im used to running the carb dry on my bike, but what steps should I take on a car? (car has 'brock 600 on it)

4) Any other useful suggestions.

 

fuel stabilizer is a must, and running the carb dry will get fuel out of the bowl
you may want to drain the cooling system completely, but thats at your discretion

do plug up the exhaust pipes and intake ducting so no critters find their way inside

some people prefer to leave the car on jackstands, with no weight on the tires, personally it doesnt matter to me, my 87 has been sitting in the same spot since i blew the heads on the 305 last summer, front right tire went flat, i filled it up, hasnt gone flat since, its not necissary to overfill

one way to avoid oil leaks is to drain the oil
just dont forget to put new oil before you start it up again after storage
you may want to prime the oiling system before starting the car up again, but thats at your discretion

if you are going to use a car cover, wash your car first

 

I agree with MOST of this, BUTdrainning the coolant will invite rust and corrosion use antifreeze. Drainning the oil does the same, change your oil with new, and don't drive around for a week before putting it away. As for leaks try a stop leak when you cange your oil it might help to keep the seals soft. The reason for the jackstands are not to keep the tires inflated, but to keep from flatsideing the tire from sitting in one spot for too long. Over inflating will help if you do not have stands, but you will need to rotate(spin) the tires to a differant possion afew times durring the season. Also disconnect the Negative battery terminal.

 

oh yea, most definately disconnect the negative battery cable

 

My car goes away for almost 8 months per year due to the lengthy winters and the heavy heavy use of salt right to the end of the season.

I do these simple steps and my car still easily hit 150 mph this summer, does not burn oil, and is running on original opti & wtr pump at over 110K (miles as it is a US car)

1) Fresh oil change prior to putting away less than 100 miles on oil if possible
2) Test antifreeze for freeze point.
3) ensure all fluids are at there proper levels you will check in Spring and if low you know you have an issue, you should see it on the floor anyway though.
4) Clean the exterior, interior, door jams, rug, weather stripping etc. etc. I would armer all my weather stripping.
5) Go for a 30 minute highway cruise get it right up to operating temperature long enough to heat all fluids and exhaust system up to drive off moisture, longer the drive the better.
6) Go to gas station add stabilizer and fill up tank (stabil is best I think) go for another 15 minute ride.
7) Pull it into her winter parking spot shut it off. Once you have turned it off my reccomendation is to NOT start it up until Spring. I reccomend this as you have now removed as much moisture from your engine, drive train as possible including exhaust, leaving it like this promotes the best chance of not developing any corrosion over the winter due to to moisture and the fresh oil also will not contain any sulphates/nitrates "nasties" etc. to develop acid.
8) I do not worry about jacking it up I don't think radial tire are prone to flat spotting and I have not had a problem with my tires.
9) Once parked pull battery and store in doors or above freezing.
10) I cover my car, my cover is a Salvation Army car cover,,, bed sheets bought for $2 each placed on the car with light tarps placed on top of the bed sheets duck taped together so they don't fall off. I can nudge my car or even bump it with something and the chance of scratching or denting is less than with just a thin car cover.

That is what I do and people see my car and compliment me on how good it looks and the ones who have tried me have also leaned to respect my unmolested 93.

Hope that helps.

 

Good idea taking the battery out, I live where it doesn,t get that cold so I didn't think of it, good point there. I don't use stands either, but I do take my car out once in-awhile durring the winter, and after afew miles they round out again. Prefferance I would say use them or don't whats the worst that could happen, you might need tires?

 

good car cover. i always start up my car during the winter to keep things cycling. i dont like to let cars sit too long.