winter car storage

Now that winter is almost here in most of the country, what is the best way to store a muscle car for the long cold winter.

My garage is not heated, will that be a problem for the paint or anything else ?

AIO

 

I had a Corvette that I stored a few winters.

It is not necessary for the garage to be heated, but one year I did use a heated garage where could even run it and wash it. - Nice but not necessary.

Take out the battery so you do not run the risk of it freezing if it loses its, charge.

Unheated garages in cold climates are usually pretty good since the air may be reasonably dry. I was in northern Michigan, so there was no problems. I stored it in a crooked, cold shed with a good roof and leaky doors, so there was a lot of circulation. The cold temperatures are not really a problem.

I kept a cover over the car - designed and fitted cover that still allowed breathing and no moisture accumulation or dust. (about $150 - $200). A cotton sheet will also work.

Some fanatics will make sure the tires on on wood and not concrete. They also moved the car a few feet once a week or month to prevent "flat spotting", but that is very extreme even considering the cost of the mutiple sized, non-rotatable tire on a Corvette. We were not too cold (coldest was bout -20F) and saw no problems.

Dick

 

I'm in Ohio so the temps are about the same here as there with maybe being slightly warmer.

What about putting the car up on jack stands and relaxing the suspension?
One thing I have heard about but not know if it's really needed.

How about stabil in the gas tank or fogging the carb and cylinders ?

 

Well...back in the day, I called Nunzi Pontiac about my GTO that was going to be stored in a lot OUTSIDE for nine months. They said put it on jackstands, cover the tires if possible, put a good car cover on it, remove the plugs and give a squirt of engine oil in each cylinder, turn the engine over a few rotations with coil wire disconnected, remove the battery to warm dry storage, cover the carb with aluminum foil after a mist of WD40 (remember, this was back a while, better things things for that now).

This was outside storage in SoCal.

Now I'd probably add.... do a detail to the interior, use tire stuff on the tires, vinyl stuff on the interior. Full tank of gas (I mean real full!) with stabil. Run the engine long enuf to get it all the way to the carb bowls. Cover the exhaust pipe with a tennis ball.

Your main concern with inside storage will probably be mice getting into things.

 

Move to Georgia then you do not have to store it, you can drive it even in the "winter" what little we have here.

 

fill the tank and treat with Stabil. buy a battery tender (about 25.00) and hook it up to keep the battery charged.
put the car on jackstands with the wheels off the ground.
change the oil, check the antifreeze. run the car once each month to keep the valvetrain lubed and the valve springs moving. bring it up to operating temp and put the trans in gear a bit to keep the seals lubed.
apply and release the brakes several times. activate each switch in the car a couple times.
it'll be fine, winter isn't that long.

 

thanks that helps alot.

winter sure feels long,lol.