Winter storage in Michigan

[Michael W.]

Re: Winter storage in Michigan

To be blunt, all of the above(except the car bag) is overkill and/or does more harm than good. There is no benefit to starting an engine during storage.

[David Lyon]

Re: Winter storage in Michigan

Paul,

I live in northern Maine. I have a '58. For storage, I clean the car, take out the battery to avoid the potential of fire, make certain the tires are at recommended inflation and fill the tank with gas. Changing the oil and filter is highly recommended. I cover the car and store it in cold storage, not on my property, and leave it until the snow melts and the temps rise. I put rodent poison around the car. Before I did that, the varmints ruined my top. Some say put moth balls in paper or solid containers - glass, plastic bowels inside the interior, trunk, top storage and engine compartments. Others dispute this. I do it anyway. I place a sheet of poly on the concrete floor, cover the car with a quality cover and hope the barn doesn't burn. Been lucky for 23 years except for the top.

David

[Bob Simard]

Winter storage in Michigan

In my cars and lawnmower the gas always evaporates. I've used Amoco ultimate for several years. There is no residue when this evaporates, ergo, no problems in the spring. By the way, to move your cars short distances in the garage, push on the top of the tire. The 2 to 1 mechanical advantage helps alot.

[Patrick H.]

Re: I would still disconnect the battery

Don't start it, don't move it.
Drop it in a Car Jacket and wait until Spring.

Patrick
Holland, MI

[Mike Cobine]

Winter storage Anywhere

Short of being in the frozen tundra or the Arctic Circle, I have never seen a winter anywhere that every day was too crappy to drive, and that includes England and Chicago. Even in the winter wasteland of Chicago, there were a few days that the sun was out, the roads were dry, and there was no reason you couldn't driving a car.

As such, I'd recommend leaving it in 100% driving condition, and about once a month when you have a day that the road isn't wet, the snow isn't covering the road, or it isn't raining, take the car for a half hour drive somewhere.

It will keep the car in good shape and do wonders for your moral.

Zora never designed them to sit.

[James Keddie]

Re: Winter storage Anywhere

Mike,
I couldn't agree more! If the sun's out and the road is dry, who cares if it's 30 degrees. Drive it and enjoy it!
Jim

[Patrick H.]

One Reason not to drive in the winter:

Salt.

Maybe it's not as prevalent where you live, but the main reason my cars sit and don't move is the leftover salt on/along the road. It will do more damage to my old car than benefit it will give my mood. In fact, I often spend the first few weeks of April waiting for a good rain to clear the roads of the stuff, even though the snow disappeared a month prior.

Patrick

[Michael W.]

Amen! *NM*

[David Lyon]

Re: One Reason not to drive in the winter:

Patrick,

I agree 100% Here in Maine they are using the liquid stuff and many of the roads stay white with residue even though they are dry.

David

[Bill #36445]

Re: Winter storage in Michigan (Question for Duke)

Duke;

Why do you state "DO NOT PUT THE CAR ON JACK STANDS"?

Everyone keeps telling me to put my '65 on stands. I have a '65 convertible with reproduction bias-ply tires. I thought that they would flat spot if I don't put it on stands. I'd prefer not to put it up in the air but I'd like to know your reasoning.

Thanks,

Bill

[Christopher R.]

Re: Winter storage in Michigan (Question for Duke)

The suspension droops to its limits, straining the sway bar bushings, and exposing the shock absorber rods to rust.

[Duke W.]

Re: Winter storage in Michigan (Question for Duke)

You have to understand how suspension bushings work, which, unfortuately most guys do not. OE rubber type bushings function by allowing torsional strain in the rubber as the suspension goes through jounce and rebound. There are no relative motion surfaces. It's like twisting a rubber eraser. All assembly and shop manuals call for bushing bolts to be torqued with the car at normal ride height. This means there is no torsional preload in the bushings.

If the suspension is allowed to hang, the bushings will be strained in torsion and since rubber is subject to creep they can be damaged by allowing the suspension to hang for extended periods of time.

Tires are subject to flat spotting, especially if they have any nylon cord material, which most modern "H" or above rated tires do (nylon cap belts), but this is usually temporary, and the tires will round out once they get some heat from driving. Flat spotting is minimized by keeping the tires inflated to high pressure, which is why tires should be inflated to the maximum cold prssure placarded on the sidewall for storage. A good seal will usually result in no more than about one psi per month loss, so if the tire is inflated to 35 psi it will probably still have at least 30 come Spring, however, keep in mind that tire pressure drops about 1 psi for every ten degree F drop in ambient temperature, so if you set pressure at 50 degrees, it will drop about five psi at zero. For this reason it's not a bad idea to slightly "overfill" a typical low performance tire that is placarded at 35 psi to 40 psi for storage. Higher speed rated tires are typically placarded at 44 and some new Z-rated tires are placarded at 51 maximum cold pressure.

If the tire pressure is allowed to drop so low that the tire is excessively distored, or if it is allowed to go flat, they can be damaged, but maintaining proper pressure during storage will rarely result in permanent flat spotting on a quality tire.

In any event, it is easier/cheaper to replace damaged tires than damaged suspension bushings.

Duke

[Michael W.]

Re: Winter storage

Another good reason to leave the car on it's own wheels is for the eventuality of needing to get the car out of the garage quickly.

[Michael H.]

Re: Another Reason....

And yet another good reason to leave the car on it's wheels is the unnatural twist or bow that is induced into the frame and body when supported in any location other than design, ESPECIALLY in a conv. When jack stands are placed one foot or more closer to the center of the wheelbase, the frame flexes a lot and causes the body to change shape. In a conv., the gap at the top of the doors can open up as much as 1/4". If the soft top is up and latched when the car is stored, it probably won't fit the same in the spring.

[Duke W.]

Re: Winter storage in Michigan (Question for Duke)

The anti-roll bar bushings are the least of your worries. They are easy to change, but the front control arm bushings and rear trailing arm and strut rod bushings are another matter.

Duke