Winter Storage

[Paul J.]

Re: Winter Storage

The one item that I will add is that when parking on concrete I would have 2 layers of visqueen 5 to 10 mils thick to prevent moisture from coming up thru the concrete. I would extend 2 to 3 feet beyond all sides of the car in the spring when moving the car out I was surprised by the amount of moisture that was present.

You need to seal your floor. There are several brush on sealers at the home center that are easy to apply. These soak into the concrete, and do not require the preparation of paint and are not subject to hot lift. They are also not expensive.

Paul

[Scott S.]

Re: Winter Storage

I forgot to mention that the floor in my storage building is commercially epoxy coated. The temperature is set a 46 F degrees for the winter.
Scott

[Anthony S.]

Re: Winter Storage

For cars with Rochester carbs I made a device to drain out the fuel becuase I had cases during long storage where the fuel would evaporate over a long time and leave behind a reside which would 'gum' up the carb. Holley carbs generally don't have this issue. A small amount of gum-out spray in the carb will help keep the internals of the carborator clearner over a storage duration. I also keep an open box of baking soda in the car to absorb any bad oders and keep the car smelling fresh. T

[Duke W.]

Re: Winter Storage

Nylon cord tires became popular in racing in the 1950's. This may have had something to do with it.

Paul

Nylon cord is stronger than rayon (and polyester, which came into use in the seventies), so it was a better choice, despite being more expensive, than rayon for "severe service", but nylon cord tires have a tendency to develop temporary flat spots when parked, especially in cold weather, which usually "round out" once the tire heats up from use.

Aircraft tires are almost exclusively nylon cord as were early racing tires and probably truck tires of the era. Modern H-rated and above radials use one or two nylon cap belts above the steel belts, which is the reason they don't completely disintegrate in the event of an internal failure like typical low speed rated tires that lack this critical safety feature.

Recall that during most of the C1/C2 era nylon cord blackwall tires were an option (The standard blackwalls and optional whitewalls were rayon cord.), but very few were sold.

Storage flat spots rarely result in permanent damage as long as the tire isn't allowed to go flat or spend a lot of time at very low pressure. This is the reason the tires should be filled to their maximum placarded cold pressure prior to storage.
A tight seal will usually result in no more than about 1-2 psi per month pressure loss, which means the tires will still have sufficient pressure to drive after six months of storage, but tire pressure should always be checked and adjusted as necessary prior to driving the car after winter storage.

Duke

[Michael J.]

Re: Winter Storage

Modern H-rated and above radials use one or two nylon cap belts above the steel belts, which is the reason they don't completely disintegrate in the event of an internal failure like typical low speed rated tires that lack this critical safety feature.


Duke

Thanks for that Duke, I was wondering what the speed rating cutoff was for those caps.