I thought it would be interesting to hear what other HAMB members do to store their cars in cooler weather and what they do to maintain their engines as they sit. Obviously this varies by location and temperature and the time our cars or trucks are not used. Anything from temperature-controlled storage, block and radiator heaters, monthly start-ups, oil pressure ac***ulators, water and oil additives, fogging oil, manual oil system priming, etc. Condensation is always a concern.
Doesn't get cold enough here to freeze, so I have that going for me. I do have to use a dehumidifier in the garage to keep humidity down. Chrome doesn't last here and polished aluminum doesn't stay polished. Living on the beach has it's down sides.
Yes, you guys on the coast have the humidity and a salt air problem. What type of dehumidifier do you use?
When the snow arrives here in the Catskills, eventually it slides off my roof and there is usually a 36" pile of frozen snow that is around till March if I'm lucky. So the best I can do is start one of them up, back it out under the overhang crack it a few times, let it idle and pull it back inside again and slam the garage door down and be pissed off till the salt is gone from the roads in the spring.
My two car garage is dry and never gets below 45 degrees. They go to sleep in December and start right up in March. With the amount of salt they use on the roads around here, I usually wait to take them out until it has rained at least twice.
I forgot about the salt issue. Man I feel for you guys that deal with that problem. In my area we at least can get out in the cooler months when the roads are decent but if it's cold, there is always the condensation issue when you pull it back into the garage and shut it off. It seems a few guys have gotten around this by using fuel additives and or fogging oil sprayed down the carburetor for a few seconds.
Mine is a Wellsle. My two daughters bought it for me as a gift a few years ago, after hearing me wine about condensation. I only need it in the winter months. Turn it on first thing in the morning when I go to the garage and turn it off at the end of the day.
Around here they use that beet juice on the roads. I thought at first that was instead of salt, but probably a mix. It does seem to be easier on my newer cars.
Update NY where it can get in negative digits with ease.... Put some stabilizer in the tank, drive them to their resting spot in the barn sometime in October, park on cardboard or jack stands if the tires flat spot badly, throw on the covers and see them again in April.
it gets cold enough to freeze so the ( off topic) car gets put on jack stands plain water gets drained antifreeze goes in and valves get loosened up enough to close all the valves( keeps condensation out of cylinders and relaxes springs) disconnect and charge battery and check and recharge as necessary until spring
Good idea with backing off the rocker arms to allow valves to fully close. I think this is where the fogging oil shows it's value where as I understand, the air cleaner is removed and the fogging oil is sprayed in the carburetor for 10 seconds then shut down the engine. The idea is that 10 seconds of spraying the oil allows enough time to coat valves cylinders and combustion chambers with a light film. I guess method this came from the marine industry.
I started mine up yesterday and let them run long enough to get up to operating temp. They are in unheated storage, so I try to do this every month or so if temps get above freezing. Seems to work fine. Also put no corn gas in them before storage.
I run it at least once a month, keep fuel stabilizer in the tank and run a dehumidifier as needed. I also installed an electric fuel pump on a bump switch just to prime the system for much quicker starts.
I just finished adding a "priming" electric pump as well. My 9000 series Carter and (mainly) with the pump gas these days, the float chamber would evaporate within a few days.
I Start Them All Every 2 Months And Let Them Run Until The Spiders Leave The Shop To Smoke A Cigarette...
I don't do much as far as winterizing my cars, but what I do is remove the bag that I keep in my trunk with all the detail stuff I use. What I didn't realize is that a lot of the detail stuff is water based and one spring I had a few empty cracked bottles.
My Tudor is living in the driveway this winter so I just finished winterizing it with topping the radiator off with antifreeze, changing to 20W oil, and putting a new battery in. I plan on driving it while I’m working on my OT daily this winter. My woodie will stay in a nice climate controlled garage hibernating till next spring
Full tank of high test fuel , couple bottles of Lukas fuel stabilizer , a good long drive to get that fuel and additives up to the carb . check fluids , change the oil , disconnect the battery . and the big one for me is a bunch of mouse traps , peppermint oil , bouncy sheets , those sound things that keep animals away and making sure the garage is clean . I find storing the car is not that big a deal , it’s keeping critters out of it . the last couple years I did all this and simply left my car on the driveway . A good detailing in the spring and I’m good to go .
1960-62 timeline: 1958 Impala during the high school cruising/racing scene... Hello, When the month of December was fast approaching, our friend from Los Angeles told us to put in 5/20 wt. oil in the 58 Impala. We had always run 30 wt Valvoline and never had a problem. But, our friend who was a person that knew mechanics so much more than us, his word was “gold.” He was a good friend of Vic Edlebrock and hung around together when they were younger. So, on the next oil change, we took out the 30 wt Valvoline and put in cans of 5/20 wt oil. We kept driving around and did not notice any differences. But, it was getting cold during several harsh, for So Cal, winter storms. Our teen group from our high school always participated in the gathering after Christmas, up in Big Bear City, near the lake, in the local mountains. The elevation was 6000 to 9000 and going to be cold when we all left to go up there from December 26 to January 1. It was not just our school, but almost all high schools in Long Beach participated on their own itinerary. My brothers group and the group before him also participated during their time in high school. Back then, we only heard stories from the older hot rod guys about the gatherings. It was a standing thing for high school groups to participate. Plus, it was a winter vacation in the mountains. Vacations are great, but not seeing friends daily was a weird thing. So, when we did gather, plan our vacation in the mountains, it was a fun adventure. We also took our cold climate jackets and gloves. It certainly was not going to be 80 degree beach weather and surfing all day. We needed power to get up those steep roads leading into the local mountain areas. With a few adjustments, the Impala ran fine, once we got up into the higher elevation streets. Jnaki As things go, the first year was easy driving into the city and the cabin that was rented for us. At night we all had to park outside as there were no protected garages. So, we were open to the elements. Then half way into the week long vacation, it snowed. It snowed all day and into the night. No one drove to the main city and we were all stuck in the cabin, or a sloshy walk to the girl’s cabin next door. But, on the first open sunny day, the snow stopped and we all wanted to go into town to see the teen gatherings. Our cars were all covered with at least a foot or two of snow. We had to dig out a trail to just get to the door. My friend’s 1955 265 v8 Chevy two door sedan would not start. The cold, snowy weather did a number on the cars and the motors were stuck. Everyone tried to start their cars and one turned over slowly, but would not start. When it came time for my Impala to try starting, it was slow to crank, then it fired up. Instantly, it melted the surrounding metal and we s****ed/wiped off the two foot tall snow off of the roof and trunk. Now, we were ready to drive to town. One of the girls asked why my car started and the others would not. We pondered why with stuff like: My motor is more powerful than the others… ha! It has three carburetors and not one… the motor is larger and is better built… all brought laughter when the choices were given. Ha! But, the one thing I had that no one else had was 5/20 wt. oil versus the standard 30 wt. oil for the v8 motors, from 265 to 283 and several Fords/Pontiacs and one Oldsmobile Station Wagon. All v8 motors and not one could start the motor. YRMV So, my Impala was fully loaded with friends and into town we drove, carefully on the snowy roads. No chains required as the road crews were good and fast to make sure the roads were clear, most of the time. Note: Then there were the not great running v8 motors, despite able to start as the weather warmed up a little. But, that is another story.
You guys are dedicated. It’s currently-35 Celsius here. I turned the keys off, not sure how much gas is in them. I took the batteries out of the cars for my plow Jeep and my tractor. The Fargo still had the battery in it. My winterizing ritual involves parking them so I can get something else in my shop…
I feel for you guys 30C here in my town today 3W Coupe in garage with constant Ctek battery charger on recently came home from 2 months in USA and coupe fired first up
The Jalopy Journal
