Hot Rods Cool weather / Storage changes you use to help your engine

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.

 

Nothing. Maybe a start up here and there just to hear it run.

 

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.

 

Thanks much. I'll look that up.

 

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.

 

Avgas. Just saying....

 

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.

 

Mine sits outside

 

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 .

 

Crank it up occasionally

all it needs