How to Prep Your Car for Winter Storage...

[JCunningham]

in a previous post someone said they had a metal tank. mine looks like plastic but I know some GM vehicles had plastic around a metal tank.

[sam5828]

Originally Posted by JCunningham

in a previous post someone said they had a metal tank. mine looks like plastic but I know some GM vehicles had plastic around a metal tank.

Ahh ok

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[sam5828]

All put away!!

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[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by myold88

Wrong imo. I've been storing my antique cars for many years and believe:
1) The worst thing you can do to a stored car is start it up ever couple of weeks. Let it sit !
2) I always change the oil and filter AFTER winter storage, not before.
Again, just my opinion.

You must not have been storing high performance cars. Letting a high performance engine sit all winter is really hard on valve springs.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by Rocky1974

You must not have been storing high performance cars. Letting a high performance engine sit all winter is really hard on valve springs.

Can you expand? Everything I've read has indicated you should not start the car until you're taking it out of storage.

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[kcox2010]

Don't start car in winter unless In a heated garage. If u start it up in a cold garage the engine will heat up and have a rapid cool down that will leave condensation in the motor just let it sleep till Spring

[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

Can you expand? Everything I've read has indicated you should not start the car until you're taking it out of storage.

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When you shut off an engine, no matter what position the engine stops in, several valve springs will be compressed. A valve spring that's left in a compressed position over time will lose some of its tension. If you start the engine regularly, this is not a problem, because the engine will stop in different positions, compressing different springs. But when you store a car for several months without starting it, you are removing some of the tension from several of the valve springs. On a low performance engine, this is not much of a problem, but a high performance engine has stiffer valve springs and relies on theses stiffer springs to achieve high rpm power. If you leave a high performance engine sitting all winter and never start it, it will never produce as much power again. I know people who use a breaker bar, on the crankshaft bolt, on their race car engines during the winter to alleviate this condition. This would work on our cars too, but it'd be simpler to just start it up.

The argument on here seems to be that starting the engine in the winter will cause condensation, which is hard on the engine and exhaust system. This is true, if you only let run for a few minutes, but if you let it fully warm up, the heat will evaporate the moisture, just as if you drove it in the winter.

The moral of the story is: If you really care about your engine, you won't leave it sitting all winter without starting it.(or at least turning it over somehow) But when you do start it, don't just let run for a few minutes. Let it run long enough to fully come up to temperature and evaporate the moisture. Your engine will thank you.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by Rocky1974

When you shut off an engine, no matter what position the engine stops in, several valve springs will be compressed. A valve spring that's left in a compressed position over time will lose some of its tension. If you start the engine regularly, this is not a problem, because the engine will stop in different positions, compressing different springs. But when you store a car for several months without starting it, you are removing some of the tension from several of the valve springs. On a low performance engine, this is not much of a problem, but a high performance engine has stiffer valve springs and relies on theses stiffer springs to achieve high rpm power. If you leave a high performance engine sitting all winter and never start it, it will never produce as much power again. I know people who use a breaker bar, on the crankshaft bolt, on their race car engines during the winter to alleviate this condition. This would work on our cars too, but it'd be simpler to just start it up.

The argument on here seems to be that starting the engine in the winter will cause condensation, which is hard on the engine and exhaust system. This is true, if you only let run for a few minutes, but if you let it fully warm up, the heat will evaporate the moisture, just as if you drove it in the winter.

The moral of the story is: If you really care about your engine, you won't leave it sitting all winter without starting it.(or at least turning it over somehow) But when you do start it, don't just let run for a few minutes. Let it run long enough to fully come up to temperature and evaporate the moisture. Your engine will thank you.

Thank you. That makes sense.

Why can't people just agree? Haha. I just want to do what's best for my car but getting different stories is frustrating.

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[sam5828]

Well how long do you think these cars sit in the lot at the factory or on the dealers lots without being ran. The cars will be fine. A few months of not being ran.

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[kcox2010]

sleeping for winter

[sam5828]

Originally Posted by kcox2010

sleeping for winter

Got to love the bubble lol

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[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by sam5828

Well how long do you think these cars sit in the lot at the factory or on the dealers lots without being ran. The cars will be fine. A few months of not being ran.

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I don't think they leave them sitting in one spot very long. I see them moving them around all the time. Every time I go by a local dealer, the Camaros are always in a different spot.

[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

Thank you. That makes sense.

Why can't people just agree? Haha. I just want to do what's best for my car but getting different stories is frustrating.

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I don't know, everybody seems to have their own opinions and you know how opinions are. I've tried it both ways and I always have less problems if I start my stored cars regularly and I have far less problems than buddies who never start theirs. Everybody else on here can do whatever they want because, after all, its their car and they are the ones who will have to pay for the repairs. But I'm going to continue to do what has been proven to me, time and again, to work. And that's a Battery Tender, full tank of fuel with stabilizer, and regular starts with a complete warm up. As a matter of fact, every time I read a post on here that says "don't start your stored car", I go start my car. I figure that way, all the naysayers are providing me a reminder service and keeping me from having problems.

[Msmall143]

I can't believe you all have these things stored away in bubbles.

1- it's a car. And not a very expensive one
2- these WILL NOT be collectible, 1969 has come and gone, we missed our chances. That's coming from a guy who owns 1 of 200 something (black 2ss 1le)

I hope you all named your rides "bubble boy"

I take care of my ride because i enjoy it, but man, putting it in a bubble is extreme.