Parking Car For Winter

[IronToss]

I know this may be a stupid question to some extent but I am curious what you Canadian boys are doing prior to parking your camaros for the winter. I am guessing typical things like oil change before maybe, car cover, plywood or something under the tires to keep off the concrete, battery issues, etc.

I have a heated garage so that is a good thing, but aside from a car cover and some maintenance things I am guessing should be done, pretty unfamiliar with what are good and bad things to do with respect to storing a car for the winter.

I was planning to fill the tank assuming I would let it run from time to time through the winter, maybe once a week to every second week, thoughts?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is the first car worthy to be stored over winter for me so I want to ensure I do things correctly, more specifically wanting to hear from fellow camaro owners vs. some internet page telling me how to store my '52 Datsun POSv2.1 3 wheel drive monstrocity.

Thanks in advance.

[blkngldbabe]

half a tank of gas...add a can of Seafoam(jobber should have it) then drive to get it through your systems....then top up the gas to full. It's a stabilizer that my technicians swear on here for either their bikes, cars or sleds

[67 Convertible]

I drive my 5th gen year round, but when I put away my '67 for the winter, I put Stabil gas stabilizer (buy it at Walmart) in the tank then fill it up. The fuller the gas tank is, will prevent moisture from forming in the tank. The only other thing I do is change the oil.

You can put a battery tender on it, I don't and have never had a problem. If you want to be extra cautious, you can park it on plywood to keep moisture off the chassis, but with a heated garage I don't think it's necessary. You could also put it on jackstands to keep the tires from getting flat spots (I don't), with radial tires you don't get flat spots like with the old bias ply tires.

If critters might be a problem, put some mothballs in the trunk and interior.....only problem is airing it out in the spring, but better then getting the interior or wiring chewed by mice. I've heard the "Bounce" clothes dryer sheets work well also.

Don't start it up, there is no need to. If you feel you have to start it every once in a while, make sure it gets to full operating temperature before shutting it down. If not, moisure will form in the exhaust and engine. My opinion is starting it once in a while will do more harm than good. JMHO.

[CDN SS]

Steel wool in the exhaust tips will keep any critters from making a home in there.

[CanadianCamaro]

You'll get lots of different opinions on this - and that's fine. So here's mine. The "keep the fuel tank full" theory is true, but mainly for older cars with steel tanks. The issue is that the air space in the tank contains trapped air. That air contains moisture. When the tempurature drops, that moisture condenses on the steel surface and causes rust. In the 5th gens this isn't a problem as the tank is plastic. You may still get that condensation, but when the temps go back up, any moisture turns back into vapor.

Fuel these days is not very stable (unleaded gasoline is inherrently less stable then leaded was). That is until you add something that is designed to stabilize it. Ever wonder why many 2 stroke bikes etc. don't get winterized? B/C the mixing of 2-stroke oil in the fuel helps stabilize it. Sea foam does work, I've heard of that. But I also know that there is some risk of inconsistency in the product itself so you may not get proper stabilization out of it in a larger volume (in smaller volumes such as a snowmobile this isn't as big of a concern). Stabil is one product mentioned above (I use it too) that is chemically engineered to stabilize petrolium based fuels.

So what do I do. Well too much to be honest. But for fuel, I say why have $80 in fuel sitting in your tank getting stale (notice I said stale, not unstable, there's a difference) all winter. In the last full tank of the season I double-dose it with Stabil and then run it as low as I dare. I don't start it during the winter (variety of reasons). Then in the spring, I have a fresh can of ultra 94 which I dump into the car at start-up which dilutes any stale fuel still in there.

That's my 2 cents. I had absolutely zero issues this spring - not even a mermur on start-up. But I'm sure lots of people's technique works for them. Find one that works for you and stick with it

[CanadianCamaro]

Originally Posted by CDN SS

Steel wool in the exhaust tips will keep any critters from making a home in there.

Yep - get the stainless steel pot scrubbers from walmart - no rust. Then forget about them like me and proceed to fire them out the driveway onto the road at start up

[blkngldbabe]

Bahahaha!!! Shoot them out at the pesky kids who are dying to bounce a ball in your cars general direction.

[68 RS]

Full tank of fuel.

Start it up once a month.

Change the oil first thing in the spring.

No problems so far.

[B-rad]

I know there are some people that just park their car for the winter and start it in the spring, while others go overboard with the whole nine yards. I have a winter storage business that I have run for 7 years and I have seen just about everything.

I will tell you what I did last winter. Maybe overkill, maybe not.

1. Use fuel stabilizer. Empty tank, full tank, whatever. Directions on bottle about how much to put in.

2. Clean your car inside and out and throw some bounce sheets in it. Keeps the mice out and smells nice.

3. This is only necessary if parking in unheated garage with cement floor. Put down some plywood to park on. Uninsulated/unheated cement sweats.

4. Get some fogging oil and run it through the throttle body for a few seconds before shutting the engine off. Prevents any corrosion inside the engine during storage, especially important when storing for multiple years at a time, and no need for monthly startups.

5. Disconnect the battery. Make sure you leave a door open into the car when you do this so the door can be opened and closed with no interference from the window. And don't shut the trunk completely, unless you want to crawl in through the back seat to hook your battery up again.

6. Put on a car cover to keep the dust off. In the spring use a leaf blower or something of that nature to blow the dust off before removing it. This should save you from having to wash the cover before using it again.

7. Some people prefer to do this in the fall. I prefer to do it in the spring. Change your oil and filter. This way any moisture/condensation that has gotten into the oil over the winter gets flushed out and you are ready for the road again.

Not the only way to store a car, just how I do it.

[CanadianCamaro]

Originally Posted by B-rad

I have a winter storage business that I have run for 7 years ...

Good to know - Details? cement floors? heated? Location? How much capacity?

[stratman2SSRS]

Hey Canadian Camaro, you forgot to mention the inflatable bubble????

[RickRay]

PLEASE STOP......This is depressing....talk about this end Oct/Nov....enjoy the summer days...

[motorhead]

If your only parking it for the winter ,you really don't need to do anything except maybe put a battery maintainer on it. I've been parking all kinds of different cars over the winter for many years, and I have never done anything other than that. I never have any problems.

[B-rad]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but since the question was asked...

Originally Posted by CanadianCamaro

Good to know - Details? cement floors? heated? Location? How much capacity?

My storage building is located near Owen Sound, about 2 hours north of Toronto. I have storage for about 40 cars. Cheapest is $160 for the winter, parked on a dry sand floor. $200 parked on cement.

It is cold, dry storage. I disconnect the battery on every car I store due to insurance regulations. Price to be paid in full on storage date, includes storage from October 1st to April 30th. No discounts for shorter storage periods.

I recommend covering your car to keep dust off. No extra charge if you wish to bring plywood to store your car on. If you wish me to supply plywood for your car it is extra $80, ($40 every subsequent year).

For $20 I will add fuel stabilizer and fog the engine for you before storage. No charge if you do this yourself.

In the spring I will change the oil and filter for $20 if you supply the oil and filter. $100 if I supply the oil and filter, (6.2litre takes a lot of oil and I don't use cheap oil).

Finally if you want some work done on your car over the winter, I have a 30' x 50' heated shop that I do all my work in. You pay the initial storage fee upon dropoff. I charge $30/hour for labour payable upon pickup of car in spring, or will also work flat rate depending on what the customer wants. Parts must be supplied by owner of car. After install is complete it will be put back into cold storage. Put your car away stock, pick it up with supercharger, headers, exhaust, etc. Your call.

PM me if you are interested. I will probably put up a post about storage in another month or so, but don't wait too long I do sell out every year.