Winter Storage

[craig-ultima]

Sadly, I have to put my Ultima away for the next few months as we hit the winter snows here in Minnesota. I happen to love the snow, so I'm not exactly upset.

However, I would like to know what I should do in terms of maintaining the car over the winter. I have a heated garage, and we keep the driveway clear of snow. My car buddies have suggested running the engine for at least 5 minutes every two weeks. I've also noticed that the car should be moved frequently since the low tyre pressure results in big flat spots if left for a week or more.

Is there anything else I should be doing, given that the car is essentially stuck in the garage for the next 3 months?

[builder]

Hi Craig,

Luckily, I like the snow too. However, I plan on driving my GTR on good winter days (not this season). To me, three months is right on the line of deciding to go full hibernation, or just a long R&R. If I were going to park her for three months, these are the steps I might take:

Lube all chassis fittings/joints and definitely change the oil. When oil and gas mix over time in the engine, they make a nasty brew that can pit metal (I don't know if this is true for synthetic oils). For that reason (and others), I wouldn't start the car for five minutes every two weeks. People that are "serious" about preservation use mineral oil rather than dino-lube, then change it before running.

Make sure you have a fresh, full tank of gas and add a can of fuel stabilizer. As you are probably aware, fuel turns to a sticky varnish that gums up filters, pumps, lines, injectors, and carbs, when it sits. Make sure you add the stabilizer and run the car before putting her away to get the stabilized fuel spread through the system. Then, shut the fuel off and disconnect the electrical to the pump. Disconnect the main fuel line to relieve pressure.

Also before parking, make sure you have the proper mix of antifreeze and top off the washer fluid (or drain tank and lines). Remove wiper; at least the blade and put a soft cloth under the arm tip.

Block the car up to take the weight off the suspension and tires. Like you said, eliminate flat spots. Maintain air pressure a few pounds under normal running pressure.

Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery. Check the battery voltage weekly and power up the trickle-charger when needed.

Put a wrench on the balancer and hand-crank the engine to circulate oil. I would do this a couple of times per week, if possible. Remove plugs to relieve compression, if necessary. Some folks put moisture-absorbing plugs in place of the spark plugs.

Plug the tail pipes and intake tract to keep the critters out.

Change the trans fluid. Maybe over the top, but have someone hold the clutch in and go through the gears while you hand-rotate the tires. I have never owned a Porsche box, so I don't know if this is sufficient to keep the lube spread around. I would do this once a week.

You might consider a light coat of oil on any body/chassis/engine components you think are subject to corrotion.

On emerging from hibernation, the battery will be charged; tires round and the right pressure; oil, fuel, and antifreeze ready to go; the wiper blade won't leave a mark on the glass; trans should be shifting smoothly; no nesting critters in the carb or muffler to burn up...

There are probably other beneficial tips available on the Internet as well.

-- Scott

[zumbruk]

Dunno if this is a problem in Minnesota, but in the UK I'd put some mousetraps round the car (one by each wheel), ever since I had a family of mice living in the engine compartment of my Sierra Cosworth one winter. Fortunately, they only nibbled one ignition lead and I had to vacuum a couple of pounds of bird food (also stored in the same garage) out of various nooks and crannies in the engine compartment.

[jeff-texas]

builder said:

Make sure you add the stabilizer and run the car before putting her away to get the stabilized fuel spread through the system.

I don't have much to add to builder's thorough list, but unless you drain the oil for the winter and keep the oilpan dry after doing this step, then make sure you rev the engine (for several minutes) whilst doing this step -- or if you decide to start the car for 5 minutes every week or 2 like your friends recommended -- because if you drive a Chevy V8 at 2000 RPM or less (e.g. tooling around town slowly), it doesn't burn-off much of the water that can accumulate in your oil (and I've never hard of gas + oil making metal corrode, but water can corrode or rust many metals, not to mention reduce the oil's lubricity).

Also be sure to operate the clutch occasionally: It's about the last part of a car to get sticky due to lack of use, but it can stick (either to the flywheel or the springs rust against other parts, I forgot) after many months.

[mogg]

Anyone use a Carcoon, I'm thinking of getting one, so any comments on them would be of interest. This begs the question - if you use a Carcoon, what other actions do you still need to take ?

Thanks

[usagtrman]

mogg said:

Anyone use a Carcoon, I'm thinking of getting one, so any comments on them would be of interest. This begs the question - if you use a Carcoon, what other actions do you still need to take ? Thanks

I use a carcoon and my advice is to get the next size up from the 14', if you have a factory wing. With the GTR all but one inch from the front the rear wing is still in contact with the bubble. The next size up would be perfect. Other than that.....I wouldn't park a car I loved for an extended period of time without putting it in a carcoon.

Brad Z
www.bradzeman.com

[GTRene]

my car(not an ultima) is stored in a dry garage and I cant(may not) use the car because of a 3 months intake of my license(drove 2 bits to fast) and in that 3 months I start it 3 times(about every 3 weeks) and leave the car running for 20min each time, also with higher rpm at some points to blow the moistre out the exhaust and that way it gets on working temp, I also swift to all the gears(in the garage) a bit forward and back and I roll the car a bit because of flat spots in the tires and in that period I get all the extra goodies out the car(front radio and handsfree kit) so the battery stays good and it works well...at least for my car and the engine has a very expensive and good oil in it so that(synthetic 10w/60 castrol) oil leaves a thin film on everything in the engine internals, I have to do till 16-jan-2006 and after that I get my almost holy license back
GTRene

[CanAm Dave]

Carcoons work really well but I value all that is in my garage not just the car. So I run a dehumidifier instead. But you need a well sealed garage to make them work well.

Dave

[Alan 2]

mogg said:

Anyone use a Carcoon, I'm thinking of getting one, so any comments on them would be of interest. Thanks

I have used a "Carcoon" for about 4 years to store an early Corvette. It's very well made but if you want to use the car periodically it has one big disadvantage; when you switch off the fans, the whole thing collapses on top of the car. It does have "loops" in the top panel so that if you have a garage with cross beams, you can tie these loops to the beams which stops it collapsing and makes it easier to get the car out. I also have an "Airchamber" which is where I keep my 6 year old "Sports". The "Airchamber" works on exactly the same principle as the "Carcoon" but it has an internal frame which means that it doesn't collapse when you switch off the fans. It also has a couple of side doors which does give some limited access to the car. IMO, the "Airchamber" is not as well made the "Carcoon" but it is infinitely more practical.

[Topdrive]

Hey Craig

Try a product called sea-foam for your fuel. I get it at Napa. Here on the coast a lot of people use it in their boats when they put them up for the winter. It is also good for cleaning injectors. I run some thru my daily driver ever 2-3 tanks.

[craig-ultima]

Thanks for all the great information.

What is a carcoon? My garage is heated, and we have extremely low humidity due to the low temperature here in Minnesota over the winter.

I'm now starting to think that I can run the Ultima on the road this winter. We have 6 inches of snow on the ground, but when there are 2 to 3 days of clear weather, the roads are absolutely clear and clean of all ice, snow, salt and gravel. The roads here are really well maintained.

I'm planning a quick trip tomorrow morning... I'll report back on how well I do!

[steve_d]

A Carcoon is a clear plastic tent with sewn in ground sheet. You drive the car in and zip the door. An air pump then inflates it with filtered air. I think some models also have heaters.

Steve

[GTRMikie]

craig-ultima said:

Thanks for all the great information. I'm now starting to think that I can run the Ultima on the road this winter. We have 6 inches of snow on the ground, but when there are 2 to 3 days of clear weather, the roads are absolutely clear and clean of all ice, snow, salt and gravel. The roads here are really well maintained. I'm planning a quick trip tomorrow morning... I'll report back on how well I do!

After a winter run in my GTR, I always wash the wheels with clean water. The roads may look clean but there are always salt crystals about which seem to collect around the bolts holding the wheels together. This will rapidly attack the alloy, as I discovered after my first winter outing a number of years ago.

[GTRene]

steve_d said:

A Carcoon is a clear plastic tent with sewn in ground sheet. You drive the car in and zip the door. An air pump then inflates it with filtered air. I think some models also have heaters. Steve

Yep, and they mostley use them for real old classics cars because they can rust when you look at them in the old days or when you store the car outside, I would not go for such thing for a modern car when only stored for 3 months orso in a garage! a dry garage is good anough and will do the job, here a picture.

GTRene

>> Edited by GTRene on Thursday 22 December 10:39

[jeff-texas]

GTRMikie said:

craig-ultima said: Thanks for all the great information. I'm now starting to think that I can run the Ultima on the road this winter. We have 6 inches of snow on the ground, but when there are 2 to 3 days of clear weather, the roads are absolutely clear and clean of all ice, snow, salt and gravel. The roads here are really well maintained. I'm planning a quick trip tomorrow morning... I'll report back on how well I do! After a winter run in my GTR, I always wash the wheels with clean water. The roads may look clean but there are always salt crystals about which seem to collect around the bolts holding the wheels together. This will rapidly attack the alloy, as I discovered after my first winter outing a number of years ago.

...and with a heated garage like Craig's, this decay becomes even worse if he doesn't wash salt/etc. off.

Also Craig, do your sidewalls have an "M + S" on the side? If not, and you've already taken your drive, I hope you haven't learned the hard way what summer-only tires do on snow! I had summer-only tires in NJ, and just used them at REALLY low speeds for the few days it snowed each year...with people in Jeeps and SUV's tailgating me because at anything over 25 MPH, the rear wheels would try to swing ahead of the car every half-mile or so.

[craig-ultima]

Thanks all for your great suggestions.

It is now well into winter here in Minnesota. But amazingly I've had the car out for 3 short trips since my earlier post. Admittedly the air temp here is above normal for this time of year, being around 0 degrees C (32 F). We have had some good snow fall, but the temp is such that the roads are very clear after a few days of no precipitation. I'll post some photos soon of me driving the Ultima with snow in the background. They are pretty silly.

Thanks for the recommendations on the salt (I will remove the wheels and wash them, probably later into the winter when it gets too snowy to drive. I'm also looking at an underbody spray system), and to Rene on the CarCoon - it looks like a nice thing for preserving old cars, but my garage is very dry and probably the right temp for a newer car.