Re: Storing the car

[Shawn Meze <Trnsfrma@ix.netcom.com>]

At 05:18 PM 10/4/96 -0400, you wrote:
>It's coming up on that time of year again is upstate New York.  As
>November gets nearer I'm thinking about putting the '88 16v away. Never
>fear, I've got an '80 'S' car for winter.  :-)

>Anyway, what considerations should I make for storing my car for about
>6 months.  In previous years, I've taken off the BFG ZR rubber, put
>on crappy rims/tires and stored the good rubber in my cellar.  That's about
>all I've ever done, besides rolling it into an unheated garage and leaving
>it there.  Now that I have a house with an attached garage, I can be a little
>more proactive in storing my car, as well as maintaining it during the
>storage period.

>So, what are your suggestions?  Some say to drain the gas tank.  Some say
>to use a gasoline stabilizer.  Some say to put the car on blocks and let
>the suspension hang.  What's the net.wisdom on these and other car storage
>topics?  Thanks for your comments.

>==Brett

Brett, it breaks my heart to hear your gonna torture an 80 S! (Because I
want one so bad!) But, the best advice I have is to be sure to top off your
fuel tank for one. Those who drain them usually find lots of water and rust
particles in their fuel in the spring. This is a bad thing. 
Have you ever gone to an auto museum? In Vegas, there is a muesum that has
old ....... um........... cars..... gimme a minuts to think of the names,
but they are beautiful cars. Big too..... Anyway, its in a casino that is
square and the theme is Asian....... DAMN!!!!! 
Anwyays, they have all the cars off the ground on jack stands and the
suspensions are compressed. The tires are just about an inch off the ground.
These cars are worth a million a piece and they have the largest collection
of these cars in the world, like 40 of them. (Even one that Hitler rode in
in 43'. Booooo!) They have stored them this way for a reason. (Who ever
knows the name of these cars and the casino will get a cookie! BTW, free
tickets are all over the Airport for the mauto mmuseum, in case your ever
there.) I have heard to store the car sprung and unsprung. I dont know which
way is best, but IMHO, somewhere in the middle should be safe. It should be
safe to leave the wheels on the car, just keep the car off the ground to
keep the tires from molding the buldge shape of sitting on the ground.
 I think sprung would put constant pressure on the shock seals and unsprung
puts stress on the CV boots? I dunno fer sure. I dont think you would have
to remove the battery since its in the garage but I would definately
disconnect both terminals and maybe hook up a trickle charger to it to keep
it topped off for you. I would also go out about once a month and run the
engine for 15-20 minutes at idle to keep everything lubed and up to snuff.
Then again, im yet to see it snow or get below 40 degrees in San Diego so
storage here for us is a place to take your stuff when you dont got no place
to live! Then again, it would give me better reason to get that 81' S ive
been dreaming about. Painted in the same paint scheme as my 82'.....
argh-argh-argh-argh!!

Shawn

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