storing a camaro

Change the oil, clean out/vacuum out the car, get some dessicant packs to absorb water, wash the car, add Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer, mothballs around (and in if you can take the stink in 6 months) the car to keep the rodents, cats etc from making a warm winters nest, and cover the car with a decent cover. Even if indoors.

Don't worry about the tires flatspotting as radials should not flatspot

**as l> Hi,

Change the oil? old oil has a different freezing point then new? your enemie is rust and the batterie cant stand beeing left uncharged so long. So.... how dry and/or warm is the garage. if its heated thats all you need, if not, keep it dry and charge the battery every now and then. Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer? bla bla bla, only diesel can clog under certain temparature and if you want to be sure, store in with an (almost) empty tank and fill it after the winter with fresh gasoline, in stead of the expensive bull.... they want to sell you

All the other things are normal, if you take care of your car.

"Jimmy" schreef in bericht news:cQ9ff.17540$ snipped-for-privacy@fe09.lga...

Quotes:

"NOx (Nitrous Oxide) from blow-by residing in the oil combines with water to form nitric acid which eventually overwhelms the additives included to neutralize such nastiness. The nitric acid then begins to etch your various bearing surfaces, which will wear quite a bit more rapidly than they will in an engine with regular oil changes. Basically... fresh oil is cheap insurance. The used oil could harm the cam shafts, gears and bearings harshly by etching."

"Motor gasolines may be stored up to six months, consequently they must not form gums which may precipitate. Reactions of the unsaturated HCs may produce gums (these reactions can be catalysed by metals such as copper), so antioxidants and metal deactivators are added. Existent Gum is used to measure the gum in the fuel at the time tested, whereas the Oxidation Stability measures the time it takes for the gasoline to break down at 100C with 100psi of oxygen. A 240 minute test period has been found to be sufficient for most storage and distribution systems."

"Stale Fuel: Gasoline in a vented fuel tank can go stale within 60 days. Stale gas smells like varnish and leaves "gummy" deposits that clog the tiny jets of the engine's carburetor. If your engine has been sitting up with stale gasoline in the fuel tank your carburetor may require a soaking in carburetor cleaner to remove these deposits. Remove all rubber pieces including the throttle shaft seal (o-ring) before soaking. After the carburetor is free of all bad gas deposits it should be reinstalled with new gaskets in place. Make sure your fuel tank is clean and free of stale gas as well."

"One caution, however: If your fuel system has spent years clogging itself up with gum and varnish, you may experience problems if you suddenly try to clean it with additives. Oh, the additives will work all right, but imagine what happens to the fuel filters when years of goop suddenly soughs off the walls of the fuel tank and fuel lines and works its way toward the engine. Some folks have reported repeated fuel filter clogs on a single trip! So, if you decide to scour your fuel system, load up on a supply of replacement fuel filters ahead of time, and plan on unexpected roadside maintenance stops to replace clogged filters."

I agree with Jimmy. And I have some additional thoughts. You live up north, so store with a full tank with a stabilizer. If you store with a partial tank, the water will separate and can rust your tank. Be sure to run the car long enough after adding stabilizer to get the mix up to the carb/injectors. I try to change the oil before going into storage to get the contaminants out. (My buddy changes the oil when coming out of storage. He says that dust can collect during storage, because the engine is not air-tight.)

A normal lead-acid battery won't handle many complete discharges before going bad. I'd suggest either charging your battery on a regular basis, or replace it with a deep-cycle. Disconnect and clean it in any case.

I wouldn't worry about getting flat-spots in the tires either. I had my '67 parked for 3 years, when it came time to move it rolled just fine. I know some guys who put their cars up on stands anyway, to let the suspension settle.

heavy wrote:

All I've ever done with my TA is:

****record your theftloc code or disable it**** I leave the windows open a crack for ventilation.

pull the battery -> either trickle charge it and/or I swap it around in my winter car so it gets some use.

can of fuel stabilizer and a full tank of gas. I change the oil before storage so it's fresh and asap after it comes out. (overkill, but it's my $)

I put the car on 4 jack stands - under the suspension, so the car sits normal (not under the frame with the suspension drooping) - probably overkill, but I'm not worried about flatspots so much as I'm worried about the tire going flat and cracking the sidewall or something.

Wash and wax it and cover it.

Put the GM weatherstripping lube on (see your manual for the PN.)

That's it. I also used to put rags in the exhaust for mice but now I figure when I start it it'll blow them out...

If you aren't a complete moron you are at least 99.999% of the way there.

Ah hell,

Then I'm screwed. :)

-Geno

1985 Blue Camaro 2.8L auto w/T-tops (aka "Transmaro") 1988 Blue Firebird Formula 5.0L auto w/T-tops 1985 Brown Firebird 5.7L (360) 5-speed NO T-tops