Hello all. I have a '82 280Z I need to park for a while (indefinitely). I have a small garage, but with both my cars, there's no room to breathe in there. If I leave the Z outside, will one of those WalMart car covers keep it in good shape? Or would you all park it in the garage without question? The car is in ok shape but not pristine by any means. I bought it in '89 and I'll never get rid of it.
I'm in GA and it gets pretty hot around here sometimes.
Any suggestions for good storage of this car are appreciated.
What ever you do runs some fuel stabilizer in if for the last tank and then DRAIN THE TANK!!! I'd also remove the battery. You'll solve 99% of the problems you have when you want to get it back on the road. Obviously indoor storage is much better than any kind of cover would be.
*sigh* Was hoping that y'all would say cheap WalMart covers were fine. :-)
My main ride now is a Chrysler LHS. My garage is small. I like parking in my garage. With both cars in there... Owell, we gotta make sacrifices sometimes.
I'll take out the battery as other respondent suggests, but I doubt I'll get up the gumption to drain a gas tank. What's the point of this? Condensation issues?
Maybe obvious. You can get them closer to the garage walls by parking one backwards and one forwards so the driver's doors both open into the middle of the garage.
If it gets very hot an unlined cover may stick to the car.
Don't let grass or weeds grow under it, they will retain any moisture if you have a wet season. The cover will retain moisture like a seed tray lid, take it off about once a month and air the car out for a day.
Take the plugs out. put some oil down the bores, turn engine over with a spanner to distribute the oil on the bores, apply grease to plug threads and refit plugs loose so the grease seals. Turn it over spring and autumn and add more oil as it will seep past rings into sump. Or you can get preservative oil, typically a straight 50, you drain the old oil, replace filter and refill with the preservative oil and then run the engine at fast idle to ensure it circulates fully. It has a longer term anti-corrosion additive package than normal oil. You can drive on this stuff too but in it may need careful warming up to avoid excess pressure with thick oil.
If no auto places can help, try an airfield.
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Due to slow changes in aircraft piston engines they retain their value longer - usually based on rated hp, remaining service life in hours and not actual age. So they get mothballed and stored until sold. Airframes tend to get flown to somewhere warm and dry, a new owner will put their livery on it so paint is not an issue. Could try this question in an aviation group. Or on some of the classic and antique auto groups.
No, gasoline goes bad with age and turns into a nasty varnish. It will RUIN the fuel system, tank, injectors, fuel pump etc etc if you don't put in a fuel preservative and after running a while drain the fuel tank. It's got a drain plug. Ignore this and you may easly spend $1000+ when you try to put it back on the road. Trust me on this one, I've worked on hundreds of cars that have sat up and the fuel system is always a huge problem because of this. I learned the hard way too! :-)
get up the gumption to drain a gas tank. What's the point of this?
*********** I would just take one cable loose from the battery & add Stabil (I think that's how it's spelled) to the gas, then start the car every two weeks or so. ~ Paul above Atlanta :-) aka "Tha Driver"
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