Putting yours up for the winter Anips? Weather must of changed since I lived in Petaluma.

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   I know the voices aren't real, but they have some pretty cool ideas...

I wish driving my Vette year round was an option here  Once it starts raining in the Puget Sound region like November, it probably won't seriously stop until like April or May.  There will be a few days I may take it out for a good ride but for the most part it will be in hibernation

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MARK
LIFETIME MEMBER #117

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Yep, Joe is right, the hard way is the best way.  At least in this case.  And that is in fact what I have done with mine when it sat long enough, and when I assemble the engine.   But with it sitting outside, I tend to just start it up and get it warmed up every couple of weeks during the winter.

Yo Longhorn, you know better than that, what ever made you decide to leave the beautiful little town of Petaluma, The wrist wrestling, chicken and egg, capital of the world, where they filmed American Grafietti, back then I was racing "skinny cars" at the fair grounds and a fellow racer named Henery Travers who also lived in Sonoma was in charge of the taking care of and storing the real stars of the movie, the Duce, 58, and the two 55's, the one they rolled at the end of the movie was the nicer of the two, up close the Duce was trash, when he sold them he didn't get much for them, to get back to your question, as you know the really cold winters on average of 40-60 degrees and the heavy rain of 30-50 ins. during does keep me in at times.      anips38629.9075

Yeah, I miss it. Been gone since '85. We lived within walking distance of the fairgrounds, rairly missed the races. The cruise nights were fun in my '70, headers, loud sidepipes and loping cam. Shoulda kept that beast. There comes a time you know you need to get the hell out of the fast lane. Probably doesn't even look the same. Maybe we'll get a chance to get out that way. We're heading up to WV this weekend to pick up an RV and visit Frank (vettebeige81) while we're there. Then we'll have something to travel in, if we can afford the gas. longhorn29438630.0734143518

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   I know the voices aren't real, but they have some pretty cool ideas...

ive found that taking the battery out, putting poly plastic on the floor, some of those stay-dry sacs from home depot, some drygas in a full tank and changing the oil should all you need to do to put it away for a few months. dont forget the tires- put a good armour-all on them and put a few extra psi in them to avoid the flat spot. a light weight car cover will keep her nice and clean for the first spring outing.

this winter i plan to take out any nice day when theres no snow or salt on the road, so ill probably not do all the above. i average about twice a month regularly.

[QUOTE=cilrah]

Well since this is going to be the first winter storing my Vette in the garage, I was looking for some tip on what to do, how to prep it for storage, or anything in general that I need to know. 

same here (about first yr storage). I'm wondering about putting it up on jack stands to save springs and tires. Thinking it might flex the frame and put body panels out of alignment. Anyone know if jackstands will do this?

Do not put it up on jackstands....UNLESS you really want to waste the energy .... lol....

Seriously not really needed even if you have bias ply tires on the car....
which mayl flat spot over a long (4 mo ? ) winter
Almost bet that the springs are the original ones...which means they have lasted 32 years now....I do not think jack stands are needed at this point...
When I used to (pre lift days) need jack stands I usually inserted the stands directly under the shock mounts never did use the frame.. and even so I still never opened the car doors etc..

Shame But I just returned an hour ago from the Corvettes at Ocean City Weekend.. 497 Corvettes paraded down the boardwalk..and on the way back got bummed out a little since I know all my cars will be preped for winter storage within the next month... PLEASE LORD LET APRIL FOOLS DAY GET HERE FAST...so this old fool can open the garage doors and pull them out of the garage ....

Bob G.

[QUOTE=chesh] I think the hard starting is typical, although I have no way of knowing how much/long your cranking before it fires.  Mine always starts right up if it has been driven within the last few hours.  However, it it sits for 2 - 3 days, I have to crank maybe 5 seconds before it fires.  From posts I've read, it is because we are spoiled by modern fuel injection and forget that our carbs are vented to the atmosphere, so the fuel in the carb evaporates within a few days and must be replenished before it will fire.  Also, just to make sure you remember the method to start a carb'd car  -  get in, press the accelerator all the way to the floor and let up, then crank.  It sets the choke, and also squirts some gas into the intake (provided the gas sitting in the accelerator pump has not also evaporated).  May cut a little off your cranking time, if you're not already doing this...  [/QUOTE]

Ditto '81
Ditto starting routine, although more like 2-3 seconds for me.
I also came to the conclusion that after 4-5 hours or so
the fuel in the carb must just disappear somewhere, 'cos
the 2-3 second crank is oh so typical of the time
required for the fuel pump to get some fuel back where
its needed. At least the 2-3 second crank when cold syndrome is 100% reliable.... so far. Always starts.

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Kiwi Chris

I do all of the routine maintenace and body cleaning as well. Then up she goes on a lift for winter underbody fun. Fire up the heat turn on some tunes and spend some time underneath checking, repairing and cleaning. After this is complete down she comes for admiration. When the snow gets deep the car becomes a beauty scene for all to see during the garage card game on Saturday afternoon. Like Bob April fools day comes and 2 people are happy. Me because out comes the car and my wife because I shave off my winter beard and the Saturday card games are over.

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I've been string my 78 for a lot of years now, and have come up with a personal check list and some beliefs along the way.  Its like anything else, do what works for you and were you live.

items on my list

1. Stabilizer in tanks (double the recommended quantity on the bottle)

2. Fill the tank with premium (I use this anyways so it doesn't matter)

3. Service the engine.  This is oil change/filter. All liquid levels, ie. power steering, brakes, Transmission, Differential, A/C, Windshield washer, ect.. Air in the tires, anti freeze reading.

4. grease all items. 

5. Go for a 15 to 30 minute drive (This gets the stabilizer mixed throughout your fule system)

6. wash and wax

7. My garage floor is sealed and painted so I just back her into her winter resting place.  I then pull the battery and clean the tray. Then reinstall the battery and connect it up to a battery maintainer.  I don't like trickle chargers for this, they never shut off and I've had them kill batteries over the winter. 

8. Even though she is in the garage with the our other toys in storage, I do cover her with good quality car cover.

9. I do not start her at all during the winter.  In my experience this just does more harm than good, it causes condensation within the engin and exhaust system.

When I pull her out of storage in the spring, she is pretty much ready and to go, and normally starts right up without any fuss at all.  Just like my daily driver does.

But remember that we store our cars in a heated garage over the winter (garage temp is kept at 40 degrees)  This helps with moisture elemination.  Up here it gets down to -0 degrees F. in the winter for long stretches during the winter. 

I don't know if this helps you, the one thing that I do recommend though is to develop your own checklist for your needs.  This way we won't miss anything each winter.  It makes for a more enjoyable spring when you pull her out of storage.