OK guys. It ain't snowing here yet, but it is starting to get cold and I need a check list of what I need to do when I put her away for the winter. My Vette that is.

After talking to a few local vette owners and reading some articles, I have a start of the list.

Wash and wax

Thoroughly clean interior

Change oil, no matter how few miles since last change

Add stabilizer and top off gas tank

Lay plastic on the floor and drive onto it

Either take some air out of the tires or jack up and put on jack stands to take pressure off the suspension

Disconnect the battery and hook it up to a smart charger

Put some moisture absorbing bags inside the car

Close her up and cover


What am I missing?

I will put her in the garage in late Oct. or early Nov. and get her out in early April.

Should/can you add anything to keep the mice from making it their Holiday Inn?

Should any rust preventative be put on anything. I will be storing it in a fairly new unheated garage.

Should the doors be left open to help preserve the door seals? Is there a dressing that should be applied to the seals?

I have t-tops. Should they be left on or removed?

Should the windows be opened or closed?

Should rubber preserve be put on the tires?

Any other tips?

use Bounce dryer sheets for keeping mice out. I sawthat in another post here. It said it is just as effective as moth balls but smells better. You are doing everything needed in an unheated garage.leave tops on and windows closed. The car isn't airtight anyways.

|UPDATED|10/3/2004 7:08:57 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

dwright said: OK guys. It ain't snowing here yet, but it is starting to get cold and I need a check list of what I need to do when I put her away for the winter. My Vette that is. After talking to a few local vette owners and reading some articles, I have a start of the list. Wash and wax Lay plastic on the floor and drive onto it Either take some air out of the tires or jack up and put on jack stands to take pressure off the suspension Should any rust preventative be put on anything. I will be storing it in a fairly new unheated garage. Is there a dressing that should be applied to the seals? I have t-tops. Should they be left on or removed? Should rubber preserve be put on the tires? Any other tips?

I put my vette in the open car port and drive mine even in the winter. As long as it doesn't snow.

This is what I do for winter times

Wash, prep, polish and wax(2).

Place two layers of carpet under each wheel. This will let the air flow under the wheels to circulate the air inside the tyres. I also would add 5 pounds in each tyre to over come the loss in tyre pressure and for the flat spots(had none in my life time).

You don't need to jack your vette up. Your suspension is not going to get hurt.

NO rust prevention needed.

I place some sealent around the outside hatch. Nowhere else. Only put some on after the winter is gone on all my seals.

I keep my T-Tops on.

NO need for any rubber preserve.

And I enjoy the day to day winter inside the most I can!

Mr Dwright.... your schedule is a lot like mine...and I have 5 Corvettes and a Chevelle I store for the 4 months winter..

Cars get parked for the winter on TURKEY day (Thanksgiving)...because I am a turkey according to my wife.. and they stay that way until April Fools day (no need to say what my wife also calls me)

Been storing cars for the last 30+ years and the one thing I have learned is to put every rag, towel, etc in the garage INSIDE rubbermade containers that have lids... MICE JUST LOVE TO bury themselves under a bunch of rags in an unheated garage... Maybe overkill but one bad experience with a mouse and the cost of the containers is worth it PLUS your garage looks a hell of a lot neater

I HATE MICE.... I used the Bounce things last winter for the first time and had no mice can not say it was because of them or not BUT I plan to use them again I have always used a few mouse traps and mouse bate containers
and I check them for any tell tale signs of mice almost
every other day...

I gave up using jack stands etc 20 years ago...I no longer play with a plastic tarp under the cars BUT I do place a fan on the garage floor and let it run the entire winter just to keep air circulating under the cars ...

I do not do a thing with the tires..
Yes I change the oil before storing and will change it again in April before I drive the cars...

I really can not say much about covering the car...sometimes I do and sometime I do not..but over the years I can not remember one single car that I covered and when I uncovered it actually said to myself..Boy glad I did that..I am not sold on the need to cover a car..

I do use battery minders..float chargers etc on each car BUT I do not remove or disconnect the batteries other then use the battery cut off switch I have installed on all of them...

I figure for 120 days the cars can survive...and I normally store each car with 1/2 tank of gas or less during the winter..and fill the tank on each in the spring..I have not used gas additives (stablizers) in years ..

4 months is not that long a time I would be forced to rethink my methods if I had them put away for longer periods of time...

IF I happen to HAVE to start a car during the winter I let it run for at least 30 minutes and I try to drive the car a few feet...

Bob Griffiths

Aegisfang, Iron82 and Bob,
Thanks for the feedback and tips.
I should explain that it won't be in my garage. Not enough room. So I am renting spcae in a garage that was built two years ago specifically for storing cars and boats during the winter. So once I put it in, it stays there until spring.
I will cover it with a breathable, fitted cover that I purchased when I first got the vette.
I had heard about the bounce sheets before. My neighbor across the street just bought a 1971 Chevelle and he found Bounce sheets stuffed everwhere.

Gonna keep mine out this winter and as long as the roads are dry I'll give her a spin or two!

Regarding mice. GET CATS!! I put them in the garage with water and they find the mice when they get hungry. Never seen a mouse in the garage yet.

--Eric

im going to soend the whole winter reassmebling mine...

hope to have it ready by spring..

I agree with you with the breathable cover. It keeps the dust off if anything and if something light should happen to fall on the car like ice it is protected unless it is of course the roof!ha,ha!

Hi Eric
Itoo have an agressive male cat(he is fixed)but he brings me dead presents almost every day!
I don.t park my Vette untill they put sand on the roads.
Last ride has usually been the day after Thanksgiving.

Steve

There's an excellant winter prep article in the latest NCOA newsletter. I'll ask if I can post it in here or see if there is a way for non-NCOA members to link to it on-line. It does cover a lot of the things already mentioned in this thread but in one, consise place.