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Topic: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

in Forum: C3 General Discussion


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Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/1/14 6:15pm Message 1 of 12
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Trent
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Bellefontaine, OH - USA
Joined: 10/2/2014
Posts: 22
Vette(s): 1975 L-48 4spd Bright Blue tilt/tele/cruise/pw/Holly Carb.

My first winter with my 75 corvette.

I am Keeping it in an unheated garage.

I Have a nice custom cloth cover that's made for it, on it.

I figured I would just go out and move the cover away from the hood, grill and tail pipe areas and start it up and let it idle for a while every other weekend to keep it through the winter. Cold OHIO winters. Let it cool off and then put the cover back on it.

This C3 has an analog clock (original?) that actually keeps good time, so I figure it will run the battery down and then possibly quit working. I Don't want that or anything else bad to happen.

I Thought about putting a trickle charger on it, but since I keep it covered I thought that battery gasses would collect inside the car and cause big problems.

Any suggestions on how to best put my baby to bed for winter would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks in advance.

-trent-





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Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/1/14 7:16pm Message 2 of 12
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johnu
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Scottsdale, AZ - USA
Joined: 5/23/2007
Posts: 617
Vette(s): 1981 Corvette Two-Tone Claret color, 4 spd, C7 Vert
I'm from the school of thought that you don't start it until spring when your going to drive it. My cars are kept off site so I remove the battery and put the battery tender on them the first of every month.


      Only 34 years together

Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 4:30am Message 3 of 12
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Sarge81
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WEST SENECA, NY - USA
Joined: 12/3/2001
Posts: 2379
Vette(s): 1981 Blue Ice Met. w/pearl ghost flames TKO500 5speed. LS1 Swap 3.45 Dana 44.
I agree with John. Cover it up and forget it until spring. Don't let your battery run down. That will ruin your OEM analog clock. Disconnect it or put a battery tender on it.

When I had the old engine in mine I disconnected the battery. I now run a battery tender with the new computerized engine. No problems with gasses building up. 




GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.
3.54 Dana 44
'69 "N11" Sidepipes
Borgeson Steering Box
Born 8/1981
Sequence #3975




Click here to see more pics of my Vette on CarDomain.


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Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 10:22am Message 4 of 12
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ebo
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Holland Patent, NY - USA
Joined: 6/3/2008
Posts: 4421
Vette(s): #1 *1980 White, Red interior 14,000 mile #2 *1980 Red, Oyster interior 93,000 miles Resto project car, rebuilt to 383 stroker
I'm same as John and Sarge, old school Vette mechanic said worse thing is to start them to let them get hot and then cold....condensation will form every where instantly.
I unhook battery, cover, and bag it till spring. Been doing it for 34 years that way. Original exhaust.....no rot.....
Evil Smileebo




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Evil Smileebo

Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 4:15pm Message 5 of 12
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Trent
Former Member
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Bellefontaine, OH - USA
Joined: 10/2/2014
Posts: 22
Vette(s): 1975 L-48 4spd Bright Blue tilt/tele/cruise/pw/Holly Carb.
Thank you for the reply. Any thoughts on not letting the analog clock go dead?


Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 4:16pm Message 6 of 12
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Trent
Former Member
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Bellefontaine, OH - USA
Joined: 10/2/2014
Posts: 22
Vette(s): 1975 L-48 4spd Bright Blue tilt/tele/cruise/pw/Holly Carb.

Thanks for the reply.

So do you think it would be OK to put a battery tender on it with a car cover on the car?





Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 4:24pm Message 7 of 12
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johnu
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Scottsdale, AZ - USA
Joined: 5/23/2007
Posts: 617
Vette(s): 1981 Corvette Two-Tone Claret color, 4 spd, C7 Vert

I would guess that you might have one of the newer AGM or Gel Battery that are sealed with no venting?

I've had one mounted on it's side in a motorcycle for 12 years now with no spilling.




      Only 34 years together

Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 6:32pm Message 8 of 12
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Sarge81
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WEST SENECA, NY - USA
Joined: 12/3/2001
Posts: 2379
Vette(s): 1981 Blue Ice Met. w/pearl ghost flames TKO500 5speed. LS1 Swap 3.45 Dana 44.
Trent said: Thank you for the reply. Any thoughts on not letting the analog clock go dead?

Either disconnect the battery completely or leave the battery connected with a battery tender to keep the battery up to snuff.

The problem with the OEM analog clock is the battery has to have enough voltage to rewind the clock every couple minutes. When you hear that click coming from the center gauge cluster, thats the contacts connecting causing a the mechanism to rewind the clock. If the voltage gets to low the contacts could fry together. Burnt or corroded contacts kill these clocks. Or you can get a Quartz conversion kit which is more reliable and accurate. 






GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.
3.54 Dana 44
'69 "N11" Sidepipes
Borgeson Steering Box
Born 8/1981
Sequence #3975




Click here to see more pics of my Vette on CarDomain.


Lifetime Member #26

Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/2/14 6:41pm Message 9 of 12
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Sarge81
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WEST SENECA, NY - USA
Joined: 12/3/2001
Posts: 2379
Vette(s): 1981 Blue Ice Met. w/pearl ghost flames TKO500 5speed. LS1 Swap 3.45 Dana 44.
Trent said:

Thanks for the reply.

So do you think it would be OK to put a battery tender on it with a car cover on the car?



I do my vette that way. I have my drivers window cracked just enough to run the power cord out. I don't think gasses from the battery will be an issue. These cars aren't very air tight. I occasionally peak in my cars to check on things over the course of the winter. I even have a tender on my '13 Challenger with a car cover on it. Never had any issues. 






GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.
3.54 Dana 44
'69 "N11" Sidepipes
Borgeson Steering Box
Born 8/1981
Sequence #3975




Click here to see more pics of my Vette on CarDomain.


Lifetime Member #26

Re: Winter Garaged 75 Corvette question

Posted: 12/3/14 10:22am Message 10 of 12
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Adams' Apple
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Duncanville, TX - USA
Joined: 11/8/2003
Posts: 20214
Vette(s): #1-1974 L-48 4spd Cp Med Red Metallic/Black deluxe int w/AC/tilt/tele./p/w-p/b/ Am-Fm/map light National/Regional/Chapter NCRS "Top Flight" #2-1985 Bright Red/Carmine Cp.L-98/auto Member: NCRS, NCRS Texas, Corvette Legends of Texas
Disconnect the battery, but also put a "Maintainer" type charger on it...one that only puts out less than 1 amp(mine use only .75 amps). This will both keep the car from catching fire if the points in the clock burn together(it has happened), and it will also keep the battery fully charged without much gas venting or overcharging.
Another good thing to do is air the tires up to around 40psi if you are leaving it sitting on the tires. This helps prevent flat-spotting the tires.
Look in the "Car Care" section here for more tips and tricks on storage. Thumbs Up


Joel Adams
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

in Forum: C3 General Discussion


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