Highlander1732

Hay looking for anything I may have missed: I live in the mid-Atlantic and it looks like it’s now really starting to get cold for the long haul. My C3 is going to live in the garage this winter, but my C4 will be relegated to the outdoors. This is my first winter with having to take care of both. I do not have any solid surface to park the C4 on and am relegated to a spot next to my garage with a dirt base (where my sone truck used to live). I plan on parking the C4 with a full tank of fuel with sta-bil, then will install my battery tender as I can run the cord through the window in the garage and keep it plugged in. I have a fairly decent new cover amd will put that on the car and then cover with a tarp. I also have a dry rid desiccant in the car with a bunch of dryer sheets. Given the limitations of my situation, is thete anything I may be missing for winter storage?

Phoenix'97

Make sure you run the car for a bit with the sta-bil added to have it in the fuel line and fuel injectors during it's time in storage. Otherwise you run the risk of gunking up the fuel lines and injectors if they sit with no sta-bil mixed with the fuel.

You are going to use a battery tender on this car throughout it's storage? Wouldn't it be better to just pull the battery from the car and keep it stored in a warm place and not placed on a concrete surface?!

Other than this, I think you are good! You have a car cover, outdoor I hope, and then you will add a tarp over it. Sounds good to me.

drcook

I have found that it is best to go get some heavy plastic from Lowes, or other store like Lowes, and park it on top of that. It you put a lawn timber or 2 in the middle it will help create a slope so any water won't puddle and it will keep moisture and such from coming up out of the ground and getting to the bottom of the car. Creating a plastic moisture barrier is the equivalent of parking on asphalt or concrete.

If you have an Ace Hardware or Tractor Supply Co or similar, get some Fresh Cab rodent repellent and through that in there.

81c3

Placing a battery on concrete and causing damage is a myth.
Battery Storage on Concrete
This one is an often heard ‘old wives tale’. It used to be that battery cases were made of inferior material such as hard rubber, or even tar. This material would develop micro cracks over time and become porous, and left on wet ground or damp concrete would begin to self discharge. Nowadays, battery cases are made of plastic that do not leak and can be stored on nearly any surface, even left in standing water with no ill effects.

Ok, now, to the OP..... If I were you, and I liked my Corvettes paint, I would get a high quality winter cover that fits securely and does not move in the wind. You need the cover to breathe and the tarp will actually trap any kind of moisture under the cover. I wouldn't use a tarp id f it were mine.

Heres a good read:
https://store.carcareonline.com/carc...tousethem.aspx

Finally, if it were me, I would go and buy a couple of rubber horse mats and put them where the car will be parked. Might even jack the car up enough to relieve the cars weight off the tires, and get it on jack stands to help prevent flat spotting and dry rot.

Nowhere Man

do ABSOLUTELY nothing. the car will be fine. its just a car.

Highlander1732

Yeah, I may be over thinking it a bit, but it’s a convertible and I still have a ton of oak leaves left to come down so the cover/tarp combo keeps the leaves and twigs and all that good stuff from getting in all the nooks and crannies and staining the white paint. Just got back from the parts store and I did top it off with super amd added about 9 oz of sta-bil before the 10 minute drive back home so it should be well distributed. Regarding the battery, I’m leaving it in the car with a Deltran Junior tender hooked up to it. My thought is that it if we do have a decent stretch of high thirties to mid forties sometime in the next couple of months, it’s 5 minutes to take off the cover and run the car versus re-installing the battery. Good call on the mats/plastic but I may be OK as the cover and tarp reach down to the edge of the wheels so i may not get too much ambient moisture from underneath, plus there is a bit of space under the car for airflow. The cover was a decent weatherproof breathable unit and the tarp is older so it should breath also but still keep heavy deluges and a few inches of snow from directly challenging the water resistant nature of the cover. I guess we’ll see. Now I’m only concerned about the battery being able to breath under the cover system as the Deltran instructions indicate it will off gas a little bit... Red line is the charger cord...

Nowhere Man

with that set up the paint is going to surfer the most. and any water that gets in there has no where to go.

81c3

I guess I was just talking to myself....

Nowhere Man

Amazing the length people will go to try and help there car when all they do is more harm then good. It’s a good thing none of these people run a car lot up north

yd328

I am using a shelter lodgic with a stone base on top of plastic. I was considering plywood on top of that but I like the idea of the rubber matting.

Gary

Nowhere Man

Ground moisture is what you need to control. Sun damage is also something to keep in mind. If you are truly serious and can’t find a indoor spot then I would suggest laying down a heavy plastic with a grade with crushed stone on top. Then having a canopy set up over top.

drcook

crushed stone, ie: mostly limestone will hold water. horse mats over heavy plastic will keep the ground moisture away. I have such a setup in my barn, which was for horses so it isn't concreted. I have the old truck I am restoring in there, along with my tractor (costs as much as a C4 does now) and other equipment.

the plastic becomes a vapor barrier. there is nothing you can do about the moisture in the air unless you buy one of those big bags that were/used to be/are sold to pull a car into.

a Harbor Freight portable garage for less than 200.00 is a good option. we use one of those in front of the regular garage to put my wife's car in. last winter I did not have to scrape frost or snow off the windows even once.

bac22

Exactly! Buy a decent car cover like Custom Noah Car Cover so the car can breath if it gets wet. I have used these for many years dealing with with Nor' Easter snow storms here in New Hampshire and car still looks great. Even went through 70MPH wind storm 2 weeks ago and cover stay tight on the car!

Worst though is @#$% MICE, they will soon discover your car and that nesting in the dash is akin to staying at a 5 star hotel! Place snap traps in the engine bad and check routinely...like every other day at least early on...in past years I taken out 20 to 30 of the buggers before the population dies off.

Better yet, I finally got sane this year and decided to rent a 10x20 storage unit down the street from me, parked yesterday and no worries for winter!

CPO Rob

I did some digging as I am going to store my C5 in a rented gaarage. Read this It is really good.
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...e/storage.html
CPO

pologreen1

I hate leaving cars outside.

I would not have a vette if I did not car that my old daily driver beater is parked outside now. My sacrifice is a junker to drive and store outside.

Have enough garage space or pay store IMO. I have seen firsthand what happens to these things covered up and left outside. They become craigslist $3k cars fast.

TorchTarga94

You ever consider getting some 2x4 and 5 or 6 sheets of 4x8 plywood and framing a little "hut" for it?

Frame the floor and the sides, park car in the middle of it, put car cover on (not necessary but I would), cut plywood to appropriate length to box it all in, and then put tarp over it? Then in the spring time you can break it all down, label everything, and lean it up behind your garage for the next winter? This would be optimal in my opinion given your limitations. Would keep your paint, and everything else nice over the winter.

But...I am also OCD. You obviously couldn't do this in a deed restricted community, but it looks like you have a little land and space to do so.

billschroeder5842

Wet snow might cave that little guy in and land on your car.

That will do way more damage than a little sun.

Wax your car twice, park on plastic, start and fully let it warm monthly and the go roast some chestnuts by your open fire. You will be more than fine.

This is three months not three years.

Edv92c4

I agree with the others above...loose the tarp, get a quality tight fitting cover and defiantly get a vapor barrier under the car. You can park a DD on bare earth all the time because moisture that may collect underneath (all ground has moisture in it regardless of how close your cover is to the ground) dries up as you drive the car. Cars that sit on bare earth often have rust issues underneath. Many people have stored cars in barns with dirt floors for extended periods of time only to pull it out years later with the top of car looking great...until they look underneath and see the frame and floors gone. I know you aren't storing for 30 years...just using the example to underscore how important a ground vapor barrier is...even with a structure built over it.

PatternDayTrader

Just park it out of the way and don't worry about it ...

Fiberbundle

It needs to breathe so no tarp. I made that mistake once on a Mercedes I did not use during the winter and the paint developed so many cracks it cost me a new paint job. When I lived in CT I just bit the bullet and paid for a 10x20 storage unit after that one year. Now living in the Northwest I take it out on days with no rain year round so it never sits for more than a couple of weeks at the most.