Guys,

There is a good chance that I may have to store my Corvette in a unheated garage all winter. Any negative side effects of this or any special precautions I should take because of the cold?

Thanks
Travis

 

are we talking about a garage in Houston, TX or Fargo, ND?

 

Upstate NY-very cold winters.

 

How cold are we talking about?

THere's a few things that you should / need to do:

1. Make sure your washer fluid is of the anti-freeze variety. Standard washer fluid will freeze and can burst things.

2. Keep a full tank of gas in the car, which reduces condensation. This is a good idea regardless of temperature, if you're going to keep the car stored. Maybe put some fuel stabilizer in there too.

3. If you live where it's stupidly cold, you might want to look into a fuel anti-freeze.

4. Check your coolant level and quality.

5. If you have a tire inflator kit, check the temperature on the goopy sealant stuff. I don't know if it can freeze or ruin below a certain temperature. I remember it being pretty versatile, but again I don't know how cold your locale is.

6. You'll probably need some kind of battery tender or trickle charger or something along those lines. I don't know much about these things, but I need to find out more myself, because this winter is the first time I'll have to store mine.

That's all I can think of...

 

In addition to the things mentioned by Alaskanpilot I inflate my tires to 45 psi, change the oil, and make sure that I have one of those dehumidifying desiccant things inside my car (I use "Rem Dri" for gun safes - costs $10.99 and can be found at most sporting goods stores). My car sits all winters (for the past three winters) and starts right up in the Spring.

Chip

 

Some Sta-Bil in the gas, Battery Tender on the battery, cover for the car for any dust, maybe some moisture absorbent packets for the inside of the car.

 

I also store my Z in the winter. Was wondering what is the best way to build up oil pressure at the first start in the spring. Does anyone have suggestions?

 

I do an oil change before winter, inflate the tires to about 34 psi since as temps drop the pressure will drop with it, and most importantly I hook up my battery tender.

In my case I don't let it sit all winter and will take it out about once every few weeks when the roads are clean and dry.

 

As I just bought my car this summer, I believe I will do as suggested here. Change the oil, Sta-bil, ctek (regardless of temp, use it whenever it sits), new rad fluid (I don't know when it was changed last), bleed the brakes (again I don't know when/if this was ever done), and something to remove the humidity from the inside of the car (mostly needed when the air temperature is cycling above and below freezing such as fall and spring), and a sock full of silica gel to take the moisture out of the air in the garage (it's a crappy old garage). I would drive it every couple weeks to get let the oil move, but I don't think vettes mix with deep snow very well.

 

I live in Syracuse and store mine in a large building "unheated" with a bunch of other cars.

In addition to what is post 4

Pull the battery and take it home as it could freeze and cause other problems. Trickle charge it throughout the winter.

I put a couple of moth ***** in a plastic bag with a few holes under the seats and in the engine compartment to keep varments aways.

Put a few pounds of extra air in the tires. I go with 5.

If your parking on dirt put plastic under the car to avoid rust.

Put a good coat of polish on the car, and detail the interior.

Place cover on it and say I'll see you in April.

 

Works like charm

Chuck

 

all good info amust do is the battery tender!!

 

First of all...heres a link http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...e/storage.html that provides information from GM engineers and other "experts" as well. It covers a lot of the controversial issues here on the forum.

I live in Syracuse as well and I'm from the North Country (Potsdam area). My garage isn't heated, but it is insulated. It almost never freezes unless theres a few days of bonechilling cold with some serious wind. I've never had a rodent problem either, probably because my garage is void of "stuff" and not much fun if you're a mouse.
What everyone said about:

1. Full gas tank with STABIL.
2. Check the fluids for proper levels (and mix for coolant).
2. Disconnect the battery and put it on a battery tender. First hand knowledge here that in the winter the batterys will sometimes leak and you know whats directly under your battery.
3. Clean the car (to prevent scratches), then cover it with a good quality cover.
4. I start mine every 2 weeks and let it run for 15 - 20 mins. When I start it i use one of those rechargeable battery packs instead of re-installing the battery every time. Pull up your cover as necessary to prevent contact with anything HOT.
5. Instead of over-inflating the tires I put mine on jack-stands for the winter. I had jacking bridges made and they work great. Just my personal choice for storage.

Good Luck!

 

No problems in Central MI.
It stays in the garage around 40-50 degrees with a few dips below freezing and a few rises to 60 when I fire up the heater to wash the other cars.

 

I thought storing with the suspension unsprung was bad. Something about the shocks and springs being used to weight and if they are allowed to hang it isn't good for them. I am curious if there is any validity to that claim as my Vette is stored for long periods of time while I am overseas. I don't have to worry about the cold as it is in Fl., but long term storage is long term no matter where the car is.

 

Putting your car on jackstands is a good idea to relieve the pressure from the tires, but being a fireman....and always thinking....just how fast could you get the vette off those jackstands if your house caught on fire ???

 

Hold the accelerator pedal to the floor, while cranking the engine for about 10 seconds. Oil pressure will build up, but the engine won't start.

 

When I used to cold store my C5 I found that when the battery runs down it doesn't take much for it to freeze. I found out the hard way but luckily it didn't leak, just cost me a new battery.

 

Travis,

We are only in July - You have another 4 months of driving

I'm also in NY and store my car in my non insulated garage

Here's what I do:

1) Run AC for 4 minutes
2) Wash car and vacuum interior
3) Oil change
4) Fill gas tank and add stabilizer (be sure to run car for 30 seconds after putting in fuel stabilizer)
5) Inflate tires about 5 PSI
6) Remove targa and roll down windows slightly (helps wear & tear on weatherstripping)
7) Condition seats and weather stripping
8) Put carpet under tires
9) Put trickle charger on
10) Put car cover on
11) Place plastic under car (I do this even on cement floors)
12) Buy three bars of Irish Spring and cut into quarters and place around outside of car to keep mice away
13) Good night kiss and see you on April 1st
14) Remove collision insurance

Like someone else said - Each person has thier own method

 

If you have RF's think about parking the car on carpet. You can usually pick up the small rectagles of carpet squares at a carpet store for a buck or two.
Also seal it up as best you can if you have any mice or rats around. They loke nothing better than to spend the winter in a slightly warmer place where they can eat at wiring insullation and seat foam.