Preparing for Hibernation

[paladin06]

I would suggest you cover you exhaust openings to prevent rodents from crawling into the exhaust to nest. Now as for me, it's finally cool enough to drive my old Mopars here in AZ.

 

[moparcanuck]

Nothing special. Sta-bil, park it, toss in a few bounce sheets and remove the battery. Then go home and cry... :cry:

 

[Sonny Black]

Sonny uses Baby Powder anywhere mice roam...They HATE powder...they hate getting it on their little noses, feet, belly & they lick like (a cat to clean) when they are not eating or breeding....

..this was share from an old timer I used to wrench with.

I use J&J on myself too!

 

[64BEL]

[QUOTE
I use J&J on myself too![/QUOTE]

LOL

 

[SwedCharger67]

If the battery is fully charged it's not necessary to remove it, but it's a good idea to remove one of the battery cables to avoid eventual leakage currents to drain the battery.

Also cleaning the area between the battery terminals is a good idea, to avoid any currents creeping in the moist dirt.

A fully charged battery can cope with -35C (-31F) and more without problems, since there is no pure water anywhere in a fully charged battery. A drained battery (or only partly charged battery) contains water and will freeze and be destroyed.

It's actually beneficial to store the battery cold, it decreases the internal discharge in the battery.

In my sailboat I have a bank of batteries that are never removed, not even in -31F. The only thing is to make sure they are fully charged, and that nothing is slowly draining them.

 

[65hemi]

Depending on cam lift you may want to back off the rockers. Or give the motor a half turn every month.

 

[ilm65]

I assume Plymouth71 and I are in the same boat where we don't store the cars for the winter at home so there isn't access through the winter to do occasional starts and they damn sure aren't driving anywhere lol...



What's the purpose of the sunvisors down?

My car sleeps in a barn that about a 5 minute drive from my house that the owner has converted to do large barn dances and throw big parties with his band. It's a pretty cool set up for the winter I just have to time when I get my car in because he stores so many different things that sometimes I have to wait out other peoples campers or boats to access my car in the spring.

Rodents have been known to nest between the sun visor and headliner--eventually eating the visor, headliner, or both.

 

[bigredbird]

I pull the battery, swap the plugs for some Lucas Upper Cylinder oil, pour some Sta-Bil in the tank, put a plastic bag over the air cleaner, some Sta-Dri pellets in a couple of buckets to keep the interior dry, then put the car up on wheel dollies, cover it, and push it flat against the wall so my wife can have the garage back for her car over the winter. :crybaby2:

 

[Plymouth71]

Well, not finished, It's parked on thick Styrofoam, Stabil has been added, battery removed and bounce sheets placed strategically. I still want to use the fogging oil and removed the carb for a rebuild, but I might be moving the car to a better location and so until that is decided I will leave it in. Picked up the Mopar Muscle issue, some good ideas. I will be installing a tennis ball in the exhaust.

 

[Gpuller]

I like the styrofoam deal. That will give the mice something to chew on rather than seats or headliner! OR just give them more building material for nests.
Impossible eliminate mice for me. Have used moth balls, dryer sheets, CabFresh and yes cats. I have too much food around to get rid of them completely. With 55,000 bushels of corn stored on site its hard to hide that from mice.

 

[Plymouth71]

I've got her parked on Styrofoam, I'm going to go out and change out the coolant. The strength is only good to -29c which is not good enough for our cold winters. I'm also hoping to add the fogging oil too. Once thats done, I'm removing the carb to rebuild it. Just wondering if I should wait to fog after I rebuild the carb and get it set up first or... what do you think?

 

[Speedbird]

Fog and then remove the carb. Then you have all winter to rebuild, right?
I use Marvel to fog.

 

[Dennis H]

I've read enough. Thank God I moved to the land of the Liberal morons. At least the weather is good. Going to Blackhawk on Sunday for the Coffee gig and exotics. We will piss them off with Team Mopar. You know, the v12's and Teslas. Ever notice those guys with the 12's over revving and riding the clutch when leaving? We have what they don't. Low end torque. And the big block music too. I will have a full report with measurements and diagram.

 

[soundhd]

Everyone has their ways and ideas of how to store a vehicle for a long period of time.......plenty of articles and how too's out there on the internet on that subject. What you need to do really depends on two things......how long is it going to be stored for and is the location you are storing the vehicle in heated all the time or not.
Moisture rusting the undercarriage is the biggest concern. If the floor is concrete be aware that moisture does come up through concrete. Make sure it is sealed against moisture getting through...if it is not sealed floor then a sealed storage bag is the best way to keep moisture away from all the parts of the vehicle. If not available then a couple layers if a thick mill plastic will help a lot but I do suggest running a heater in the area a couple times a month to help dry out the moisture....one can pick up one of those bullet type heaters pretty cheap used.
Treating the fuel is a hit and miss mostly because of the ethanol in the fuel now days. Best way is to either drain the tank and run the engine till the fuel in the carb is used up (it is pain in the butt) or fill up with aviation fuel (ethanol free) just before you store it.
Again plenty of info on the net for how to keep critters out of the vehicle, protect the paint and interior, etc.... but this all depends on you situation with location, building status, weather, heated, not heated, etc......hope this helps and again this is my opinion....one of many

 

[Plymouth71]

Putting it away again today. Sad times.

 

[Photon440]

On the plus side, it's a couple of weeks later than last year when you said that.

Was the advice useful? How was the car when you pulled it out of storage last spring?

 

[Plymouth71]

On the plus side, it's a couple of weeks later than last year when you said that.

Was the advice useful? How was the car when you pulled it out of storage last spring?

Yes thats true, I got in some more ride time, but I will be having to do some major work next year. The car is now burning oil, and I think it's the fuel causing problems, not proven yet, but suspected.

I was great, It started on 1st crank ! Like Instantly. I forgot to take the tennis ball out of the exhaust and it shot out like a cannon LoL. I had quite a bit of leakage from the trans dipstick, but I was told this is normal for sitting so long? It wasn't a huge issue though, I topped it up and all was good.

 

[300]

Storage

Styrofoam, cover, Cayenne pepper in a circle around car, nothing crosses that

 

[HYRDGOON]

Styrofoam, cover, Cayenne pepper in a circle around car, nothing crosses that

My dad always does the Cayenne pepper thing when critters are getting into his garbage... works like a charm!

 

[mmissile]

Put on the battery maintainers and car covers. Good till I need them again. They sit in a dry 60-75 degrees....year round.