Hi,well it's coming up on that time,sad but true,to think about putting the car up for storage. I know that Camaro owners,being the smartest gear-heads on earth,would be able to give me some storage suggestions.I usually store my '69 up on jacks, with the gas tank full (with stabil added),remove the battery,and I like to coat my chrome parts with a rag applied coat of WD-40.I appreciate hearing of any other suggestions,and as always,thanks in advance,John Ziganto.

Eastwood has dessicant cartridges that screw into your spark plug holes. I don't know if this is any better than perhaps squirting some oil into the cylinders and turning the motor over to coat the walls. I'm interested in hearing opinions. I often neglect this facet but if a motor is of value, it's an area to consider.

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Rick Dorion
69 RS Conv,355,M20,4.10's and I don't worry about stone chips.

for years i put a tray of kitty litter undermy motorcycle with the cover on it because i dont have a heated garage. i bought my z in nov last year and instantly put a cover on it and 4 trays of kitty litter. kept it dry as a bone. no corrosion on the battery, no moister anywhere.

george

Thanks guys,one other thing I thought I heard,someone said that if you leave 4-5 bars of Irish Spring soap on the floor of your interior,you'll never get any mice munching there because they hate the smell!Has anyone else heard of this?Thanks again.

I'd just check on it once or twice a month and see how everything is holding up. I heard leaving chrome polish (the kind that dries and you buff off) on your chrome works really well, and you can just buff it off easily when you're ready.

John
I bought a CAR BAG last year to store my 69 Firebird and was very pleased with the way it keep the car. I'm in Ohio with about the same winters as you and store my car in a barn with dirt floors. The car car came out clean with NO rust. The bad thing or it is that you can't open the bag once you put in dessicant and seal it. The CAR BAG co claims the dessicant takes out all the moisture in the sealed bag therefore no moisture,no rust. I have agree, it worked for me. I'm getting ready to seal it up again.

Irish spring soap gave me a rash! A dermatologist told me some people get rashes from it due to being senistized to all the perfumes in it.

You can go to Jewel (major grocery store)and buy some desiccant canisters. They run about $2.50 each. I use them in the interior compartment. Just unscrew the top and leave it open.

Are you going to periodically run the motor? There is another gas stabilizing product made by Briggs & Stratton. It's supposed to work better and last longer than other brands. I used it last year with good results. I bought it a a local lawnmower dealer store.

I also always apply vinyl conditioner to the interior and hoses under the hood, do all the plastic with plastic polish and of coarse the body with a glaze and wax

Well guys, I live in Canada, and it gets dang nasty here over the winter. I don't have the luxury of a free garage, so I keep my car under a store-bought cover, and then in turn under a poly tarp. Admittedly, I needn't worry about mice, but the moisture is of great concern with the constant melting and freezing of our winters. I am happy to say, that with this setup, the car remains completely dry, and no condensation occurs. I was innitially advised to stay away from a poly tarp, but the water got through the cover and I needed wextra armor. Instead, I DO use the tarp, but I keep it spaced from the cloth cover by using some chunks of wood. And no, it doesn't scratch it. The worst that happened over winter was a tree pruner who dropped some sort of sharp object on the car removing a 1 cm slit of paint from the drivers side fender. That made me mad, yeah, but no rust to report!

trplblk

My procedure is exactly as yours except that I put a layer of mothballs (not just a few scaterred around) around the base of the jackstands to keep the mice away. Heard long time they don't like the stuff and have been doing it for about 7 years now and never a problem. My cars stay in my brotherinlaws barn out in the country that is ripe for field mice and I have not had a problem yet. Mice will climb up the jackstand without them and weasle their way in the car. I had a 94 Vette a while back that I didn't want to put on jackstands so I just put the mothballs around the tires and also never had the problem. I used to put some in the interior too as insurance but it took too long to get rid of the smell in the spring so I stopped doing that. The Irish Spring thing sounds interesting though. Anybody else heard of that??

Robert Stacho (a.k.a. Mytmouse @TC)

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67 SS 396 Chevelle 350HP 4speed
70 SS 396 Chevelle 350HP 4speed
68 RS Z/28 302 350+HP? 4speed

Go to the home page for this site, on the left side, click "Camaro Tech" then click "Resto Shop" then click "Tech Help" and then "Storing your Camaro." There are some very helpful tips here!

Winter Storage?? whats that

I used cedar Sented Mothballs in the interior, under the hood, and on the top of the tires. It was parked on my father inlaws farm over the winter and the oder was pretty much gone by the time I hit the city after I took her out of storage. No Mice. I did almost loose my mind driving the 3/4 mile of gravel with new paint though.
I used a soft car cover with a Canvas cover over top. I never had any problems with scratching.

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1968 RS/SS 454 TH400 Black Deluxe Interior
"Another Day.... Another $100.00 worth of parts..."
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/jgrock/1try.htm

Don't put your car up on jackstands with the wheels off the ground - it twists the rubber in the suspension bushings to their design limits at full rebound ("winds them up" in torsion), which can destroy the bond between the inner and outer sleeves and the rubber bushing material. Just leave it sitting on the ground and pump up the tires - any "flat spots" that develop will disappear in three miles of driving in the Spring.

Fuel stabilizer isn't necessary unless you're going to store it for a year or more; the "shelf life" of current fuels is at least a year, and the colder it is, the less it deteriorates.

Don't start it while it's stored unless you're going to drive it 10-15 miles; if you just start it and run it for a while, it won't get hot enough to get the oil temperature hot enough to boil off the condensed moisture along with the contaminants you add to the pan when you start it up from cold - the blow-by contaminants and raw fuel from running with the choke on will just sit in the pan and make more acid for the rest of the winter.

I've been storing classic and exotic cars in the garage through the long Michigan winters for 40 years; all I do is change the oil and filter, fill the gas tank, air up the tires, put a cotton dust cover on them, and put a "Battery Tender" on the battery once a month for a day or so until the green light comes on. When Spring comes, I just start 'em up and drive 'em. They're not that fragile - the real enemy is moisture and temperature changes that cause condensation.

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JohnZ
'69 Z28 Fathom Green

I don't have to store my toy for the winter as you do http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif, but have an idea for the ones who have a real problem with mice getting inside their cars during that period of time. What about covering the four sides of your jackstands with galvanized sheet metal? That metal is less than 1/16" thick and is easy to cut with metal shears and also easy to bend around corners. It can be hold in place with small pop rivets. Remove the tires, and if you don't want the front suspension hanging, place the jackstands "carefuly" under the lower arms. That way the mice can't climb to the car(poor traction)thru the jackstands. It's used here to avoid them from climbing to the palm trees to save the coconuts, whose are good for drinks. http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif I think Jeff has seen it.

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Our affair with Camaros is a live sentence without the possibility of parole. www.geocities.com/c68ss (http://www.geocities.com/c68ss) http://home.coqui.net/borench

About the fuel stabilizer, for $3.99, I advise you use it. Fuel starts to oxidize after a month or so, so it's best to play it safe. A car, having multiple cylinders and higher compression, will allow you a bit more slack in this department, but on something smaller, like a mower, which has only one cylinder and about 70 PSI compression, you will really want to either empty the gas tank, or use the stabilizer, trust me. For similar reasons, I always stabilize the fuel in my car just as a precaution. Afterall, if the car won't start from bad fuel comes spring, it's not like I can just pick it up, turn it upside down and shake the bad gas out. 4 bucks well spent I say.

I agree with JOHNZ 100% I follow those exact procedures. I do try to drive mine 5-10 miles every 6 to 8 weeks also, if we get a break in the weather.

Some of us are literally unable to drive our stored cars, even if we wanted to, that is. If there is 4 feet of snow for yards around, not likely a car will get through it. Not to mention that even if we were to shovel it, the salt and slush on the roads is the last thing we want on the body; and you can't very well wash it either. If you are snow-locked, then keep 'er dry, and stabilize the fuel. Another thing to consider is the fuel left in the carb. I sometimes take the carb off before storage and drain the fuel from it. Fuel likes to rot the accelerator pump diaphragm.

I recommend laying plastic sheeting (3 or 4 mil) down on the floor before you park on it.
Alot of moisture can come up from the floor, even on concrete. Then place a sheet over the top of the car (hopefully, you have a cover already on the car, if not use blankets), letting it drape down to the floor. Also, if you can possibly keep the car at 50 degrees or more, this will prevent the car from condensation, which will form when warm air contacts the cold sheetmetal. I bought one of those Rianni "ventless" gas heaters. Luckily, I have a gas line in the garage. I build a light frame around my car, then tent it in plastic as well. It really doesn't add much at all to my gas bill.

JD

As long as it's above 40* and dry outside, I'll drive my car.

It's good for the car and good for me! I honestly can't remember letting the car sit for more than 3 weeks without warming it up and going for a 30 minute drive, even if it was January or February.

I did put fresh oil in it before winter, but I can't keep my paws off the thing...

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68 Camaro ragtop, original 327, angle plug Camel humps, 202's, Performer, Holley 650 double pumper, Doug's Headers, 3-speed Saginaw, 3.08 posi

I agree with JOHNZ, I have been doing the same thing for over 20 yrs. Never used any of that fuel stabilizer stuff and never will. I have never had any fuel problems. I never start the car at all. I rarely even change the oil, just wash it and put the cover on. That's all. My uncle used to go thru the hoopla that some mentioned, every spring he could never get the car started. He would start it every week and let it run for 15 minutes. I would always try to talk him out of it but no luck. One day he bit the dust and they sold his Olds for next to nothing. I passed on it, allthough it had very low miles the engine was toast (smoking) from all the fooling around he did to it.

This year I will do the same to my new 2002 Trans AM WS6. Maybe I change the oil, want the original oil out anyway. Lat winter I stored a Park Ave, In april it fired up in less than 5 sec's. It's an unheated garage with insulated concrete floor, 1" styrofoam and vapor barrier.

If your garage floor is not insulated, I would get some of that clear vapor barrier for insulating house's etc, lay it down and park the car over it. Carefull you don't slide out the back of the garage. Happened to a guy I know, pulled in his garage and the brakes failed on his Gran Sport, hood was sticking out the back of the garage for several days.

[This message has been edited by elcamino (edited 10-20-2001).]