ONEFINE8T9

is this a big issue for me?? i have never heard of this being a problem unless you get a drastic temp change like from super cold to like 70 degrees........some people say to park it over a tarp others say get some sort of mat, the car is well protected i just want to make sure im not forgetting n e thing, thanks for the input, BTW the garage floors are concrete not stone and it is obviously not heated

KCobain147

op eh?...im from cheektowaga..i store my car in my garage...start it once a week..never had a problem..i think this is like the 3rd year now doing it that way

Daishi

If you are worried about humidity ruining your interior, You should think about buying a Sta-Dri bag. They kinda work like those little pouches you get in the pockets of your new pants to soak up moisture. But they are for your car, You can get them in 2 lb bags and just toss em on the floor of your car. I think one bag lasts about a year, But they say you should check it every month or two.

These bags go for $10.95 a bag in the Classic Industries catalog.
Or you can buy 4 2lb bags for $35.95

Aparently you can just "recharge" them by throwing them in your oven..

Hope that helps a bit

ONEFINE8T9

well i consulted my body shop guy last night and he said i shouldnt have ne problem, of course there will be a small amount of moisture but nothing that will be hazzardous for the car, havent had n e moisture in the interior over the past years (6) either in my 89 firebird or my 85 trans am..


cheektowaga huh?? thats not to far at all, im acctually in w seneca right on the border of orchard park, i cruis around in a 25th anniversary camaro RS, its red with black stripes( heritage) and red (pink) wheels, right now there is a for sale sign on it but as the days go on and my grant check gets closer i want to keep it more and more, what do you drive?? sorry no e mail im on my school computer but feel free to stop my driving around, i live near south gate plaza, down east and west and off angle near wilson farms, you can see my car from southwestern BLVD so if your ever out in the camaro or firebird come see me, we need some good season closing pics.......

slinkh

I live in Canada and therefore we have massive temp changes during the winter months. I store both my 82 Z28 and my dad's 67 Mustang. I use plastic to put on top of my garage floor, then just drive my car in on top of the plastic. some mornings when I go into the garage I can actually see the moisture that formed under the plastic. This method works great to save the underbody from storage rust.

I agree with daishi though. Those disilicate bags work great to keep your interior moisture free. I also keep at least one window half down to allow moisture buildup to escape from the interior.

HeavyBreathinRS

Take out battery...store inside NOT on concrete.
Definitely put down plastic over the concrete...the concrete will breathe moisture and rust your rotors and drums...NOT a tarp...a tarp breathes.
Duct tape your air intake, any other "holes" in your engine bay, and exhaust to keep the critters out.
Mothballs inside front, back and rear storage to keep critters out. The smell will go away after a days driving with windows down...and it's not overpowering anyway.

KCobain147

my car is a 91 camaro rs..its sittin in my garage though..i know where east and west is..i used to take drum lessons from a guy that lives in that cove creek development..i wish i'd have kept mine on the road longer..but in wny you never know what the weather is gonna be like. Do any of you wny peoples have sn's or anything on aim that we could keep in touch wiht?..mine is KCobain147

ONEFINE8T9

ya tell me about it weather sux around here, i take it a day at a time, your car isnt blue with black wheels is it???? ever seen that one aorund? mines all stock V8 with 5 spd

kanuck

Good advice here.

My car is stored in my garage on a concrete floor. Tires up off the ground (jacks under A-arms and rear end suspension). It stays very cold all winter, so no moisture problems, BUT IN SPRING you can totally see moisture all over the underside of the car as it warms up. This year I'm putting cardboard or plastic or a rug under the car to stop the moisture as discussed. I was surprised how much moisture is breathed from the concrete!

BTW, the disilicate can be bought from flower stores. They use it to dry out flowers. Works well, and just recharge in the oven.

HeavyBreathinRS

DO NOT USE CARDBOARD...it contains phosphoric acid, and when wet, the acid will come to the surface and corrode even more with its vapors...that is why cardboard turns white after it gets wet.
Also don't use a rug...it absorbs excess moisture, then will give it off as water vapor when the temp gets warmer...
DEFINITELY use plastic under your car.

eddie jr

hmmm.....some really great storage tips here.

Here's another small one for the bunch. There was talk about taking out the battery and storing it. Great idea, but just make sure that if it is indoors (in your house) that it is in a well ventilated area as they give off sulphuric acid fumes.

heavy breathin' RS - good to see a fellow Ontarian! Mount Forest is quite close too! What exactly is your ride? (other than a RS of course). We have a club down this way with lots of events. You should check us out (kwfbody.com).

kanuck

Plastic it is! Thanks.

ONEFINE8T9

once and only once when it went from 45degrees to like 70 over night i noticed a substantial amount of moisture, i went there with a few towles and literally dried the whole underside of the car, after that i havent noticed much of n e thing after that and after consulting with my body shop guy i guess there really isnt n e thing to worry about, he said watch things that will trap moisture while trying toprevent it(ie rugs,carpet pad,rubber mats CARDBOARD!!!) he said the amount of moisture accumulated over the time isnt going to be detremental to the car by n e means so as it stands ill wait to spring and go there with a towel or to and wipe away n e moisture i see if n e at all......

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

Hey Onefine8t9, another local guy here. I'm in cheektowaga also and working on a Trans Am in my garage. One thing I've heard on the boards before and I've done is to remove the dash pad and keep it inside for the winter so it doesn't develop cracks. If you want to meet up sometime it'd be cool. I don't know anyone around here with f-bodies and it'd be helpful. Oh and my AOL screenname is also the same as my board name, JeremyNYR. later

scottmoyer

Just an FYI. When I was living in Minnesota, I had it rain in my garage because of the temp flucuation. I heard that I should put plastic down to protect my car and found that the only dry spot in my garage was under the plastic. Concrete is porous, but I found the temperature fluctuation is in the AIR, not thru the floor. The ground will remain cold. My concrete floor was damp all around and the plastic was wet. I pulled the plastic up and found the concrete was bone dry. The extremely damp air occurs when there is plenty of moisture (snow and ice) and a sudden warmup. The dewpoint got so high, that everything felt wet, except under the plastic. If you use plastic, put it on the floor, use a car cover over the car, pull the plastic up over the car and tape it together. This will keep the critters out also.

Another note, I don't recommend moth *****. My car was stored by the original owner in moth *****. I have owned the car for 3.5 years, the car gets parked with the ttops out and windows down under a cover, and I still have the moth ball smell. I've tried just about everything and it won't leave. I highly don't recommend that!!

Chuck Everly

I have used a storage bag (CarJacket) in the past. The car comes out in the spring just like it went in to the bag in the fall. Great investment if you are wanting to store the car all winter.

http://www.carbag.com

cc 82Z-28

iTrader: (7)

I've been storing my 82 for the past 11 years and here is what I do. Get some Sta-Bil gas stabilizer and put it in the tank and run the car for a while or drive a short distqance to get it through the entire fuel system. I inflate the tires about 5pds. over the max pressure to avoid flat spots. I put a coating on my garage floor that is for sealing the floor, like a plastic coating, on top of that, I have old carpet from out of my house that is on the entire floor where the car is sitting. I put a battery tender on the battery and put a good flannel type cover over the car. Afterwards, I have a bunch of old blankets that I cover over top of the cover drapping them all the way to the ground. I cover the wheels and all to the ground to keep any air from getting under the car during those times when the air warms in my garage. If you don't use a good coating on the floor definetely use the plastic sheet on the floor and I used to use 4x8 sheets of OSB on top of the plastic and parked the car on that. Any how, when spring comes in March, I just uncover it, change the oil check the tire pressure and start it right up and start driving. No flat spots on the tires, no rust on the chrome and no moisture stains on the interior or billet pieces or mags. That's it, has worked for me all these years.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

Weeeeeeel, funny this came up. Yesterday, for the first time in 2 years, my GTA came home. Heres a quick background:

Engine had a nice rod knock. I bought my 92 Vert, took out the GTA's engine, and never had money to put another one in, so I had to put it into storage.

The car was kept in a sea crate in a yard full of them for almost 2 years. I periodically visited the car to get/drop off parts and such... up until about 4 months ago, the car was fine. No condensation, mildew, mold, or anything. Fast foreward to yesterday when we go to pick it up... the entire interior (mostly seats and organic ((leather)) parts) were COVERED in mold. Totally disgusting. I couldnt believe it, considering the car was just fine a few months ago. Now I have to basically gut most of the interior to really clean it, not fun.

Lesson learned: ALWAYS put a de-moistureizer/de-oderizer in your car during storage. I went to a boating store today and got a small bucket of a crystal-like substance that is supposed to absorb and trap moisture.

TransamGTA350

iTrader: (2)

It is not neccessary to put plastic over a concrete floor. Carpet or cardboard would be worse since they absorb moisture and slowly release it over time, cousing more damage.

Yes, this is exactly true. The moisture does not come from the concrete, it comes from the air. When the warm air comes in contact with a cold surface, i.e the concrete floor, the metal of the car, the air is cooled below the dewpoint and you get condensation on those surfaces.


This is also correct because the plastic is over the floor and the air is in contact with the plastic, not the concrete floor below it.
This is why I am saying that anything covering the floor is not neccessary, and sometimes harmful because it can become a sponge to moisture.

The bottom line is to keep the air dry and the temperature constant. desiccants like silica gel will absorb moisture from the air, as well as an electric dehumidifier that you can buy at Sears. Don't open the garage door during a warm, humid day right after a cold day. The moisture in the air can't pass through the garage door, only the heat can, so the garage will remain dry.

Clean the car inside and out, car cover, add 5psi of air to the tires, put some desiccant in the interior(baking soda works well), change oil, full tank of gas with stabilizer and that's really it.

Let the car sit. Don't start it to "Let it run" every couple of weeks. Every few months, (3-6), start the car, idle for 15 min to fully warm up, drive for a few miles and bring it back. If you can't drive it then don't start it. The raw fuel you just dumped in the crankcase when you just started it will not burn off while idleing. The oil will be contaminated and can cause corrosion on the bearings.

If you have to keep it outside over grass or dirt, then I would use plastic.

Storing a car is really very simple, and requires less than what most people do. Some of the things that people do can actually do more harm than good also.

ONEFINE8T9

jeremy.....nice to see a few local guys, ill tell you the same thing i told the other guy, i hyave no e mail so if u want to meet up just stop by the house when you see the red and black heritage camaro in the drive way, take union to east and west, take east and wen\st to angle and angle to carla, go half way down and there she is, or we could meet somewhere neutral, southgate plaza? losson rd park maybe??? get back to me on here couse like i said i have no e amil becouse its my school computer so.... ill be back on later today....

91FirebirdFmla

Any other comments about this? I've heard that if the engine isn't run periodically, many of the internal seals will dry out and the engine won't run well.

bnoon

Only if your car is being stored for extended periods. For storing it over winter, disconnect the battery, stabilize the fuel, and don't run it until spring. Fresh oil change before, fresh oil change after.

We store our '95 Jaguar XJ this way and have less than 16,000 miles on it. Never missed a beat and the engine/trans/etc is as dry as the day it left the showroom.

91FirebirdFmla

If I ran it once, prior to this post, thinking it was good for the car, will this alone do any major damage? I'm not going to run it again until the summer. But when I start it up, nothing is going to pop or break will it?

kanuck

I agree, storing for a winter is no big deal. I do it with my T/A, motorcycle, and even lawnmower. It would be a major pain to start all these things once a week to keep the seals moist. Not worth it.

I use stabilizer, and also put a teaspoon of oil in the cylinders and crank it once (don't start it) to distribute the oil to help protect from rust. I also do my oil changes just before I store the car so it doesn't get overly acidic.

91,
If you ran your car once, it's not a big deal. I would suggest you buy some stabilizer, pour it in the tank, run the car for a good 15 minutes so the stabilizer mixes in and hopefully gets drawn into the engine as well. Also, running for a few minutes will allow everything to warm up and get rid of any water in the exhaust, etc.

Then shut it off and leave it off until next spring. Do an oil change too if you haven't had one very recently.

There's other things I do when storing like removing battery, taking load off tires, etc. That's been covered alot in other posts.

Fire"Dutch"Bird

iTrader: (1)

I NEVER start the engines of my stored cars and motorcycles,even when they are sometimes stored for like 1.5-2 years.
If stored the right way they will fire up even after a long time.
I advice against filling up the fuel tank,the fuel wil alter in quality even after a few months, also don't underestimate the fire danger!
Also consider buying an electric air dehuminizer, works far better than those chemical stuf!
I'm storing like 2 cars and 2 motorcycles for a lot of years now, and they all run fine after coming out of storage!

91FirebirdFmla

Thanks for the advice. I got the fuel stabilizer, ran it through the engine, overinflated the tires, since i can't lift the car up, this year at least, i got some moisture remover for the interior, covered up the intake and exhaust, and put a cover on the car, as well as disconnected the battery. I also put prestone corrosion inhibitors in the coolant and ran it through the system, especially the heater core just to ensure nothing is screwed up like when i bought the car. The car is stored outside in one of those covercraft garages anchored down, so it is protected against rain, snow, wind, debris, etc, but it is sitting on soft earth surrounded by woodchips inside the garage. Anything else anyone can think of that I should do? I think i've got the basics covered. We'll see how it runs this summer.

cc 82Z-28

iTrader: (7)

Those storage bags work great, I used to use one many years ago when they were a new item on the market. The important thing is to keep the car from seeing the temp. changes as much as possible. I'm not able to keep my car in the garage byitself since my wife and I park in there all winter long. The door is opened at least a half a dozen times a day so it isn't practical or cheap to try and heat a 3-1/2 car garage. That is why I, through trial and error, do what I do and I have not had any rust or moisture marks on any of the billet alum. parts or the alum rims on my car. As long as I cover the car to the floor so the air from opening the door doesn't get in under the car no problems. I use alot of layers on it and in doing so also helps protect it from the accidental hit from anything from falling on it such as broom handles or such. The carpet has been great in my opinion and has never been wet or anything unless I get water on it. I still think it is important to put a good sealer on the concrete, it does make a difference that I have seen. The more you can insulate it from the temp. changes the better it will it be for the car. As said in other posts, warm meets cold, you get moisture and water.

Spooks

what about if you don't have a garage...i live in canada, so i might be in trouble

cc 82Z-28

iTrader: (7)

You're out of luck if you want to use a bag, since they are for indoor use only. They are no good for outdoor use.
cc 82Z-28

Spooks

Ahh! what should I do then? car cover then a trap over top? should i put it on stands???!?

cc 82Z-28

iTrader: (7)

Would you be parking the car on concrete? If so, then get a good cover made for the car and use that. The good covers will allow the it to breathe so that moisture won't get trapped against the car. If you're parking on concrete, you can also get one of those portable shelters that you get from a place like K-mart or Wal-Mart or other larger retailers. then use the cover with that and you will have pretty good protection. If you're not able to park the car on concrete, then I would put down 4, 2x10x12inches long pieces of pressure treated wood and park the car on that. You could probably even put the car on jack stands on the wood and then cover the car.
cc 82Z-28

Fire"Dutch"Bird

iTrader: (1)

A lot of good info about storing cars can be found on

WWW.ENGINEWISE.CO.UK

Especialy the V2K oil is interesting!

By using this conservation oil, there's no need to fill the fuel tank completely, just add about half a bottle V2K to the empty tank will keep it from rusting!!
So no fire danger in a closed garage!
In my case, 2 cars and 2 motorcycles with empty fueltanks, only V2K oil much safer than have them all filled!

ONEFINE8T9

for outside storage...... if you put it on jack stands wouldnt you have to worry about large amounts of snow trapping itself underneith?? n e one ever pull the wheels and set the car on a couple blocks of wood?? you know like on its belly so to keep snow from trapping? never tried it just thought of it