puma1552

iTrader: (1)

I stored my car at a local storage facility in a 10x20 garage in July 2008 when I moved to Japan.

The garage was of course concrete, and I put thick plastic down on the ground under the car as best I could, though due to a bump in the garage entrance I had to crest, the lower air dam kept trying to take the plastic with it so the plastic job wasn't laid as best or thoroughly as possible, but it's better than nothing.

I changed the fluids and put stabilizer in the tank and filled it up, and left the battery connected since the plan was to have my bro-in-law start it up every once in a while, but that hasn't really happened...I realize I'll need a new battery, need to crank the engine by hand, all new fluids etc. etc. etc.--the mechanical parts I'm not so much worried about.

But I'm worried about the body; I didn't cover it as I've never believed in covers, even breathable ones, and feel they potentially do more harm than good...don't ask why, I just don't trust them but I'm starting to think maybe I should.

So, the car has been sitting for a bit over a year and a half locked up in a small concrete garage with plastic half-assedly laid on the ground and uncovered.

Is there any chance that this car is going to be as cosmetically mint as it was when I left it, as shown in these picture below that were taken the day before I stored it? Or am I in for a world of pain when I finally do open that garage?

scottmoyer

You may be in for a small surprise. Laying plastic on the ground is not good as the moisture is in the air and concrete will absorb it. By having the plastic there, the moisture will sit on top of the plastic and cause sitting water to evaporate around your car. I did this one year and pulled up one corner of the plastic to find the concrete bone dry, but the plastic was soaked.

You can also only hope that the the paint didn't get messed up by falling objects, dirt, or things put on the car. If that's not an issue, then you're probably ok. The plastic was probably the worst choice.

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm, I was always told that the plastic was good to prevent moisture from rising up through the concrete floor and into the air, that the underneath side of the plastic would be wet from acting as a barrier between the concrete floor and my car.

My sister if going over there this weekend to check things out, should I have her take the plastic out?

Also there should be no objects falling from the ceiling or stuff being piled on it, the only thing I have to worry about *should* be a coating of dust but that *shouldn't* be any big deal...right?

1982TA

iTrader: (1)

I've had my car stored in my garage for almost 2 years now, haven't really taken it out. My garage also has a concrete floor and I was told it would be a good idea to put down a plastic tarp also. I was able to find one to cover my entire garage floor and the car has been parked on it for 2 years. There has never been any moisture on top of the plastic, and not really sure how it would since the plastic is the barrier over the concrete. The concrete will look a little damp sometimes If I pull up an edge, but I've never really had moisture problems under the car. Another thing I heard of is running a box fan directed under the car will help evaporate any moisture. I never covered my car either, except the hood. Only thing you will need to worry about is dust.

TOM-1LE

This is what I have always found. You would be amazed at the amount of moisture that comes up through concrete; I think this is especially true if the garage is unheated. I'm not sure where you are located, maybe in warm climates it's different. But after storing a car over the winter, I have never found any moisture on top of the plastic, but always lots underneath.

If the storage facility you are using is like the ones I have used in the past, you can expect your car to be plenty dusty. Many times the units have open walls at the top, a few inches below the ceiling, and when they go in to blow dust off the floor of a vacated unit, it creates a dust cloud that settles over the rest of the units in the building. I've also had my cars in units where the spray insulation on the ceiling tended to fall down in small pieces and settle on the car over time. But it didn't really do any damage. Your car may need a good washing, but it should be fine.

okfoz

It honestly depends on where you live, and where the car is... If the car is in PHO, AZ, then you really have nothing to worry about as far as moisture... What happens is when the air warms up and the ground or the concrete in this example is cold the concrete will begin to sweat, I have seen it where it is literally wet. When you put a tarp down the only thing that happens then is the tarp will begin to sweat instead of the concrete because the cold temp of the floor...

What I have read to be probably the best idea, although not practical in all applications, is to take some 2x2 boards and lay them under the tarp so that when the cold concrete floor begins to condensate water the tarp is above the condensation... Ideally you would also want some fans to run in the area to also help with evaporating the moisture... Ideally you would want to heat the garage, or storage area to about 50°F or so to keep it above the dew point.

One thing that I have noticed is when I wash my car I always get spots of rust on my rotors, its inevitable... One year I simply put my cars in my barn (technically its a detached 2 car garage) and did not use a fan, I noticed about the same amount of rust on my rotors after a car wash... However, if I simply have a fan or two simply blowing across the floor under the cars, then my rotors do not have any rust on them in the spring...

------------

So to answer your question, what to expect. Depending on where you live
1) I would suspect you have rust on your rotors,
2) You may want to bring a battery, I have had batteries last though the winter without any problem, or a charger on it, but that is rare, considering that there is a constant drain on the battery from your radio, its dead, and will probably not hold a charge, but it may.
3) I would check your fluids, make sure they are still up, if there are no leaks then chances are they will be fine.
4) I would hope that you used Stabil, or another gasoline stabilizer... Although, I have noticed that there has been a vast improvement of gasoline in the past 10 years or so. 20 years ago, you could put gasoline in a car, let it sit over the winter and it would not start... matter of fact it was so bad that the gasoline would not even burn when you put a flame to it. Newer gasoline's do not seem to be that bad (at least in Michigan), I do notice that the first time out usually the car does not run to its potential, but once I get a new tankful the car runs better... What happens is when gasoline sits, things evaporate, since you filled it up, you probably have the best chance of having it be fine... There are some factors that contribute to it, but I would think it is fine, especially if you used Premium gas for storage. I have found that Premium stores better than regular... it may be my supplier.

Hope that helps

John

Drew

iTrader: (58)

2 years in a storage unit is nothing. I've pulled cars off the farm and driven them on tires that have been sitting flat for half a decade.

Back in the early part of the decade, probably 2003 at the latest, a buddy of mine parked his 1983 Monte Carlo on his grand parent's farm out in western Kansas. It was indoors, sort of. Dirt floor, no insulation. It sat there until last summer when we went out there to assess the situation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaFVVQ8C09g We were expecting it'd be pretty bad. As it worked out, a new battery and some air in the tires later it fired up and drove. After changing the oil, and a leaking mechanical fuel pump, we drove the car all the way back (5hrs) to Topeka. The biggest problem is some residual mouse urine under the hood, and the smell of mothballs inside the car.

If you left the car sitting on the tires, with a battery connected, you can bank on the battery being bad, and the tires are probably flat spotted. If the tires have gone flat, they probably won't come out of it, but if they're still inflated, driving the car a bit will usually heat them up and they'll go round again. I wouldn't worry too much about dust and rust, 2 years just isn't a really long time. A car wash will probably blow the most of it off. I wouldn't even worry about the gas or oil over such a short period. Just don't drive 50 miles on the old oil, and be sure when you change the oil, you replace the filter.

You might have to deal with new problems that weren't there when you parked the car, but that's luck of the draw really. The #1 thing I'd worry about is mice. If you didn't put down traps, or something to keep the mice out, I'd expect to find the insulator under the hood trashed, and potentially interior problems. Mouse turds in the HVAC ducting is always pleasant. They also like to get between the headliner and the roof... The urine is corrosive and tends to lead to rust. If you've got mice, you'll smell it right away.

okfoz

Drew made a point that I should add to.

I had a car that I really did not drive for several years. I would drive it up and down the street on occasion, just to get things turning... I noticed that one of the tires had a really bad lope to it, I did not think too much of it as I thought it was just a flat spot. When I got it up to 35mph the tread came off from dry rot...

Granted the tires still hold air (they were installed in 1990) but they are in need of changing...

Take an air pump, and make sure there is no funny spots while driving... check the side walls over pretty well too for cracks. Usually cracks on the sidewalls is from UV light that breaks down the rubber, but its not a bad idea to check them out anyways... it can make a mess of the inside of your inner fender if it comes apart.

more

The mice thing Drew mentioned is true, their urine is really acidic... It also collects dirt that cannot be wiped off.. you have to use water and a rag to get it to come free in my experience... Hopefully you did not leave a leftover hamburger in the back seat to lure them in...

John

Drew

iTrader: (58)

There was a mummified mouse in my 86 T/A under one of the rear interior panels. I'm sure it still smells like death. The 86 Thunderbird Turbocoupe I scrapped had live mice in it when I pulled it out of the weeds... Actually caught one in a trap the same night. It smelled so bad I crushed it with the complete interior still in it. My SHO spent a winter next to a pole barn, and mice ate all of the insulation out of the back seat. After my 83 Camaro had been sitting in the salvage yard for 6 months I went to snag a part or two and noticed mice had set up camp under the rear seat cushion, again they'd shredded all the foam. The 83 Monte Carlo I mentioned before, when I opened the hood the mouse that had been living on top of the HVAC box went running and jumped over the passengers fender. A guy I used to know had this beautiful mint condition 86 Fiero GT. He blew the engine and parked it on the family farm for a couple years. When he brought it in to have a new engine installed, mice had been living in the dash. There was a pile of corn, and nest remains. It stunk to high heaven. Dad's retired, so he doesn't really go anywhere when the weather is bad. A year ago his Ford Explorer sat in the driveway for a week or so without being driven. Mice had gotten in under the hood and chewed up all the insulation on the heaterbox and turned them into a nice nest. For a while he was buying dog food in bulk and keeping the bags in the one car attached garage... Then one winter the mice got into it, and were living on the shelf. Just about everything on that shelf and the one under it went in the garbage. I had glue traps in the storage unit where I was keeping the Iroc the last couple years. In three years I caught 6 mice.

So yeah, storing a car the #1 thing I'd worry about is mice.

puma1552

iTrader: (1)

So you guys don't think I'll have any body issues with the car? Again I unfortunately couldn't lay the plastic as well as I'd hoped since the car kept taking it with it, but probably 2/3 of the floor is covered with thick plastic.

I don't *think* I have to worry about mice since it's a relatively modern storage facility, but who can be sure--I'll have my sister sniff around this weekend...

Also the car is in Minnesota, and the garage is not temperature controlled.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

I don't think 2 years is long enough that you'll have to worry about rust. Even if the floor or plastic creates a condensation problem, it'd be no different then driving the car in the rain. It takes a long time for a car left exposed to the elements to rot away. 10 years, maybe, 2 years, not likely.

scottmoyer

In response to where I experienced my moisture on top of the plastic, just happened to be in Minnesota. I also heard that putting plastic down was a good thing. I did this one year only. The garage was insulated, but not heated. It was also a 3 car garage that did get 2 other cars in and out regularly, if not daily. The moisture in the air accumulated on top of the plastic. The concrete under the plastic was bone dry and light colored. The rest of the garage floor was darker as it had absorbed som of the moisture from the air. The plastic did not absorb anything, obviously. The snow and crap from the other cars did melt off at night and added moisture to the air. In your case, it doesn't seem to be an issue.

Dustytrix

iTrader: (3)

The idea of putting plastic down to stop concrete from sweating does work. But you put the plastic down on the form before you pour concrete. Thats why some concrete floors sweat and some dont.

CrimsonDragon

Before you fire it up. Mark the distributor, pull it, and prime the engine. Did you overinflate the tires before you stored it? If so, they might be not flat spotted.

okfoz

Q for Scott:
Did you simply lay the tarp or plastic on the floor or did you put something between the floor and the plastic like 2x4's like I suggested?

I know my basement has a moisture barrier... I think my garages have it as well... it may explain some things, like why I do not have any problems...

One thing about an insulated garage. The up side is it is easier to heat, the down side is when the temp changes quickly outside the temp changes slowly inside, so as the weather breaks and gets warmer I would think that the moisture would be more prone to come out more slowly as the concrete had not yet heated up... It may be a double edged sward... I know of no study to see if wall insulation helps or hurts with condensation on concrete floors.

Interesting conversation

John

Rumblin70SS

I have a Firehawk that sits in storage most of the time. I've done it both ways and plastic down for me is the way to go. My car sits in a sealed garage with no heat or insulation. With no plastic, I can see surface rust on the rotors after a few months. With plastic, I don't have any issues. Car has been stored like this for the better part of 10 years and it still looks new.

Thanks!

Iroctopless

Plastic would only help if you know you have floor moisture problems, have no way to deal with the humidity, your garage is insulated and sealed, and you cover the entire floor with it. Putting plastic just under the car is pointless unless you're trying to save the concrete finish from oil leaks. The humidity would still be added to the room from the surrounding floor.

An unisulated garage that can breath may get cold in winter (in certain northern climes) but will at least stay fairly dry as it's influenced by the ambient humidity outside. If you live in a humid part of the country, you may need to take precautions.

A sealed garage can be FAR worse unless steps are taken to control the humidity. This is especially the case if other cars are sharing the same garage. In winter they will bring in snow and ice. This could be really nasty for rust. Using proper ventilation and/or dehumidfying would be a must. In my case, my garage has infloor heat that's heated by a gas boiler in the same room. Not only does the concrete dry almost immediately but the humidity goes up the chimney. At times in the middle of winter, I find it gets sooo dry in the garage I need to restock the beer fridge almost weekly!

As others have said, 2 years isn't too long for a car to be in storage and should be fine if basic steps are taken. I would be leary on having the engine run periodically. Unless it's actually taken for a ride, it does nothing for the drivetrain. And unless it's driven, idling just fill the exhaust with water and it can cause premature rust-through. The exhaust would need to get up to operating temp, which is pretty much impossible unless driven for 20+ minutes, to not allow the exhaust moisture to collect in low areas.
It's kind'a like, is there enough benefit running the engine vs the rest? If the engine has been properly prepped before storage, for 2 years it might be better not to start the engine.
Might be a good debate here on this one.