Hey all,

Wasn't sure where to put this but seeing as I have a TBI setup I figured here would be a good place. Sorry if I was wrong.

Anywho, I have a 305TBI TransAm and well that time of the year is coming where I can no longer drive to car due to snow. I am parking it in a garage that I will not have access to until next march/april (depends when the snow leaves).

What steps should I follow to guarantie a flawless storage. it will be stored in a non heated garage.

I was just going to fill the gas tank, put some fuel stabilizer in, jack the car up and put it on blocks and lock it up. Anythign else I should get done?

 

There's a really good post about this in the Body and Interior Board:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=260920

 

Full tank and stabalizer are a good thing. Also, put some bounce fabric softener sheets in your interior and in your engine bay. It is proven that rodents detest the scent of bounce. I had a rodent problem one winter and gave it a try. 4 storage years later and no more problems. Jacking your car up on blocks is not really necessary unless you are storing the car for years. A few winter months will not "flat spot" 99% of newer style tires. My car has been stored for up to 1.5 years before and I follow this procedure to this day. I also store my LT1 car in the same mannor without any problems. I will only get a temporary flat spot with the LT1 car when it sits for 8 to 10 months. They go away withing 1 mile of driving. This topic gets covered a lot and you might want to read up some old posts.

There is no need to go overboard with a regular winter storage. My car has been stored every year since it was brand new and as the second owner I have continued this method. I have never had a problem.

 

Yeah, blocks aren't necessary for good radials BUT putting small pieces of carpet between the tire and floor is recommended. Put it on blocks if the floor gets really wet.
I never heard of the fabric softener trick. I'll have to try it. Although I still like the mouse traps too.

 

Mouse traps might be a bad idea for me. I have this bad bad tendancy to forget things...I can just imagine it now. Spring comes, I go to get into my car and SNAP I get pwn3d by a mouse trap. Then I go to move adn SNAP SNAP SNAP I get pwn3d a ton more.

Definately will give the bounce a try. I usualy wedge bounce sheets in my air ducts. Makes my car smell all nice and stuff...sure beats those hanging air freshners. Any particular flavour the fuzzy rodents detest most?

 

Just stick with the regular ones. I don't use traps because I have known guys that kill one but don't get in their car until spring. Open the door and die of death stench. The softener won't kill them but will make them move out or go to the guys car parked next to yours

 

Mouse traps UNDER THE CAR AND AROUND THE WHEELS!!! Not in the car . Yeah, like I'd put mouse traps inside my car so when spring rolls around I can crack the car open and smell dead rotting mouse, lol.
The carpet is a trick I learned from my best friends father who collects cars (and races 1lap of America).

 

A friend of mine has a '67 Caprice coupe' that he purchased NEW.
It is entirely original, including the paint, and has under 25,000 miles on the original large-block engine. Must be worth a bloody fortune. It is ******* mint.
Point is, this thing has spent most of its life in a garage. To absorb moisture, the car has always shared the garage with several opened bags of barbeque briquettes (the brands without quick-lite feature are preferred.) This is a wonderful method for absorbing moisture.

 

You might also want to invest in a cheapo 9" x 11" cake pan. Place it in the front passenger's footwell in case the heater core decides to let go while stored.

I'll vote for the mouse traps as well - and some insect strips/flypaper.

Make sure the coolant has adequate anti-freeze protection.

Drain the windshield washer reservoir and add a little fresh freezeless fluid.

Remove the battery if you're not planning on returning to the car and starting it during storage. Even if you don't have a heated place to store the battery, get it out of there.

Cover the car with a breathable fabric.

In addition to Sta-Bil in the fuel, I also add a pint of 2-cycle oil. Ever since I started that, I haven't had a problem with injector deposits or flow problems on spring start-up on the TPI and two LT1s.

Jacking/blocking the car is unnecessary. New cars sit for months on lots around assembly plants, haulers, and dealerships. A few months isn't going to cause any serious problems.

And don'y forget to clean out the interior of any junk, garbage, spare keys, insurance papers, etcetera. No need to attract mice, insects, or thieves.

There have been threads like this every year since I can remember. Search for "storage" to get more ideas.