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How to store a GTO for the winter
by
Sean Mattingly, and other sources
Your car will last a lot longer if it is not exposed to the elements. Rain,
sunlight, snow, hail, and other natural forces can cause your GTO to age
prematurely. Hopefully, you can pick an indoor place that is free of
moisture, cold, corrosives and mice.
Many places sell large "car bags" that can surround an entire car. Be sure to
use one with a frame to hold the material away from the car's paint. The bag
should not touch the car. If you cannot locate a "car bag", at least use a cover that
breathes. There are many such covers on the market. I have had good success
with a cloth car cover purchased at Wal-Mart.
Pick a garage with a cool, even temperature. It needs to be a place without much dirt
circulating in the air. Pick a location without direct sunlight. Some people
recommend putting a heavy sheet of plastic underneath the car to act as a moisture
barrier. My garage used to have a bad moisture problem. Droplets of moisture
would pool up on the floor. I completely solved the problem by adding two
cheap roof vents to the garage. I used the 1 foot by 1 foot square ones. They
were easy to install at the peak of the wall at both ends of the building. At
first, you might think "Will vents just make things worse, or colder?". The answer
is "No". They allow air to circulate through the garage so moisture won't
build up on the concrete floor.
Before storing the car... Change the oil & filter. Flush your cooling system
and heater lines. Refill with fresh antifreeze. Then run the car until it
warms up to spread the new fluids, also if you have air conditioning, be sure
to run it during this final warm up. After putting the car in storage,
recheck that the systems are full.
There are two different suggestions as far as gasoline is concerned. The first
and most popular one is to fill the tank and about week before you put it in
storage. Add a can of dry gas or fuel additive, to clear the system of
moisture. The second gasoline suggestion is to drain the gasoline tank. Run
the engine until it stops, using up as much as possible of the remaining fuel.
Disconnect the carburetor gasoline line at the fuel pump to allow gas to
drain from this line. Disconnect tank to fuel pump line at fuel pump and blow
the line out with air. Crank the engine over five or six times to empty the
fuel pump. Reconnect both gasoline lines.
The car should be thoroughly washed and waxed prior to storage. You don't want
road salt, bird droppings, or tar to ruin the finish as the car sits.
If you use a car cover be sure it can breathe. Plastic sheets often trap
moisture and should never be used.
For the interior, all upholstery and floor coverings should be thoroughly
cleaned. Leather and vinyl treatments will help these substances last longer
and prevent cracking. Put "Dry Pack" in the car to cut down on moisure.
Precautions should be taken to keep rats, mice, or other vermin from reaching
the interior. It is recommended that doors and trunk be left closed.
About tires... Support the car on jacks or stands at all four wheels to
relieve weight from tires. This keeps tires from getting cracks or flat spots.
Thoughly lubricate all the chassis points, door, hood, trunk latches.
About the engine... Remove the spark plugs and squirt a small amount of oil
into the spark plug holes after the car is cooled. Turn the engine over with
the starter to spread this oil into the cylinder walls and rings then replace
the spark plugs.
Wipe the inside of the distributor cap clean of any dust and moisure using a
clean rag dipped in alcohol.
Place paper bags over the carburetor air cleaner, crankcase ventilator valve
outlet, and tail pipe, securing them in place with twine. This is especially
important when storing cars in locations near the seashore, where salt air
might enter the engine or exhaust system.
About the battery... Remove the battery. Set the battery on wood rather than
concrete or metal. Current can leak though those substances. Clean the
terminals and cable ends. Be sure to fill the cells to proper level. Store it
in a safe place.
About your GTO convertible... The tops of convertibles should not be
collapsed. Do not store in direct sunlight.
During the winter... Some owners prefer to start a stored car once a
month. This can be done, but remember to vent the exhaust outside the garage.
If your GTO has air conditioning or power steering, exercise these during
these winter start ups to lubricate these systems. Check trunk, engine and
interior periodically for signs of rodents or bugs.
Keith Houghton from the United Kingdom provides some advice on keeping the battery
in shape. He says:
Here in the UK my car is off the road from the end of September or October if we
are lucky, through 'til May. So battery death is a common occurrence. So its important to
keep the battery fully charged over winter. The best way is to buy a three
stage pulse charger which monitors battery state and tops up when necessary.
A cheaper way is to buy a low current charger SPECIFICALLY for car batteries
and leave it permanently attached. (Divide the AH rating by 100 to find the
safe trickle charge rate). The cheapest way is to use your regular charger
to charge the battery once a month for an hour or so. This should combat any
self discharging of the battery.
Then Keith provided some more in-depth tech info on batteries that comes from
the helpful website at http://www.battery-index.com
Lead-acid battery charging
==========================
When a lead-acid battery undergoes charge, electric current is
supplied to perform the discharge reversal electro-chemical
process. Lead sulfate in the positive electrodes is converted
to lead oxide, and on the negative electrode, is converted to
metallic lead, the sulfuric acid goes from dilute to more
concentrated. The lead-acid charging process is somewhat
lenient as long as it is not overcharged, overheated, or
allowed to form excessive gas. Initially the battery can be
charged with higher currents, but as it reaches near full
charge, current should be reduced to avoid overcharging.
Initially the charge current can be as high as desired while
monitoring the cell voltage and limiting to the voltage
which starts cell gassing (about 2.4V at 25ºC). The
remainder is usually charged at a constant current.
The various charge methods:
Constant-current
Constant-voltage
Combinations
Taper charge
Pulse charge
Trickle charge
Float charge
Rapid charge
The * constant-current method * applies a given current
value allowing the voltage to vary for the entire
charging process or two or more constant values.
Unless the charging time is extended to long periods
with low currents, this method will cause the cell
voltage to exceed the gassing voltage.
The * constant-voltage method * applies a given voltage
value allowing the current to vary.
The * combination method * usually applies a constant
current until a target voltage is reached, then the
method is switched to constant voltage for the duration
of charge and maintenance charge.
* Taper charging * is another variation which provides
a constant current which is tapered prior to final
recharge. If the current is not reduced enough, the
gassing voltage is exceeded. If the mode is switched
to voltage at the end, then the charging rate may be
below or above what is required depending upon the age
of the battery. Using this method will often result in
shortened battery life.
* Pulse charging * applies a current to the battery
for a fixed length of time, disconnects from the
circuit and measures the open-circuit voltage to
determine the state of charge, then resumes as
required to complete the charge process.
* Trickle charging * applies a continuous constant
low current to maintain charge which is required
because of self discharge. The typical charge rate
is C/100.
* Float charging * is similar to trickle charging
and uses a constant voltage.
* Rapid charging * applies varying techniques to
accomplish charging in a reduced time period. In order
to accomplish this method successfully, tight controls
are needed to maintain proper charge parameters such
that the temperature and cell voltage is not
exceeded. New technology has provided improved and
lower cost methods to monitor and control the variables
precisely.
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