Winter Storage

[jwoodsmall]

[left]The weather in Michigan has been extremly mild so far this winter and I had my '55 out yesterday (Jan 2) which is very unusual. From the looks of our weather report, winter will be here with a vengance this coming week, so I will not have the car out for 2-3 months and I am wondering if there is anything I should do, other than the obvoius,[font=Arial][size=3][color=Black][b] to prepare the car for the long winter here.

[t-bird-art]

Heard on the news they were opening up the Golf Courses in Toronto last week. Ask 100 people and the obvious becomes clouded. So, here goes for long cold Michigan/ Canadian winter storage of pre 1966 cars . Remove the battery, scrub battery squeaky clean with plain water and scrub brush , and put in the basement or other cood/dry place. Put car up on sturdy blocks. You will want to start the car 1/month to lubricate everything but mainly the large pinion gear in the rear axle. The rear axle is vented to the outside air -moisture gets in there and rusts the teeth on the pinion gear. When teeth become rusted/pitted the rear end starts howling. Start storage with a full tank of gas. You will want to run the motor 15 to 20 minutes per month. Run the drivetrain 2-3 minutes. Note: If running car in a garage stay out of there because of seriously toxic exhaust. Go in for seconds to put the car in/out of gear and to shut car off. If car is in a garage leave a 110volt mechanics light with 100 watt bulb under the hood for the extra cold dips. Amazing how much heat the 100 watt bulb generates. Put a bottle of gas stabilizer and a bottle of dry gas in gas tank. The old leaded gas would store for years. The current unleaed gas deterioriates in 6 months.

[jwoodsmall]

Art:
Thanks for the reply! Winter has come to Michigan a little late but I think its here to stay for awhile so I will do the things you mention.
jim