Preparing a Corrado for Storage

[G60 0]

apologies if this has been discussed and i missed it... or if i put this in the wrong section.

 

i'm going to be putting the corrado away for the winter (two winters??) this week... and i want to make sure i do everything in my power to prepare it for some long-term storage.

 

i'm going to..

 

- top up the petrol and put in stabalizer

- take out my spankin new g-lader and plug up boost tube

- jack and support the car - making sure its LEVEL. taking off tires and probably brake components

- top up oil and coolant... should i use straight G11 and no water since this is for storage purposes?

- wrap tarps/mesh around the BOTTOM of the car to keep critters out... and then some more over the top as well...

 

the car will be stored in a shed out in the country. the shed usually stays a few degrees hotter than outside (we get down to -20C sometimes -30C in the dead of january). its dirt floors and mice, ground hogs, etc have been known to poke their heads around in there..i think i'm going to bait some critter traps.

 

any other pointers?

[andycowuk 0]

It could be worth letting the boot sit on the catch, but not be properly closed so air can circulate a bit - my friends sirrocco got mouldy, but once he did this with the boot it dried up. This could have been because the car was damp to start - I'm not sure!

[G60 0]

nice one... i'll do that. maybe leave the sunroof open a crack too. not too concerned with the interior to be honest... i'll probably take half of it out of the car before i store it... i doubt i'll drive it again before some serious work has been done.

 

anyone else?

[jims corrado 0]

spreay wd 40 on your brake discs or the moisture in the air will corrode them.

 

 

jim (also with corrado in storage, but not for quite so long)

[Furkz 0]

when we stored my mums car for a few weeks whilst on hol we left the windows open slightly to let air cirulate but the seats GOT A BIT MOULDY

 

erm just got an idea ....dum dee dum.... why not put some moth balls in the cra or some of the silica gel u find in shoe boxes wont that lot keep the inside tidy jus a thought (Knowming me,,,might be total inrellavent)

 

2p's of thoughts

[G60 0]

good idea furki. i dont like mold at all.

[dazzyvr6 0]

give it a good waxto protect the paint work,might be wise to use some sort of tyre softener,to prevent tyre hardening/cracking when the car is stood in one place for a long time,might be worth pluging the exhaust to save any critters making your back box there home :D

[dubbprince 0]

what would be classed a long time guys?? because i've left my c in the garage for 1 week so far and have got 4 more weeks till i drive it!

 

Would you suggest i do any of the above? should i turn the engine ona for a bit ever so often?

[vr6storm 0]

what would be classed a long time guys?? because i've left my c in the garage for 1 week so far and have got 4 more weeks till i drive it!

 

Would you suggest i do any of the above? should i turn the engine ona for a bit ever so often?

 

 

start the engine once every week and let it get up to operating temp that way it should charge the battery and hopefully burn off any condensation inside the engine.........make sure you do this in a well-ventilated arean tho(to avoid carbon-mono-oxide poisoning etc) and if possible move the car ever so slightly so as to avoid getting low-spots on the tyres where its been sitting......also "chock" the wheels and leave the handbrake off and leave the car in gear(if its facing downhill.....leave in reverse,uphill leave in 2nd/3rd)

[Tattie 0]

Whatever you do, DON'T spray your disks with WD40. All you will do is knacker your brake pads!!!!!!

 

You will only get a light coating of surface rust on the disks, which will come off the first time you use your brakes.

[Supercharged 2]

Yep, just don't park it on the breaks and leave handbrake off

[GRINGOG60 0]

what would be classed a long time guys?? because i've left my c in the garage for 1 week so far and have got 4 more weeks till i drive it!

 

Would you suggest i do any of the above? should i turn the engine ona for a bit ever so often?

 

 

start the engine once every week and let it get up to operating temp that way it should charge the battery and hopefully burn off any condensation inside the engine.........make sure you do this in a well-ventilated arean tho(to avoid carbon-mono-oxide poisoning etc) and if possible move the car ever so slightly so as to avoid getting low-spots on the tyres where its been sitting......also "chock" the wheels and leave the handbrake off and leave the car in gear(if its facing downhill.....leave in reverse,uphill leave

in 2nd/3rd)

 

I would strongly suggest not doing this ( starting the car up every week when not driving it) Do it far less than that, say once very couple of months, this is beacuse when a car is just started up and left running the engine takes three time longer to get warm and the oil to circulate than when being driven from cold. This creates alot of wear on the top half of the engine and will quickly wear out the tappets. It sounds funny i know but trust me it is not good for the car. It also creats large amounts of carbon build up in the engine with it idling all the time and mot being revvved which it needs to be to burn this off. A few years back i had 16v Mk2 Golf that i used to leave running for about 10 minutes beofre i got to work every morning and it preety much wore out the top half of the emgine. Arse! :(

This was also confirmed to me in a Newpaper article recently about letting your engine warm up before you drive it- it was wriiten by a scientist who works for Shell oil- he to said it was not the one! 8)

 

+ i dont think the tarp will be sufficient to keep the fury critters out - they''ll chew straight through it! :shock: Buy a couple pf moggies to keep in the barn with the car- they sought the little critters out it no time!

[Boarder 0]

I stored mine in a farm on a remote island off Essex mud flats last winter whilst I went boarding for five months. Well exposed and on damp grass/mud. It was due for a service so I left it till I got back.

 

I did not do anything except for

 

1. Wax the body

2. Anti-freeze

3. Screen wash

4. Remove battery (to charge it when I returned)

 

If you do not raise the car expect tyre flat spots and DO NOT use a cover.

When I got back, guess what, put in the recharged battery, turned the key and no lie one turn of the key and she came back to life. I could not believe it.

[G60 0]

thanks for all the input! :D

 

brakes: yep, i always chock the wheels.. and leave the car in second. no e-brakes.

 

tires: didn't think about flat spots.. so i will probably jack the car, support it... and take off all four wheels. probably take off all the brake components as well. brakes need refresh anyway.

 

starting/idling: i did this last winter about every 2 months... so only 3 times over the whole winter i think. car started first time every time and idled like a dream even in -20C. no battery boosting, nothing. since i have things apart, starting the car is not an option this time around so i don't need to worry about this.

 

wax/paintwork: full tear down/respray to come. not concerned with paint.. PO had a half-ass colour change done that i need to make right :x

 

covering: Boarder.. you say do not use a cover... any reason specifically? moisture buildup?

 

CRITTERS: this is my big concern. when i stored the rado last winter.. no problems at all. no mice or anything. but now... in the past couple weeks i've noticed mouse crap in my XR and my friend's Tempest that are both parked OUTSIDE the shed and also i have found mice inside the tractor which sits 5 feet from where the corrado (corradoS heh heh heh) will be sitting. this makes me worry a little.. i think the mice have moved in on the shed a little more this year.

 

solutions to the mice problem...

1) going to put a tarp under the car... then some tight-knit wire meshing... and then another tarp. wrap this up around the sides of the car so the entire bottom is covered. i also planned to cover the top, but if this is a bad idea i'll just to the bottom.

 

2) thinking about getting a few stray cats and leaving em out there. they'll probably die out there in the cold, but the pound just puts them all to sleep anyway...... too many cats not enough homes.

 

3) mouse traps all around the car. moth balls all around the car.. apparently animals don't like the smell.

 

 

of course i'll be out there checking up on things frequently and intervening if something is amiss.

 

i'm hoping to have a sealed, concrete-floored storage shed starting next summer... so just need to make it through this winter....

 

this is how it looked last year:

[G60Jet 1]

if the shed had power, string up a small 20 or 30 watt bulb and hang it inside the car, the heat off the bulb will stop the damp, stick it on a timer for over night use too. you can also stick one under the engine to do the same thing

[G60 0]

nigel. good man. only thing i'd worry about then is fire... those mice might try to chew through the wires..could a small bulb blow and spark?.......i wonder how safe that is.

[vr6storm 0]

what would be classed a long time guys?? because i've left my c in the garage for 1 week so far and have got 4 more weeks till i drive it!

 

Would you suggest i do any of the above? should i turn the engine ona for a bit ever so often?

 

 

start the engine once every week and let it get up to operating temp that way it should charge the battery and hopefully burn off any condensation inside the engine.........make sure you do this in a well-ventilated arean tho(to avoid carbon-mono-oxide poisoning etc) and if possible move the car ever so slightly so as to avoid getting low-spots on the tyres where its been sitting......also "chock" the wheels and leave the handbrake off and leave the car in gear(if its facing downhill.....leave in reverse,uphill leave

in 2nd/3rd)

 

I would strongly suggest not doing this ( starting the car up every week when not driving it) Do it far less than that, say once very couple of months, this is beacuse when a car is just started up and left running the engine takes three time longer to get warm and the oil to circulate than when being driven from cold. This creates alot of wear on the top half of the engine and will quickly wear out the tappets. It sounds funny i know but trust me it is not good for the car. It also creats large amounts of carbon build up in the engine with it idling all the time and mot being revvved which it needs to be to burn this off. A few years back i had 16v Mk2 Golf that i used to leave running for about 10 minutes beofre i got to work every morning and it preety much wore out the top half of the emgine. Arse! :(

This was also confirmed to me in a Newpaper article recently about letting your engine warm up before you drive it- it was wriiten by a scientist who works for Shell oil- he to said it was not the one! 8)

 

+ i dont think the tarp will be sufficient to keep the fury critters out - they''ll chew straight through it! :shock: Buy a couple pf moggies to keep in the barn with the car- they sought the little critters out it no time!

 

 

but this wasn't advice for lanny...........if you read who i was replying to......it was dubprince and he was only speaking approx 4 weeks or less of not driving it.....by starting it up once a week(and letting it idle to operating temp) over a 4 week period he is very unlikely to cause any harm at all is he?? :wink: