Fellow fiends:
The time is fast approaching when Old Whitesides will be put up for the
winter. Typically, I call it a season the first weekend after Thanksgiving.
All things being equal, I'd rather live in a warmer climate, but... I've
read the postings over the past day or so regarding things to do for such an
event. Let me list the things I do:
1. Drain the coolant; no matter how fresh (you can save it for next
year anyway), and open the heater valve (rationale: its easy and the less
water in contact with metal the beter the way I figure it. Even if there
are 'puddles' in the block, the mixture is not going to freeze until about
-35C (unlikely here in Detroit). If you have a compressor you could get
really high tech and blow out the heater radiator. I suspect that it
empties in the B anyway, judging by the placement of the hoses.
2. Prior to storage, change the engine oil and let it 'wash' the engine
for a few 100 miles. (rationale: nice clean clear oil without nasty
corrosive breakdown products seems better than dirty old murky oil with
horrid organic acids chewing away at various bits).
3. Disconnect and remove the batteries. Store them in the garage.
Trickle charge for a few hours on the occasional weekend. (rationale:
unless you are 100% sure you don't have a leak to ground somewhere (and
anyway over a period of 4 months) the batteries will loose charge. They'll
loose it much more slowly in the cold garage than in the reletively warm
basement (or so I've been told). Trickle charge to keep the battery fully
up on its electrons (note the high tech lingo; I got a B in
electrochemistry). Folks say to store batteries sitting on wood, not
cement. I don't know if this is an old mechanic's tale or not, but my work
bench is made of wood so I don't trouble myself with the debate.
4. Thuroughly wash and vacuum the car. Dry it completely. Get a car
cover and put it on (the car, silly). I store the car with the top up. If
you have a tonneau hang it up in the basement or some such place so molds
don't start up on it folded in some dark place in the garage. (rationale:
just seems to be a good idea, that's all).
5. Open all air vents and crack open the windows an inch or two
(rationale: Denise is right; it helps to equalize humidity and might prevent
mold from taking hold (hey, a poem!) in the spring.
6. Release the emergency brake.
Other bizarre things I do that my car guy friends think is absurd:
-I used to put the car up on jacks but don't anymore. I was told that it
helped save the sidewalls and was important for wire wheels too. Old
Whitesides has disk wheels and the sidewall story has been refuted by others
as perhaps only relevant to tires of the past (?). I don't really know. I
asked a tire dealer and he didn't either. The only thing he said was to
keep them out of sunlight (uv rays, don't you know). Sigh...
-"fog" the engine: I use an aerosol lubricant you can by at marine supply
stores (my car-guy friends have laugh attacks when I mention this stuff).
Swabbies use it on their boat engines prior to winter storage. With the
engine running and warm I spray it into the throats of the carbs, generously
too! As it reaches the combustion chambers it will drop the rpm and blue
smoke will come out of the exhaust (natch). Immediately shut the engine
off. The idea here is that the remaining oil now coats the carbs, needles,
jets, rings, cylander walls, etc, and "protects" these surfaces. From what,
I'm not sure. Anyway, I do it. In the spring the car starts up with a lot
of choke and some ether and the blue smoke finishes blowing out and the
plugs are fine and everyone is still puzzled as to why I do this. It was
recommended to me by my trusted albeit slow as molasses lbc mechanic (who
doesn't do any of the things I've listed in this posting when he puts his
TVRs away for the winter and they start up and run great each season;
there's a lesson in there somewhere but I'm not sure what it is.)
-I store the car with a full tank of gas. The rationale here is to prevent
cycles of condensation inside the tank. The drawback is that the next
spring the car will run less than optiamally until you get your first fillup
as the 'old' gas doesn't store well over the winter. The more volatile
elements have evaporated and the net effect probably is a loss of burn
quality and power generation. I haven't added 'dry gas' or some sort of
octane booster for storage purposes but have heard of others who do. 4
months isn't enough time for the gas to turn to goo. Trust me (he said).
-I put a rag in the exhaust at the back and rags in the throats of the carbs
(I take the air filters off to 'fog' the car anyway). Two reasons: moisture
and mice. I remember the first time I started this B after its restoration
(using the old muffler); about 176 mouse turds came flying out the rear end.
No mice tho... hmmm.
-needless to say; I don't start the car. I don't frankly know why people do
this. Unless you take it up to speed on your local highways and byways, and
keep it good and hot for some time I think you're doing more damage than
good. Your just putting a lot of moisture into the exhaust and probably
some gas into the oil as wash down on cold cylander walls.
---Last but by no means least: I visit the car on occasional Sundays. You
know; bring it flowers, look at its chrome, touch a fender or two, maybe
even sit in it and turn the wheel and make motor sounds. I dream of oil
leaks, of bruised knuckles and closed points, of yesterday and tomorrow.
Winter winds may howl
and ice may fall in sheets,
but me and me lbc,
we're really quite complete(s).
Ahhhh, I love this car...
Will "really, I'm not *that* lonely" Zehring
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