I've had my Tiger for about five years now in similar climate, and I've done
the following all the way up to doing nothing. Storing a Tiger is no
different than storing any other car for the winter that I can think of.
The worst that happens to me is mice. Last year they made a nice little
nest in the convertable storage area, and ate a very little, very expensive,
hole in the top. One year had a nest on the F4B, another year snuggled up
to the battery. You would think the 8 cats around here would do more than
pee on the wheels. I've heard that bay leaves scattered all around will
dissuade mice away - will try that this year. The nests themselves wouldn't
be so bad if they didn't make them out of the fabric parts of the car.
Here's what I've done so far this year, which is more than in most past
years:
filled the tank and added Stabil (to keep corrosion and varnish at bay
respectively)
top off all fluids (to make me feel better)
replaced the coolant (to keep the anti-corrosion level high)
charged and then disconnected the battery (to keep it from leaking)
washed and waxed, Nevr Dull on the chrome and wheels (great discovery
this
year)
vacuum and protectant on all the interior vinyl (can't hurt)
put the top up (mice!)
cleaned up the engine and sprayed with WD-40 (to keep corrosion down)
even put on tire black - (no use the tires looking bad for 6 months!)
pulled the speedo out to send off for rebuilding (again)
checked everything else out to make list of parts to order over the
winter
put the car six feet in the air on the lift - let's see those micies
get to
it this year!!! HAHAHA! will report in the spring how well
mice climb
There was one year I did absolutely nothing, and I think the only thing I
had to do in the spring was charge the battery. I think all of the above
just makes me feel better, the car looks better for longer than it does in
the summer, and I know it is ready to go in the spring. The only other
thing I always do is start it up as often as I can and let it get up to temp
to hopefully evaporate off some of the condensation, splash oil around in
the engine, and keep everything free, etc., pump the brakes and clutch to
keep them free, check under the hood for mice nests, etc.. Even on those
few warm days, I resist temptation to drive it - they just use too much road
salt around here. I change the oil in the spring.
Others on the list will probably have more and better advice for you and
me - probably to move to Southern California. ;-)
Been there, done that....
Chris Thompson
B382000331
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