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putting her to bed

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:13 pm
by Alan
It's time to put the race car to bed.

Everyone I ask about winterizing the race car has a different opinion.

So below are some of the questions:

How low do you go,
on your antifreeze before you store your race car before winter? Can we use the green stuff or orange stuff? Will my antique tester, work on the orange?

Do you leave your battery in the car or storage it? Do you charge it before you store it? Or put it on a charger for the winter?

Every fall mice think that my race car is a new condo ready for remodeling. How do you keep mice out of the car?

Should I take the race tires off the car for the winter? Do they need to be stored in a warm dry place? Or should I put the car on jacks? Or do you say screw it there just old race tires anyways?

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:33 pm
by badrocco16v
Keep your tires in climate controlled environment. Basement etc...
Drain the coolant and get a cat.
Not sure about the other stuff.

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:45 pm
by Alan
from Bruce Wentzel

Regarding mice
a 5 gallon pail with the spinning wheel baited with peanut butter is the answer. takes a mouse and keeps on trapping.
Had as many as 16 accumulated in my old red truck one winter.

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:37 am
by SeniorPBA2B
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=37

What's missing in the above is the tires should be deflated down to roughly 5 psi ... and removed from the car to avoid flat spots and/or storing the car up on jackstands.

If stored in a non-heated garage, the engine and cooling system should be protected with an adequate amount of ethylene-glycol based anti-freeze (green, gold, pink, etc.) Do not use the orange Dexcool stuff that GM uses unless you completely fill the system with a liquid coolant mixture that is devoid of any air, to avoid the corrosion that oxidation will create.

Scattering moth balls throughout the vehicle will keep the rodents away from your vehicle, but it makes your car stink for months thereafter. The intake and exhaust openings should be wrapped tight and sealed.

The battery should be cleaned with a mild solution of baking soda and water, fully charged and then stored indoors.

Jim

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 4:15 am
by Alan
A friend said

mice don't like dryer sheets

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:22 am
by 924RACR
Some additional thoughts, and my take...

Orange coolant - there'd better not be any air in my coolant system anyway, bubbles do bad things.

Lucky enough not to have real mice problems - must be enough feral or outdoor cats in the neighborhood.

Battery: got an Optima. I just pop the kill switch in the fall, and kick it back on in the spring... has worked well enough for the past 10 years, it seems...

Another thing, speaking of things that'll freeze - don't forget to bring your firebottle inside, if you have an AFFF style bottle (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam)... my little car does, and I'd hate to have that thing freeze solid...

Oh, yeah, on tires - well, they're old and junk anyway in the spring, aged out, so I don't generally worry too much about preserving them over the winter, just buy new and go faster... but I agree with removing, deflating, storing in bags in a steady temp area away from electric motors and light, if you are looking to preserve them...

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:23 pm
by greendot
Tried moth balls and dryer sheets
found a baby mouse on the dryer sheet.
Water/antifreeze trap is infallible. Years ago there was an article in the OCSC newsletter describing that.
Yeah, I am an old fart.

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:25 pm
by greendot
badrocco16v wrote:Keep your tires in climate controlled environment. Basement etc...
Drain the coolant and get a cat.
Not sure about the other stuff.
Tried the 'dry" system on an RX-7 some years ago.
That summer a thru bolt broke. Cross said that was a no-no as the bolts will corrode in the dry environment.

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:38 pm
by RJK045
What my dad and I use to do as far as the car goes is put on street tires. or put it on jack stands at the furthest point on the suspension closes to the wheels. this way the springs don't sit unloaded witch will make the car handle different for the first few race weekends as well sit higher been doing this for 46 years

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:12 am
by r.ranville
Not a race car, but...I keep my Miata in the garage attached to my house, where it seldom gets down to freezing. I start it once a week, move it around in the driveway and run it up and down the street when it is reasonably clear. Seems to be doing OK.

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:40 am
by drm101
I've always heard that it's a good idea to change the oil just before storage because used oil has contaminants that are acidic and if they sit on bearings over time they can erode them. Also, roll the motor over, or better yet, loosen rocker arms so that valve springs that are compressed don't take a set.

Re: putting her to bed

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:12 pm
by Alan
its time