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#1
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storage
i have to store my dart outside this winter,i live in the midwest. i was thinking of covering the car or should i not cover it? do i jack the wheels off the ground and oil the cylinders, or should i make it excessable to start and run it a couple times a week?
thanks for any input larry |
#2
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I stored my car out side a year ago. I did not do much prep work before storing it, just made sure I had plenty of anti-freeze so it would not freeze up in winter, and fully charged the battery.
I put a good car cover over the car, but I found the wind (It's windy where I live) moved the cover and rubbed the paint in a few places! If you do this, try to park next to a wind break. Depending on how nice the paint job is, you may want to spend a few bucks over the winter to rent an indoor storage space. Some of the car club members found some intresting places to store their cars. One was an underground parking garage at a retirement home. The owenr of the retirement home agreed to rent some unused parking spaces in the parking garage. Another guy is renting out extra storag space in his warehouse. One bad thing about some of these storage places is they deny any responsability if your car is dammaged or stolen. |
#3
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Accesible
Definately make sure your fluids are all good for the winter. Make sure your tires are full of air, and You might want to invest in a few mothballs for the interior. I live at an apartment complex right now, so my car is always outside. To keep the cover from scatching the paint - you might want to put plastic between the car and the cover (Home depot has large remodeling sheets cheap). Just make sure your car is clean before you put the cover on...any dirt will still act like sand paper. Starting once a week sure wouldn't hurt, but you might want to disconnect the battery otherwise.
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#4
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storage
thanks super dart and 451 mopar for the info on storing of my dart, your input will be put to use. thanks larry
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#5
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when i used to live on the prairies and had to put my car up for the winter, i raised the car up on jackstands to relax the suspension and keep the springs from sagging(also keeps the tires round)the jackstands were not uder the control arms or the differential housing, they were on the sub frame.being up in the air makes it a little tougher for someone to hop in it and drive away,too
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#6
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I wouldn't bother with keeping it off the ground, the suspension hanging most of the time will quite often do more harm then good to it. Remember that a car spends most of it's time sitting on the ground anyway.
If you're going to start it make sure that you leave it running to get it warmed up fully or else that too is doing more harm then good. There's no point to starting it every week. There was only part of one winter that I had a car stored outside, it got started on occasion but not very often. Would usually get the snow off the cover and get part of it off, and left it running while doing shoveling. If you're worried about your cover catching wind use some pieces of thin rope and bricks to weigh it down. The cover I used had 2 loops on each side that I'd put the ropes through to do this. |
#7
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If you get a decent cover, it should not scratch the paint. I have one of those blue fabric ones (kind of cheapo, $75)) and stored my car outside a couple of years back, worked fine.
You might want to consider one of those "carbana" things, you know, those metal frame w/canvas garages. They can be pricey, but you could get creative.......I see that in Kmart, they sell canopies for outdoor parties. they are canvas with metal frames. They will provide protection for directly over the car and you could easily make sides for it. They are @ $100.00. |
#8
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I have a California Car Covers "NOHA" ($300) car cover, and while it didn't "scratch" the paint, it did rub the clear coat when the wind blew hard. Anyhow, I had to re-buff the clear coat right above the drivers side window where the rubbing occured.
Around where I live, one of those temporary car covers would probbably get blow away. Heck, I watched a sheetmetal backyard shed get blown over the fence and into the neighbors back yard. Anyhow, indoor storage is usually best. I'm not sure if having the car covered is even worth ot unless you can park where a wind break is, then the cover will protect against bird droppingd and UV dammage. |
#9
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About that plastic sheet....
.... I wouldn't put it on the car before putting on the cover. The plastic will retain any moisture, trap it, and keep it 'till next spring. The covers are generally okay by themselves, but here's a crazy idea: instead of spending $100 on a cover, buy some 2x4's, 1/2" aspenites and 2 eight foot long steel "T"-bars (that you'll cut in two) and build a shelter around your car. I doesn't have to be pretty, and probably won't be, but just build a frame around the contour of your car, nail the aspenite to it, then pound the T-bars about 1-1/2' deep on all four corners of the shelter, and either join the bars and frame with lag-bolts, or, use a rope to secure the shelter down (so it won't fly off during a wind storm).
This way, if your shelter doesn't have big cracks in the joints, you can leave your car windows open for ventilation. |
#10
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Use a Quality Car Cover
Hey, I highly recommend a quality car cover from California Car Cover:
http://www.californiacarcover.com Since we bought our 1968 Road Runner last January, our 1998 Mustang GT convertible is now outside. We got a quality car cover from them and it keeps her cool in the summer and well protected in the winter. A good car cover will last a long time and will help protect your paint job and your car. |
#11
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I have yet to have someone take me up on my offer, but...
Bring your car down to Arizona. It never gets cold here and I'll drive it once a week Come pick it up when it warms up at your place. Later, Greg |
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