Anyone have any great tips for storing a VS over the winter. It is going on a Battery Tender and will be kept in a heated garage, but wanted to know about other ideas/tips to assure a healthy start in the Spring.
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Stabil in the gas tank. When you start it in the spring, crank it without the coil wire for a bit to get the oil back up in the engine.
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Thanks for the advise -
Wouldn't turning off the fuel pump with the engine running until the carbs are emptied, also be a good idea?
I like running dry especially with crappy ethanol gas. No gas, no leakage and no boom. There is stabilizer for ethanol gas but ethanol just goes rancid (within 30 days at least in marine environment). Draining gas does make it hard to run it every couple weeks though. Can you get non-ethanol gas and add Stabil Marine to it? Best to change oil before storing, pump up tires (or lift on jack stands), and Bounce fabric sheet (to ward off mice). Disconnect battery and put it on an automatic trickle charger.
IMHO running the carbs dry can dry out O rings etc. Stabil in the tank then run it for a few minutes . In the spring, crank with coil off for 20 seconds reconnect the coil wire and fire it up.
Does Bounce really work ???
some put their cars in a Car Capsule.
Honestly whether you run the carbs dry or not, the gas WILL evaporate out of the float bowls.
I put STABIL in the tank and fill the tank as high as I can, then run for 15 minutes. Pull inside and put it on a battery tender. I do try to go to the one non-ethanol station near me for the last fill-up.
Some recommend putting MAX sidewall pressure in the tires to prevent flat-spotting. I usually just roll the car a few feet forward, then back every month.
Peppermint oil on cotton balls will keep mice away.
Simple garage mouse trap that works: 5 gallon bucket,drill and insert two 1/2" holes 1" down from the top and opposite each other. Center drill the cap and bottom of a Coke bottle , Insert a 1/2" wood dowel through a hole in the bucket, through the bottle and the other bucket hole, this allows the bottle and dowel to rotate freely. Dab peanut butter on the middle / side of the bottle, fill the bucket with 4" of water and some antifreeze. Prop a 2 x 4 against the bucket for the mice to climb & walk out onto the bottle, it will rotate dumping the mouse into the bucket.
You Tube variations : https://www.youtube.com/result...ry=bucket+mouse+trap
I just dangle a bottle cap full of peanut butter from the end of the stick via fishing line. A lot simpler, and it works very well. The peppermint is for a deterrent until the mouse finds the bucket 
The best thing about the bucket trap is that it doesn't need reset. 
I don't use ethanol gas at all....so I just fill it up...put some Stabil (or other fuel storage additive) and put it up on a lift that the mice can't access and that is it....the battery doesn't need any attention...... or rather it hasn't been a problem.
In the spring, I just grind the starter till it starts .......easy peasey...
I have stored my both inside and outside every winter for 8 years. Stabil, battery maintainer, and I start once a month, with the exception of when I could not find it in 20 feet of snow.
That time of year and I have a couple of questions:
(1) is there any benefit to a heated garage verses an unheated one? I live in Toronto so it can get quite cold but my garage is not heated but I could rent a heated one;
(2) many suggest an oil change either just before storage or in the spring. The car has only gone about 1000 km (600 miles) since it last had an oil change so is this necessary; and
(3) Sta-Bil or Seafoam in the fuel system?
The car is an Intermeccanica with a battery switch so plan switching that to off and then attaching a battery tender.
Thanks in advance for your advice
Hi not sure if your name is Jonathan but I think I saw your build some time ago on Henry's site.
Welcome from another IM. Being in Ottawa I know the cold weather well. I did a lot of reading on rust it seems that they say condensation is the issue that occurs either when it is cold or when it is really hot and humid like in the southern states.
It seems that prevention of condensation using either a heated garage and/or a CarCapsule, (it has a built in fan to keep the air from condensing) , could be used to prevent rust.
All rust proofing companies usually make holes inside the frame to oil spray cars for that reason essentially.
As to preparation, I fill the gas tank and add gas line antifreeze or gas treatment.
I add a few pounds extra of air to the tires. I try to change the oil before I store it or very closely before and I use Synthetic oil in my IM full subie car. If you have a dry sump in an IM-6 then I am not sure if you need to do anything.
Since my garage is heated I often put it up on a Quickjack for a month out of the winter storage and I do some projects on it during the off season I figure it prevents tire flattening.
I also had rubber stall mats installed on the floor of my garage as an insulation barrier for condensation.
That is about it.
Ray
MQS987 posted:That time of year and I have a couple of questions:
(1) is there any benefit to a heated garage verses an unheated one? I live in Toronto so it can get quite cold but my garage is not heated but I could rent a heated one;(2) many suggest an oil change either just before storage or in the spring. The car has only gone about 1000 km (600 miles) since it last had an oil change so is this necessary; and
(3) Sta-Bil or Seafoam in the fuel system?
The car is an Intermeccanica with a battery switch so plan switching that to off and then attaching a battery tender.
Thanks in advance for your advice
Seafoam 100%
I think in Canada the High Octane is most times Ethanol free if you are looking for non ethanol gas... Unfortunately it is hard to get them to tell you that.
I keep my car (IM6) in a cold garage all winter. Full tank of gas, fuel stabilizer run through for a few minutes before shut down, windows open just a little, battery charger hooked up, car cover on, and that's about it. No oil change before winter storage, as it's still pretty good from the Spring oil change.
I've never had any issues so far, and no mice (touch wood).
Yes of course a battery conditioner is a must. I find to keep the bright stuff from surface pitting a heated place is the best.
I have a cousin who has a Harley. He has an unheated two car garage. He built a 3 inch styrofoam box big enough for it to be driven into and with a small plexiglass inspection window. He put an incandescent light in the unit with a thermostat set at 55F. It goes on and off with the thermostat to heat the box. He has not had one pit on any of his chrome let alone any rust on any bolt.
You know how those guys like their chrome to shine
What Bob IM say's x 2
One tip for AFTER the winter. Pull the coil wire and crank the engine for awhile to get the oil back up in the engine before trying to fire it up.
No winter storage for us on the West (left) Coast. We just keep driving although, sometimes, we have to wear a long sleeve shirt.
Don't pull the coil wire. Some ignitions will crap out if the spark has no where to go.
You want to pull the positive 12v feed to the coil.
I do agree it is wise to get the oil pressure up, as well as give the fuel pump some time to fill the carbs.
Danny...Good call on the don't pull the coil wire , but disconnect the 12v ~
Here in NC I can drive all year most of the time and I find that having a remnant piece of carpet under the car helps keep the moisture down from the hot cold transition of the concrete. The Berber type of carpet works great as it has a dense weave, this has worked for years for me for the Speedster and the 911.
I'll be cruising the carpet places for remnants once again as I lost what I had during Florence.
I am on a Boston Whaler board and I should have said I did not need to hear from those in warm climates who were going to say they could simply drive it all year long .
IAM RAY I doubt this is the car you saw. Our car (my 26 year old son's really) was purchased new from IM in 2008. It is/was their most basic Speedster with no options and the 76 hp VW type motor.
The car was bought originally in 2008 by a condo developer here in Toronto to be a prop in the sales office for a California themed lake front condominium they were developing. The was going to be a raffle prize for one of the condo buyers. As I understand it when the 2008 crash came condo sales stopped for a while, the project changed investors and was finally built in 2011 (the last year the car was tagged). The car was then moved to the underground garage of another condo the same developer had built where it sat under its cover until this spring.
My son is a friend of one of the principals of the development company and saw the car back in 2008 and every year had asked his friend's dad if he could buy the car. Well this year the parking spot it was taking up was now worth a lot of money as there were no more spots in that building so they let it go. My son took delivery this spring when the car had 685 km on the clock.
I would like to thank all of the members of this board for all of the information and I (as his co enthusiast and financier) have we have gleaned from this board in the past months.
Warmest regards
Andrew
Welcome Andrew....
"I would like to thank all of the members of this board for all of the information and I (as his co enthusiast and financier) have we have gleaned from this board in the past months."
That comment made me chuckle.. Financier isn't that the truth Ray
IAM RAY you as a Canadian will get the reference; the new definition of Freedom 55, when your youngest child turns 55 you will be free.
For those non-Canadians Freedom 55 was an ad campaign for a life insurance/investment company that suggested that if you invested with them you would be wealthy enough at 55 to retire...ya right.
But to be fair to my son he put in a chunk of his own money and the rest was a loan from the Bank of Dad and he is paying it back from his pay cheque every month and will have paid it off by next spring.
MQS987 posted:I am on a Boston Whaler board and I should have said I did not need to hear from those in warm climates who were going to say they could simply drive it all year long
IAM RAY I doubt this is the car you saw. Our car (my 26 year old son's really) was purchased new from IM in 2008. It is/was their most basic Speedster with no options and the 76 hp VW type motor.
The car was bought originally in 2008 by a condo developer here in Toronto to be a prop in the sales office for a California themed lake front condominium they were developing. The was going to be a raffle prize for one of the condo buyers. As I understand it when the 2008 crash came condo sales stopped for a while, the project changed investors and was finally built in 2011 (the last year the car was tagged). The car was then moved to the underground garage of another condo the same developer had built where it sat under its cover until this spring.
My son is a friend of one of the principals of the development company and saw the car back in 2008 and every year had asked his friend's dad if he could buy the car. Well this year the parking spot it was taking up was now worth a lot of money as there were no more spots in that building so they let it go. My son took delivery this spring when the car had 685 km on the clock.
I would like to thank all of the members of this board for all of the information and I (as his co enthusiast and financier) have we have gleaned from this board in the past months.
Warmest regards
Andrew
But it wouldn't be the same if us West Coasters didn't remind those in the Great White North of our great weather every year.
Brag on, Kalifornia guys.
... but if you start complaining about ANYTHING (and I do mean anything— traffic, government, and especially your taxes) that’s where we’re going to have to draw the line.
A recent study of the overall rate of taxation in the 50 states and DC put the Golden State at 44th overall (meaning there are 43 states with higher overall taxes).
Number one, with the worst overall tax rate, worse even than New Jersey? Right here on the good ‘ol Land of Lincoln— the only place in our great nation where a $100,000 house in a blighted neighborhood can be taxed at over $4000 a year. 10% combined sales tax, failed schools, roads to rival Mogadishu, state colleges with tuition over $20,000 a year, junk-rated bonds, and 4 of our last 8 governors in state or federal penitentiary.
Slather a nice, thick layer of corruption over the top of all of that, then let it marinade in 7 brutally long, dark months of winter.
Robert M posted:MQS987 posted:I am on a Boston Whaler board and I should have said I did not need to hear from those in warm climates who were going to say they could simply drive it all year long
IAM RAY I doubt this is the car you saw. Our car (my 26 year old son's really) was purchased new from IM in 2008. It is/was their most basic Speedster with no options and the 76 hp VW type motor.
The car was bought originally in 2008 by a condo developer here in Toronto to be a prop in the sales office for a California themed lake front condominium they were developing. The was going to be a raffle prize for one of the condo buyers. As I understand it when the 2008 crash came condo sales stopped for a while, the project changed investors and was finally built in 2011 (the last year the car was tagged). The car was then moved to the underground garage of another condo the same developer had built where it sat under its cover until this spring.
My son is a friend of one of the principals of the development company and saw the car back in 2008 and every year had asked his friend's dad if he could buy the car. Well this year the parking spot it was taking up was now worth a lot of money as there were no more spots in that building so they let it go. My son took delivery this spring when the car had 685 km on the clock.
I would like to thank all of the members of this board for all of the information and I (as his co enthusiast and financier) have we have gleaned from this board in the past months.
Warmest regards
Andrew
But it wouldn't be the same if us West Coasters didn't remind those in the Great White North of our great weather every year.
As long as we get to emphasis the GREAT in Great White North. I will post photos at some point of my son's car which is white/ivory with a red interior and tan roof.
Hysterical but painfully true
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As a polite Canadian I was not going to bring any comparisons into this but then we have a Prime Minster who ran on a platform of increased taxes for the wealthy with more social services and he and his party won. Draw from that what you will.
But back to what unites us...cars and in particular Speedsters whether in warm or cold weather. My son and I were out yesterday on a sunny and 5 degree celsius day with toques (hats) and gloves.
all good points but im curious what SPF# lotion to wear this winter while cruising around, might have to put the top up if it gets chilly:}}}}}flamesuit on
MQS987 posted:
My son and I were out yesterday on a sunny and 5 degree celsius day with toques (hats) and gloves.
I was out on a cloudy day today for about 45 minutes in 3 deg C. and had to turn the heat down in the car. Espar now rules for me.... 
MQS987 posted:but then we have a Prime Minster who ran on a platform of increased taxes for the wealthy with more social services and he and his party won. Draw from that what you will.
he also ran that platform on legalizing cannabis nationally and that woke up enough young folk temporarily to vote......
Stan Galat posted:Brag on, Kalifornia guys.
... but if you start complaining about ANYTHING (and I do mean anything— traffic, government, and especially your taxes) that’s where we’re going to have to draw the line.
A recent study of the overall rate of taxation in the 50 states and DC put the Golden State at 44th overall (meaning there are 43 states with higher overall taxes).
Number one, with the worst overall tax rate, worse even than New Jersey? Right here on the good ‘ol Land of Lincoln— the only place in our great nation where a $100,000 house in a blighted neighborhood can be taxed at over $4000 a year. 10% combined sales tax, failed schools, roads to rival Mogadishu, state colleges with tuition over $20,000 a year, junk-rated bonds, and 4 of our last 8 governors in state or federal penitentiary.
Slather a nice, thick layer of corruption over the top of all of that, then let it marinade in 7 brutally long, dark months of winter.
We were lucky to get out of Illinois four years ago. My wife and were both born in Illinois, but have lived from Washington D.C. to Hawaii. Wherever you live, if you have deep roots, it is tough to pull them out and plant them somewhere else, particularly if you have family that can't/won't come along. Maybe that is an argument for the snowbird phenomenon. They can have the best of both.
Stan Galat posted:Brag on, Kalifornia guys.
... but if you start complaining about ANYTHING (and I do mean anything— traffic, government, and especially your taxes) that’s where we’re going to have to draw the line.
A recent study of the overall rate of taxation in the 50 states and DC put the Golden State at 44th overall (meaning there are 43 states with higher overall taxes).
Number one, with the worst overall tax rate, worse even than New Jersey? Right here on the good ‘ol Land of Lincoln— the only place in our great nation where a $100,000 house in a blighted neighborhood can be taxed at over $4000 a year. 10% combined sales tax, failed schools, roads to rival Mogadishu, state colleges with tuition over $20,000 a year, junk-rated bonds, and 4 of our last 8 governors in state or federal penitentiary.
Slather a nice, thick layer of corruption over the top of all of that, then let it marinade in 7 brutally long, dark months of winter.
You hit on several of the parts I hate. Luckily, this is a rather big state and there are parts where the traffic isn't bad and a house is still affordable. Unfortunately we only have the one government and it's liberal and getting more liberal. I've often said if I could find this weather and the scenery in a much more conservative state I'd be gone. For now I'll take the bad with the good and carry on.