Winter storage

[Kurt S]

[ QUOTE ]
DO definitely pull the coil wire off and run the motor over a few times before starting after sitting all winter. This will get things lubed up a little before that initial fire-up after the oil has been draining into the pan all winter. Also, a leaky head gasket can cause a piston to hydraulic and bend a rod, valve, etc. upon initial startup. it's a rare occurence but I've seen it happen. Running the engine over using just the starter will help identify these situations before they're disasterous.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't agree with the oil part. Oil drains back to the pan every night and cars start just fine. A week or a year, there's about the same oil film left on a part. It's not like it's gonna fire on the first crank anyway; the fuel pump needs to pump in some fuel (to replace what's flashed off from the carb).
Not sure you'd find a leaky head gasket. If the cylinder was already full, it wouldn't crank. And if it was leaking it wouldn't fill fast enough to hydra-lock.
I'm with Joe on this one. Park it and disconnect the battery.
Sitting for 3-6 months w/o running is not hard on the car. Running it once a month can be hard on the exhaust. It doesn't get hot enough to burn off the acids and can help the exhaust pipes rust.

[camarojoe]

Actually, SK Kid is right, I know, because he was referencing what happened to me... and an engine WILL crank over when a cylinder is full of gas... and if it fires and starts before that particular cylinder has reached BDC and let the gas out the bottom of the cylinder... BOOM... rebuild time... Disagree all you want, and it may not be something that you need to worry about 99 times out of 100, but it CAN and did happen to me. I still have the bent rod and scored piston on a shelf to prove it. I blame it on a leaky Holley that alllowed fuel to run into the intake and puddle on top of 1 cylinder after sitting for an extended period of time.

[Supercar_Kid]

Running the engine over a few times with the coil wire disconnected can only help to get things lubed up more thoroughly prior to startup, whether the car's been sitting for a day, a week, or 10 years. It also allows for anything that may have seeped into a cylinder, coolant, gasoline, whatever to escape through an exhaust valve at a much gentler rate, without causing major problems.

It only takes a minute to do, and the consequences of not doing it can take considerably longer to correct. Suit yourself...save a minute and hit the key, keep your fingers crossed, and listen for the lifters to get quiet as the oil hits them...or doesn't.

[Belair62]

You guys it takes more than a few revolutions to get gas to the carb after storage !!! If you want to disconnect coil go for it...I have 6-7 months of storage a year and by that time...it takes a bit to get that thing fired...

[JoeG]

Hi Bob,
That was one of the advantages I had with the electric fuel pump. When you flipped the pump switch on it would pressurize the fuel line after a few seconds , but I also had a kill switch and would crank it a few times to bring up oil pressure,---then fire it up----

[DaJudge]

For winter storage I always top the gas tank off with Cam II. Racing fuel is more stable and does not gum up the carb and lines like pump gas. Give it a good coat of wax and drive my cars on top of one of those car jackets, disconnect and remove the battery, put the car cover on, and zip up the car jacket, keeps all condensate and moisture out. Put the battery on a battery tender and wait for spring. Before I fire it up in the spring I change the oil and filter, hook up the battery, then I remove the distributor and use a drill to prime the engine just to get oil through out the entire engine. With coil wire removed I crank it over just to get the fuel pump primed, put some fuel in the carb and reconnect the coil wire. Priming the engine with drill may be overkill but it gives me piece of mind. We all do pretty much the same thing to our cars just different variations.

[NCGuy68]

I like to add fuel stabilizer and fill the tank full of fresh Petro. Both pump and race gas will go "sour" within a few months. Its a particular problem with late model cars that have 'in tank' fuel pumps.

The carburetor cars like the same treatment.

[Seattle Sam]

Not that I have a car like this, but...

What do you do with a show car that only gets driven on and off the trailer? Do you empty the tank every year? Use fuel stabilizer? How do you keep the carb from getting gummed up with varnish?

just wondering...

-Sam

[NCGuy68]

Sam,

See my reply above......

Any fuel will begin to turn to varnish in short order. I've dealt with gummed-up carbs, fuel tanks and pumps. Its' nothing but a hassle and one you don't need.

Do yourself a favor and add a fuel stabilizer. I like Sta-Bil.