I finally have the luxury of storing my stang for the winter, it'll be outside unfortunately, covered up though, any tips to keep the thing in good shape...as far as gas and such...any help is appreciated.

 

Keep just enough gas in it to be able to get to the nearest gas station in the spring, as even though you can add stabil, the octane rating will nevertheless drop as it sits. If you want you can spray foggin oil in all the cylinders to keep them from rusting, cover the tail pipes, uh...and starting it every now and then really isn't important I believe.

 

oh yea almost time to garage mine too, winter is coming! i hope it goes by fast, i hate midwest winters...

 

No kidding huh? I live in the midwest too, Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

 

make sure the antifreeze level is up to snuff for the climate you live in and I would remove the battery and place it in inside somewhere so it don't fully discharge and then freeze and crack the case spilling battery acid all over the place. you can buy a battery extender and put it on the battery either in the car or not to keep the battery charged up, they're relatively cheap, around $40-$50 and they constantly monitor the state of charge in the battery and only trickle charge it as needed to keep it from sulfating while it sits unused. you do need to be close to an electrical outlet for this device to function though. it's not a bad idea to jack up the car and take the weight off the tires too, use blocks or jackstands under the rear axle and the front control arms. and add some air to the tires too as the pressure will drop about 1 psi for every 10 degrees drop in the outside air temperature. don't leave the parking brake on either as it could get "stuck" on. use wheel chocks instead. and finally, before parking it, let it run so the exhaust system comes up to full temperature to evaporate out the moisture in it to minimize rusting and then plug the ends of the tailpipes with some plastic and duct tape.

 

I know what you mean-- I live in HartFORD,Wisconsin and I'm going to drive my stang as long as I can before the roads turn into a"SALT HELL". It's going to be very hard to come home every night to see my stang in the garage and not be able to drive it--but its better than getting salt all over the body. I thought that you should keep the gas tank full and add that stabilizer to the gas so you don't get gas line freeze or water in it--especially if you don't have a heated garage?!? Roundman this may sound like a stupid question but why do you have to plug the end of the tailpipes with duct tape? Is that so something don't crawl in there and make a nest?!?

 

THanks guys, I appreciate the help, gonna get on that this weekend...little early but its getting cold in NH and with an insurance payment due, might as well call it winter.

 

that's a secondary reason for plugging them, the primary reason is to keep the moist air out of them so they don't rust up as badly as they could if left unplugged for long periods without running the engine.

 

Cool, this is useful information for me too. I'll be storing my Mustang in the driveway too, or I had better be since it's useless in any amount of snow. I'm sure I'll have a 4x4 soon. Anyway, my driveway is dirt and there's all sorts of little critters around, so I'm planning on getting a giant sheet of plywood to lie on the ground, and making a 2 foot plywood wall around the edge. Then parking the Mustang on it and putting a heavy tarp over the car and securing it down to the plywood wall. This way the car will be sealed up from the snow and little furry animals. I'll start it every weekend and if the roads are dry drive it up and down the block to make sure everything's good, and so I don't suffer too much Mustang withdrawl. Looks like this winter will be long, wet, and salty on Long Island, not to mention the iced over roads all around.

 

if you do start it on the weekends, make sure you let it run long enough to get the exhaust up to full temp so the water is evaporated out of it or get it out on the street and get it good and hot before you shut it off. they can be fun to drive on slippery parking lots if there aren't lots of light poles in the way of you spinning it out too!!! good way to learn how to drive better in a skid.