Sad times...gotta store the car for college!

[Dodge69_440]

Ok, I am leaving to go to college in a few weeks and will be storing my 69 coronet in my grandparents garage. I will probably only come back for Christmas so the car will be out of commission for a long periods of time.  My question is, what should I do when I store it?  Are there special fluids I should add?  I plan I putting the car on jackstands to protect the tires as well.  I will miss her, but want the car in the best shape when I get back so I can hit the road right away!  You guys rock, thanks in advance for any help.

[moparguy01]

keep everything full, including the fuel tank. also leave the sunvisors DOWN and put a bunch of bounce dryer sheets in the car, under the seats and all. it really helps with rodent issues. mice love to have a nice seat up on the sunvisors while they munch on the headliner.

other than that if im putting it away for a long time i pour small amounts of oil into the carb until it starts smoking then shut it off. puts a nice oil coating on the inside of the cylinders. I dont know if this is needed but it sure makes me feel better.

[253862656971]

Stick steel wool in the tailpipes and any other openings that lead to the inside of the engine.  I've seen more motors get stuck from a mouse in the tailpipe than anything.  Also stick steel wool in anyplace that a mouse could get inside the car.  You're gonna miss something so like 01 said, use bounce sheets or moth balls.

[dodge freak]

Take it to college, yeah stay off campus, I did, you can park it at the house.  I had a cover for my car just keep it cover.You can drive it on weekends, not sure where its at but most college towns are small and safe, the kids there won't bother it. Get a alarm system for it. Girls like guy's with cars too, it help me. For gas other kids will give you money, more than the gas cost, to drive them somewhere. College is one of the best times in your life, make the most of it. Don't drive drunk and it be fine. I had a very clean 1970 Cutlass in college nothing happen to it for 3 years , then after I was done with school  I wreck it right by my house, if I was still in school with it nothing most likely would have happen to it.

Good Luck this fall, I hope you have a great time. PS don't drink too much-you can do that later , study hard and you be glad you did later on. Party only on the weekends IF you have too.

[moparguy01]

not in todays day and age. at colleges now you cant have a nice car cause someone will be jealous and screw with it. gone are the days of them starting a fight with a person now, now its a fight with the persons property. My charger will NEVER EVER see a college campus. I simply cannot trust people not to screw with it. Ive had my daily driver backed into, driven straight into, kicked, scratched, etc. No way will they do that to a nice car I own.

[dodge freak]

That was back in 1985-1987 so I have no idea how the kids are now, you might be right, thats too bad.

[resq302]

I like to add some Sta-bil to the gas.  Prevents varnishing and gumming up of the fuel system.  I also add about 5 more psi to the tires to prevent flat spots over the winter.  Also, might want to pull the battery and or at least put it on a trickle charger while it is stored away so the battery doesn't go bad on you. 

[dodge freak]

Make sure you have a cover for it, even if its inside it helps keep the dust off it, you be surprise how much dust will get on it in 6 months. If it is inside a cheap cover will be ok, check out Target, I got a good one there, but it was 15 years ago, still have it , looks fine.

[Mike DC]

 
I agree with the above stuff.

Get the interior protected against rodents, stuff the tailpipes, and cover the car with SOMETHING even if there's already gonna be a roof over it.  It would be better to just drain the whole tank/fuel system entirely, but a few months should be do-able with gasoline stabilizers.  The tires would get flat-spotted after a long time but a few months shouldn't be too much to deal with.  DO NOT put the car up on jackstands; even putting jackstands underneath the lower control arms & rear axlehousing is not quite the same as when the weight is actually sitting on all four wheels.


Whatever you do it would be better to dig the car out whenver you get the chance.  Christmas break, spring break, etc.  Even just driving it a few mintues or rolling it around for a few feet is better than a full-blown sit for twice as many months.

 

[Wakko]

Excellent suggestions.  For the carb oil, when my pops used to run a marina he would pour Marvel Mystery Oil into the carb until the motor died and leave it.  Swap the plugs at the beginning of the season and it'd be good to go.  If it's only going to be for six month periods I don't thikn you need to put THAT much oil in it, but definitely douse it.

[Dodge69_440]

Thanks for the advice guys, I wish I could take the car with me to college, but can't.  First of all going from CA to Boston for college and sadly the car would get trashed or stolen on today's campuses.  Still gotta a few weeks and want to hit the track with my new engine at least once before I leave  !  Kind of a change of topic, but I just got my mopar short block 360 I built dynoed.  She came in with 247hp and 287 ft. pounds on a chasis dyno with an exhaust leak I need to fix.  With that power, 3.55 gears and a 3400 stall what do you think the car would pull in the quarter in case I can't go before I leave?

[deputycrawford]

I think it would be in the low 14 second range in the quarter. Oh, and spread those moth balls on the garage floor under the car while you store it. If the mice don't like the smell they shouldn't want to go under there to get in. That way the moth ball smell stays out of the car for the most part.