mywickedshelby Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 I am ready to put my SGT away for the Winter and was hoping to take advantage of the vast wealth of knowledge on this forum.......... The car will be garaged but not heated......at least until I convince Mrs. Wicked the garage needs to be heated! :huh: I was wondering about the gas in my tank. Should I add Sta-bil to the tank? If so, how much? when? Should I only leave a 1/4 or half tank in the car when I park her? Or is a full tank better? and why? If the gas goes bad, wouldn't it be better to only leave a small amount? Do I top off the tank with fresh gas before I start her up in the Spring?...or earlier if we luck out with a mild Winter? Service tomorrow (finally) at the dealer, a good wash Friday and goodnight, sleep tight for the Winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerS Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Michael, I would top off the tank. No room for condensation and water to get into the system. Sta-bil wouldn't hurt either. Just to the directions. Mrs. Wicked..........please let Mr. Wicked heat his baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoDakMac Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 The conventional wisdom around here is to top off the fuel tanks of your boat, cars, etc. that you plan to let sit for the winter. The idea is that a full tank will not have surface areas for moisture condensation in the tank – guess it makes some sense. I always add fuel stabilizer or “Sea Foam” to my fuel before topping them off for the winter and then run the motor for awhile to leave treated fuel in the engine. I run the fuel out of my lawn mower and other small carbureted engines. Modern gasoline does not have a very long shelf life according to the articles I have seen hence the need for Sta-bil or similar product. Some guys around here put their cars/boats up on jacks to prevent “flat spots” occurring on the tires over the winter months. I have never done that and never had any problems so far. Make sure your battery is fully charged or have a battery tender hooked up. I just make the rounds about every few months with a charger and check my batteries. I am fortunate in that my Shelby will be in a heated shop for the winter – it is sort of my baby. The boat and ’65 Chevelle have been relegated to cold storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywickedshelby Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 So Roger, fill that tank all the way up & park her! Sounds good, thanks my friend. and thanks too sodakmac, you filled in all the blanks! hit the bricks 65 chevelle? wow, never thought I hear that. then again, never owned a Shelby before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump_breaker Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Well, in TX we do not have to store vehicles for the winter much :P but in long term storage we always either removed the tires to avoid flat spots (as was mentioned earlier) or overinflated them to about 60 psi. This avoids flat spots as well. Never had a problem with gas going bad. I can only relate to lawnmowers or my 4 wheeler but even after sitting for 5 months (or longer if in a drought) they always crank. Isopropyl alcohol will help with moisture - about a bottle to the tank. Funny story on the alcohol. I got a Jeep stuck in a pond (don't ask :rolleyes: ) and it had to sit overnight. It went in with 1/2 a tank of gas and came out with 3/4!! About 5 bottles of alcohol later and the Jeep was actually able to crank with and run the entire tank of gas-water! It did not run well mind you but after I finally got the tank empty, changed the filters and did general cleaning it was like nothing ever happened. Oh and do something for critter avoidance. Mice love to nest in sitting vehicles and chew on the wires. I suggest mothballs and/or sulphur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywickedshelby Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Thanks Stump. You know, one night when your fingers are feeling limber, we want all the dirt on that Jeep in the pond story! Moth balls under the hood around the engine? or just around the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump_breaker Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Thanks Stump. You know, one night when your fingers are feeling limber, we want all the dirt on that Jeep in the pond story! Moth balls under the hood around the engine? or just around the car? I would just scatter them around the car and maybe put a few in a bag with some holes and put under the hood. Don't put them inside the car though. You'll never get that smell out! Nothing special on the Jeep. I just thought my Jeep was more capable than it actually was. Came down the dam into the water went about 6' and then nothing. The old girl never died though, just sat there gurgling in the water for about 2 hours before I finally killed it. That is when the water sucked in through the gas cap. Took about 3 months to get the dead fish smell out of the carpet since water came up nearly to the dash. It wasn't that deep when I left but it got deeper as it sat overnight. I was even sober at the time..... :rolleyes: Fortunately I was in my own back yard so at least the walk home was short. My wife was not very understanding though...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywickedshelby Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 I asked because my Dad had a 25th Anniversary CJ5 (1979, I think) and I was blasting through the rollercoaters at the Borden Farm (yes, that Borden and home of the famed Elsie the cow!, in Wallkill, NY....maybe its over the border in Walden, I forget.) anyway ...just a bunch of hills, one after the other, hence the name.....my buddy who knew the land very well was shouting "left.......right....right...." as we went up and over each hill, directing me through the night, when all of a sudden he shouted LEFT and my headlights hit the lake.......oops, knew we took a wrong turn somewhere :huh: ......anyway I slammed on the brakes and skidded down the embankment only to splash the front end into water and stop just before we all took a swim........laughing hysterically we backed up and went on our way......all of us saying......"wow, we were lucky"..............MY DAD WOULD HAVE KILLED ME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump_breaker Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 I asked because my Dad had a 25th Anniversary CJ5 (1979, I think) and I was blasting through the rollercoaters at the Borden Farm (yes, that Borden and home of the famed Elsie the cow!, in Wallkill, NY....maybe its over the border in Walden, I forget.) anyway ...just a bunch of hills, one after the other, hence the name.....my buddy who knew the land very well was shouting "left.......right....right...." as we went up and over each hill, directing me through the night, when all of a sudden he shouted LEFT and my headlights hit the lake.......oops, knew we took a wrong turn somewhere :huh: ......anyway I slammed on the brakes and skidded down the embankment only to splash the front end into water and stop just before we all took a swim........laughing hysterically we backed up and went on our way......all of us saying......"wow, we were lucky"..............MY DAD WOULD HAVE KILLED ME! Jeeps. You gotta love 'em. I think my next one will be a 5 or 7 - something I can beat on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywickedshelby Posted November 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Wish I had the ol man's CJ5 back, he bought it new in 1979 and sold it for a song in 1992 with 16k on it. Soft top, 3 speed, black and silver (sound familiar?).........the wheels automatically locked when you put it in 4 wd, I remember how many guys didnt believe me when I used to boast about that. I had Never driven a Jeep or any 4 wheeler before that, I guess that was cutting edge for 1979! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 +1 to the SeaFoam and to the ISP alcohol suggestions. Both will absorb water/condensation as described. My father taught me to do this when I got my first car, and I watched him do it long before that. His cars always started and ran well in tough weather. Just a few hundred miles before an oil change, add 1 pint of SeaFoam to the fuel tank, and 1 pint to the crankcase. SeaFoam will reduce/burn up any carbon deposits on piston tops without damaging skirt coating. When temps drop below freezing for the season, add a pint of ISP. alcohol to the fuel tank. No side effects here either, just better ignition and less condensation. Re: flat spots, just over-inflate as stated. Any flat spots that may develope, will disappear after a few minutes of driving. A ten buck trickle charger should take care of any battery worries. No need to spend the bigger bucks on items that do the same thing. Nice job on the advice, gents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudaFly Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 It went in with 1/2 a tank of gas and came out with 3/4!! About 5 bottles of alcohol later and the Jeep was actually able to crank with and run the entire tank of gas-water! I think you may have a soultion to the energy crisis. This may drop oil back to $20 a barrel. Time to get out of my Energy Sector mutual fund... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webba Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Yep what they said Michael. I put mine up last weekend. I have to add the Stabil this weekend and let her run for a few to get the Stabilized fuel into the engine. Nothing like washing the car and skating around it at the same time. And that was hot tap water from the sink!LOL I have never bothered with the jacking up the car thing myself. But it is only going to sit for 5 months tops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywickedshelby Posted November 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 thanks everyone, she is in for an oil change today and goes to sleep Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WI-GT/SC Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Hey Wicked. Sounds like everything I do to my cars that have to go into cold storage (can't afford to heat three garages). The only other thing I do is put plastic & old carpet down on the floor under the car & tires (helps prevent moisture from coming up through the concrete). No car cover (holds in moisture) and some dry pac under hood, in trunk & inside the car. Won't smell it up but sure helps with condensation. As for you guy's jeep story When I was 18 I had A 72 Ford Bronco that I stuffed a 400M in. (winter beater). My buddy & I were out boondocking in the swamp behind our shop about midnight (might of had a few) :rolleyes: The cattails were so tall we couldn't see were the pond was, I was goin all out & he stood up over the windshield to see were we were & said stop! I stopped, he didn't, stuck the front of the Bronco & Him in the pond (over the windshield) When he got out of the water we went to back up & the old three on the tree linkage decided to fall apart. So we walked about 500 yards to the shop & got my dad's Bronco to pull her out. Needless to say he wasn't to happy the next day when I had to fix his truck too :o O the good ol' days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Hey Wicked. Sounds like everything I do to my cars that have to go into cold storage (can't afford to heat three garages). The only other thing I do is put plastic & old carpet down on the floor under the car & tires (helps prevent moisture from coming up through the concrete). No car cover (holds in moisture) and some dry pac under hood, in trunk & inside the car. Won't smell it up but sure helps with condensation. As for you guy's jeep story When I was 18 I had A 72 Ford Bronco that I stuffed a 400M in. (winter beater). My buddy & I were out boondocking in the swamp behind our shop about midnight (might of had a few) :rolleyes: The cattails were so tall we couldn't see were the pond was, I was goin all out & he stood up over the windshield to see were we were & said stop! I stopped, he didn't, stuck the front of the Bronco & Him in the pond (over the windshield) When he got out of the water we went to back up & the old three on the tree linkage decided to fall apart. So we walked about 500 yards to the shop & got my dad's Bronco to pull her out. Needless to say he wasn't to happy the next day when I had to fix his truck too :o O the good ol' days. I love sh*t like this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WI-GT/SC Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 I love sh*t like this... I got enough to write a book someday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppother Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 If I disconnect the battery for winter storage,will I have to have the sai tune re-flashed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WI-GT/SC Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 If I disconnect the battery for winter storage,will I have to have the sai tune re-flashed? I wouldn't think so (not sure), But I think you would be best to leave it in the car with a battery tender or trickle charger. That way the ECU & all electrical memories are not disturbed. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 If I disconnect the battery for winter storage,will I have to have the sai tune re-flashed? No. You may have to reset you radio channels just like you did when the car was new to you. But, your SAI/FMC tune will be there, I promise. In fact, your performance may be slightly improved because your memory banks of daily driving will be cleared. It will drive like a brand new SGT. Back in the days we called this "blowing out the carbon". Today, it's more like resetting the EEC memory, but it serves the same purpose. Once the EEC loses it's short term memory (which has nothing to do with the flash tune from SAI/FRP), you need to rebuild that DD data. How you drive day-to-day will be missing, and you get a chance to restructure that data. My advice is that once you have your SGT ready to hit the road in the spring, HIT IT! Drive it like you stole it!, and you will get the feeling you got when you first drove your SGT home. Disconnect the battery, you're okay doing this. Just remember to "open her up and let her breath" once your are back on the blacktop in the spring. EDIT: The "short-term" memory banks I refer to, are limited to the last 300 hours of driving. A lot like "RAM" in our home computers, new data overwrites old data. to a mx of 300 hours of drive time Our tune is "flash" imprinted, a lot like "ROM", or, BIOS settings on our home computers, which need updating from time to time, but hopefully nothing serious. Hope this helps you in unerstanding what's going on in the EEC. If not, contact me directly at SergtnMac@aol.com and I'll fill you in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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