I am in the military and live in Virginia. I have recieved orders to Alaska for two years. I have the car in storage untill I get back. I was wondering if anyone had some great tips on how to store a 36 P2 for two years. I have so far - disconnected the battery and removed it. I thought about removing the plugs and shooting oil in then screwing them back in. I am not sure but will try my best to get all the gas out. If anyone has some great tips that would help the car for now and when I get back, it would be greatly appreciated.
I would suggest pouring oil thru the spark plug holes to keep the cylinder walls and pistons lubed. also put the car up on jack stands and remove the wheels so that the car isn't sitting on the tires for that period of time. Also a coat of wax on the car and bright work in my mind would be a good idea. I use mothballs in the winter in my Plymouth to keep the mice out, seems to work so far, but I have heard different opionions on that one.
What branch of the armed forces are you in and where abouts in Alaska are you going to be stationed?
I spent from Oct'70 to Oct of '71 in Alaska while I was in the Air Force.
By the way, thanks for serving our great country,
Bob
The additives in modern gas cause it to go bad in 6 months or so. For shorter term storage you can add some Sta-Bil, for two years I'd think seriously about draining the fuel system. On my 1933 there is a drain plug on the bottom of the gas tank, if that is true on your 36 then it should be pretty easy to do.
My '36 does have a drain plug in the gas tank.
CG Sailor-
Hope you enjoy Alaska, it sounds exciting.
Regards,
Pat O'Connor (U.S. Army 1965-68)
If I was putting a vehicle away for an extended period of time I would suggest the following;
Drain and refill the cooling system with new 50/50 coolant.
Drain and refill the engine with new oil.
Start the engine, while it is running at an idle slowly pore Marvel Mystery oil into the carb until the engine dies. pore the remainder of the MMO down the carb. Seal the carb with tape, plastic, etc, and install the air cleaner.
Drain the fuel tank. If you can't drain the tank fill it over half full with new fuel mixed with Sta-bil.... It would be a good idea to run the engine for a few minutes with the Sta-bil mixed fuel to get Sta-bil into the fuel pump and carb.
Jack the car up off the ground, placing axle stands under the axles.
Put a generous supply of moth balls inside the car and in the engine compartment.... Pine scented air fresheners also work well in keeping rodents out, however I have had better luck with moth balls.
Put a good coat of wax on the paint and trim, cover the car with a good breathable car cover. Do not use plastic sheeting, bed sheets, old blankets, etc.
If the car is stored in a damp area I would suggest the garage floor be covered with a heavy plastic sheeting. The weather changes over and around the garage will draw moisture up through the concrete on the garage floor.
Note! Sta-Bil is a great product.... it is one of those few products that does what it says it will do. I have eliminated just about all the problems I use to have with boat engines, weed wackers , blowers and vehicles that are not driven on a regular basis by adding Sta-Bil to the fuel....Bill
Thanks for the sugestions. Some I havent thought of. I will look for the drain in the tank this weekend. Its the original so I am hoping it has one.
Bob - I am in the Coast Guard and going to Kodiak were my cutter will be but my car will not. I was going to shoot WD40 down the carb like fogging a boat motor. Do you think I should do that as well as dumping oil in the holes?
Bill - Some great Ideas. I didnt even think about the plastic for moisture. I am not sure about jacking the car up because the tires I have will be coming off as soon as I return. I have a new set and the ones thatare on it are old. Do you think I should still do this because of flat spots? That may make it a little harder to get out. Thanks
Plymouths - Great ideas and I didnt know about the WD40. Anyone have a good alternetive or justputoil in them? What is a good oil (weight), for the engine? I wanted to change that as well. Thanks
In addition to all those excellent suggestions, I would also look into getting one of those battery tenders to keep the battery charged up, unless you plan on buying a new battery when you are home for good.
Leaving an unattended car/battery hooked up to a charger, even a "Tender" type charger for 2 years is asking for trouble. Disconnect the ground strap, positive on the Plyms and just assume that you will have to buy a new battery.
WD40 is great for loosening bolts, it makes a great starting fluid for engines, removes bugs & tar from paint, removes masking tape and/or decals from paint, and will drive water out of a wet ignition, however.... it should not be used in firearms and it would not be the thing to put in an engine for long time storage. A friend of mine was in law enforcement, they found that WD40 caused firearms to jam due to the WD40 getting gummy.
Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) is great in all types of engines.. It does not attract moisture nor does it gum up. If the cylinders that have open valves are not filled with oil, the seats, stems and bore down to the pistons will get a light coating of rust on them. The closed valves will tend to stick if they have not been coated with MMO, that is why I suggested running the engine while poring MMO down the carb. The MMO will put a nice protective coating on the bore, rings, etc.
I purchase a lot of old cars that have not been run in years, before I try to turn the engine over and/or start it, I pore the cylinders full of MMO and let them sit.
I tend to be somewhat negative about jacking a vehicle up and placing jack stands under the frame in lieu of under the axles. One must keep in mind that the frame is like a bridge between the axles. Care has to be used in jacking a car up on the frame, leaving same sitting in this suspended state. The frame can distort, thereby causing misalignment of doors, etc. Jacking the car up will also take the load off of bearing, seals, suspension bushing etc....Bill
Wanted to give eneryone an update. This is what I didi today: Changed oil and added Marvel Myst. oil. Changed the antifreeze. Added Sta-bil to the fuel. Put plastic on the floor. Shot Prestons marine fogging oil down the carb. I did this because I used in it my boat while it was stored over the winter and has worked well. Removed the battery. I know that I will need a new one when I get back, so I took it out. The car already has a coat of wax on it.
Things left: Removing the plugs and adding oil, jacking the car up, closing up the carb and exhaust and removing the rest of the fuel, (I did find the drain).
I bought the moth balls and have to say it was my first time buying them.
Thanks to everyone that replied. I wouldnt thought of some of the ideas. Once I get settled into Alaska, I will be ching in from time to time. Thanks
CG i agree with every thing you have done , except puting plastic on the floor , plastic sweats , and is likely to cause rust ,when you come to putting oil down the bore , if it was mine i would just use engine oil , if the rings are in good order it doesnt matter what oil you put in there , if the rings are in poor condition , what ever sort of oil you put in is not going to stay there long, and there for will not offer much protection .
It is true that if a concrete floor has high moisture content, from what ever source, the addition of plastic sheeting over the concrete will appear to cause the concrete to "sweat" , however the moisture will be trapped between the concrete and the plastic sheeting in lieu of allowing the vapor to migrate up into the car.
In theory, the moisture will tend to migrate to the outer edges of the plastic sheeting, and away from the vehicle.
My brother lives in Eastern Idaho, only about 14" per year of moisture, however they have a very high water sub because of the high mountains. Many of the old car guys in that area cover their garage floors with used carpet. Preferable the nylon type, to control and/or minimize water vapor transmission....Bill
I put the plastic down and it was a rainy day. I came back to the storage today and the moisture was trapped between the floor and the plastic. The moisture that was around the car from me walking over it was gone. I rolled the corners and edges up to let them dry. I thought about running a 2 X 4 down the middle to let the rest breath. I'll check it again in a couple days and let you all know what happens.
Whats your thoughts about Penzoils Marine Fogging oil? like I said, I used it for my I/O boat and is recommended for winter and for long term stoage. It is an oil and today I sprayed the plug holes - yesterday I shot it into the carb while it was running.
I tried to get the drain plug on the tank to break free and it turned and cracked the bung (never fails). I then pulled the cover and sending unit and drained it with a hand pump. That was more work than I thought it was going to be (my trunk was loaded with all my spare parts). I'm beat after a full day of work - pwheeeww!
If you are have high moisture in your garage/storage facility you should make sure the area is well ventilated. Wind driven turbine fans, at each end, on the roof might be advisable. Mold and mildew have become a big problem in recent years because people have in their quest to be energy efficient, sealed their homes up to tight, which does not allow moisture vapor to exit the building. The storage of a vehicle for a prolonged period of time will suffer from moister damage, ie; the Tulsa '57 Plym..... the fools built an underground vault with permeable concrete, no drainage/ventilation and then put an automobile wrapped in plastic into the vault.... ???
.....Bill
Bill
Its a paid storage facility so I wont be able to run fans or make modifications. I'm stuck with what I have. It has always beena pain being in the service and moving around. I also have a 68 SS Camaro Conv. that I have owned for over 15 years and now the Plymouth. I have passed on some sweet deals in the past because of this. I had to pull all my cards to get my wife on my side about the Plymouth. That was the hardest battle and I won!
I remember seeing the story about the 57. It was more of wow/oh no/what were they thinking/they ruined it. I think for my car, I am going to roll up as much of the plastic as Ican and let it dry. Then spread it back out. The air was very moist that day and didnt come up from the ground. By the time I laid it down it was wet.
I don't think I would fret that much about storing the car for two years. Taking the steps that you have taken with the engine and moth balls for the interior, should insure that the car will be just fine in two years. A regular storage facility is not as bad as a private garage that is exposed to the weather on all four sides.
When I was drafted into the US Army in 1956 I had a '36 Ford coupe that I had purchased when I was I high school. I wanted to keep the car so I put it in storage in Hollywood CA. When I came home from Germany two years later, other than a new battery and new fuel the car was just fine, it did not take much proding to getting the car running. Of course I went straight to a service station and had the car serviced.
I still have the '36,? ? 8) I have owned it for almost 56 years which is three years longer than I have been married.... My wife has resigned herself to the fact that the car came first and my kids/grandkids think that "Henry" is one of the family
I hope your tour in Alaska is a pleasant one....Bill