Leaving california, moving to canadian border....storage questions

[nsmall]

I had no plans of leaving California but I'll leave my politics out of this and just say I want to return north of Spokane near the border.  Winters are fairly cold and long.

I was curious if some of you guys could give me some insight into the cons of storing your car in the winter. 

1. Do you guys just fill up the tank and put some gas stabilizer in, unhook the battery and cover the car up?

2. Or is the process more complicated? Pulling the carb ect.

3.  Or do you try to start the car up at least once a month or drive it if it's a decent day once a month to keep everything lubed up?

I typically drive mine once a week all year (not bragging, just saying) so I'm a little concerned about potentially not driving it for 5 months out of the year. 

Not trying to sound like a whiner I'm just trying to envision how it's going to be different and whether or not it's a good fit for my family to keep the car.  Thankfully I don't need the money, the plans are to keep the car, but I would like to know what it's like.

Thanks in advance.

PS from what I know they just put gravel on the roads where I'm moving and not salt so that's a good thing.

Plans would be to obviously have the car in the garage all year.

[Dakota]

I have access to alcohol-free gas so that's what I put in my tank normally, with fuel stabilizer added for the winter.   Ideally, I would've filled it but I had a leaking fuel fill line grommet so I could only go to 3/4 full.

Ran the engine to warm it up and did an oil and filter change right before tucking her away.

I put the car up on jack stands to get the weight off the tires because my Nittos don't like really the really cold weather that occasionally shows up in Buffalo.   My garage is unheated but attached to the house, so it usually doesn't get much below 20 degrees even during the nastiest cold spells.

Put a trickle charger on the battery to make sure it didn't freeze or get drained.

I've typically rotated the engine about once a month using a large breaker bar on the crank, but I wasn't home much this winter so that didn't happen this time around.

The car is covered while in the garage.   In the winter, this keeps the white lumpy rain off of it when the garage door is open and the wind is blowing.   This also protects the car from snow and slush that sometimes falls between the joints on the garage door when it's moving above the car.

Maybe overkill, but I put covers over my wheels this winter.  My wife's car is normally parked next to the Challenger and it carries a lot of road salt into the garage that I'd rather keep off the shiny stuff.

[Plumcrazy72]

I do your option #1. Put a charge to the battery a couple times through the winter (if i remember) put it back in the car in the spring. My car is stored for about 7 months.

Never any problems (knock on wood)

[Cudajason]

I do your option #1. Put a charge to the battery a couple times through the winter (if i remember) put it back in the car in the spring. My car is stored for about 7 months.

Never any problems (knock on wood)

with the exception of charging the battery.

I typically have  winter project or two going on with my car, so it rarely gets started through the winter.  Never had an issue.

Jason

[anlauto]

Can't you choose somewhere warmer to move? I know if I lived somewhere warm year round, I would find it hard moving North...

[7E-Bodies]

@nsmall I feel your pain. I'm born, raised, and for four more years trapped in the peoples republic of ILL. I currently have real estate agents seeking rural acreage in TN, KY and MO. Looking to buy now and set up camp there later. I just can't get it through the heads of the agents that I refuse any properties that do not have access from PAVED ROADS! They just don't seem to get it. I love what I have where I am, but as you say wisely, I'll leave the politics out. Most know where we are coming from. I'm happy for you. As a lifelong ILL-inoisian, I can say our winters are about the same as where you're headed. I had a 40x60 pole barn built 20 years ago and have turned it into my haven. I (supplimentally) heat it with wood for one, and bond with my projects out there through the winters. Very dry and I never allow it to get below 50 degrees and typically its 65-70.

[ec_co]

I may be heading back to the Spokane area in a year or two as well to take over my parents farm property. flying up in 2 weeks to evaluate the situation.

that area doesn't use rock salt which is the big killer (those little suckers get stuck in all the nooks/crannies/crevices and then big rust issues start), but they do use mag chloride - easier to get off, just a good undercarriage rinse.

[blown motor]

Fuel stabilizer and a few days on the trickle charger every month or six weeks. I don't start it or turn it over. Never had a problem. If you don't have heated storage I would put the battery in the basement for the winter. It's best to try and keep the storage temp stable. Cold storage, if it's insulated, isn't bad. That protects against temperature swings. What's bad is uninsulated cold storage and then you get that day in early spring that goes up to 50 and everything sweats. I do my oil change in the spring.

[Jay Bee]

I might be the laziest.
1. Fill tank with ethanol free gas, no stabilizer.
2. Battery on a trickle charger.
3. Oil and filter change before storage.
That's it, no added air in my Coopers, no jack stands, no car cover, no winter start-ups. When it's ready to come out I check the tire pressure and drive. Before it was off the road in 2019 I never had an Issue.

Important: Do whatever you can to keep rodents (mice) from getting in. There's plenty of threads with suggestions for that.

[cuda hunter]

I might be the laziest.
1. Fill tank with ethanol free gas, no stabilizer.
2. Battery on a trickle charger.
3. Oil and filter change before storage.
That's it, no added air in my Coopers, no jack stands, no car cover, no winter start-ups. When it's ready to come out I check the tire pressure and drive. Before it was off the road in 2019 I never had an Issue.

Important: Do whatever you can to keep rodents (mice) from getting in. There's plenty of threads with suggestions for that.

I'm the same.  With exception of some winters I remember to pull the battery and take it into the basement.  That kinda bothers me just as there is acid in them and they actually do off gas.

I'm close to an upgrade for my home furnace.  When I put in a new furnace I will be putting the old furnace in the rafters in the garage and heating the garage.  Finally. 

[Chryco Psycho]

Congrats on the decision to leave crazyfornia !!

[Mopsquad]

I moved the other way.  I spent the first many decades of my life in the Great White North. Then moved to California. One thing, if you like to work on your car during the winter months as it is off time, be prepared for some really big ouchies - cold steel, cold hands = some really good yelping dingers. LOL

Congrats on the move and your future happiness.

[RUNCHARGER]

You're actually going to be relatively close to me. I used to start my car about once a month on a warm day, I now think that has too much chance of introducing more condensation everywhere so I leave it until spring startup. I change oil in the spring. I leave my battery on a battery tender all winter, however my car is at home in the garage so I can watch that the charger doesn't catch fire, short out etc. Fuel stabilizer works I suppose but I've never used it, I fill it up with ethanol free gas when I park it. The weather in this area is pretty mild compared to what I come from.
BTW, Washington is becoming a California wannabe, I would almost consider Montana or somewhere east of Washington, I'm sure there are other factors involved in the move though.

[RzeroB]

Leaving California?? I hear ya. I have a close friend who's a CHP officer out in Oxnard and he often refers to the state as the "DPRC" (Democratic Peoples Republic of California). 

[Skdmark]

Being formerly from Chicago and now in Wisconsin for the last 15 years, I pretty much do the same as the others have recommended.
Knock on wood,  in over 25 years never had an issue.

One thing not mentioned above that I do in the springtime is pull the the distributor and the primary shaft out of my 383 (note rotor position first). I have a piece of stainless steel hex shaft (McMaster Carr) that I run down into my oil pump and connect it to a cordless drill. I run the drill for a few minutes to get the oiling system primed and flowing before cranking it over. Takes about 10 extra minutes to the de-winterizing process.