[alfa] RE: Duetto Storage

[Gil Gagne <gilgagne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ronandkristi wrote:
>The time has just about arrived to store my 1966
Duetto.
>Can you please advise what would be the best
method to do this.

My 1750 Spider was always stored from early Nov to
mid-May when I lived in New England.
Mice never nested in it while stored and corrosion
was never a problem for the 14 years I had it.

I made a plastic bag for it out of 6 mil
polyethylene. After moving the car to its resting
place,
and covered with blankets, I'd jack up the axles
and slide a sheet of the poly under it then
wrap the sheet over the top, roll the edges
together, and staple all around the bag to seal
it.

Wood blocks to keep the tires off the ground can
be either inside the bag or outside, but
keeping the wheels in the air will prevent damage
to the tires. I left the weight on the
suspension reasoning that it would be there anyway
if I drove it every day.

At first I'd squirt oil into each cylinder but
this made the car hard to start come spring. I
then
tried removing the spark plugs and cranking the
engine to disperse the oil but all I achieved
were four slugs of oil on the ceiling. Forget
about the oil-in-the-cylinders and put some rock
salt or de-icer in the bottom of the bag to act as
dessicant and the air in the closed bag will
be so dry there will be no corrosion. Without the
oil it used to start right away as if it had just
been parked the previous day. Needless to say, I
never started the engine once stored.

Do remove the battery and recharge it once a month
to prevent sulfation which will shorten
its life. Also, leave doors and trunk lid ajar to
reduce compression on the door seals.

If any rodent should try to chew into the bag it
will soon be discouraged by the overpowering
gas fumes that will soon develop inside the bag.
Remember to ventilate the garage as you're
getting it out of storage and don't smoke until
all fumes have cleared. Carefully roll or fold
the poly and save it for use next year.

Gil
Port Orange, FL
1985 Spider
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided