By Scott Smith, Zehr Vintage CARS Manager.
It’s that time of year when the days grow short, the leaves are turning, and car show season is winding down. As the winter season approaches, we would like to take the opportunity to remind folks of some basic winterization steps to ensure their classic car will be up and running come spring.
Hopefully these tips will have your prized possession stored safe & sound and ready to be rolled out and driven once the long Canadian winter comes to a close.
- Store your prize possession in a clean and dry environment. Finding a location with a monitored security & fire alarm will add addition peace of mind!
- Fill your gas tank prior to storing the car, this help mitigates any moisture build up. Also add some fuel stabilizer.
- Disconnect and remove your battery. We also recommend not storing your battery on a concrete floor.
- Also, for you battery you may want to hook it up to a trickle charger to ensure it stays fully charged over the winter.
- Throughout the cab, in the truck or under the hood of the vehicle we would recommend laying some dryer sheets to keep critters at bay. If you have access to rodent traps we would recommend setting some up around or near the vehicle.
- If possible, we would recommend chocking your wheels, you don’t want you prizes possession to move. Also ensure proper tire pressure.
- Ensure your coolant level is adequate and we recommend a 50/50 mix of water & coolant. This helps ensure you are protected against the cold.
- If parking in a cold location we would recommend parking your vehicle on top of a plastic sheet to mitigate any moisture building up on the bottom of your car.
- Chock your wheels, this will prevent your prizes possession from rolling if it were to come out of gear or park.
