I usually leave it at about 1/3 tank, will tell you in a minute why

Or, you can roll it back and forth 1/4 or 1/2 revolution once / week.
They can get out-of-round.  "Thup-thup-thup-thup", "aw, crap".

I'll have to remember that.  Had a mouse family in my heater plenum.  I
turned on the heater, and got a faceful of mousie-smelling mousie nest.
 Ugh.  Pppptt.  Wonder what vermin just flew out of my vents and in my
face.

11) If at all possible, start it and at least warm it up a bit once
every two weeks.  Does it have a mechanical oil pump?  If so, crank the
engine 5-10 sec beforehand.  This builds up a little oil pressure first
so it doesn't dry start.  Rev it a little bit after it's warm, up to
3000 or so and down several times, not just "stabbing" the gas, but
bringing it up and letting it down.  Doing all of this keeps everything
in better shape, the seals, belts, lines, the engine itself, and the
accessory pumps, electrical system, really, it does.  Run the a/c while
you're at it, so the compressor shaft seal doesn't dry up and fail,
requiring a new (usually expensive) compressor.  Cheapest maintenance
there is.
As my old shop teacher said, "the worst abuse is disuse."  If you must
store it, like I must store mine, firing and warming it with the above
steps will do it good.

I leave about 1/3 tank in mine so when I fire and warm it, I burn most
of this fuel off.  The gas will collect moisture and start to ... what,
I don't know the chemical process, get old and go bad after a while.  If
I run it out or almost out, before the season's over, I get my can and
put a few more gallons in it.  If not, I drive it straight to the
station, fill it and put a can of carb cleaner in it.  Then I spend the
next couple days putting miles on the car, paying attention to gauges,
seeing how it drives, making sure nothing's leaking and flexing things out.

It's a bummer when you park the car for the winter.  I do so at the
first threat of freeze (salt).  I bring it out only after a couple good
March rains have washed away all the salt and other hygroscopic stuff
they put on the roads.

Trickle carge the disconnected battery.  Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer should be
added and run through the entire fuel system.  Fogging the engine only applies
to non mass air engines as it can damage the sensor.

I'm not a big fan of storing a car on jack stands.  Rather drive it onto a
couple of 1X6s to get the tires off the concrete.  Rolling the car forward and
backward a couple of times a month will help prevent flat spots.  The tires
should also be kept a max air pressure.  Use an outdoor car cover.

Most of the above comes from someone who put his early XKE in storage every
year and 'till it was sold after his death always came out of storage with out
problems.  Add this to what Snow said and there shouldn't be any problems come
Spring.

bradtx

Wow.  What a list.  I've been doing this for almost 20 years.  If you're
like me, you'll rip everything apart in the spring (wires, plugs, belts,
oils) and start anew.  Thus, I put a trickle charger on the battery
(sometimes) and leave it.  Period.  Don't touch it, don't start it, don't
f.ck with it.  Just leave it. 11 years now of cold storage on my GT and
many, many more on my old 67, and every spring they start like new and run
hard all summer long.

Brad

I want to add to that list;
-Do not start the engine once in a while to 'warm it up'
It won't warm up unless you let it run looooong and it's not needed at
all. You will only introduce moisture (condensation) inside the
exhaust and other parts of the engine. Just make sure to park it after
a nice long ride that fully warmed up the engine/exhaust. (10 miles or
more)
Just charge the battery once in a while or hook it up to a battery
minder or battery tender to keep it topped off.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

Enjoying it at body shop ... for the last year?
*wink*

Kate

Too true. Here's a look at what 11 years of winters can do to a car:
http://www.tfrog93.com/TFrog_11.jpg

dwight