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Topic: Out door winter storage? (Read 2233 times) previous topic - next topic

Out door winter storage?

I was wondering if out door winter storage is a viable way to store a car over the winter. No I'm not doing that to my 88 as it has a garage to sit in from Nov. 1 till April 1:D. The reason I'm asking is I'd like to get a second Fox T-bird and I have no place to store it as I have a 1.5 car garage. The car would be sitting on a concrete driveway over the winter. Is their a way to keep a car nice or should I just wait till I put up a bigger garage?
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Out door winter storage?

Reply #1 –
Yeah man I kept the red car underneath a cover next to the house on a concrete paver pad my dad built years ago. Just can't *leave* it alone ;). If it snows and you can, brush it off, etc shovel snow away from it don't let it just get buried/pile up next to it/underneath it, let air flow around it so moisture won't just sit there and sneak into everywhere. Fill the tank with gas, dump like 2 containers of Sta-Bil in it, keep the battery inside and charge it with a trickle/float charger once every two weeks or something, no need to keep it charging constantly. Start 'n run the thing once a month let it fully warm up rev it up a little, blow out all the condensation in the exhaust, roll the windows down/leave a door open awhile to air out the cabin, call it good.
1987 20th Anniversary Cougar, 302 "5.0" GT-40 heads (F3ZE '93 Cobra) and TMoss Ported H.O. intake, H.O. camshaft
2.5" Duals, no cats, Flowmaster 40s, Richmond 3.73s w/ Trac-Lok, maxed out Baumann shift kit, 3000 RPM Dirty Dog non-lock TC
Aside from the Mustang crinkle headers, still looks like it's only 150 HP...
1988 Black XR7 Trick Flow top end, Tremec 3550
1988 Black XR7 Procharger P600B intercooled, Edelbrock Performer non-RPM heads, GT40 intake AOD, 13 PSI @5000 RPM. 93 octane

Out door winter storage?

Reply #2 –
That, and as long as there's no salt on it.... it should be ok
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
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5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137541156293768&ap=1

Out door winter storage?

Reply #3 –
Here she is during the Christmas snow.............

'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Out door winter storage?

Reply #4 –
My car sat outside from '99-ish until 2004.  I just made sure to keep it on concrete or at least gravel and start it regularly.  The key is to keep moisture away as much as possible. 

I would not even put a car cover on as they tend to hold in moisture.  I also think they can tend to move around in the wind and scuff the paint. 

So what kind of Fox you lookin' for?  I would imagine good ones are getting hard to find in your area.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Out door winter storage?

Reply #5 –
I'd like an 87-88 Turbo Coupe with an auto or an 86 5.0. Both of those are hard to find in any sort of shape resembling my 88 LX.... The search may go on for awhile;)
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.
 

Out door winter storage?

Reply #6 –
I was on the road for work this week and spotted an immaculate black 87-88 TC in Clay City, IN.  I about went off the road watching it pull into a grocery store. 

Seeing a nice fox is about like seeing a leprechaun.  A rare sight indeed.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Out door winter storage?

Reply #7 –
I've seen pvc pipe put together to form just the right size skeletal shell to slide over a car with a tarp fastened to the pvc.  It keeps the snow off, and allows air flow at the same time.  Cost would be comparable to one of those canvas garages for $300.  Anyhow, as snow melts and freezes again, the tires will get stuck in place, so keep shoveling around the car to minimize that, and make sure puddles don't form where the tires meet the ground.  Also, as others said, keep it off the grass (acidic), and keep the salt away.  Just remember, snow is nothing but water.  I'd chuck some Bounce fabric softener in the trunk, front/rear seats, engine bay, etc... to keep the mice away.  They'll be looking for a place to stay for the Winter too.
1987 TC

Out door winter storage?

Reply #8 –
Where will it live if you don't bring it home, out on the street?
Old Grey Cat to this.88 Cat, 5.0 HO, CW mounts, mass air, CI custom cam, afr165's, Tmoss worked cobra intake, BBK shorty's,off road h pipe, magnaflow ex. T-5,spec stage 2 clutch, 8.8 373 TC trac loc, che ajustables with bullits on the rear. 11" brakes up front. +

Out door winter storage?

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Kitz Kat;338733
Where will it live if you don't bring it home, out on the street?


Someone's driveway.;)
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Out door winter storage?

Reply #10 –
Quote from: thunderjet302;338519
I'd like an 87-88 Turbo Coupe with an auto

No you don't, they are a dog compared to the 5-speeds...

Out door winter storage?

Reply #11 –
Quote from: TurboCoupe50;339825
No you don't, they are a dog compared to the 5-speeds...


I Agree....too bad Ford put a weak auto trans in those cars.
However, that fact worked to my advantage 10 years ago when we were buying up 87-88 TCs for cheap with broken automatics.
Alan Mackin--Semi Professional Ford der
83 T-Bird 460
83 T-Bird Heritage 5.0
84 T-Bird 5.0
86 T-Bird Turbo Coupe NHRA Stocker & Super Stocker
87 T-Bird Turbo Coupe
88 Bronco II Drag truck 302
95 Mustang GT auto
2004 F-350 CC Dually V-10

Out door winter storage?

Reply #12 –
The 8.8 in my car came out of a white TC indentical looking to TurboCoupe50's.  The car was very nice and mostly there (the only major thing gone was the turbo).  It only had 80,xxx miles.  The guy junked it because the  original trans went out and he couldnt afford to fix it.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Out door winter storage?

Reply #13 –
So an auto TC is a bad idea. Got ya:D
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Out door winter storage?

Reply #14 –
Agreed the A4LD trans is basically junk, few made it past 100K even though boost was limited to 9-10psi(150Hp) in a effort to let it live...  When I bought mine at 111K it already had a junk yard transmission in it(had the classic yellow paint markings on it), sold it to a friend to put in a NA  2.3 Stang...