How to for storage?

[Donny]

Hello everyone. I'm trying to sell my car but if that doesn't happen I'll need to store it for a year or two. What does that entail? My main concern is with the fuel system. Has anyone here emptied all the fuel out and circulated something else to protect the Bosch stuff and if so what? Am I being too paranoid about this? Other tips for inside storage? Thanks to everyone in advance.

[NightFlyer]

Siphon the tank and run the car until it dies from lack of fuel.

I suppose if you really wanted to go crazy, you could pull fuel line sections and use compressed air to blow the system dry.

One thing I do every year when storing the car over winter is put the car up in the air and remove the wheels/tires for storage in my basement, so as to prevent premature tire rot and flat spots. You may also want to coat the brake rotors with something to prevent surface rusting and pad seizure - just remember to remove it with brake cleaner before remounting the wheels/tires. If storing for an extended/long period of time, you may also want to drain and blow out the cooling system.

Car covers are nice - I have the one from DMCH which I highly recommend.

Best of luck!

[Josh]

Running the car till it dies does not do much for clearing the system of gas. There is still some in the tank, the lines, distributor, basically everywhere. Just a little bit. This is worse than just parking the car as is as the small amounts of gas gum up much more easily. For storing a vehicle I just add the recommended amount of fuel stabilizer, jack the car up and drop the tires down to half pressure, and remove the battery. This is my method for other cars I have owned, not Delorean specific.

[NightFlyer]

Running the car till it dies does not do much for clearing the system of gas. There is still some in the tank, the lines, distributor, basically everywhere. Just a little bit. This is worse than just parking the car as is as the small amounts of gas gum up much more easily. For storing a vehicle I just add the recommended amount of fuel stabilizer, jack the car up and drop the tires down to half pressure, and remove the battery. This is my method for other cars I have owned, not Delorean specific.

In various other threads, several DeLorean vendors have advised against using fuel stabilizer products.

As for the trace amount of fuel remaining in the system after the engine dies, I recommended removing sections of the fuel lines and blowing out the system with compressed air if you really wanted to / deemed it necessary.

[David T]

In various other threads, several DeLorean vendors have advised against using fuel stabilizer products.

As for the trace amount of fuel remaining in the system after the engine dies, I recommended removing sections of the fuel lines and blowing out the system with compressed air if you really wanted to / deemed it necessary.

For long term storage (more than a year) do not put it in a cave like in BTTF. Seriously, here are some tips:
Change the motor oil
Drain the fuel
Remove the battery
Flush the brakes and clutch
Remove everything from the car
Insure the car
Take precautions to prevent rodent damage and infestation
Treat the leather
Cover the car and make sure nothing can fall on it
Make sure the keys and the paperwork (Title and registration) are in a safe place where it can be found
Every other year the brakes and clutch should be flushed
Every 5 years the cooling system should be flushed
If you do this it should not take a lot to awaken the car besides changing the fluids and probably replacing the tires and battery and struts. This assumes the car was in OK shape BEFORE you stored it.
David Teitelbaum

[DMCMW Dave]

I'm actually OK with fuel stabilizer as long as you know what it is, and isn't. It is essentially a light oil that keeps things from sticking. So to get the benefit you need to add it to the gas and then run the engine to spread it around before parking it.

It isn't magic. Gas will still go bad over time, it just takes a bit longer for everything to gum up. I agree with the "as empty as possible" theory as this saves the rubber parts in the tank, and gives you less bad gas to deal with when you bring it back to life.

If you use it, and then run the car annually and burn up/replace the gas every time, you can store it like this indefinitely. If you let the car sit non-running for several years, nothing will keep you from having to go through the fuel system when you get back to it.

I also concur with the fresh oil/coolant practices. I've seen cars parked for years with dirty oil, and it ends up as a sludge at the bottom of the pan, which then brakes loose and plugs things up when you get the car running again. If you park it with clean oil there is nothing to precipitate out like that. Coolant degrades over time and will get corrosive, but a few years is probably OK. You can't really drain all the coolant, and a 1/4 full cooling system is worse than an empty cooling system in terms of storage. This is not so important for a winter, but I see too many cars where "I'm storing it for the winter" turns into "Wow that 10 years went fast".

Do not leave the battery in the car with a charger on it. Eventually it will fail and boil out ruining the carpet and the electrical stuff. Just take the battery out and plan to buy a new one when you bring the car back to life.

Struts will last longer if you leave the doors /hood louver open, but the risk of critter infestation and dirt getting in is not worth it. Also makes it pretty hard to cover the car. You would be better off removing them but that is truly a pain in the neck in terms of periodic maintenance as the doors are very hard to open without them in place. I just leave things closed and figure the struts will go bad anyway.

[Ron]

I agree with the "as empty as possible" theory as this saves the rubber parts in the tank, and gives you less bad gas to deal with when you bring it back to life.
I know that most of the speck sheets I've read say to fill it slap up to reduce the volume and surface area of the air the fuel is exposed to. Seems to make sense especially in a closed system...and ~half a compromised pick-up hose or sender etc is no worse than a whole one....
Just wondering what the thinking is to compare with... :hmm:

[NightFlyer]

I know that most of the speck sheets I've read say to fill it slap up to reduce the volume and surface area of the air the fuel is exposed to. Seems to make sense especially in a closed system...and ~half a compromised pick-up hose or sender etc is no worse than a whole one....
Just wondering what the thinking is to compare with... :hmm:

I've often wondered the same, but can't seem to find a definitive answer anywhere.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I've also heard to pull the plugs and squirt some oil into the cylinders. Then turn the engine over a few turns. Plugs go back in to seal things up.

[NightFlyer]

I've also heard to pull the plugs and squirt some oil into the cylinders. Then turn the engine over a few turns.

Is that something you do for long term storage, or something you do while awakening from long term storage?

[Ron]

I've also heard to pull the plugs and squirt some oil into the cylinders. Then turn the engine over a few turns. Plugs go back in to seal things up.I saw where Sta-Bil has a "fogging oil" for that... don't know anyone who has tried it...

[David T]

I saw where Sta-Bil has a "fogging oil" for that... don't know anyone who has tried it...

It is rare but it can happen where the rings rust to the cylinder walls and when you try to move the crankshaft you crack the pistons and rings. Happens during LONG term storage (many years) where you have large temperature swings. Even squirting oil in is no guarantee. If that is the case, manually rotating the crankshaft every year or so should prevent that. As to filling the fuel tank to prevent condensation, that may have been true in the past (if it ever was good) but with modern fuel with Ethanol, it doesn't store well and will absorb moisture from the air and then separate into layers. IMHO the best advice is to remove as much as you can. Stabilizer makes the fuel less volatile and it won't work forever anyway. As Dave S said, all too often a winter storage becomes 10 years and the steps you take for short term storage cannot protect the car for long term storage. In all cases things age and rubber goes bad no matter what you do. Practically speaking, if the car is stored for 10 years you are not going to just put a battery and some gas in and drive the car no matter what you do. Just look at what happens to the headliners with the foam backing!
David Teitelbaum

[Ron]

As to filling the fuel tank to prevent condensation, that may have been true in the past (if it ever was good) but with modern fuel with Ethanol, it doesn't store well and will absorb moisture from the air and then separate into layers. Where is it going to get air (or condensation for that matter) when it is a closed system and full of fuel (including ethanol, even if one was dumb enough to not find/spend a couple of bucks on non-ethanol (they do use different snakes for ethanol now btw)???
Eating up parts, even in a year makes sense to me, but not this.
10 years is OT and ridiculous, to me, (tear it down and pack it right to begin with).

FWIW- The old timers at the marina are believers for some reason while having much worse conditions to contend with and I want to understand the "disconnect" here....

[Donny]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I have decide after consultation with a knowledgeable friend, should the car needs storage, to preserve the engine and fuel system using aviation products specifically designed for that purpose. I'll apply all the other advice give here as far as tires, battery, etc. I'd prefer the car sell though.

[Farrar]

I parked the car "for a little bit" and before I knew it I had two-year-old gasoline in the tank. I purchase ethanol-free fuel. I checked it and the color was good, although it smelled slightly different from normal gasoline. I got 5 gallons of the old fuel from the D's tank and mixed it 50/50 with new fuel in my Chrysler. No problems. Then I got some new fuel and mixed it 50/50 with the old fuel in the DeLorean. No problems there, either. I doubt I could have done that with E10 fuel.

[DMCMW Dave]

Where is it going to get air (or condensation for that matter) when it is a closed system and full of fuel (including ethanol, even if one was dumb enough to not find/spend a couple of bucks on non-ethanol )???).

FWIW- The old timers at the marina are believers for some reason while having much worse conditions to contend with and I want to understand the "disconnect" here....

If the temperature in the storage room (barn u-store it etc.) is not stable, the gas expands and contracts with temperature swings (which around here in the north can be a 100-degree swing over a year) causing the tank to "breath" pulling in humid air.

Good luck fining non-ethanol fuel around here too. Maybe at an airport?

[Farrar]

Good luck fining non-ethanol fuel around here too. Maybe at an airport?

Or maybe near a body of water? Around here boat owners fill up with ethanol-free.

[David T]

Or maybe near a body of water? Around here boat owners fill up with ethanol-free.

Finding non-E fuel is very dependent on the State. Some States do not allow sales of Non-E fuel except for off-road use and even then it can be difficult to find. You may be able to get it at an airport or a racetrack. Be warned, even non-E fuel does not store well for long periods of time even with stabilizer. Instead of going through all of the trouble to find non-E fuel it is simpler to just remove the fuel. As a matter of safety, if the car should ever be involved in a fire, it is better not to have it full of fuel. Less to burn.
David Teitelbaum

[NightFlyer]

Although sparse in some states, pure/non-E gasoline is still available in all 50:

http://pure-gas.org/

[David T]

Although sparse in some states, pure/non-E gasoline is still available in all 50:

http://pure-gas.org/

I did not check for every State but the one I live in, New Jersey, is conspicuously absent.
David Teitelbaum

[NightFlyer]

I did not check for every State but the one I live in, New Jersey, is conspicuously absent.
David Teitelbaum

That's odd, as they used to have it - I personally bought some in Jersey about 1.5 years ago, granted, it wasn't easy to find. NJ is not a mandatory E10 state.

Looks like many of the small New England states including NJ were spooked by the lawsuits that were being filed by state agencies against gas stations that were selling ethanol free fuel but apparently weren't taking enough steps to assure that their customers weren't using it for automotive use, and decided to just stop selling it all together as opposed to having to closely babysit their customers or be subject to state fines/action. Thank you big government! Just remember - it's what the majority in your neck of the woods apparently want, however unfortunate for the rest of you stuck there.

However, even in such states, as well as mandatory E10 states with limited exemptions, you still have the option of buying avgas, which is still ethanol free everywhere.

http://www.airnav.com/fuel/greatdeals/long?type=1

EDIT: For those interested, the mandatory E10 states are:

Minnesota, Hawaii, Missouri, Oregon, and Florida. Hawaii recently exempted all marine fuels from the law because it was causing chaos there. Florida is currently experiencing the chaos and is passing new exemptions all the time. And while Missouri, Oregon, and Minnesota are pretty strict with their laws, they were enacted with a wide array of exemptions.

Washington state has a 2% ethanol minimum in auto gasoline law, but they are currently trying to repeal it.

Montana and Pennsylvania both have a mandatory E10 law on the books, but they were never triggered/effectuated.

Louisiana has a 2% ethanol minimum in auto gasoline law on the books, but it was never triggered/effectuated.

[Ron]

If the temperature in the storage room (barn u-store it etc.) is not stable, the gas expands and contracts with temperature swings (which around here in the north can be a 100-degree swing over a year) causing the tank to "breath" pulling in humid air.

Good luck fining non-ethanol fuel around here too. Maybe at an airport?Ahh! I'm putting too much into a "sealed system"!

[David T]

Ahh! I'm putting too much into a "sealed system"!

Good luck trying to buy it at an airport unless you happen to live in a very rural area. Most airports now have rules about unauthorized people getting through the gate to get anywhere near an airplane or the fuel pumps. Have you seen the price of avgas? If you think car gas is expensive you do NOT want to buy avgas! Also be sure not to by 100 LL or you will be replacing the cat. Before you go to all that trouble, it is much easier to empty the fuel out of the tank and store it dry. That way when you do wake the car up you can fill it with fresh gas. All it takes is to see what a mess old fuel can be in an old car and you will not want to leave any in the tank. I don't care what kind of gas and how much stabilizer you use. When it starts to smell like shoe polish it is WAY too late.
David Teitelbaum

[Ron]

Huh? No problem for me.
I live two miles from a store that has it. They cater to the bikers that run through the area because it is a very rural area. Two more about 30 minutes away. ATL airport is 2 hours away lol

[Tillsy]

Huh? No problem for me.

Wouldn't be intended for you - David always does a 'reply with quote' to the last message in a thread but is actually typing a response to a different message in the thread,. Took me a long time to realise that is why his responses are always so confusing.