!@#$%&! Tires!

So today was put your fleet to bed day. The van traveled to Massillon on Wednesday for some mechanicals and then enter it's winter home. Today I went and spent 42 bucks on Stabil and headed off to the gas station to top off. Well I am sitting there pumping her full in the 64 when I notice a great big sheet of tread getting ready to come of the left rear tire. Well I tippie toed to the tire store. I KNOW IT IS NOT PERIOD CORRECT, but the 64 will be sporting steel belted radials for the 2012 year. Fortunately I had two new ones at home but the other two still managed to cost me $250. :4_11_9:

the only thing worse then having a pro car is having more then one. but try the sea foam insted of the stable. I think it works better. then when I put them to bed I only have about 5 gal of gas in them. you can't add fresh gas to a full car. but each of us has our own tricks that work in our reagon. the dry climet we have here will call for different things then your damp weather would.

Somebody was watching out for you

Good thing you noticed that, Ron, or you could have been telling us an entirely different story of how the tread came off while driving, taking the skirt and most of the lower rear quarter panel with it. Still frustrating though. As Ed mentioned, with multiple cars, there's always something...

Topping off gasoline

In response to something Ed said, I had once read that it was statistically safer to have a vehicle stored with a full tank of gas rather rather the partially full because it's the fumes that actually burn in a fire. Theoretically, this should help prevent a fire. In a practical situation, I don't think it makes a lot of difference, but maybe someone else has an opinion on this.

From my standpoint I always have the cars full of gas when they arrive at their winter storage home of Bippus. I add StaBil to them at their last check-in. This way, in the spring, they're full of gas, ready to roll to Fort Wayne. Tom

www.bippusautostorage.com

www.bippusautostorage.com/cars

of course the cap would not let the fumes out and there would have to be a fire all ready to get them to burn. the other thing I have heard is condensation will form in a partly filled tank. of course the stable or sea foam will help control this. a BS&W test on pump gas will scare you to. my reason is I'm cheap and storing 60 bucks of gas all winter with 2 cans of stable in it makes no since to me. that and the gas is so unstable any more, I want to dilute the old with fresh as fast as I can. but each of us has our own ida of what is correct.

John ED Renstrom said:

of course the cap would not let the fumes out and there would have to be a fire all ready to get them to burn. the other thing I have heard is condensation will form in a partly filled tank. of course the stable or sea foam will help control this. a BS&W test on pump gas will scare you to. my reason is I'm cheap and storing 60 bucks of gas all winter with 2 cans of stable in it makes no since to me. that and the gas is so unstable any more, I want to dilute the old with fresh as fast as I can. but each of us has our own ida of what is correct.

Click to expand...

I am with Ed here, although I don't store my cars I never have more than few gallons in anything. I find that alot of the cars we buy at the dealership that have been sitting along time are easier to revive if they are almost out of gas and you can add some good stuff and drive till you get the crap out of it. But to each his own and do what works for you.

I heard that if a car sits with half a tank or less for long periods of time, the gas fumes will start to rot the top of the tank. I have no idea how true this is tho.

Car Storage

Just this morning I stumbled upon this article published by Hagerty Insurance. It doesn't give reasons, but also recommends a full fuel tank. That being said, though, everyone has their own reasons for full or partial tank filling. Danny's reasons make perfect sense to me, and I'm sure I'd do the same in his situation.

Here's the article:

http://www.hagerty.com/Hagerty-Onli...ent=Client&utm_campaign=Hagerty News-November

Tom

Tom mentioned Hagerty and I have my insurance with them and value their input on alot of topics. They put together alot of things people have tested and proven.

there reasoning was the gathering moister and possible rust forming on top of the tank. no mention of the water in the gas settling out and rusting out the bottom. but they say premium fuel also. me I have found that 5 gl of 10% ETOH and seafoam at the proper mix then, the car let run enough to move it threw everything is the best for me. I never have any trouble getting one to fire. the ETOH will absorb any water in the fuel or forming in the tank. it's a more stable gas then the one with out. that may be just the rot gut gas we get here but it what I have found. the etoh and seafoam combination will keep any varnish for forming. doing this I have let my 67 convertible and the 86 limo sit under cover out side 4 to 6 month at a time. walk out uncover the car and it will fire right up. I would fight the 67 every spring till I started doing this. works the same for every small engine we have here to. lawn mower to log splitter.just don't put the 10% in them. once I started doing this I quit fighting things. I don't have 400.00 bucks to put a full tank of premium gas in everything I own to let it sit over the winter. a lot of these cars I would not run a tank of gas threw them during the next summer

Some cars have vented gas caps, and others don't. If you have a vented gas cap, try to find a non vented cap to replace it with over the winter. Make sure to remove it in the spring, or you will have problems of a different kind.. If the cap is non vented, then the warm moist air can't get into the tank to condense on the cold steel inside of the tank. I know that my 1978 Superior has a non vented gas cap, and the one on my 1962 Chevy and 1963 Chrysler are both vented. As for using premium gas vs. regular gas for over the winter storage, I don't think it matters. The problem is the alcohol in the gasoline keeps absorbing water from the air if the tank is vented.

What is the problem in the summer if you don't switch the cap back over?

I wonder if I should use STABIL in my car. I can go upwards of at least a week in storage before driving it!

Couldn't help that one Chief!

I fill mine up and use seafoam. They always start rigt up after charging the dead battery in a couple first.