Winter starting

I hear different views on whether or not to run my 88 mondial once a week during winter storage period. Thought I should just cover it, put in dry gas and put on the trickle charger till April?

 

This debate comes up about this time of year, there are other threads that you could search and see many opinions. Moisture inside the engine is not good. Starting the engine for short amounts of time introduces moisture to the inside of the engine. If you are going to drive the car and get it fully warmed up I say enjoy the drive. If you are going to just fire it up to do so, that is not what I would do. Some even suggest rotating the engine by hand so the timing belt does not take a set. I would not do that either, but that's me. I have left many vehicles to sit for 6 months at a time, usually without disconnecting the battery and they have all started for me when I got back to them. My Ferrari is currently sitting for about 3 months, all I did was put a cover on it to keep the dust off. Fuel, some use stabilizers, some do not. I did not, and don't remember if the tank is full or not. I just take it for a good long drive before I shut it down for a long period to make sure all moisture is boiled out of the oil.

Oh yeah, some recommend overpressuring the tires to avoid flat spotting. I didn't do that either.

 

I plan to still drive my 88 once a week as long as its not snowing and icy on the roads. If the car is garaged and kept out of the elements, the car will be fine! In VA, we have 4 seasons, bad winter weather is between December and March. I don't think it will snow all the time, so on the weekends the car will be out for a spirited drive. I trickle charge the battery if it goes 3 weeks sitting, but since I'm not a Florida snow bird like some friends of mine, I guess I have to keep driving the car in VA. Cheers, and do what you think is best for your situation or state you live in!

 

And speaking with mechanic, I think it's best to add stabil, fill the tank, over inflate the tires and put the battery on a battery tender. That's it, as long as you store it in a clean dry, rodent free space.
The only other thing I do is change the oil and flush the brake fluid every year before storage.

People up in our parts only end up storing for about five months. That's not a very long time.

Ron Frohock