Hello there, i have a 33, and i will be off on other projects for about a year, working in the mining industry, and i will be storing my 33 and i am wondering, what would be the best way to store it, any tips out there in 33 land?, regards, Oscar.
Hello Oscar, [if that is your real name], first of all, the best way to go about it, is to have someone start it idealy every week, to keep the battery charged up and to keep a set of valve springs being jammed shut, which in extreme cases could lead to valve spring breakage, so every week, start the car and run it, so that hopefully a different set of valve springs will be open and shut, Colin.
Hello Col-col, Oscar here, what if i just want to leave it there without starting it every week, what would you recomend for 1 years storage?, Oscar.
Hello Oscar, its Col-col here, first, i would drain all the petrol out of the tank, as it will turn into turpentine, you don't state if its a carby or fuel injected 33, so if it is a carby, just put a jiggle hose in the tank and get as much petrol out as you can, if its EFI, you could do the same or disconect the fuel line from the tank into the engine bay, get a fuel container, put the hose in, and switch on the ignition, and let the pump do all the work, but when the sound of the pump changes note and starts to gurgle, quickly switch off the ignition, so that the pump is not running dry, as it relies on petrol to lubricate the gears, have a fire extinguisher ready in case of fire, Colin.
Hello Col-col, its Oscar here, how do you think fuel stabiliser would go in the fuel tank, instead of draining the tank?, Oscar.
Hello Oscar, Col-col here, i have no knowledge of anything made after 1984, but i have seen it advertised on channel 31, so it must be good, might save a bit of mucking around and lessens the dangers of setting fire to your car, Colin.
Hello Col-col its Oscar here, how do you think it would go, if i removed the spark plugs and sprayed some fogging oil in the spark plug holes?, Oscar.
Hi ya Oscar, Col-col here, i haven't the foggiest idea what fogging oil is, but i would spray some WD-40 down the plug holes, then kick the engine over a few times to distribute the WD-40 on the rings and bores, so it doesn't get a dry start, then put the spark plugs back, Colin.
Hi ya Col-col, Oscar here, i heard that WD-40 is fish oil mixed with kerosene, how would this stop rust?, Oscar.
Giday Oscar, Col-col here, the fish oil will stop any rust and before you start it after a year, go down to Repco and get some 'start ya bastard' and spray it into the spark plug holes to get it started, Colin.
Giday Col-col, Oscar here, how would i stop the battery going flat?, if i left the battery charger on it, the battery may blow up, or should i just take the battery out?, Oscar.
How are you Oscar, Col-col here, go down to Jaycar, and get a trickle charger that plugs into 240 volts and puts about .25 amp in, to maintain a charge in the battery, and you get crocodile clips so you can connect it to the battery, if you have a wet cell battery, make sure that the cells are full of distilled water, Colin.
How are you Col-col, Oscar again, what should i do about the tyres, will they go flat, and if they do should i rotate them, so the flat bits are at the top?, Oscar.
How are you Oscar?, Col-col here, blow the tyres up to 50 pounds and jack the car up and place it on jack stands or bricks or blocks of wood, so that all the weight of the car is off the tyres and suspension and you won't get any flat spots on the bottom of your tyres, but being a 33 up on blocks, due to it being a 33 with not much rigidity, you won't be able to open the doors to start the car every week, so go down to Jaycar and get that trickle charger, Colin.
Very informative and entertaining...Colcol [if thats your real name] lol.
Wondering what you think about a Carcoon for the 33?
Hello Frank and Oscar, Col-col here, a car cacoon sounds like a good idea, except you want to able to start and run the car every week, as the timing belts may cold weld themselves onto the timing pulleys and the oil seal lips may cold weld themselves onto the engine and when you start the car, the lips will be damaged and the engine will leak oil, if you are not going to start the car every week, then go with a car cacoon, Colin.
Hello col-col, Oscar here, i went down to Repco, and asked the lady begind the counter for some 'start ya bastard', and she seemed to take umbridge, after she regained her composure, the lady said i should get a solar charger, that sits outside and charges the battery when it is light, it is like a small solar panel with 2 leads coming off it to your battery, Oscar.
Hello Oscar, col-col here, those solar panel battery chargers are very good, i had one that clipped on to the sun visor and ran to the 12 volt outlet, that used to be called a cigarette lighter in days of yore, it would put in about 2 watts maximum, which is about the size of a dashboard instrument globe, i then remounted it to the hatch cover on the 33, where it gets maximum light and charging.
If i was you Oscar, not only would i change my name, but i would remove the battery from the 33 i was going to store, and have it connected to a solar panel, so that the battery remains charged up, batteries going flat is a sure way to ruin it.
This is only if you decide to store your car in a car cacoon, without starting every week, Colin.
Col, when are you starting work in the mining industry? I didn't know you were planning a career change. :o
I like the solar charger, excellent idea! Nice one Colcol.
The solar charger was not my idea, i noticed a few of the older less driven cars had them at Spectacolo, so i did the 5 minute install of the solar panel clipped onto the sunvisor with power socket going into cigarette lighter, with wires running all over the place, when i thought that it worked good, i did a more profesional or less backyarder style install of the solar panel on the back parcel shelf cover, 180 degrees to the suns rays, hardwired into the electrical system, Colin.
I have one set up on my ride on mower works a treat
And when i was rewiring my battery leads on the 33, i went to an auto electrician for battery leads, the correct length, and he said the original Alfa Romeo leads looked like they were off a ride on lawn mower.
I have seen solar panels for cars, that sit outside the garage, with wires going to the battery or cigarette lighter, so they don't have to be installed on the car, Colin.
That's how I have it set up with the solar panel on the roof and leads to the ride on mower battery
I have the same set up of a solar panel on the roof and wired to change my car which is not used very often, but to improve the weatherability of the solar panel (Narva), I built a metal cover to go over it.
Quote from: Neil Choi on June 20, 2014, 09:48:46 PM
I have the same set up of a solar panel on the roof and wired to change my car which is not used very often, but to improve the weatherability of the solar panel (Narva), I built a metal cover to go over it.
I've the plastic around the panels don't last too long in to weather... a metal is a great idea.