I sometimes don’t have the opportunity to take the Chevelle out for weeks at a time. I was wondering if it is better to take the car out for a 15 minute ride whenever I have the chance, or if it is better to wait until I can take the car out for hours at a time.

I don’t know if the quick 15 minute ride is more damaging to the car then waiting longer between uses.

Any thoughts?

Simple rule on this one. Always bring the car to full operating temperature and you'll be fine. Bout 20 minutes.

In cold, wet climates especially, running your engine, whether driving or idling for brief periods, introduces moisture (from condensation when the metal cools) into all of the wrong places. About the time that it finally evaporates, here you come again and soaker down again.

Mufflers, pipes and such, rust from the inside out. In your engine, a number of ill effects can come of it; oil jellies; surface rust on cylinder walls; water settles to the bottom of the oil, prohibiting evaporation and in worst case scenarios, being the first big gulp your oil pump takes come spring.

When you do start it, try to run it at temp long enough for any moisture and other contaminants that have collected in the oil, to be burned off.

Definitely go for a run ! :thumbsup:

As general sales manager for a GM car store, one of my biggest inventory enemies is time. As a car sits on my lot I start to spend money on it after about 90 days. Batteries get weak, rotors get rusty and scaled, mysterious water leaks appear, tires get out of round, they start to smell inside :sad: .

I encourage my sales guys to drive everything. Sitting is the equivalent of silent decay. In your case, if the vehicle isn't insured, at least drive it in and out of the garage/ parking space enough to spin the rotors/ drums a couple of times, keep the tires from getting flat spotted. If the car is going to sit for extended time on tires, mark them, and don't park the car on the same spot on the tires. 3400 pounds squishes even rubber permanently after awhile. Jack up and rotate if you have to. ;)

Make sure to pump the brakes a handful of times while you're at it. Keeps the cylinders from pitting and oxidizing. Good to flex the rubber hoses too.

Hope I don't sound like your mother-in-law :clonk: , but just want to help save you the time and money I wasted learning the hard way. :beers:

Light that Bad Boy up !

John

Good information John:thumbsup:

Rob

As general sales manager for a GM car store, one of my biggest inventory enemies is time. As a car sits on my lot I start to spend money on it after about 90 days. Batteries get weak, rotors get rusty and scaled, mysterious water leaks appear, tires get out of round, they start to smell inside :sad: .

John

AKA "lot rot" as we call it. we have a cycle on out lot where everything is started and/or driven at least twice a week.

My car has not been started since Sept 2nd... and likley won't be until April. But it's not sitting outside either ;)

Generally it takes a minimum of 10 miles on the freeway to bring an engine up to full operating temp throughout the entire engine. It takes a lot longer to rid the internals of ALL moisture thru the PVC. A 20 minute idle run and then shut down will only exacerbate the problem. Go for a drive get it good and hot and park it. If you think you will not be driving it for an extended period then just let it sit. I have a 69 Mustang in my driveway that came with the wife. I cordially loathe the car and sometimes it sits for many, many months at a time between starts. Been that way for several years now. It only gets started when I break the Chevelle and that hasn't heppened in a long time.

The car is slowly rusting away but when I start it up it runs perfectly and any rust in the drums soon gets rubbed off. In the last 5 or 6 years its had maybe 1/2 hour run time. I have to fill the carb with gas before I attempt to start it.


That said, I agree with rotating the tires occasionally to avoid flat spots however when I lived in Minnesota the tires got flat spots every time the temp dipped well below zero and the flat spots went away after a few blocks of driving.

I also understand "lot rot" but that is dealing with "new" cars and is a horse of an entirely different color. It bears no relation to our 30+ year old cars.

Cars are meant to be driven, and that's what makes them fun... that's enough reason to drive it periodocially.

With that said, I believe that it hurts the car more to sit than it does to go circulate the fluids and bring the temps up once in a while.

If a car sits too long the float bowls will dry up leaving that nasty white buildup in the carburetor. If a car (or boat) goes through this fuel drying cycle a few times your carburetor circuits may start to clog.

I run my cars at least once a week and run them hot enough to burn any condensation out of the oil.

My routine for start up if the car has sat more than 4 or 5 days is to engage the starter until the oil guage moves then wait a moment letting the starter cool while pumping the gas pedal several times. I then wait 20 seconds or so to let the gas fumes fill the engine up. When I hit the key it allways fires and has oil pressure. I've been using this system on my cars and boats for years successfully.:cool:

http://www.v-drivevideo.com/jerrysgallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSC00678%7E0.JPG

http://www.v-drivevideo.com/jerrysgallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Me%20and%20Rich.jpg

If a car sits too long the float bowls will dry up leaving that nasty white buildup in the carburetor. If a car (or boat) goes through this fuel drying cycle a few times your carburetor circuits may start to clog.

I run my cars at least once a week and run them hot enough to burn any condensation out of the oil.

My routine for start up if the car has sat more than 4 or 5 days is to engage the starter until the oil guage moves then wait a moment letting the starter cool while pumping the gas pedal several times. I then wait 20 seconds or so to let the gas fumes fill the engine up. When I hit the key it allways fires and has oil pressure. I've been using this system on my cars and boats for years successfully.:cool:

http://www.v-drivevideo.com/jerrysgallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSC00678%7E0.JPG

http://www.v-drivevideo.com/jerrysgallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Me%20and%20Rich.jpg

Cool lookin ship,dude!!

Cool lookin ship,dude!!

Thanks!:cool:

I've had stuff sitting for years that wasn't properly "pickled" and had it start up and run well. While admittedly that is too long to rely on, once a week isn't necessary, not by a long shot. My theory is a good run (long enough for temps to stabilize) about every six months or so is enough and so far that theory is working for all my stuff- cars, bikes, sleds, mowers, whatever. If the thought of having it sit unattended for six months makes you crazy do it every three months. Whatever works.

Sometimes I add "Sta bil" to the gas and sometimes not. I really can't tell if the stuff makes a difference.

Do a search on car storage. There's a lot of more in-depth info out there BUT consider the source; some of that info IMHO is crap.

I used to do the whole gamut: pull the plugs, oil the cylinders, turn it over, drain or top off the tank, put it up on blocks, etc., etc. I suppose if you are putting something up for an unknown number of years that would be the way to do it. But for over the winter? Nah. Now I just park the dang thing, MAYBE I'll disconnect the battery. That's it. Come spring it doesn't seem to make any difference so it seems my laziness is paying off?

One thing all experts agree on though is that it does more harm than good to start an engine and just idle it, because it won't warm up enough to expel the bad stuff.

I was wondering if it is better to take the car out for a 15 minute ride whenever I have the chance, or if it is better to wait until I can take the car out for hours at a time.


I vote for run for hours like everybody else :) . It has always been my understanding that you are better off to let it sit than to start it, let it idle for 15 minutes, and pull it back in the garage, for reasons already stated by other posters.

I use theclencher version of storage, for the most part :) ... The one variance I use is when first cranking after sitting for months, I take the plugs out of the plug holes, disconnect the coil wire, and crank for BOTH oil pressure and to get gas in the carb bowl. Having the plugs out is easier on the starter too. After I crank for oil pressure and have gas in the bowl, the usual start up applies. I also trickle charge my battery to keep it topped up, especially when its cold.

I usually have to crank for a bit before the carb gets enough gas for it to fire anyway so the oil pressure thing gets taken care of automatically!

If you're going to disconnect the coil wire though it's supposed to be grounded.

I read about how important trickle charging is but I have a '94 Ford that sits for six months at a time and it never gets put on the charger during downtime... get this, it's the factory battery! :eek: When I'm awakening something from it's slumber I usually just put the charger on it for a few minutes right away before I even try cranking- in the meantime I check the fluids, tires, etc. By that time, just about every time, I can then hop in, crank 'til the gas gets out of the tank, and go.

I try to drive my car every weekend. I make it a family event. As long as its not snowing or icy out I will drive it as much as possible.

Here is why, My brother has a 73 Challenger that was in real nice condition a few years back. He had it painted, metal work done we swung a new engine ect....
Well he one day just stopped using it and just 2 years later, it has turned to sh!t! The car stays in the driveway. The paint is really bad and the engine has just become an eye sore. It still runs and drives, but the tires go flat, battery goes dead, takes a lot of cranking to start, that cant be good for the starter.
I figure its better to "dirty" up the car and drive, get the windows open and let some fresh air in it than to let it waste away.
So in my opinion, Even if you drove it to the car wash every week and then just took it down the freeway to "dry er off" you'd be doing your car a service and enjoying yourself at the same time. These cars are supposed to be fun, relaxing almost threputic to some.

I usually have to crank for a bit before the carb gets enough gas for it to fire anyway so the oil pressure thing gets taken care of automatically!

If you're going to disconnect the coil wire though it's supposed to be grounded.

I read about how important trickle charging is but I have a '94 Ford that sits for six months at a time and it never gets put on the charger during downtime... get this, it's the factory battery! :eek: When I'm awakening something from it's slumber I usually just put the charger on it for a few minutes right away before I even try cranking- in the meantime I check the fluids, tires, etc. By that time, just about every time, I can then hop in, crank 'til the gas gets out of the tank, and go.

Is it warm year round where you live ? Do you park inside ? Very wet, and often cold ( below freezing ), winters up here. I can't afford to heat my garage, but at least it is dry. :)

Just curious.

John