I just found out today I'll be deploying overseas for a six month stint. I leave in a matter of weeks so I've got a lot to do. My wife won't be driving the Chevelle so I have to lay it up for six months. I haven't had any time to research car storage yet but here are my thoughts:

I don't want to leave my wife with three cars to deal with, so I might rent a storage space and put the Chevelle in it. Any problems with just renting one of these temporary storage spaces and parking it in there? I would buy a cover (if I can get on in time) to keep the dust (and whatever else off).

Do I leave it sitting on the tires? (new--expensive--redline radials). I guess I could put on the old bias ply tires too if that made sense.

Disconnect the battery?

Oil?

What else?

Thanks for the quick feedback, sorry for the lack of prior research, but things are happening fast.

SInce '91 I've done this every Winter w/o a single issue:

Fill the tank
Change the oil
Park it
Disco the battery
Cover it
Walk away

The next Spring I dump in a bottle of Iso-HEat, charge the battery, unhook the coil, crank it a few times, rehook the coil and drive away

Good luck on the deployment!

Storage spaces you have to think about rodents. Rat poisin and /or antifreeze for them to eat/drink will help.
I would disconnect and take the battery home and maybe even put the car on jackstands and take the wheels home too. that way it will be harder to steal. I would just change the pil and other rewgular maitanance when you get home.

Gasoline stabilizer, like Sta-Bil always seems to help for me as well. Daren

I've heard that charcoal laid in a pan on the floor will help absorb any moisture inside the car. It might be worth it.

I've heard of people putting a bit of oil down each cylinder from the spark plug hole, but I'm not sure 6 months of storage would warrant that.

Other than that and the rest of the suggestions so far I think that maybe baking soda in a pan might have a miliar effect as the charcoal, and maybe it will keep any odors down as well in case your rat poison/antifreeze finds a victim and they start rotting away next to your ride.

Pete. I wouldn't worry about the storage space. It will be much safer in your garage. Just put it on jack stands, Add Sta-Bil to the tank, Disconnect the battery, Leave the windows down about 3 or 4" and cover it up.

Pete, I'll take care of it for you. Will drive it every weekend to keep in shape. Won't burn to much tire rubber off. Jb

What Scott said, do you have a garage?

Pete, all that has been said is good. I would either pump up the tires hard, or place it on stands to discourage theft. Run fuel stabilizer into the fuel system and shut it down. Spray oil into the cylinders and then disconnect the battery.

300s are cool!

Thank you for your service overseas. We owe you and your kind a load of thanks for our own freedom. God bless!

Pete, you might be want to back out the valve springs so nothing is under constant pressure in the same position for a long period of time, just in case you wind up staying longer than you had planned. Hope you have a safe 'Stint' & thank you for your servive to your wonderful country!

My cars end up sitting for longer periods of time than I'd like from time to time. Because this is never planned ahead of time, no preparations are done.Even after 3-4 months, I can usually hit the key and drive away. Every once in a while I will have to charge the battery. They sit in my garage, which rarely sees below 50 in the winter and no more than 75 in the summer. The tires take a mile or 2 to warm up and lose their flat spots, but no damage.

I've looked into storage in the past and all the local sites are made so that you can't put a vehicle in. Even if the dimensions are ok, the door will only be 4 feet wide.

Devin

Thank you for your service.

Good luck overseas... as above, i've never fogged my cylinders in the car for 6 months stints ...which is every winter here... but i do for the boat, it is good insurance, so if you have time do it ... put fuel stabilizer in on your ride to the storage place so it has time to reach the carb, putting the car on jack stands reduces possibility of flat spots on tires or brakes, you can leave the tires on, just take the pressure off the suspensions... for mice, i've used bounce fabric softener sheets, they seem to work and smell nice...put one in the trunk, under the dash and front seats... and all else as others stated above, cover and disc. battery... if the place you are parking has a gravel floor then i would put a sheet of poly or a cheap tarp under the car, this will help a bit with humidity...

ak

Thanks for all the replies. I do have a garage so it should be pretty safe at home. I was just thinking about getting it out of there so my wife doesn't have to deal with it. Plus I have two little girls with all kinds of bikes and things so it can get alot of traffic around the car. I'm thinking now of just leaving it at home but investing in a good car cover. Those storage spaces can get expensive.

I did a quick search on TC last night and ended up looking at calcarcovers. I don't know if I can get one made in time before I leave. Anybody else have thoughts on covers?

i just use a cheap walmart type car cover since its stored inside, just keeps the dust off more than anything... i would also get some cardboard (like from a fridge box) and put it along side the car after the cover is on...even tape it around, this might help from some accidental dings... i happen to have some big sheets of semi-rigid insulation at home and i lay it against the car, on the side where we walk past the most when its stored, you never know!

ak

When I was active duty Air Force (separated Sep 2006) I rented a storage unit for my 1966 Impala. The Impala was stored for 4 months. All I did was disconnect the battery and put a car cover on her. After coming home from my deployment (Balad, Iraq), I connected the battery, squirted some starting fluid in the carb and she fired right up!

Try a Car Jacket. I hear they work excellent, and I'm thinking about getting one for myself to use for the winters.

http://www.carbag.com

Check it out!