17 replies to this topic

[Ben_Clarke]

My new 96 Mini is not going to love winter roads in Calgary - slush, salt, rocks, etc. It may be a bit early yet, but I bought wheel dollies this weekend, put him up on them, and slid him into the corner of the double garage so there's still room for two cars. My question is now what? I'd love some advice on how to winter-ise an old Mini, just so come the spring everything works well. Keep the battery charged, I guess. But anything more technical, any fluids that should be changed or drained? It could be sub zero this winter even in the garage. What do you guys do in this situation?
Thanks for all your help.

[alex-95]

Check the anti-freeze, start it up every so often. Make sure it's clean.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Do you have a garage? Put it in there. 

[HarrysMini]

• Is the fuel tank nearly empty? If not, it should be.
• I would put the car up on axle stands to stop the tyres from flat spotting.
• Leave the rear windows popped open to aid ventilation.
• I read somewhere that you should remove the wiper arms to stop them going brittle.
• I would actually remove the battery and store it somewhere you can have a charger near it. Then every so often, give it a little boost.
• It's a good idea to release the handbrake as well.
• Don't forget to make a SORN if it's going to be off the road for a few months!

Can't think of anything else right now.

[aaron27]

my mate went to uni and left her car behind, her dad simply ran it for about 30 mins each weekend and left it on axle stands so as not to ruin the tyres, seemed to work ok for her

[Shep76S]

Or over inflate the tyres to help avoid the flat spots.
I stand my tyres on rubber matting to try and stop the cold attacking the rubber.
I run mine every couple of weeks to make sure here is a good coating of oil inside the engine, other people say this just causes water deposits and so shouldn't be done.
Small heater in the garage?
Small dehumidifier?

[firstforward]

Or over inflate the tyres to help avoid the flat spots.
I stand my tyres on rubber matting to try and stop the cold attacking the rubber.
I run mine every couple of weeks to make sure here is a good coating of oil inside the engine, other people say this just causes water deposits and so shouldn't be done.
Small heater in the garage?
Small dehumidifier?

 

How exactly does the cold attack the rubber, I am getting worried now to use my car in the snow?

[HarrysMini]

They are only affected if they are left without being used in the cold for a long time. 

[Badboytunes]

Turn the heating up in the garage, works for me

[Ben_Clarke]

Thanks all. The fuel tank is nearly full, and I was planning on leaving the car on the wheel dollies that I used to get it sideways across the back of the garage. Are those both bad ideas? The v-section dollies do spread the load a bit further than just letting the wheels sit on the ground, and I guess I could inflate the tyres a bit further. Is there a real risk that my tyres will end up with flat spots? I guess the empty fuel tank advice is to prevent corrosion. Would you bother with the hassle of siphoning it out, or just leave well alone? I've got a battery charger that I'll use to keep it topped up, and I'll also try and run it on idle for half an hour every now and again to keep the engine oiled. Thanks again.

[stealth05]

when i store mine for the 4 months of the year its not used i fill the petrol tank before storing as this prevents condensation in the tanks which will enhance rust inside (never known petrol go off in this short a time) , also leave it with the handbrake off and windows down around an inch or so to aid ventilation and reduce damp ,as for tyres have never suffered with flat spots from being stood for 4 months at a time maybe if storing for a year or more ,disconnect the battery and check there is enough antifreeze in the engine not only does this stop the engine freezing but reduces the rusting of the water chambers ,then i just chuck a dust sheet over it (soft cotton bed sheet to prevent scratching ).

 

as for starting it i dont bother , i just put a little bit of engine oil down the bores and replace the plugs , then when i get the car back out i crank the engine over a for a few seconds with the coil disconnected before starting to circulate the oil .

 

and remember to inform dvla it is sorn or you will receive a nice £80 fine .

Edited by stealth05, 10 October 2013 - 05:49 AM.

[Badboytunes]

I dont think the DVLA will have an office in Calgary

[surfblue]

I keep mine in the garage (on carpet no less), start it every few weeks and run it out onto the driveway on occasions on a dry day to keep the tyres rotated but also to use / move the brake and clutch hydraulics to prevent seal problems after a layup. Occasional trickle charge for the battery too.

[HarrysMini]

You'd be surprised how quickly petrol goes stale, no it's not to do with corrosion. All you want is enough petrol to get you to the petrol station on your first start up. The last thing you want is a tank full of stale petrol.

[Ben_Clarke]

 image.jpg   56.55K   27 downloads

Thanks again, I appreciate all this. Happy to be far away from the DVLA. The registries office here are quite happy that I don't even need to register the car until the spring...I bought it and then almost straight away took it off the road. The different ideas about leaving petrol in the tank are interesting. I'm going to make such a mess trying to siphon it out that it's staying in - and I'll hope the rust prevention is more likely than petrol going stale, which does sound grim. Because it's a new toy, I doubt I'll be able to resist taking it out round the block once during the winter, which I hope will avoid flat tyre spots. Here's a picture of Harris on his wheels, tucked in at the back of the garage