For some of us summer season is almost over.Any suggestion before storage? Thanks
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For some of us summer season is almost over.Any suggestion before storage? Thanks
Just keep driving until it's toooooo unbearably cold!
Then drive south - I know, i'm missing mine already :(
Maybe i'll sneak her into the house - get rid of the couch! Watching TV would have that drive in feeling :)
Then drive south - I know, i'm missing mine already :(
Maybe i'll sneak her into the house - get rid of the couch! Watching TV would have that drive in feeling :)
Lambros, move farther south if you can :-) I did the winter lay up thing with the Speedster and my bikes in Chicagoland. Really sucks doesn't it?
John H.
ps. I drove top down and heater on today wearing a t-shirt, sweatshirt and pullover windbreaker. Maybe I'll have to put the top up next month.
John H.
ps. I drove top down and heater on today wearing a t-shirt, sweatshirt and pullover windbreaker. Maybe I'll have to put the top up next month.
Mel,great idea.You never know.
Move to Baton Rouge , La.
Any jobs openings down there Jonny2bolts.Winter will suck this year.
Gordon,
Just couldn't resist: That is a really fine looking speedster.
Troy
Just couldn't resist: That is a really fine looking speedster.
Troy
OK, Change the oil and check the valves, also check the oil level in your transmission, just for the hell of it. At the same time, check the level of brake fluid in the reservoir, just to be safe.
Then add gas stabilizer ("Sta-Bil" works well) to the gas tank for the size of tank you have, then fill the tank to the top with gas and cap it for the Winter. After filling the tank (and with the stabilizer already in there) drive it for 5 minutes or so to make sure the stabilizer is in the carb float bowls and throughout the fuel lines and passages.
If you're worried, you can get some cylinder fogging oil at a Marine Supply store and use it in your cylinders per the label (it usually takes a short blast per cylinder, but it's more effective if you blast each cylinder for 2 - 3 seconds while you're turning the engine over via the starter - remove the coil wire first). Do this AFTER you've done the 5-minute run with stabilizer in the tank, and just BEFORE you cover it up for the Winter. In the spring, it should start right up.
Some people disconnect the battery and bring it inside where it'll stay warm during the Winter, putting it on a trickle charger every other month or so. If you do so, make sure it is sitting on a non-conductive surface like a piece of wood - they can discharge right through a concrete floor.
Don't worry about the tires flattening on the bottoms - that went away when tire manufacturers stopped making nylon ply tires. Just put it in a good spot in your garage where you can get in and make engine noises every now and then to feel like you're at home.
Or you can do what I did - buy a house down South and go there for the winter!
Gordon
One of the Nomadic "Speedstah Guys" from Rhode Island
Then add gas stabilizer ("Sta-Bil" works well) to the gas tank for the size of tank you have, then fill the tank to the top with gas and cap it for the Winter. After filling the tank (and with the stabilizer already in there) drive it for 5 minutes or so to make sure the stabilizer is in the carb float bowls and throughout the fuel lines and passages.
If you're worried, you can get some cylinder fogging oil at a Marine Supply store and use it in your cylinders per the label (it usually takes a short blast per cylinder, but it's more effective if you blast each cylinder for 2 - 3 seconds while you're turning the engine over via the starter - remove the coil wire first). Do this AFTER you've done the 5-minute run with stabilizer in the tank, and just BEFORE you cover it up for the Winter. In the spring, it should start right up.
Some people disconnect the battery and bring it inside where it'll stay warm during the Winter, putting it on a trickle charger every other month or so. If you do so, make sure it is sitting on a non-conductive surface like a piece of wood - they can discharge right through a concrete floor.
Don't worry about the tires flattening on the bottoms - that went away when tire manufacturers stopped making nylon ply tires. Just put it in a good spot in your garage where you can get in and make engine noises every now and then to feel like you're at home.
Or you can do what I did - buy a house down South and go there for the winter!
Gordon
One of the Nomadic "Speedstah Guys" from Rhode Island
Troy:
Thanks! Looks a little meaner now that I've lowered the rear end down to match the front! That one was taken last year when it still sat pretty high. '99 Audi Pearl White Paint - 4 coats of white base, three coats of Pearlescent and three coats of Clear. A lotta work, but worth it!
The background is looking North toward the "Tiverton Yacht Basin" on the Northeast side of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. My little tiny sailboat isn't big enough for a mooring over there, so I keep it near Fogland Beach, halfway down the East Bay.
gn
Thanks! Looks a little meaner now that I've lowered the rear end down to match the front! That one was taken last year when it still sat pretty high. '99 Audi Pearl White Paint - 4 coats of white base, three coats of Pearlescent and three coats of Clear. A lotta work, but worth it!
The background is looking North toward the "Tiverton Yacht Basin" on the Northeast side of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. My little tiny sailboat isn't big enough for a mooring over there, so I keep it near Fogland Beach, halfway down the East Bay.
gn
Lambros, couldn't say from experience about the job scene since I'm retired. However, the way that the housing developments are growing in western Knoxville, some of the houses looking like McMansions, there must be some good jobs here.
I'm sorry that I don't have anything more specific.
John
I'm sorry that I don't have anything more specific.
John
Gordon,
Thanks for the advise, especially the tires. I wondered about that.
Now for the flip side. This will be my first winter and I was thinking about trying to drive it once a week thought the winter - weather and roads permitting. Get it up to operating temp and try the heater.LOL.
What advise for this scenario? Oil weight, frequency of oil changes, etc. Or will I wind up doing more harm than good by the occasional drive?
Thanks for the advise, especially the tires. I wondered about that.
Now for the flip side. This will be my first winter and I was thinking about trying to drive it once a week thought the winter - weather and roads permitting. Get it up to operating temp and try the heater.LOL.
What advise for this scenario? Oil weight, frequency of oil changes, etc. Or will I wind up doing more harm than good by the occasional drive?
I personally think driving it during nicer days in the Winter is just fine. Bear in mind that it may NEVER "get up to operating temp", but it should run just fine (millions of older VW's did, didn't they?)
I would still put gas stabilizer in the tank, as it'll be sitting a lot. If you keep it in a semi-heated garage, then the same oil you use in the Summer is OK. If you plan on starting it when the garage temp is under 20 F (and WHY would you want to do THAT??), then change to 5W-30 in it for the Winter, but you should change back to something thicker in the Spring.
gn
I would still put gas stabilizer in the tank, as it'll be sitting a lot. If you keep it in a semi-heated garage, then the same oil you use in the Summer is OK. If you plan on starting it when the garage temp is under 20 F (and WHY would you want to do THAT??), then change to 5W-30 in it for the Winter, but you should change back to something thicker in the Spring.
gn
Don't forget the mouse traps.
Oh yeah....mouse traps.....LOTS of mouse traps...
or get a pair of Jack Russell terriers and train them as "mousers" and let them sleep in your Speedster - trust me, they'll love it!
or get a pair of Jack Russell terriers and train them as "mousers" and let them sleep in your Speedster - trust me, they'll love it!
Guys,
I'll buy mouse traps. I have a dog but he likes to sleep in bed inside the house. Not much help.
P.S. If the conversations are starting to run amuck now what will it be like by the middle of January?
I'll buy mouse traps. I have a dog but he likes to sleep in bed inside the house. Not much help.
P.S. If the conversations are starting to run amuck now what will it be like by the middle of January?
If this forum isn't very active in January, you might have to have John Daniel's keep you company!
I thought you were suppossed to pull the engine and get a new bigger one. Arrange for it to be ready just as the weather gets warm again so you can put it back in and start driving. Ron