Exterior:
 

Road grime, bugs gluts, and bird droppings can stain your paint if not cleaned for a prolonged period of time. The following are a few steps I follow to prepare the exterior of my cars for winter storage:

1. Thoroughly wash your vehicle (be sure to clean the hard-to-reach lower areas of your car).

2. Apply a cleaner wax (Use your favorite brand… most brands have a cleaner wax system to remove the oxidation of the summer season)

3. Apply a polish wax.

 

Interior:
 

Moister over the winter will develop into mold and will provide you with a rather nasty smell in the spring time. It’s also important that you clean the interior of your car and inspect it for any signs of moister. My recommendation is to remove the floor mats from your vehicle while it’s in storage because they are often the source of trapped moister in your interior. The following are a few steps I follow to prepare the interior of my cars for winter storage:

1. Clean the glass with a glass cleaner (I have found the AC Delco glass cleaner to work the best).

2. Apply leather conditioner to the seats and other leather areas of your vette.

3. Thoroughly vacuum the entire interior.

4. Apply an interior detailer to the dash, door panels, and trim.

5.  *** Important *** to preserve your vette’s weatherstrip, apply silicone emulsion. It will keep the rubber moisturized and will reduce rattles within your vehicle.

 

Mechanical:
 

To avoid common mechanical issues in the spring, the following are a few steps I follow to prepare the mechanical components of my cars for winter storage:

1. Disconnect the battery. It is strongly recommended that you apply a trickle charger to your battery for winter storage.

2. Add fuel stabilizer to your fuel. Be sure to leave a bit of room in the tank for fresh Sunoco 94 in the spring.

3. Get an oil change before you put away the vette for the winter. A recommendation is to take it on a short run after the oil change to ensure the clean oil has circulated to all components.

4. In your second last tank of fuel for the season, be sure to add injector cleaner.

5. Grease all fittings.

6. Check the air filter.

Now it’s time to tuck your vette away for a long-winters rest. My recommendation is to choose a well-fitted car cover to help protect your vette during its winter rest. Hugger Car Covers are nicely fitted to the contour of most vettes.