So now I'm driving an '05, and have parked the 'ol 72 for the time being. Dont know when it will get back on the road, as I have no designs on selling it. (Had it too long). I've blocked it off of the ground, let some air out of the 33's, drained most of the gas and added some gas stabilizer. also start it every 1-2 weeks, and let it warm up. Put it in gear 4WD, and run the drive train for a minute or two. Will plug the battery charger in once in awhile too. What else can I do? I have it under a fiberglass canopy.

 

I was briefly a Ford dealer mechanic in 1969 (before getting drafted). Every new car from the factory had a yellow tag on the radio antenna. It stated something like:

"This vehicle must be driven at least 23.4 feet every 30 days."

Sounds funny, but some junior engineer calculated how far the vehicle needed to be moved to properly spread lube around on the bearings and gears of the drive train.

I have had experience with a number of stored vehicles. They all seemed to develop wheel bearing problems. If the bearings sit too long with out motion, the grease pulls back, leaving bare patches which rust. When put back into service, the bearing has a short life.

With 4WD you can easily exercise all four wheels even if it is blocked up, so you should be fine. If you were 2wd, I would spin the front wheels a few turns by hand during the monthly exercise.

Something new: exercise the brakes while you are at it. If they sit too long the cups in drum brake cylinders and master cylinders "relax" and let a little brake fluid seep through wetting your brakes. All you need to do is pump them a few times, although dragging the brakes while the wheels are turning will help keep rust from building up.

Your Nevada climate should be more gentle than a high-humidity area.

OH! For those in humitity: Keep the gas tank FULL. Stabilizer (more of it to the proper ratio on the can) is still good. The air in the partially full tank expands and contracts every day with temperature changes, causing the tank to "breath". In the long run this brings in water and even the stabilizer can only deal with so much. Keeping the tank full reduces this problem. (With the price of gas going up, you can think of it as an "investment".)

 

You're right about gas collecting moisture, I used to live in the Midwest, and occasionally had to dump some Heet in the tank. Once in awhile someone would have a frozen gas line, and after dumping the Heet in, it would usually unthaw the line and you would be good to go. I always kept close to a full tank, liked the extra weight for traction in the snow, and if I did get stuck, I could keep warm all night. Then with a little water in the tank with not much gas, it would rust and then eventually clog the fuel filter on an older vehicle. I do exercise the brakes too on the parked truck, while running it in gear up to about 20mph for about 15 seconds I use them to stop the tires before doing any gear changing. Now that I am thinking about it, I should prob shift to all 4 gears to get some juice on all of the tranny gears. OBTW, if you ask for Heet out here (WallyWorld) they have to get it from the back. The druggies are making something out of it, or using it to make something. (Is there anything under the kitchen sink that they havent tried using?) Thanks for the input.

 

You are welcome. It is not necessary to do a lot of shifting as long as you are in gear & 4WD, everything will turn and the oil will get around. I would suggest that you do a short exercise (one-minute) sometimes, but at least every third month, run it long enough to open the thermostat. The short sessions will not have enough time to make much condensation, but will splash the oil around. The long sessions will get everything warmed up, but probably not enough to boil off condensation, which will have to be dealt with in your oil additives, so even though it is not on the road you should use the best grades.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan for extended storage for your '72. You might want to consider a battery tender instead of trying to remember to connect the battery charger from time to time..... There are some really good ones on the market now. I keep one on my toter, and one on the race car. Both always have a fully charged battery....

 

Did the battery charger thing once a month on it, but one day at Wally World, I saw a 1.5amp charger for $17 sitting on the shelf next to the battery rack. Since hooking this one up, the battery stays full. (Important since I have the crook alarm still hooked up). I hope the alarm never goes off, because me and the .45 will have to go take a look. Speaking of gas, a few mo ago when gas was quite a bit cheaper, I filled the 55 gal tank in the bed. I figure when gas is about a dollar more than I paid, I will use it in my '05. Voila!, free tank of fuel!

 

Also place some impervious sheet such as 6mil black plastic as a ground cloth to keep grasses or weeds out and prevent ground gases from rising up into the metal bottom of your truck while it sits there.
Plants produce Oxygen and moisture as a by product, and the earth emits all sorts of gasseous fumes that will corrode simple metals over time. Of course the grasses & weeds may not be much of an issue in NV, but anywhere else in the country besides the dry S/W might heed the tip.

FBp

 

Although it's a bit of a hassle I like to disconnect the battery if I put one into long term storage.If it's inside this is a mandatory for me.Several years ago a tow truck driver failed to disconnect a battery on a mid 60's Chevy pickup his company was storing for a customer.The wiring shorted out and the truck caught fire after hours.I never heard a dollar figure but a large steel building, a front end loader,the customers pickup, a bunch of parts and 13 paid for tow trucks all went up in big ball of fire.Although the monetary loss was high it was far over shadowed when the local Fire Chief suffered a heart attack and died on the scene.Me,I disconnect the battery.

 

I would agree with unhooking a bat cable, but I have my alarm on when its parked. The good thing is, I have a hidden switch which disconnects EVERYTHING on the truck but the alarm. So everything is dead, including the int lights. I guess the Optima could start itself on fire, or the battery tender, but I figure that is a smaller chance than my truck sitting there and not knowing if someone is wrenching on it in the night. And then whenever the flood lights sensor goes on, and both of my dogs big eyes and ears, they usually go out to investigate. Which activates my curious state of mind, mentally figuring how long it will take me to grab my boomstick and peak around the corner. Forgive me for being paranoid, but my truck was already stolen and stripped 5 yrs ago, and I'm not going to go thru that again, so I take as many precautions as feasible.

 

So the old girl was in storage for almost a yr, and then I had a brainstorm and decided to get it roadworthy again. Insured with a classic car co, $43 to the DMV, so now I can drive it legally every once in awhile, (or whatever). Aired the tires up, pulled the jackstands, unhooked the charger, and drove to the smog house. Couldnt believe the numbers, should be under 700ish for low and high idle. Machine said 34 and 70.

 

I have been through the same cycle and also decided that keeping it licensed, insured, and occasionally on the road keeps everything better in the long run. For a while I had "classic" insurance and after four years and about that many miles they cancelled me. I had communications with the company about sending them pictures for their files and mentioned that, even though it was a truck, I would not be doing any hauling while under their insurance. Then I said: "I guess it is OK to bring home a loaf of bread." I was firmly told that even a loaf of bread was considered hauling and would void my coverage. I guess this went into my file and they decided that I was too great a risk. It is more expensive to have "normal" insurance but now I can haul (privately) at will. (An F-350 NEEDS to haul something once in a while!)

 

Thanks for the tip about the "loaf of bread", in case they ask me again. In the couple of months I have had it insured with them, I have only driven it once, and not very far, but I feel better about having plates on it, if I have to move it and pull into the street to turn around.