telecast76

I had a 69 Chevelle SS396 (which I sold to buy my 09 RT) for over 10 years and it was a "garage queen" that I only put a few hundred miles a year on. But I never winterized it, for the reasons stated above about wanting to keep everything nicely lubricated and in running order. I'd just start it up every 2-3 weeks and if the roads were free of salt, I'd drive it for 10-15 minutes until the temps came all the way up (AND the exhaust pipes were nice & HOT to burn off that condensation).

On weeks where the roads were salty, I just back the car up & down my salt free driveway a few times to heat it up and to lube everything and to make the transmission shift and to avoid flat spots and to prevent the seal in the master cylinder from taking a set, etc. etc etc. Oh, and yes, Stabil in the tank. That overall scheme did me well for over 10 years as I never had any strange problems in the 10 years I had it.

I live in SE Pa where we dont get subzero temps but we do get down into the teens for spells and we often go below freezing.

I had a friend with a MINT Vette who winterized his (took the wheels off & put it up on blocks, poured some fancy liquid down the carb to prevent it from rusting up etc) and that all seemed like such a hassle. Plus, sometimes you get a warm spell in the winter and it's nice to be able to take advantage of it by just opening up your garage door and turning your ignition key and being able to go right away!

I will say one thing about a battery tender if you use one. Disconnect it a good few minutes and let the battery ventilate before you start the car. I exploded a battery under the hood of my Chevelle one time when I disconnected the tender & started the car immediately - I figure it must have been a combo of battery gases from the charging coupled with a spark under the hood. And when I say exploded, I mean EXPLODED.

dodgebrothers

My procedure is quite similar. For over 20 yrs I've always been an advocate to "run them" as much as possible. I do use Stabil and keep about 1/3 of a tank, but the tank rarely lasts me the winter...which is purposeful to add new fuel at some point, usually late January. I run the cars on "salt free" winter days as others have described and put about 15-20 miles each time out...they get nice and hot. I also make sure the heat is on in my garage before and after the run, thus hot metal turning to cold is less likely to cause condensation if temp change is gradual. I do this as much for electrical components as mechanical.

I would say, if you're planning NOT to drive it at all, I'd do a full tank w/ stabil or drain the tank completely.

That's my deal, no problems to date.

Andre@Edge

I dont disagree with any of the advice, but in Alaska I did store many classics.

If it is cold storage leave the tank full, and use at least as much of the bottled HEAT that is recommended. Starting your car is where you see more wear per revolution then ANY other time. Starting it weekly for an entire winter is equal to thousands of miles of use on the engine. Lack of lube is the reason for this. The colder the weather, the longer it takes to lube.

I park mine full, and remove the battery. If I think it will be moved I use a battery blanket, and a trickel charger (1 amp). If you are even remotely worried about rust on the cylinder walls then you can fog the block, but it wont be an issue in the spring after about 10 seconds running.

raj1980

Just don't drive it in the snow! And the 2009 Challenger isn't a 67 Barracuda... snow aint gonna hurt it.
I drive my 69 vette on nice crisp winter days... it's refreshing. And saves me the time and money of needless winterizing a car.
Stop being wusses and drive the damn thing... my RT is a daily driver and I'll be driving it 50 miles each way to work everyday, rain or shine... even in the snow if need be!