Storing the car with it off its suspension?

[Budnicks]

I stored two cars for a total of 31 months in an enclosed, unheated garage, back in 1989-1992. 1966 Coronet 500 and 1972 Satellite Sebring. Long-term storage is obviously a different deal than just six months or so. Do NOT store on jackstands on the unibody jacking points. I stored both in the air to the point where the tires were about an inch off the ground, putting wood blocks under the axle at the spring, and up front, under the A-arms, with the suspension fully loaded. No benefit is gained with letting the suspension hang - this is not the normal state of the suspension, anyway! I also put 36# of air in all of the tires. The plastic water vapor barrier is a great idea, whether it is parked on concrete, dirt or gravel.

If you are storing for six months or less, there really isn't a lot to worry about, other than keeping the environment as dry as you can. Store with a full tank of fuel, and use Sta-Bil or similar product to help preserve the crappy fuel we deal with, these days. I also would disconnect the fuel line at the inlet side of the pump after you have run the car to fully warm up, then start the car and run the fuel out of the pump to the carb so it stalls and dies. No worries about a gunked-up fuel line or crap in the carb(s). You'll change the filter before you start the car back up, anyway.

The longest I've let my cars sit has been roughly a year or less. My '69 D300 had been off the road for probably a decade or more. The fuel line was 100% filled with a nasty tar that indicates a LONG time of inoperability. This was from the pump inlet back to the point where the line went up the tank outlet. The pump had been replaced before I got the truck, so the line from there to the carb was new. Replaced the line from the tank to the pump, and replaced the old tank with an excellent used tank. One filter before the pump, and one before the carb. Now, the truck runs great...but I have an inop fuel gauge now. Yay.

now a car with specialty/soft tires or racing slicks etc.
a lil' different story
not good to store in one place for any real period of time
rotate the tires often, so they won't flat-spot or distort
or absorb whatever from concrete or gravel/dirt etc.

Like RC @Richard Cranium
I've stored long term or even just parked on carpeting
& aired up tires to like 40psi, for winter storage
haven't noticed any flat spotting either
was only about 11 months, the longest
too many projects at the time
BFG TA Radials some 14-15 years old now

I'd think if you're worried about the suspension
store it with some weight on the suspension/cribbing,
carpeting, cardboard or wood etc.
something to isolate the tires from dirt or concrete
& have the majority of the weight on the jack stands

that's my logic/thinking anyway

worked well for me for the past 47+ years
of driving/storing cars/bikes, racecars 4x4's etc.

your opinions & outcomes may vary

 

[FitzyB5]

Pack of 4 flat spot protectors. AmazonView attachment 1161181

I’ve used them the last four winters. From November to April. No flat spots.

 

[Triplegreen500]

my '91 Daytona got new tires last summer. I've owned that car since new (September 1991) and it has NEVER been stored off the ground. It has low miles, too - 74k original - so it sits a LOT. The tires that were on it had good tread, no checking or cracking or dry rot, no flat spots, drove fine...but hard as a rock and it rode like ****. Date code on the tires? 2001. 19 years old.

Whoops.

That car has been garaged all its life, concrete floors, VA and MD so "seasons" (hot summers, cold winters).

It's not so much the floor/ground...it's the WEIGHT.

I worked for an RV dealer for nearly a decade. Motorhomes and 5th wheels would flatspot even 10-ply tires in a matter of weeks, just because of how heavy they are. Cars and light trucks (half and 3/4 ton), I've never had a problem. I get a little on motorcycles...but those tires are gummy-soft, and after a mile or so they warm up and flex out. And I do keep my car trailer (10k rated 26' enclosed with load range E 10 ply tires) parked on boards, though, so the tires don't sink in the mud.

 

[64BEL]

Full tanks of fuel and Stabil, then I pour a little ATF down the carbs and fog 'em before shutting down for the winter. 6 months later, they always fire up as if I'd just shut them off. In fact, a few years ago I hadn't run my Belvedere's 318 Poly for 2 years and it fired right up and ran great.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Fule tanks of fuel and Stabil, then I pour a little ATF down the carbs and fog 'em before shutting down for the winter. 6 months later, they always fire up as if I'd just shut them off. In fact, a few years ago I hadn't run my Belvedere's 318 Poly for 2 years and it fired right up and ran great.

Thank you fellas. Lots of ideas here.
I went and changed the jack stands to be under the A-arms upfront and the rear differential just behind the backing plates. Took off the tires and wrapped them up in lawn bags and stored in a dry climate controlled basement. Filled up the tank with good racing fuel, but forgot to empty out the carb. Ooohps.
What's grueling is that the new door jam rubber weatherstrips still have not relieved themselves to allow for easy door closure short of slamming the damn things.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Use baby powder on the weatherstrips, close the doors fully & open them next year... The powder keeps them from sticking.... If they stick, sometimes they tear..

 

[monaco66coupe]

for those here with a car trailer, I recommend not parking it on anything with a car on it.
those six plies cracked,separated, and went to hell after one winter.
and they were low mile tires only a few years old.

 

[dadsbee]

Finally had one out of six go flat this Spring on my 34' triaxle. Road King bias plies. Bought the trailer Feb 1990 (to haul the Bird and Bee to shows), original tires. Always parked on boards.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

Almost afraid to post, but this is how this unit sits 99.99999% of the time, granted the wheelbase is a lil' shorter, but the frame connectors are fully welded to the floor (boxed), and the doors open and shut the same as on the floor or on jacks.

 

[64BEL]

View attachment 1162185

 

[monaco66coupe]

gorgeous color! In 1969 my little brother had that exact red coronet Hardtop with a 318 poly.
floor console,,,,, it did not survive Him!