We had our first snowfall a little over a week ago.
That means sand and salt on the roads so it was time to put the
“White Fox” away for its winter rest. My car spend the
winters in an unheated garage. The garage is attached and even on
the coldest days does not drop below freezing.

I have developed the following ritual for storing
my car.

• Change the oil. I use 10w30 Mobil 1 for this
  oil change as well as my regular oil changes. It might be wasteful
  to use it here since first thing in the spring I change it again.
• Make sure the exterior is clean. I don’t like
  to wash it and immediately drive it in into the garage. It doesn’t
  seem to dry thoroughly. This fall there was an occasion where
  I washed it and immediately garaged it. When I took it out a week
  later to go to a car show, it still had water draining from it.
  I do park the car with the front end slightly elevated on my car
  ramps (so I don’t have to find a separate place to store them)
  and maybe that had something to do with it. Since my car is usually
  clean, it usually just requires the use of a California duster
  and/or Meguiars Quick Detailer.
• Protect the various interior surfaces. Specifically,
  I like to apply Meguiars Gold Class Leather Cleaner & Conditioner
  to the seats. Drying and cracking is the biggest problem with
  these leather seats and becomes especially evident on the white
  ones.
• Add fuel stabilizer. I use Sta-bil
  which is available at my local auto parts store.
• Keep moisture out. I place some packets of
  desiccant inside the car. These are packets I have accumulated
  throughout the year when they come as part of the packaging of
  certain products. Obviously, these things can’t absorb moisture
  forever and I am not sure how to tell if they are still good.
  A more serious moisture solution I recently because aware of is
  called STA-DRI.
  It has the ability to be “regenerated” in order to allow
  reuse after the desiccant dryers become saturated.
• Cover the car. Even though my car is stored
  indoors, I use an outdoor cover that is breathable. The one I
  use is fairly old since I bought it when my 1991 Mustang hatchback
  was new. Is it an Evolution 3 cover. I have used it for 10 years
  to cover various cars indoors and out without any issues. It is
  a hatchback cover but it works just fine on the convertible.
• Trickle charge the battery. I use the BatterMINDer
  from VDC Electronics.
  I purchased it through BatteryMart
  which I have found to be a good place for battery-related stuff.
  I leave the battery in the car but leave the hood resting slightly
  open and the above mentioned cover rolled back near the corner
  of the car where the battery is located. Charging the battery
  requires ventilation due to the gases developed while charging.
• Don’t start it until Spring. I used to take
  it out for a drive once or twice a month during the Winter. I
  was sure to drive it at least 10 miles in order to get the engine
  up to proper operating temperature in order to prevent any condensation
  problems. The problem with winter drives is that even through
  the roads were clear of snow, ice and water, they still had salt
  and sand on them. I don’t want to expose my car to any of them.

Check out musclecarclub.com
for more information on car storage.

Probably much like many feature car owners, I have come to the realization that the book value of my car is less than what it would cost to replace the car. That has moved me to reconsider my traditional auto insurance policy. The only option my current insurance provider has available is to allow me to drop the coverage on my car (for a period of at least 30 days) while I have my car off the road during the winter months. I don’t like that option and am looking to both get better coverage for the actual value of my car and get a reduction in cost because it is a third car in a two driver household and gets driven about 2,000 miles a year.

I am aware of several carriers like Hagerty and  Grundy that provide specialty car insurance. Some won’t cover my car since it is less than 15 (or 20) years old. Some are too restrictive about use (never overnight away from its primary locked garage). My driving will be pleasure only (never used for a work commute), less that 2,500 miles a year, possibly it might be kept away from home overnight (although it never has) otherwise it will be kept in a locked garage. I have talked with a local appraiser and he said that I may not need an appraisal depending on the insurance carrier. Right now Leland West is the front runner in my consideration.

If you are using a specialty insurance carrier and/or have a stated value policy on a Mustang like mine please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Please contact me and once I decide what to do, I will post my findings here for all other owners to use as a reference.