Buying my Panther has been a double-edged sword of late. For while I love the car and prefer it to the Volvo on nice days, snow, snow and more darn snow (and salt!) mean it hasn’t been driven since last Saturday. This afternoon, however, I got to “drive” it, parked in the garage.
As I intend to keep this car a long time, I will not drive it in snow, slush or rain, or when there is salt on the road. Therefore, once a week I will fire it up and let it run for 15 minutes, to keep everything in good order. I ran the transmission through all the gears, and even backed it out of the garage so two or three feet of Ivory Pearlescent derriere appeared outside. This pristine former one-owner car will not have snow or salt mar its finish!
On a happier, warmer day
At least I got to listen to a couple tracks of my Fleetwood Mac CD; in “Stadium” setting on the DSP feature on the radio, it sounded most excellent! Hat tip to Eric Van Buren, who clued me in to the DSP feature–which I knew nothing about.
Something’s happening, happening to me…
But man, I’d really like to take it out for a spin. So here’s to warmer weather and spring. Only three months to go!
Wow, you are really dedicated to that Lincoln and makes me wish my 03 Caravan was not a semi-rust bucket so I could keep it forever as an example of what happens when Germans are naughty. Anyway, should be interesting in 40 years when your Town Car is uber rare and the most polluting, but nicest looking vehicle on the road. The dealership decal on the trunk lid is a bonus as well. Wish you the best of luck and hope there is fuel stabilizer in the tank. What year is your Town Car anyway because it would be cool if Illinois let you put year of manufacture plates on it when it hits 25 years old; especially if you could put the 1983-2001 plates on it.
There was a similar vintage Black Town Car somewhat poorly parked next to me at the library today and the exterior looked pretty good. However, the rear seat had various items on it, a cooler, and there was other random items in the front passenger area. I wonder if someone is living out of it? Also, the front center armrest was dented like someone put their entire weigh on their elbow. Either that or their knee.
Teddy,
How is your ’03 Caravan rusting already? I thought almost all vehicles built after 2001 or so were completely immune to corrosion of any kind!
couldn’t be any wronger – at least regarding the crop of newer cars we get here in europe. they’re not the obvious rust buckets they used to be in the 90s – the makers got the point, that rusty products of ten years vintage do a certain damage on the image of newer stuff. still some rust severly where it cannot be seen at first glance.
but admittedly, the manufacturers moved the main working points of planned obsolescence away from the body (again) and concentrate on the technical side.
Doan Dodge of Rochester and/or the original owner are *****ng stupid because they put Auto Armour Rust Protection on the Rocker Panels which are rotting out. There is rust in other areas as well and I think the previous owner(s) were not car people because the Tranny was rebuilt at 80K miles before I bought it.
Come to New York and see all the rust 21st Century vehicles. Toyota Pickups, Honda Odysseys, Accords, and Civics are the worst offenders. So are Ford Focuses, F-150s, Windstars/Freestars, and Econolines. Chevy Silverados and Expresses are also pretty bad as are Kias/Hyundais and 4th gen Chrysler Minivans. That is not a complete list by the way.
The Chrysler 4th gen minivan (2001-07) is much more of a ruster than earlier generations were. Maybe 3 years ago I looked at a 01 that had spent its first 5 years in Michigan. Rust was starting to bubble up in numerous places. Every panel except roof and front fenders, as I recall. Major disappointment.
When Germans are naughty?
A 2003 Caravan had suffered from Daimler’s Wolgang Bernhardt’s decontenting “touch”, when you compare it to how the 1996-2000’s were equipped. Not only were features reduced, but rust-proofing and sound-deadening were as well.
As least Chrysler had figured out by 03 how to apply factory rust protection to the strut towers of its Minivans since those rusting out are the Achilles Heel of 3rd Gens in New York.
Oh wait, my 03 has a single Leaf Spring with a solid axle, I do not think it has strut towers then.
Thanks Robert, that makes sense. The only experience I have with DC-era cheapening is what they couldn’t change on a Chrysler 200. Plus I suppose some of the visual pollution…
My 95 Voyager had dark tinted privacy glass, cruise control, a tilting steering wheel, better ashtray/cup holder set up, and did not feel as cheap inside as my 03 Caravan SE.
You’re a good man, Tom
+1
DSP is a cool feature, I’m bummed it isn’t in my Marauder. The other nice feature is the Speed volume feature that adjusts the volume based on the speed.
Running it for 15 min isn’t that great of an idea. It is just long enough to fill the mufflers with water and cause condensation in the engine. Better to let it sit for a month of more until you can find the time to drive it for 30 min or so after the coolant is up to normal operating temp. That will get the exhaust, engine, trans, and axle fluids hot enough to boil off any moisture.
Thanks Eric. I have heard varying accounts of what to do if you’re going to have a car sit for a while (one friend said 10 minutes, another said 15), and I was hoping someone would chime in.
Ditto all that on the fifteen minutes bit. Put additive in the tank (best to add it right before a fillup so it mixes thoroughly with the *fresh* gas), then wait for a day where you can get it out a drive it vigorously for at least a half-hour.
I don’t know….this gas being sold now is pretty bad.. I’m having all sorts of fuel-related issues…stuck injectors, seized fuel pumps, etc. If the car is only cranked once a month, should he put some Sta-Bil/Seafoam/Fuel Stablizer in the tank?
A $20 battery maintainer from Wal-Mart is probably not a bad idea either. (I left one on an ’86 C10 for nearly four months & the thing cranked right up (until the rotten gas made its way to the carb).
Fuel stabilizer is not a bad idea if the fuel will end up in the tank for more than a couple of months.
I’ve not seen a $20 battery maintainer at Wal-Mart, in fact I was there last night picking up a Motorcraft oil filter for my Wife’s car and the were $40 bucks for a true battery charger maintainer as they had a big end display of them.
What ever you do, do not use a trickle charger as they will cook your battery if left on for extended periods.
adding 1% of JASO FC 2-stroke oil to the fuel is the finest treat for the engine and fuel system. gearheads and old car nuts over here swear by it.
never had to pull my carb apart, but those who do, state that the (for nowadays’ fuel) usual deposts, wear and erosion hardly occur. same said about injectors and fuel pums.
Agreed; better a good proper warm up once in a while than more frequent short periods of running. I take my Dodge Chinook out for a drive maybe once or twice during the off season. It always starts and runs ok.
Well, now I’m curious — tomorrow I will have to check to see if the sound system in my ’05 Town Car has this magic DSP button. I know it does not have the speed sensitive volume feature, for which I am glad because those setups drive me crazy. I like to make my own decisions about whether the volume needs adjusting.
Unfortunately, mine is my daily driver, so now that I moved back north it is getting exposed to salt. Three snowstorms in seven days and it’s not even technically winter yet. Blech.
The speed sensitive volume is user controllable. So you can turn it off as well as adjust the amount it changes the volume. What really annoys me is the fact that on my 2001 GM I can “turn on” the Speed sensitive volume, though it doesn’t say anything about it in the manual, and it does not have an effect.
The DSP button stands for Digital Signal Processing. It allows you to pick from simulating the reverb of venues ranging from a jazz club to church to stadium, or optimize it for talk radio. It also allows you to optimize the sound for all seats, front seats or driver’s seat. It wasn’t well enough recieved and they did discontinue it. Of course most people who do have it probably don’t know that they do and thus have never tried it. Personally I’ve set mine to Jazz club and it is there 99% of the time.
I agree with others here. Running the car for 15 minutes is not a good idea. My experience with Panther’s and 4.6L’s has proved that they produce a lot of moisture in their exhaust if they idle for long periods. I have stored several vehicles over the winter for numerous years. Three months is a short period, I usually have to park mine for six months and have gone as long as 1 year. If I were you, I’d change the oil before I parked it, I’d buy some quality fuel stabilizer and add to the tank, and either disconnect the battery or buy a battery maintainer. It’s a good idea to run the car for a bit after you add stabilizer to the fuel to ensure the treated fuel gets to the throughout the fuel system. Ensure your tires are well inflated, and give the car a good wash, wax and cover. The car will be fine when you fire it up in 3 months time. My one old car has seen the aforementioned procedure for over 40 years, with no ill effects. It’s a machine, it doesn’t need to be exercised…
Tom, I feel your pain. My 2002 Miata is safely stored in my garage for the winter. I’ve had it since new, and it’s never seen any salt or snow, and only very occasional rain.
Winters here in Montreal are long, so that means at least five months of storage. I keep my garage heated, but only just above freezing. I make sure the oil is changed just before I put it away, and make sure the car is as dry as possible. The worst thing you could do is wash the car just before storing it, as water gets trapped in all the wrong places. I put it in gear, and release the handbrake.
I also remove the battery, and store it in the basement. Half way through the winter, I pop the battery back in temporarily, back the Miata out of the garage, and let it run for about 30 minutes. It’s also a good idea to run coolant through the heater core at this point, and turn on the A/C and/or defroster for a few minutes. Because the roads are invariably covered with salt, snow and ice, and winter tires are mandatory here, I don’t have the option of driving it on public roads at this point.
BTW, it’s -18 deg C (0 deg F) outside right now, and we’re expecting 30 cm (12 in.) of snow overnight. Definitely not Miata weather!
Oh yeah, definitely run the defroster and/or A/C when you do crank it up: forgot to mention that.
Nice car Tom,what a shame these big RWD V8 sedans were killed off
Test comment, please ignore.
We don’t have the luxury of storing any cars. We have a two-car garage and three cars, so one is outside next to the driveway all the time. I loathe Northeast Iowa winters, but unless I miraculously find a good-paying Sun Belt job, I’m stuck. That being the case, I shoot to take the cars through the local coin-op car wash once a week and 4-minute wash-rinse spritz at the end of the work week.That includes the undercarriage. I figure that’s probably about the best I can do. At least my wife doesn’t really take her car outside our town of about 1,700. They don’t salt the streets; they just plow them.
That’s nice that Iowa survives without salt, I wish Wisconsin/Illinois would follow your example. I do a lot of driving in my job and run my car through a carwash that includes an undercarriage wash every night before I get home. If the car rusts, it won’t be because of my lack of effort to prevent it
The town doesn’t use salt, but the state does.
Davenport and Bettendorf use salt, but Iowa City (about an hour away) uses sand.
Iowa. As in the state, as in outside city limits. Iowa uses salt. A load of it. He thought “Iowa survived without salt” which is in no way close to the truth. Though it’s a pain to get that stuff to work in the -30 stuff as of late!
Thanks for all the info everybody. I need to get some fuel stabilizer and top off the tank. The roads are dry today, so hopefully will remain so the next couple days so I can get it done. Then she’ll be good to go–or rest 🙂
If I had that car, I’d be headed straight for the nearest empty parking lot every time it snowed!!
Maybe you need to sell the Volvo and buy a “winter beater” Panther. 🙂
I’ve been winter storing my Thunderbird since I’ve had it (12 years) in the garage. I store it from November 1st till April 1st (Chicago loves to salt in the winter) then it gets to come out and play again. Every year I wash the car before it goes into the garage to make sure it’s nice and clean. I also detail the interior and engine bay. I make sure the gas tank is full and throw fuel stabilizer in the tank. In addition I air up the tires to about 45psi to prevent flat spots. I throw a car cover on it and call it good. I will start it once a month over the storage period when it gets above freezing. By start I don’t mean run it for 15 minutes at idle. If I’m going to start it I run the engine for 45 minutes or so. I’ll also run the engine at 2000rpm for 2-3 minutes at a time to warm it up. The goal is to get the thermostat open and all the fluids warmed up. I’ll also shift the trans through all the gear selector ranges and let the car roll back and forth. In the spring I’ll wax it, lower the tire pressure, and change the oil (I always run Mobil 1 and a Motorcraft filter). Then it’s ready for another season.
I’ve done the same thing with the 2012 Mustang the last two years with no ill effects.
Perhaps it’s OK to change synthetic oil in the spring (I don’t have any experience with synthetic), but it’s certainly better to change conventional oil in the fall, just before storing the car. Used oil is full of contaminants, which will leave a ‘bathtub ring’ of corrosion inside your engine.
I know it’s tempting to wash one’s car before putting it in storage, but water has a tendency to collect in all the wrong, unreachable places like inside doors, rocker panels, the cowl area, behind rubber weatherstripping, etc. If you must wash it, leave it in the sun for a couple of days to dry thoroughly, and/or take it for a long drive before putting it in storage.
With synthetic oil it’s fine to change it once a year with the mileage I drive the car (under 1500 miles a year). Besides I think it’s silly to change the oil before storage and then drain and refill it in the spring, which is what most people recommend doing. As long as one makes a habit of fully warming up a car when it’s started most if not all of the contaminates in the oil will burn off.
I always find it’s best to wash the car before it is put away. It removes any contaminates from the paint. The key is to wash it on a warm fall day (i.e. above 50*) and dry it thoroughly. Open all the doors, hood, and trunk and wipe away any water you see. The car will dry out fine under a cover in the garage if you remove the water sitting around the seals on the doors/trunk/hood. Most people just dry the outside of the car leaving al that water to sit. A clean freshly washed car plus a car cover (and the car stored in a garage) keeps the paint dust and dirt free till spring time. I wouldn’t recommend letting a car sit outside to dry as dust will get on the finish. Then when you put a cover on the car the dust particles will slide around and scratch the bejesus out of the paint finish.