Post-winter spider prep

Maintenance advice to keep your Spider in shape.
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dbr
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 5:05 pm
Your car is a: 1981 fiat spider
Location: St. Charles, IL area

Post-winter spider prep

Post by dbr »

Hello All,

It being 63 degrees today here in Chicago (btw that's very warm :)) made me go to the barn and uncover the spider! I got too excited and started her up...only to turn her right off while saying to myself " you idiot, shouldn't you do something first before starting her up after all winter." So this leads me to my two questions.
Is there anything I should do before taking her out for a spin?
I know there are mice in my barn, but don't know if there are any in the car. Are there any places I should check?

Thanks all in advance.

dbr
AriK
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 1148
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:58 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider
Location: Montreal Canada

Re: Post-winter spider prep

Post by AriK »

I'm happy to hear that you did not need to sell your car. Even happier that you're not using it as a daily driver at this time of year :) .
At this point if you have already started it there is nothing to do. Take it for a long drive on dry roads in order work out any condensation from the crankcase and exhaust system. If you park it back into your unheated barn and you plan on it sitting for an extended period, place an oil soaked rag into the exhaust pipe and into the carb or throttle opening. That humidity just loves to try to seep through any openings. Winter is almost over but next year toss in a bottle of Carb Defender or fuel stabilizer into the tank prior to shutting down.
Finally, stating the obvious, I usually give it an oil/filter change at the start of the driving season.
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