VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc Winter storage question

What is preferable for my '34 Master, switch from water to 50/50 antifreeze or drain it dry for winter?

50/50, that will also help protect so rust doesn't develop.

FWIW I keep 50/50 in my '38 year around.

My cars, including my 1934 when I owned it, had a 50/50 mixture all year long.

50/50 mixture of anti freeze & water has been used all year long in all my old cars for the last 50-years without any problems.

I run 50/50 as well... It'll raise your boil over temp as well. I didn't think anyone ran straight water...

While I mostly do the 50/50 coolant year around, the possibility of small internal cracks in the head, mostly near valve seats has me draining my '26 and '27 over winter. These 4 cyl puppys and some of the early sixes were prone to that problem. Since many of us have external leaks demanding occasional topoffs a small internal leak might go unnoticed.
No big deal draining and storing. Even a few ounces of coolant bleeding into a cylinder and ?? Dan

If the storage temperature may reach 20 degrees below zero Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit?) you need a mixtion covering down to 30 to be sure of protection. Where the storage temperature can be lower than 30 C (22 F?) I would recommend to empty the cooling system.

Straight water is a better coolent...Anti-freeze is for...well, like the name says...

There are several problems with draining the coolant in the winter. Some of the original coolant remains if just drained. That includes water. Water vapor and oxygen cause rust on steel and cast iron. The same mixture in the radiator causes deterioration of the solder joints. It is mostly the oxygen that forms the metal oxides. So if you are going to drain the cooling system blow dry air into the cooling passages to remove as much of the moisture as possible. This will minimize the rust/corrosion of metal parts.

Then the oxidation of the rubber hose inside liner is another factor.

While straight water may cool better I would not consider it a better coolant. The additives in antifreeze do more than just cool. If using water w/o antifreeze it is perhaps best to add a conditioner.

I'm sorta lost here. What in the name of all that is holy and Sam Hill (no relation), is "Winter Storage?" Is it where when you just get to mild days and then have to start thinking about parking the car for six months or so?

Winter? Storage? I know what each word means standing alone but, alas, being from good ol' North Carolina, I never hear of the two used together. Down here, we're able to drive our old cars year round. Eat your heart out, Brewster, Don, Pate and Gene, et al!

Oh, we may dump a quart of antifreeze in ifen we're going across the upper border, say to Virginia but no big deal. Most of us just run water and keep the car near a window. The warmth escaping from the cracks in the double-wide will keep the surrounding air warm enough we don't have to worry about no stinkin' a-freezing up and no annoying "Winter Storage"

Winter Storage? Who would want to live where you had to do that? I just can't understand some people. Can't neither!

Charlie

BTW: If you live where 50/50 won't protect your car, then you maybe should seriously consider buying a compass and move in the direction away from the pointer.

Think magnolia, pecan, peach and tall pine trees. Fishing without having to wear out a hundred ice pick before you can even get the boat in the water, coon hunting (just hearing the dogs run is like Dracula hearing the music of the night), walking to school without having to do so in knee-deep snow (both ways), smelling honeysuckles, seeing Venus fly-traps have lunch, tickle-the-belly cat-fishing (and, if you're in a hurry and hungry, excellent use of dynamite), just to name a few of the South's many attractions. Mercy! How do you folk stand it up there? I don't get it.

Name some attractions up there. Heck fire, did I say some? Name just one. NOTE: Not having me as a neighbor doesn't count.

We get below 0(F) here in MI, I leave 50/50 in all year with no problems.