My 205 Is Being Put Into Hibernation

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Today was my last day driving the 205 for a while,i had to take it for one last blast on the way home from work and as usual put a smile on my face,as of next monday ill be using my 309 GTI as my daily drive,i just hope it lives up to the 205.

There seems to be to many Laser greens local to me so im going to hide it away for a bit,havnt seen a 309 for a long time but no doubt once i get mine on the road a few more will come out of the woodwork.

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

How many Laser greens are local to you? I've only ever seen 1 other in the 12 years that I've been driving. I know what you mean about cars coming out of the woodwork, I spent several months lovingly tidying up my 1.9 sorrento and within a day of getting it on the road I saw 2 others (and one was in better nick).

 

Is there anything you need to do when putting a car away for a long while? eg putting it on axle stands or draining the coolant etc.

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

There's 2 1.6's and a 1.9 all within 2 miles of my house,one of them is a guy on this forum.

Ill probably just drain the coolant and leave it in the garage with wood blocks under the wheels with the brakes off,ill give it one final good clean before it goes away.

[MrG 3]

if its standing for any length of time, then I'd rather put it on stands and let some air out of the tyres, and also keep the fluids topped up making sure it has the correct and decent level of antifreeze in.

 

Is it to be inside or out? If outside then the weather can play havoc, but if inside you can cover it over and leave the windows cracked open to keep the air moving inside as that'll stop mould from growing when it starts to get damp. Also when this happens it can give you the odd nightmare with electrics etc.

 

Enjoy the 309.

[steve@cornwall 100]

Bloke up the road from me just sold a white 5 door 309 GTi - don't know where it went. There was also a tidy white 3 door with plated sunroof and a cage locally not so long ago............... Would it be better to put a strong , fresh antifreeze coolant in and start regularly (just like I didn't)?

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

Bloke up the road from me just sold a white 5 door 309 GTi - don't know where it went. There was also a tidy white 3 door with plated sunroof and a cage locally not so long ago............... Would it be better to put a strong , fresh antifreeze coolant in and start regularly (just like I didn't)?

 

I seen that white 309 for sale,think it was on EBAY but i dont count 5 door 309's as GTI's,IMO a GTI is supposed to be a 3 door.I havnt seen the 3 door one though,hopefully it stays that way.

Whenever i leave cars layed up i always forget about them,tonight was the first night i started the 309 since i brought it back about 4 months ago,it started a treat with a freshly charged battery.

 

MrG

 

Is it to be inside or out? If outside then the weather can play havoc, but if inside you can cover it over and leave the windows cracked open to keep the air moving inside as that'll stop mould from growing when it starts to get damp. Also when this happens it can give you the odd nightmare with electrics etc.

 

It wont be there for years,probably 12months or so,ill just drain the coolant and leave it in the garage under a cover.I always leave the quarter windows open to keep damp out of it. Ill take it out and clean it every now and again in the summer time anyway,to try and keep it moving and keep the dust off it,even though its sleeping it cant be dirty .

[MerlinGTI 3]

Dont put strong antifreeze in any car It crystalizes and gums things up. The right amount of fresh or no water/coolant at all would be better I would have thought.

 

Tyres will flat spot if stood with weight for a long time. Im told it usually comes out though after some miles, although Ive never experianced it.

 

Battery will be scrap more than likely even if unplugged. Try to run it out or very low on fuel because this will 'go off' in the tank (octane rating will go below a useable level after time, leaving a load of barely conbustable liquid in the tank)

 

Defo open the windows a crack as MrG said, your be surprised how quickly mold grows. Try and leave the handbrake off if you can, using chocks insted.

[jdb1964 0]

Add a fuel additive for cars being 'laid-up' to the tank - can't remember the name offhand but got a good write up in 'Classic & Sportscar' magazine a while ago in an article about laying up cars over the wintertime for example.

Indeed I did this for my Mk1 Escort which was laid up for 18mths whilst I decided if the time was right to sell while the market pickedup and guess what - it started first time !

I might trawl through some back issues for then name of it

 

J

[Mongo 0]

Add a fuel additive for cars being 'laid-up' to the tank - can't remember the name offhand but got a good write up in 'Classic & Sportscar' magazine a while ago in an article about laying up cars over the wintertime for example.

Indeed I did this for my Mk1 Escort which was laid up for 18mths whilst I decided if the time was right to sell while the market pickedup and guess what - it started first time !

I might trawl through some back issues for then name of it

 

J

 

Any octane booster, or silkolene pro fst in the tank on its last run, then before you start it back up again add some more octane booster / silkolene pro fst and some super unleaded from a jerry can.