Off Season Race Car Storage - Hardware Hibernation

Every off-season our team pulls the engine to have it rebuilt. While the engine is away, we inspect the headers and pipes to ensure that we are not losing any horsepower through an exhaust leak.

When you are draining the transmission and rearend look for shards of metal. You might see a small amount, but if you see chunks or an excessive amount, you need to have the transmission inspected by a professional. Also, if you don't see chunks but the grease has a black color to it and smells burnt, then the transmission still needs to be inspected.

I suggest draining the fuel out of the car and storing it in a container other than the fuel cell. After you have drained the gas, pull out the foam and make sure it is in good condition and not starting to come apart. If it is, replace it immediately.

Inspect each fuel line and each oil line for cracks or leaks. Make sure that every fitting has a good connection and that there's no play in the fitting.

I disassemble every aspect of the car during the off-season and then inspect the nuts and bolts. Simply doing this will allow you to replace any nut or bolt that is worn. This can save you from a very frustrating time next season. The nut shown here is the track-bar nut. No matter how worn, I replace it before the beginning of the year because of the importance of that nut being tight.

It's extremely important to inspect rims during the off-season for any cracks. Very few things are worse than a broken rim, so it might not be bad practice to purchase four new rims during the off-season.

Each off-season after you've drained all the fluids, make sure you replace all the plugs and seal them with thread sealant. This will help avoid fluid weeping that sometimes is found around the plug.

All electrical wires need to be inspected during the off-season. Inspect all ground wires to ensure that there is no rust buildup.

Inspect the chassis. This is a motor mount which, over the course of a season, became bent and broke the weld that attached it to the framerail. Small things like this need to be fixed during the winter.

Tearing down a race car to the bare chassis is a great way to store it for the winter. This will allow you to inspect every part that comes off of it and to replace any worn parts.