This week? Next? That'll depend on the weather. If a good weekend is predicted I'll put it off.
Last year at this time I raised the mouse issue. I store my car off-season in an old car shed elsewhere on my property -- and not easily reachable once the snow start to fall. In other words I kiss her goodnight and don't see her again until "morning." I.e., Spring. And the mice -- well they always have taken up residence Some years just a few, others enough to start a township.
Well last year I tried something different. I put mouse/rat poison -- the type that comes in bricks -- in plastic container (the ones sandwich meats come in) and put three in the car. One in the trunk, one on the floor of the passenger compartment, and one in the glove box. Results. Zero mice. No, no dead ones either.
Needless to say I will be doing the same this year.
I used to have a very thorough pre-storage ritual. Change this and that, fog cylinders, all the common blah-blah-blah. Did that for the Spider and my several Ducati motorcycles for years and years. Then I stopped doing all that. The results are no different (its been about ten or so years since I 'went easy').
I know this is not "approved" and each can weigh and evaluate for themselves, but now here is all I do:
1) Fill up the gas tank. Add fuel preservative and drive enough to get it through the system (a couple of miles).
2) Drive the car to the shed.
3) Put in the mouse poison. (as well as a few 'pieces' outside the car near the wheels)
4) Put some stainless-steel "wool" into the exhaust pipe. (This to keep vermin from nesting there)
5) Remove the battery -- bring it to the main garage and put it on a smart charger.
6) Cover the car with a fitted cover.
That's it. Well apart from the good night kiss.
Come Spring I put in the battery, start her up (typically takes two cranks), and check the air pressure (it, amazingly, is typically still fine), stick on the updated registration stickers, and drive.
My car is a `77 with about 125,000 miles.
-Don
