worried about fuel/oil issues developing

[pleuralplexus]

I have a pristine gen1 viper that I love so much that Id be the first to admit that I baby it too much. I prefer to uncover it, stare at it and start it occasionally rather than whipping it around on our bad roads and chipping it up.
But that will eventually pose some problems and Im afraid of the long-term consequences that could be caused by storing the car because the fuel has corrosive ethanol in it.
What should I do to prevent the ethanol in our gas from ruining the fuel injector system while the car sits?
Also the oil change is two years old but is beautiful brand-new-looking clear amber. Maybe 200 miles on that oil change at the most. Was thinking about doing an oil change to full synthetic because the synthetic oil doesnt lose viscosity over time like conventional. Is this a good idea? Should I even worry about the oil at all?

 

[Steve-Indy]

For the moment I will assume that you are sincere...naive, but sincere. Synthetic oils offer more protection than mineral oil. But, there are other fluids that are time dependant that need to be addressed...such as clutch and brake fluid, coolant, etc. If you are not a troll, feel free to contact me for a few general pointers.

 

[pleuralplexus]

um nope not making it up.... If I knew all the answers to these questions I wouldnt have bothered to ask so yes of course Im currently naive and hoping to get educated to fix that issue. As you can tell by searching my older posts I have car number 232. A very low-mileage completely stock and completely original first-year, first-gen 1992 Viper. Want to make sure it statys as nice as it is now.

I have a sizable car collection so the Viper spends most of its time sitting with the battery tender and car cover for company. So my main concern is the fuel. What should I do? Use a fuel stabilizer or will that mess something up? Had a friend who used fuel stabilizer in his 1971 Mercedes and messed up his fuel injectors.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Sorry for doubting, but your post was listed as #1.

10% ethanol in your fuel should be fine. I certainly have it in all of our cars...including all 5 Generations of Vipers. Of course, I use top tier fuel...93 octane Shell. With older vehicles, the worry increases. Thus, for those..and your Viper if you like, you could source non-ethanol fuel...which runs about $1.00 more per gallon around herE for premium.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Had to switch computers.

Sadly, with some frequency, I run across Vipers that are in "collections" whose owners have somehow allowed the OEM factory fill fluids to remain unchanged in Vipers for 10-12 years. One "museum owner" actually communicated that such original fluids made his "9 mile" car even more valuable. Fortunately, the Viper Tech and I were able to convince him to change all fluids...and, HOPE that no real damage was done. While I am not an auto mechanic, I have "kept up" (THANKS to the help of many Club Members, Viper Techs, and Chrysler engineers) with Vipers and the various fluid recommendations. This is important as many dealerships do not have a sufficient Viper customer base to stay current...let alone, stock all of the specific fluids. This problem is further worsened by many, many errors in owners manuals, service manuals, and even the online "Tech Connect".

As I am not fond of reinventing long, typewritten lists concerning such issues...feel free to contact me if you like. 317-402-9013

By the way, have you changed your screen name from your previous posts??

 

[plumcrazy]

always trust and listen to steve-indy !

 

[pleuralplexus]

Thanks so much for the info. I'll plan to change the fluids soon then. I bought it two years ago and all the fluids were changed before it arrived in my hands. My father has been a car collector since the 1950s and he firmly believes that mineral oil is fine indefinitely as long as you keep good records of total mileage between oil changes. Some of his collection have over a quarter million miles now so I'm sure he must have some merit to his though on the subject, but I've been worried that his philosophy doesn't really apply in the age of aluminum engines and ethanol gas.

So in summary:
-no fuel additives, just look for Ethanol-free gas (which I can only get in the form of av gas around here)
-fluid change and switch to synthetic oil

If the manuals aren't necessarily reliable which oil is best? Was thinking Mobil One 10w30

 

[Steve-Indy]

Mobil 1 10W-30 WAS the factory fill starting with the 1996 GTS through the 2004 SRT-10. In 2005 they changed to Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Formula which has better viscosity properties, less shearing, and better levels of Zinc and Phos. This oil was used through 2010. The 2013 thru 2017 Vipers use the Pennzoil product. I use Mobil 1 0W-40 in eight of our Vipers...Gen I thru IV....backed by data from scores of oil analyses.

 

[pleuralplexus]

Really good to know thanks


Not sure why my old posts aren't showing up. Can't find em either.

 

[Steve-Indy]

If you like, text your email to me and I will send you MY list of Gen I fluids, etc. It is rather long. Once you see it, you can decide if it fits your car and utilization of same. I do follow it for our 2 Gen I's.

 

[Dirk Pitt]

You might try to find race gas vs. av gas as an alternative to high-octane non-ethanol gas. It will be stable for a bit longer than regular gas - even if you decided to add a fuel stabilizer. VP makes a leaded and unleaded version for vintage cars. They have a large variety of other fuels that you can select from.

https://vpracingfuels.com/product/vp-vintage-unleaded/

Thanks so much for the info. I'll plan to change the fluids soon then. I bought it two years ago and all the fluids were changed before it arrived in my hands. My father has been a car collector since the 1950s and he firmly believes that mineral oil is fine indefinitely as long as you keep good records of total mileage between oil changes. Some of his collection have over a quarter million miles now so I'm sure he must have some merit to his though on the subject, but I've been worried that his philosophy doesn't really apply in the age of aluminum engines and ethanol gas.

So in summary:
-no fuel additives, just look for Ethanol-free gas (which I can only get in the form of av gas around here)
-fluid change and switch to synthetic oil

If the manuals aren't necessarily reliable which oil is best? Was thinking Mobil One 10w30