Long term car storage. How to do it?

I have a car I'd like to store for a period of probably 5-10 years. I don't have time to work on it now. I have other projects in front of it but I'd like to hang on to it for a retirement project. 

The car in question is a 1926 REO T6. 

My thought was a Conex box with adequate ventilation or possibly a dehumidifier. I can get a 40' for about $2200 and an insulated one for about $5k. That would give me room for the Samurai and the REO, as well as storage for a few other things. 

As to the car, how to stop it from deteriorating? Drain the coolant and leave it empty, or fill it with straight antifreeze? Shrinkwrap it or leave it open to ventilate? Fuel tank empty for full? Or possibly filled with something like diesel that is more stable in the long run? Jack stands to get the tires off the ground or just plan on buying tires since they are going to be old anyways? Suspension loaded or unloaded? 

If you were putting up a car to be a barn find in 10 years, how would you pickle it for the long term?

Don't drain the coolant, if you want/need to change it, fill it with highly concentrated antifreeze. For 5-10 years draining and meticulously drying and preserving the fuel system after running stabilized gas is probably the best option...if it were under 5 years filling the tank completely with stabilized gas might be a better choice.

I don't think suspension unloaded vs. loaded makes any difference on a modern car but putting it on jackstands might be a good idea for a car this old, I notice a lot of the older cars at a local car museum are stored this way. For tires, if you don't want the ones currently on the car to turn into fossilized husks you'll need to store them in sealed bags.

Keeping the car out of the elements will help keep the body and interior in better shape. Cool, dry and ventilated would be the best environment. Also keep the threat of wildlife nesting in it in mind.

5 or 6 years?

Change the oil, crank it long enough to circulate it well. That is a non sealed, non pressurized cooling system so I would drain it and leave it dry. Coolant has a propensity to gel over time with exposure to the atmosphere. No brake fluid in a car of that age so nothing to do there. As far as the fuel goes, I think I would drain it. As long as it is stored in an area where a lot of condensation isn't a concern. Otherwise completely fill it with fresh clear gas and stabil. Transmission and rear end I wouldn't touch. I would get the tires off the ground, they won't be usable anyway, but you can at least spin them by hand every 6 months to avoid the brakes sticking

If you're not planning to touch it for so many years...are you sure you need to keep it? It seems like a lot of expense and a lot of risk for something you might never get to.

Can you sell it, save the storage expense, put the money into another project for a decade, then sell that project and buy another REO when you're ready? They'll likely stay the same price or get cheaper, as their enthusiast demographic continues dying off.

Just my experience having stored non car stuff near you in Mt Pleasant , SC in both conditioned vs non conditioned space:

In non conditioned space,  anything like wood, leather or fabric, cardboard, etc will degrade from the humidity and take on a musty, moldy smell that is pretty much impossible to fully get rid of. Also metals will corrode significantly.

In conditioned space, you don't have those issues to any great extent.

I think a car stored in an unconditioned Conex (even ventilated) for multiple years would be in significantly worse condition afterwards.

Tom Suddard said:

If you're not planning to touch it for so many years...are you sure you need to keep it? It seems like a lot of expense and a lot of risk for something you might never get to.

Can you sell it, save the storage expense, put the money into another project for a decade, then sell that project and buy another REO when you're ready? They'll likely stay the same price or get cheaper, as their enthusiast demographic continues dying off.

This is probably the correct answer but I like to explore all of my options. 

I was thinking the same thing about letting it go. Maybe you can find a foster person for it for a defined period of time? Hey you can keep and use this car for X period of time. You are responsible for XYZ, I am responsible for ABC. After the defined period the car comes back to you? I have never seen this happen but I have seen a couple of times where it probably would have worked. 

It will be trash if stored in a non-air-conditioned conex for 5-10 years.  Even with a dehumidifier the heat will eat it alive.  If that is truly the only option, pull all the chrome and non-metallic items and store THOSE in climate controlled storage.  I wonder if a guy could buy an insulated Conex with an airgapped steel roof over it and adequate pad drainage and then put 1 or 2 chinese mini splits on it like they do with construction trailers.  That could actually work but the startup cost plus the energy consumption may make it more attractive to just find proper storage.

Either pony up for proper climate controlled storage or sell it to someone who will appreciate it right now.  Who knows - keep up with the buyer and maybe you can buy it back later!

Loan it to a museum? Even if you had to ship it, could work out to have someone else be the caretaker.