I was just reading through a thread regarding the proper brand of thermostat to use.

In that thread the OP mentioned that he would occasionally start his car and let it idle up to operating temperature and then shut it off for a couple of weeks or more.
He was strongly cautioned NOT to do this but instead to take the car up to full operating temperature by driving it a distance that would completely warm the engine up. The reasoning was that condensation could form within the engine causing rust and other problems.

Well my '86 244 spent the last year, sitting outside and was not started once.
When I did get around to trying to get it road worthy, I noticed that I was getting a LOT of water out of the exhaust of the car.

I will say that it has been fairly cold in southern Illinois and I had pretty much written the condensation off to this fact but now I'm wondering if the water from the exhaust is the result of letting the car sit without starting it.

I will say that after having driven the car a little and starting it several times, I'm not getting nearly the amount of water out of the exhaust as when it was first started. Now there's just a few droplets of water which last only until the temperature gauge reaches mid level on the gauge.

Also, this car sat for a year with only about an eighth of a tank of fuel, (or less). In the before mentioned thread it also said that you should never park a car without it having a full tank of fuel that has been stabilized. Of course I also didn't add stabilizer to my fuel.

I guess I'm wondering if I've done any damage to my car and/or what I need to do to repair/offset that possible damage.

I'm pretty sure that one of the most important things would be to fill the tank and take the car for a 20+ mile drive to displace any condensation build up in the system.

But, is there something else that I should do to make up for my ignorance?

It seems like every time I turn around I find something else that I should have done or need to do to get this car back in shape.
I fell in love with this car the day that I brought it home and never should have neglected it. Now that I've been working on it for the past few weeks I've fallen in love all over again and truly hope that I haven't damaged it.

If anyone has any advice, (other than don't be an idiot), I'd love to hear it.

Thanks,
Dave

--
Hypochondriacs make me sick.