How to Store a Custom Car

There are a variety of reasons why you would consider storing your car.

Perhaps winter is on its way. You can continue to use it normally or store it to avoid temptation during the season of salted roads and wet weather. Whichever path you take, preparation is required.

Because moisture from the atmosphere adheres to minute dirt particles, your car’s body must be completely polished to avoid spoilage. Engine internals can suffer acidic corrosion on exposed surfaces when the engine is not running, and tires can develop flat spots and damage when the rubber dries up. Before driving the automobile again, manually rotate the transmissions and diffs to coat all internal components with gear oil.

While you are here, we’ll go over the steps you need to do to properly and safely keep your cherished classic.

Your automobile may appear to be a simple task, if you do not prepare it properly, considerable degradation can occur. When a car’s components are less likely to wear out while in storage, they will remain in the same position, and the lack of running heat prevents moisture from evaporating.

 

STEP 1: HANDBRAKE

When storing your classic car, turn off the handbrake:

Release the handbrake to avoid shoes catching on the drum.

On cars equipped with disc brakes, disabling the handbrake lowers pad transference, a process in which the material embeds into the disc, resulting in hard areas that cause the pedal to vibrate. Additionally, it avoids prolonged tension on the cable.

STEP TWO: THE ENGINE

Before storing your cherished classic car, change the oil and filter:

Before storing the automobile, change the oil and filter to keep pollutants to a minimum in the crankcase.

Utilize a low-cost floating-ball tester to determine the coolant’s strength and, if necessary, top it off with antifreeze. Run the engine until it is hot to ensure that it circulates evenly.

STEP 3: TIRES

You want to avoid flat spotting your historic car’s tires:

Prevent flat spots by filling the tires to their recommended maximum pressure. Radials require approximately 50psi. Cross plies run at a higher rate, so raise them a few psi higher than typical.

Treat the tires with a rubber conditioner and let them back down to running pressure before recommissioning the car.

STEP 4: BRAKES

This is how to condition your historic car’s brakes before storing it:

Siphon surplus fluid from the master cylinder reservoir to keep the caliper pistons in good condition. Compress each piston in the caliper and refill the reservoir with new fluid.

Make a note on the dashboard to remind yourself to ‘pump’ the brakes and refill the fluid before resuming the use of the vehicle.

STEP 5: CHARGE THE BATTERY

Keep your car’s battery in top condition by using a conditioner:

Batteries are designed to be used on a regular basis, and deposits can form during storage, reducing their efficiency.

To keep your cell in optimum condition, use a conditioner that is permanently plugged into the mains. If you park your car in a locked garage, bring the battery home and charge it using one of these cycling chargers.

STEP 6: PREPARE THE CLUTCH

Here’s how to avoid a jammed clutch while storing your old car:

By depressing the pedal, you can avoid a stuck clutch by relieving pressure on the driven plate. This constantly puts the clutch mechanism under strain, so it should be released once a week.

Older clutch plates are less likely to stick, but newer ones will – at least until they acquire a shining friction surface – so do this only if your clutch is recent.

STEP 7: VEHICLE COVER

How to select an appropriate car cover:

Even permeable covers can trap moisture against the paintwork for considerably longer than the time it takes for a car to dry naturally, but they are necessary if you want to avoid water entering the interior.

Because covers have the potential to chafe paint, they are best used in sheltered settings. Ideally, suit a customized kind, or secure it with rope/bungees.

STEP 8: BRILLIANT WORK

How to keep the brightwork on your old automobile bright:

After rubbing your brightwork with the mildest metal polish possible, put a very thin coat of Vaseline or light grease over it.

[wpadcenter_ad id=2212 align=’none’]