Classic Cars

February 15th, 2009

There’s a fine line between a classic car and junk yard salvage.  You know what it is, don’t you?  It’s how you take care of your vehicle when you’re not using it.  It’s like a contest:  You and your classic car against the ravages of Father Time and the capriciousness of Mother Nature.  Unless you have some magical, mystical abilities to stop time and control nature, then you’ll need weapons at your disposal:

• Enclosed garage or a cover for your car
• Good quality car wash and car wax, for the exterior and interior
• Oil, filters, lubricants, grease and fuel additives
• Baking soda or other deodorizer
• Jack stands or concrete blocks
• Specialty auto insurance coverage

Before you pack your car away for any extended length of time, there are a few things you need to do first:

• If you’ll be gone a short while, drain your entire cooling system, then refill it with anti-freeze (the kind that doesn’t cause rusting is best).  For longer storage, drain the entire system, and leave the cap off the radiator so that air can circulate.

• If you’re only going away for a few months, then fill your gas tank and add a can of fuel stabilizer to the tank to prevent the gas from deteriorating; do this before you take it for its final glorious spin around the block.  If you’ll be away longer than say, six months, drain the gas tank entirely and run the engine to get rid of the remnants in the engine.

• Change your oil and replace the oil filter.  You should also replace the brake fluid while you’re at under the hood anyway.

• Remove the battery; clean off the connection points, top it off with distilled water and either pack it on a shelf or hook it up to a charger.

• Do something about those tires; either remove them completely, in which case you can prop the car up on jack stands or concrete blocks, or you let the air out of the tires to lessen the strain on the suspension system (and discourage theft).

• Give the interior and exterior of your classic car the best washing and waxing of its long, noteworthy life.  If you can afford to do it, get it properly detailed.  If not, buy good quality cleaning and protecting products and take the time and effort to put them to good use.  Pretend that you’re going to sell the car.

• Once the car is gleaming, set out mothballs to drive away the furry friends who’d like to turn your car into a pet motel, open up the baking soda boxes and set them on the floor to retard dampness and odor, and crack the windows open a bit to let air circulate.  Finally, cover your investment with a good quality non-plastic car cover.  Park it inside your garage, if you’ve got one.

• Call your insurance company and verify that your classic car insurance coverage won’t elapse while you’re gone (and no, you shouldn’t cancel it while you’re away – remember Murphy’s Law applies here, too). If you haven’t compared auto insurance quotes for your classic car in a while, go ahead and take care of that while you’re on the phone with the insurance company.

Last but not least:  Give it a little kiss and go.  Your baby’s protected.

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