How to perserve a classic

[Guest clamshells]

Plenty of information here regarding how to fix, replace or restore our cars but what about days to weeks, weeks to years, years to decades of preserving our cars.

Road salt, rain, humidity and sun stored cars all pay their price of course but what washing your can then covering too soon or storing it "wet" after washing or a drive in the rain.

Please share your dos and don'ts.

Contrary to popular opinion a CA car doesn't mean much as I have seen severe rust buckets here.

[Guest dwhiteside64]

Great question. It would be nice to know what some of our 'long-term hobbyists' have learned over the years regarding upkeep and preventative maintenance. I have always felt that the sun and rain are a car's worst enemy so knowing how to minimize it during the year while we drive and during periods when we don't can help to preserve these automotive treasures.

[Guest clamshells]

Great question. It would be nice to know what some of our 'long-term hobbyists' have learned over the years regarding upkeep and preventative maintenance. I have always felt that the sun and rain are a car's worst enemy so knowing how to minimize it during the year while we drive and during periods when we don't can help to preserve these automotive treasures.

I have a list, but like you I want to hear from the long-timers ;-)

[lrlforfun]

OK Clamshells: I've been in the East Bay for 40 years and have had lots of practice on first-Gen Rivs.

1. Get the car home

2. Pull the top front windshield molding and the entire rear windshield moldings.

3. Remove the rear 1/4 panel apron plugs as well as the ones in front to the rear tire

4. Remove the bottom back seat cushion and vacuum the interior, trunk and inside trunk aprons. Blow out what you can't vacuum with air.

5. Blow out the bottoms of the front fenders with air.

6. Wash the car with a good microfiber mitt using not too much soap, rinse with a hose.

7. Pressure wash everything and everywhere on the exterior and trunk making sure all the debris is removed.

8. MOST IMPORTANT..................Make sure you find where the water leaks are coming from and plug 'em up. They will get you every time...... including a baby drip from a heater core.

Bay Area cars are fairly clean although 50 years does take their toll on the nooks and crannies. They don't suffer from the salt or below freezing temps many other areas do but Father Time casts a pretty big shadow on everything. Mitch

[Rufcar]

Mitch has the right idea on the body. Being a long time Rolls guy and restorer I have found that non driven cars are the #1 problem. We always suggest that if you don't drive your car regularly then every year you should drain EVERY liquid out and install fresh. i.e. the rear ring and pinion gear in a Silver Cloud costs over 6,000 plus another 1000 to install and more. That said non running clouds develop microscopic rust particles on the exposed gears and then when driven drive that rust into the bearing and after a few years of this grinds them up. That same scenario hold true for more moving parts. The brake fluid is hydroscopic and that moisture rusts the entire brake system. Same with wheel bearings engine bearings etc. Plus you really should keep your cars in a heated garage and dehumidify in summer.

[lrlforfun]

OK Rufcar: Good points. One thing I did when getting almost all my drivable cars was to bleed the brakes thoroughly. It's a cheap way to preserve the stopping power for a while. If one is going to drive an old car all the time of course all the old hydraulics gotta go, but if they sit and aren't on the road having them at least YARD DRIVABLE is a critical aspect to preservation. Even in Michigan with 10 feet of snow on the ground...you can at least start the car up and drive it up and down your driveway even if it's just 5 or 10 feet in length. It can warm up, the brakes can be utilized, the gas can slosh around in the tank and basically many of the old bones can get the gobbledy gook off them before it does damage. BTW, for cars that ran when parked take a socket and ratchet to the balancer bold and turn the engine over several times. I have saved many engines by doing that.

I knew Rolls Royce cars were expensive but 7 g's for a third member? One better drive that around every so often. Mitch

[60FlatTop]

Take your car completely apart and count the number of round parts. Divide to toal number of parts bu the number of round ones. Multiply by 100 and that is the percentage of time the car should be driven. The car will always maintain its highest value when driven.

At the next Silver Cloud tech session tell Doug some guy with a Buick said that.

Bernie

[DrP]

Good points Bernie. I never was good at seventh grade math word problems. So, WHAT do you think is the percentage Bernie??? lol

[RivNut]

I'm waiting to hear from Bob71GS to tell us about his '71 boat tail that he bought new and it still looks like it never left the showroom.

"Bob, do you hear us?" LOL

Edited May 9, 2014 by RivNut (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

Depending on average speed, the calculation works out to a minimum of 15 miles per week, about .6%. And I would recommend shutting the car off at the 7.5 mile point and restarting it hot.

The benefits are:

The engine will come to operating temperature and have to cool correctly.

The charging system will have to work and symptoms of dreaded vapor lock will have to be addressed.

Sometime in the first few months an idiot will pull out in from of you so the brakes need to work.

Any loose, hanging, or rubbing parts will get damaged or fall off, necessitating repair.

Internal areas of the engine, transmission, and rear end will be splashed with hot lubricant and entrained moisture will be vented.

AND, if you are brave enough to take the ride with your cell phone lying on the kitchen table, you will have a very reliable, long lived, and valuable car.

Edited May 9, 2014 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[rocky5517]

I like Bernie's advice. I also keep my 67 in the garage, and set traps for mice and ( worse) chipmonks. If they find a home in your car you've got a problem.

Sam from North Jersey

[JanZverina]

One thing I used to do when living in the Midwest was to buy a few bags of Kingsford charcoal cubes, slit the bags open length-wise and put them under the car. They sucked up moisture like sponges, keeping it off the undercarriage.

[RivNut]

Look at your garage floor where a plastic bag or solid based garbage can has been sitting on it. When you moved it, did you notice all of the moisture that is in the concrete? That can work it's way up - where your car is. Something on the concrete to absorb moisture is always a good idea.

[Bill Stoneberg]

I put cat litter under my car, it absorbs moisture from the concrete and leaks from the cars...

[Guest clamshells]

Cat litter, charcoal, cardboard: anything but the bare concrete is excellent.

Compressed air dry the window moldings, especially the rear bottom. Drive the car after washing to move and shake the water off, out and away and pop the trunk doors and hood after washing.

Nothing wrong with a annual pressure check of the cooling system to detect a slow drip from a heater core.

Start the car and pull it out of the garage ASAP to prevent adding moisture to the garage floor, walls and ceiling.

Drive the car!

[Lapham3]

I lay down 6 mil plastic before pouring concrete and it eliminates the floor moisture problem. When I drive the cars I go far enought to fully warm them up and cook out any moisture in the mechanicals and make sure the rest of the car is completely dry before being put away.