WINTER LAYUP

[Guest The jACK OF HEARTS]

I need to lay up my 1948 Lincoln Continental Covertible for 7-8 months.. I have heard about tire flat spots and am interested in hearing any feedback on produsts to prevent same. Also, any other suggestions on ly-up issues would be welcome.Many thanks

[alsancle]

If you have bias ply tires sitting in the same spot for a long time (more than a month or two) can cause a flat spot. In my experience as soon as you cover a mile or two the flat spot is gone so I don't jack my cars up for the winter. There is also some consideration to getting the car off the springs.

[Spinneyhill]

Put it away with clean oil and enough anti-freeze to cover the expected conditions. The anti-freeze mix should be less than 2 years old.

Take the weight off the springs? Nah. The difference between sitting for 8 months and being used for 8 months is that the springs do less work when sitting.

Pump the tires up to 5 psi above their usual pressure. They will deflate one or two psi per month. I think deflation is the main reason people put cars on blocks when leaving them for a while - old flat tyres will probably crack. Newer tires are not so brittle and don't crack. They are more supple than old tires and don't develop much of a flat spot either. Protect them from UV.

How old is the brake fluid? If more than 2 or 3 years old, change it (i.e. bleed the brakes) to go back to low moisture content fluid that should reduce the corrosion around the pistons while it sits.

Will the fuel evaporate out of the carburettor during that time? If so, empty it first to prevent blockage of small jets and passageways by gum and powdery deposits.

There is an arguement for squirting some thin engine oil down the carb. while idling at about 900-1000 r.p.m. until there is a good amount of smoke, then shutting down. The oil will help prevent stuck valves (presumably it is a flat head?). We used to use Shell Ensis, which is used for long-term inhibition of display engines (e.g. in museum aircraft).

Good luck!