Preservation of original 1920 Car

[20Premier]

I would like advice on the preservation of a 1920, never restored car.  The car has steel frame and fenders, the body is wood covered in aluminum, leather interior, top is still original too.  I would like to know such things as temperature and humidity to store the car, products to use and NOT to use, and what types of repairs should be done.  And should I try to start and run the car.  This will be very interesting, I have read some information from Smithsonian, but I would like car people to let me know their experience.  Ask questions !

[Restorer32]

Actually some would say you should do absolutely nothing. If you "preserve" it you will be preserving it in the state it was in when you began your "preservation" efforts. If your goal is to maintain as much of the originality of the car as you can then that's a different question. If you see it as an artifact then it should be in a glass case filled with argon or some other non reactive gas and certainly should never be started or driven.

[Larry Schramm]

If you could post some pictures that would be great.

[rsb]

Keep it in a dry garage and if you don't plan to run it, drain the gas, oil, and coolant so the next owner doesn't have a mess to deal with.

[Spinneyhill]

The museum people will give the gen. on "conservation", including optimum humidity and temperature. For textiles and paint and rubber, keep it in the dark. UV damages them, just like it damages us. Rubber contains volatiles in the oils that evaporate and change with time causing hardening and shrinkage and thus cracking. A suitable rubber rejuvenator would help there - there are a number on the market targetted at printing shops (who use rubber rollers to pick up paper). If you want to look at it, us LED lights that put out no UV, which I think is true for many of them.

 

Dare I say it, the rat rodders seem to use coatings to preserve the rusty appearance and exclude moisture and oxygen (= more rust).

[JACK M]

I see those rat rodders that clear coat the patina.

Doesn't make sense to me. If the patina is preserved then it doesn't continue to age.

These guys must think that these cars are going to rust away in their own lifetime.

I have a rusty old rat and I doubt I will out live it.

I tell people it still has its original paint because it does in a couple of places, the rest is natural aging and not really there any more.