Owners of vintage and classic cars have a routine each year as the winter season approaches. They must prepare their cars for winter storage. The warm seasons are over. All of the shows and meets are done. Now it’s time to put your pride and joy away for until next year.
There are the common, obvious tasks that must be done. And some that are not so obvious.
The most common and obvious task is to fill the gas tank all the way up to prevent condensation, and then add the appropriate amount of fuel stabilizer. With the introduction of ethanol several years ago, the concern with older cars is that their components were not designed to withstand the effects ethanol can have. If you can find access to a non-ethanol fuel, be sure to use it. This can be difficult in many parts of the country.
The other obvious thing to do is disconnect the battery and make sure that you have a battery charger / maintainer hooked up to your battery to keep it from getting too low. It is important for the long term health of your car’s battery to keep them at full charge. You need a battery charger that is automatic, so it will turn on and off as needed. You don’t want a charger that will over-charge the battery, because that is not healthy for the battery.
Antifreeze / coolants should be changed at the proper intervals. It is vitally important to use the proper antifreeze. It is not as simple as it used to be. You can’t just add the same antifreeze any every car. Green is different than orange. Most older cars will require the green coolant. Make sure it is at the proper mixture to water also. You don’t want it too concentrated, or too diluted.
Maintenance: This is a good time to change your oil too. Typically, you won’t put too many miles on your old car, so it’s just a good idea to perform this task once a year. This is a good time to change filters too; fuel, air, oil etc…
Check tire pressure as well. You don’t want low pressure for the entire season. This could lead too flat spots.
Take care of your old car and it won’t let you down in the spring. So get it up on your Auto Lift if you’ve got one. If not, pull out the Floor Jack and get it up on jack stands this weekend. This is not the type of work you should put off.
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