Vehicle storage tips?

[T. Erdelyi]

My Old Man was a mechanic by trade he was a fleet mechanic for Shell Oil Co. and a car nut from day 1, I grew up aroundall the old stuff, late sixties early seventies, (really just the first 2 years) and the classics like the old Muscle Cars, we rebuilt a '68 Z when I was kid and did a '71 4WD Chevy P/U from the ground up rebuild.
I remember rebuildin' my Uncle's '62 Lincoln with the suicide doors, he called it ,"The Mechanics Nightmare" on back into the old '57 Chevys my friends older brother let us help with.

Later on in life I got into classic motorcycles, old Nortons, Triumphs, BMWs,(I really thought restorin' bikes would be cheaper and easier, NOT!

Ya never get back what ya put into it, all the time, never mind the $money$

Basically if it's not bein' enjoyed it's not worth ownin' IMHO.

Now I don't own anymore classics, if ya don't count the '57 Willies in the barn or the '68 Chevy P/U in the yard, I just drive my wife's ride.

 

[cockroachfarm]

...Ya never get back what ya put into it, all the time, never mind the $money$

Basically if it's not bein' enjoyed it's not worth ownin' IMHO.....

That's my philosophy. My Dad became a specialist welder in his second career and could take apart and put back together any engine of any vehicle we ever owned. His automotive skills were such that local mechanics would call HIM for advice. My sister also aquired those skills. At one time, my parents sponsored a small dirt-track racing team and my sister could assemble a 4-barrel carburetor faster than any of the team mechanics. And then there's me .

 

[MicMurry]

Thanks for the list cockroach. Don't think I'll be doing all 60+ but I'll be taken a few off that list.

 

[omaha-beenglockin]

Jeeze---on my motorcycle---I just put it up on the center stand-----start it every couple weeks and top off with fresh gas as needed----and thought I was doing good.

 

[cockroachfarm]

Thanks for the list cockroach. Don't think I'll be doing all 60+ but I'll be taken a few off that list.

My pleasure. I just thought I'd post it for someone to get some hints. I don't even know what some of those things MEAN! My idea of 'storage' is basically the same as omaha's!

 

[Blue Jays]

Hi Omaha-beenglockin:

Starting the motorcycle while it's on the centerstand will move oil around the powerplant and circulate fresh fuel stabilizer to the injectors/carburetors but it won't contribute anything to the health of the battery. To do that you need to take the motorcycle out on the road for it to recharge.

~ Blue Jays ~

 

[Bruise Lee]

Beware Jiffy Lube- I hope you do your own oil changes/lube jobs.

Do you have a bad experience you want to share? I do the oil changes and lube on my '72 Ford, but I don't do it on my new Acura because I need the receipts to show my dealership I've been following the manufacturer's recommended maintanance schedule in case I have to bring the car in for warranty work.

The only problem I noticed is they weren't properly lubing my Ford - one of my Zerk fittings was missing, and they never replaced it making it impossible to lube that part of the car. That's why I went back to doing it myself.

By the way, I know a guy who is a professional mechanic at the Nethercutt Auto Collection. They have six cars that won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and has personally worked on cars for Jay Leno, so he knows what he's doing. He told me some of those cars only get driven once or twice a year a year, so I wouldn't sweat not driving a car for a few months.