5 Winter Storage Projects for Any Car
For those of us unlucky enough to have a storage season, we often err on the side of tucking in the car and either tackling a large project or leaving the car more or less alone till it’s time to drive again. Storage time doesn’t need to be a total “time out” for your beloved vintage ride. Instead, use it to catch up on all the things that often get forgotten, ignored, or otherwise left for winter because the weather was too nice and there was driving to do.
Now, there is no driving to do. It’s exactly the time we’ve said we were waiting for, but somehow the motivation can still dwindle. Let this be your subtle poke to go out and at least do a little upkeep so that when driving season returns both you and your car will be ready for the road. Here’s five items to start with that can apply to just about any vintage car.
Check and adjust your lights
Headlights and taillights have gotten better and better over the years, and nothing highlights that quite like driving a vintage car with sealed beams back-to-back with a modern car equipped with LED bulbs in modern housings. Sealed beams can be decent, though, and the adjustment to get the pattern of light on the road to be correct is relatively simple. Take advantage of the early sunsets this winter and not only check that all your lights work but are also adjusted properly.
Make sure your wipers wipe
While many vintage cars and trucks stay in when the clouds threaten rain, sometimes we just get caught out and that is not the time to learn that your windshield wipers function like they should. Windshield wiper motors can get stuck and the rubber wipers themselves age surprisingly rapidly. Replacing wipers can be annoying, but the best time to do it is before you really need them—which means the best time is right now.
Get those seals sealing
Door seals and weatherstripping are items on cars that often die very slow deaths. This slow deterioration often means the increase in noise inside the car while driving goes unnoticed for a long time. The foam rubber that comprises most door seals and weatherstripping can be treated with a variety of products to help keep it soft and pliable for a long time. I recently used Gummi Pflege to partially revive the weatherstripping of my 1985 Corvette and it made a surprising difference. A quick wipe goes a long way, requires no tools, and only takes a second.
If you need to replace weatherstripping, now is the time as well since it is often best to glue new foam rubber in place and leave the door or window shut for a day or two to hold everything in place. It’s not like you have driving to do anyway.
Tire inspection
A quick visual inspection should be a common occurrence during driving season, but now that you have time to spare, take a long, hard look at where the rubber meets the road. Removing the wheels and tires to clean the inside of the barrel and inspect the inner sidewall is a simple and worthwhile task considering many vintage cars will age out tires long before they get worn down to the point of needing replaced. Brush up on how to read what your tire is telling you and take a moment to make sure your tires are as good as you think they are. If not, you have all season to replace them, but be sure not to wait too long.
Interior care
There is no better time to properly clean leather seats than storage time when you have no worries about making a mess after letting leather care soak for a while. Pulling floor mats for a deep cleaning is also a great idea. Take any of the change you find under and between the seats into the cup holder for that first ice cream run of spring.
Actually these should be year round projects.
Winter project I equate more with rebuilding a brake system or painting various part in the car. Or like recently did remove a wheel well and replace a small part of it.
Yeah, I take stock of what can “wait till winter” so I can keep enjoying my car during the driving months. Then I can justify leaving the car disassembled for a week or more during hibernation. Part of that is time and motivation, I will admit.
I would agree. Whenever any of these signs show up it is time to work on them. Wipers, seals likely make their needs known when it is rainy. Tires, may also when it is rainy if low on tread but the external signs of dry rot, uneven tread wear, etc. are something that may tell you about other issues like alignment, etc..
From viewing the title video clip, I’ve decided that #6 should be “Get Kyle To Push My Model A Into The Back Corner Of The Barn”. 😁
That was a nice newly poured floor that made it easy! If only it lived on my property.
Full disclosure: my project is currently sitting on blocks, so pushing it anywhere would be significantly harder than your video. 😉
These are all great ideas if my garage temperature wasn’t 15 degrees F. Those projects will just have to wait til spring.
Go back to “Tire Inspection” and consider this: if your tires are over 10-years old and/or have damages, swap new ones on, and BURN THE OLD ONES IN THE GARAGE. That’ll warm it up significantly! 😛
B-T-W, the above was meant to be sarcastic. I am in no way suggesting that anyone actually burns old tires to heat their garages. Do not try this at home…😇
Too late. 😨
Gosh, I’m sorry, Kev!
yeah, and you shoulda mentioned the stench 🤣
A 30,000 btu natural gas heater that hangs on a wall is trivial to install and will make 2500 square feet toasty at zero F outside. These heaters need no outside vent. The gas itself is at only 3-5 psi and runs nicely thru 1/2″ black iron pipe with a foot or two of flex line at the heater. For safety, you bury the line 2 feet down so yard work doesn’t accidentally hit and crack the lines later. Add a shut off ball valve at the tap in the house and at the heater allows easy shut off in summer. You can do this yourself, then get an inspector to check & approve to be official, or just treat it as a ‘temporary’ hookup like a backyard barbecue. Makes a great difference in winter projects for a few hours of work and $$$.
This comment is misleading and potentially dangerous. I retired from the propane business after 38 years in the industry. 30,000 BTU’s will not adequately heat much more than 1,000 square feet of even well-insulated space in most parts of the country (outside temps below freezing with desired inside temps at least 60 degrees). Fuel pressure at the appliances are measured in inches of water column (ounces), not pounds. Black pipe should not be buried unless it has been properly prepped to prevent corrosion that leads to leaks. In short only properly trained and licensed or certified installers should attempt gas appliance and piping installation to prevent immediate or potentially future leaks, fires or worse.
🙇
As a retired gas technician in Canada I totally agree with you. Play safe.
In Ontario, where I live, any natural gas or LP gas heater must be vented outside due to CO
I would just use pvc it won’t corrode.
Dub- Thanks for the warning. I was just about to go out and ” Burn Rubber “.
Are you sure you’re not Gary Bechtold in disguise? 😜
@Kyle- What are you using on the Corvette seats,please? I have used at least five different brands of leather cleaners/conditioners over the years on my 1995 Corvette, and I have not been really satisfied with any of them.
Thanks.
Try Leatherique as a conditioner, it’s a heavy duty oil that really works. I don’t have a recommendation on cleaners (they all seem good) but I am pretty much hooked on Leatherique.
Sajeev and Alvanley- Thanks for the information.
I used Lexol on my 59 MGZBV Magnette Varitone when I first got it. It really softened the leather and stitching up so it wouldn’t fracture anymore when you sat on it due to being overly dried out. After I put 5 new hides of leather in the car during restoration I continued to use it and it kept the leather nice and supple. Not slippery like Armorall or similar products.
I use mink oil. You can buy at a quality boot store or tack shop. Watch the leather soak this up.
Don’t replace the wipers now if you are putting the car into storage. They might take a set and be ruined by spring. Make a note to change in the spring. If you DO change them, prop the arms up off the windshield so they aren’t pressing on the glass (too late for mine>>they are decades old and have been sitting on the glass all the time. Hard to find refills for the old style. Same with tires. Jack the car up and put on stands to keep from getting flat spots. Definitely clean the dust out of the interior to prevent mold. Make sure that there is plenty of mouse poison/traps around the garage to keep them away.
Change out your wiper blades in spring and not going into winter storage – I love it! 👍👍
That is an incredibly astute comment, PontOHC6guy!
May I also add, if you do not have a sealed floor that you also have a fan that moves air under the car as moisture will rise from the raw concrete floor and cause issues. I also put Ethanol free gas in add a fuel stabilizer into the gas tank and check all tire pressure going a pound or two over suggested then cover the tires with plastic garbage bags.
This is not a winter project, more like a post winter “to do” item. Your comment ” vintage cars and trucks stay in when the clouds threaten rain, sometimes we just get caught out” strikes home. I was at a car show when the dark clouds started to blow in. Ran back to the car and quickly put the top up. Jumped in the car and rolled up the windows. ( the only power for the top comes from my right arm and I’m not sure that power windows existed on anything below a Cadillac 62 years ago, certainly not in a sports car) Anyways I started the car in the drenching rain and went to turn the wipers on. I hadn’t driven the car in the rain or at night in decades and my arm stopped half way to the dash. I asked myself, which knob is for the wipers? I hit upon the right knob on second try, after turning the headlights on. The lesson learned was to re-familiarize with all the controls once in awhile. I was lucky in that I was still parked. Do not want to do this while driving through a thunderstorm. That would add unneeded urgency.
I replace my wiper blades annually on my year-round car but have never touched the wipers on my 60s Chevelle. I’ve put way too much money into doing a frame-off rotisserie nut and bolt restoration to take any chance of being caught in a rainstorm, let alone a thunderstorm. Where I live hail always accompanies these types of events. Besides, I would rather not have to crawl under my car to labor away cleaning an undercarriage that remains as new 8 years after doing a full restoration. I’m just saying it works well for a not-so-healthy 70-year-old without a lift in the garage to accommodate such a task.
also, regarding tires…inflate to the maximum stated on the sidewall. this will help reduce flatspotting. consider having a 2nd set of wheels & tires for long term storage (generally, more than 90 days). their condition doesn’t matter as long as the tires hold air and the wheels fit w/o hitting calipers, etc
I am lucky to live in TN, where I can drive my toys(3) year around. It does get cold sometimes, but when it does, it warms back up. We do get snow and ice but not what they do up north. I just make sure to do the necessary items, change oil and lube when the oil looks dirty, keep fresh fuel in the tank with seafoam added monthly. When I do a LOF(lube, oil and filter}, I inspect everything when I have it up on my lift{what a life saver for us mature motor heads}, inspect brake hoses, wheel cyl leaks, make sure the brakes are in good condition, rotate tires(if you have the same tire size on all 4, exhaust, fuel lines and hoses, air/fuel filters. When I know I’m going to be gone camping with the wife, I disconnect the battery, put stabil in the fuel and keep the tires inflated to specs. Another thing tires are replaced by years instead of mileage on old toys. 5-10 yrs I start looking for dry rot, especially on the inside of the tires. When I see that, it is time for and investment of tires. They are not cheap. Go price a set of Coker wide white wall radials, I think there is gold in the cords! Setting for an old toy is hard on them, so I try to exercise them as often as I can. Hagerty insurance is great to have, peace of mind when there are folks that do not driver very well on our roads today.
Wish they would do an article on door weatherstripping.
Door to body mainly and the quality from different manufacturers.
Like on my 85 F150 and after replacing, you have to slam the door.
I could go on about what I tried, etc……, and which manufacturers I tried.
Still wondering how they do it at the factory to get away with having to slam and distort the doors when new.
Great point on weatherstripping. That is a project best left to the pros in my opinion. You get one chance to get it right. If you mess it up, you will probably have been better off leaving it alone.
It took over a year after replacing weatherstripping on my doors before they closed nce.
This article was very very appreciated and helpful. Would love to see more articles like this and others.
Check the age of the tires. Even if they look good, the rubber deteriorates with time. The tires have codes on them that tell when they were made. Don’t need a blowout while driving next spring.