Your hot rod represents so much more than just a classic car. It’s years of hard earned money and hours upon hours of rebuilding, repairs, and work in the garage. To say it’s your baby is an understatement — she’s your pride and joy.
Now that you have gotten your dream ride into pristine condition after putting in your due diligence and showcasing her at all the big car shows around, it’s time to store her away.
In order to keep your dream machine looking and performing at it’s very best, here at Advantage Lifts, we have outlined the key actions to follow when stowing your hot rod in your garage.
While you may have heard from other car aficionados to drain your gas tank when going to store your car in the garage, this exposes the bare metal within your car’s gas tank and fuel system to moisture in the air — leading to rust, corrosion and potential dry gaskets and leaks.
It is known that storing a car with a full tank of gas can lead to gummed-up fuel lines, injectors, and carburetors, but this can be avoided by simply filling your tank with fresh fuel roughly 95% of the way and then adding a quality fuel stabilizer to keep your gas fresh for up to a year of auto storage time.
As your car hibernates in the garage, acids, dirt, and water can accumulate within the engine’s oil and transmission fluid. This is because your oil collects waste from materials that are broken down during combustion in the engine while driving. When your car is dormant, all of these elements that normally get trapped in the oil become trapped inside of your engine, even breaking down your engine’s oil.
If you’re planning to store your car, especially a classic car with an older engine model, it is essential to apply fresh engine oil and transmission fluid to withstand the breakdown of the viscosity from these chemicals.
In order to keep your doors and latches from locking up over time while in the garage, apply a dry lubricant such as graphite-based cable lube or Dri-Slide to ensure your car stays opening and closing smooth as butter.
Batteries gradually use their charge when not being used for extended periods of time. In order to help retain your battery’s life, either remove it completely from the car when in storage or, at the very least, disconnect the cables so no charge is being pulled from the battery. You can even attach a battery tender that automatically recharges your battery when needed to keep your car’s battery ready to go at a moment’s notice.
While this may not be a concern in your garage, we have seen it far too often where a garage window emits sunlight onto a stored car for hours each day. When this occurs, the rubber of your tires can crack, split, or completely fail due to exposure to ultraviolet light. Sunlight can also take a toll on that clean paint job of your hot rod too if not covered out of reach from the sun’s UV rays.
While the garage is certainly the best option for your auto storage, we know that there is a myriad of other uses you have for your garage. In order to ensure your hot rod is out of potential harm’s way, use an automotive lift for your long-term storage to not only keep your ride safe, but also provide an easy way to perform maintenance and repairs and get the most out of your garage space.
At Advantage Lifts, we have an auto lift to suit every vehicle and every garage — residential or commercial. Browse our entire inventory of incredible advantage car lifts and other great models of auto lifts to find the one that best suits your needs.
Keep your classic car in pristine condition by following these essential storage tips, and order your car lift today to transform your home garage into the auto workshop of your dreams.
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