Just out of curiosity, what type of effects does storing a car have on it when you attempt to start it again?
I leave my car for anymore that 2 weeks and the starter had to crank the engine for a few seconds before it splutters to life (mind you the car is a 1984 with a sad and sorry engine)
What type of effects does storing a car have on it (especially cars from yesteryear). Do critical parts deteriorate in time? What type of effects would occur on a brand new car locked away today and started again in 15 years?
Slightly related, do car manufacturers store a sample of each of their cars for historys sake? Just curious
The battery would go dead for sure.
The tires might deflate if not stored in a temperature controlled environment.
The windshield wiper blades might rot.
The tabs would expire.
The CD player may be obselete, gone the way of the 8-track.
The battery on the internal clock would go dead.
Some of the hoses might rot.
Rodents will infest it, I hear leaving dryer sheets in it will keep them out. The tires will develope flat spots(takes a LONG time). The brakes can get stuck.
The engine would likely sieze. You may also have other mechanical parts (tranny, diff) sieze that normally wouldn’t since they haven’t had oil splash around for years.
I actually saw on some TV show YEARS ago (I am guess early 80s?) that some guy bought a new corvette (circa 57 or so) and after driving it for a year, gave it an oil change and tune up and walled in the basement of some building or something. It remained there for 20+ years. When it was recovered, it needed a full restoration… although I imagine the interior may have been OK.
I was thinking(oh no, not again), was the engine totally seized, or did they try to start it and it seized shortly after ignition?
What if the block(and transmission) were filled completely to the brim with some type of lightweight synthetic, then drained and replaced by a regular weight oil(or tranny fluid) just before ignition, same thing with the tranny, diff, etc.?
Would the engine parts corrode even when submerged in the oil?
Most of the cars I’ve seen stored were stored basically dry.
With a healthy squirt of oil in the cylinders, then turning the engine by hand a few revs, the engine will not seize. I’ve started an engine stored over 15 years in this manner.
If it’s to be stored outside the fluids should be drained. The engine should be run out of gas if possible, though this involves some work if it’s a modern car. Hard to DIY if you’re not familiar with injection, in-tank fuel pumps, etc.
Tires should be removed, wiped carefully with rubber protectant, and sealed in plastic bags.
The interior should be cleaned and covered with dustcloths, if cloth, leather conditioner, if leather, and left alone, if vinyl.
Finally the car should be covered and bagged. There are bag companies who sell bags large enough for cars, you back them in the bag, take off the tires, and use a vacuum to suck all the air out of the bag. A car cover prevents the plastic from contacting the paint, which is bad.
Automatic transmissions? I don’t know. Could be synthetics would protect them nicely.
442.com (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Oldsmobiles:D) has a great FAQ. This subject is covered in detail [here](http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofall.htm#ALL Prepping a Car for Long Term Storage).
I read a similar story, maybe it’s the one you’re thinking of. A guy bought a 68 426 Hemi Cuda convertible, and immediately walled it up in a hidden room in a grocery store he was building. From what I heard, he did only minimal mothballing, like squirting oil in the engine block to avoid rusting. About 30 years later, after the guy died, his children were tearing down the building when they discovered the secret room and the car, which had under 100 miles on the odometer. The car was in perfect shape, and sold at auction for $950,000, a record price ever paid for a US postwar production vehicle.
Boy I wish I had a dad like that.
That sure is kinda similar Chas.E but the one I am thinking of is definetly different. It was an old Vette for sure. I remember seeing it on TV. It was white. They also said it needed a lot of work. This person didn’t even put any oil in the cylinders.
Granted it was only two years, but here’s what I did to my 1988 Honda Civic Si (this was 1991):
Place: Michigan, Self-Storage, Outdoors
(1) Jacked car up onto cinder-blocks.
(2) Removed tires; placed in hatch-area.
(3) Removed battery; placed in hatch-area.
(4) Opened the engine-compartment fuel filter in
order to relive the high-pressure part of the
fuel line.
(5) Applied the parking brake.
(6) Left the manual trans. in neutral.
(7) Served my two years in Germany.
(8) Came home, installed the battery, jumped the
car, and let it run for about 20 minutes. Starting
was NOT a problem. The gas and oil were okay. I
DID have a full gas tank, though.
(9) While running, put on the tires.
(10) Unsuccessfully tried to drive. The rear tires only
dragged on the ground. OOPS! Shouldn’t left on the
parking break.
(11) Took off the rear tires, BROKE the break pads from
rear drum, had it turned, and installed new break
pads. Let me reiterate: OOPS! Shouldn’t have left
on the parking brake.
(12) Drive away happily for another 70,000 miles before
trading it in.
