Owning and maintaining a classic car can be a labour of love, but the benefits often far outweigh the care and attention they need. Providing you do your research and keep it in good condition, you can look forward to many years of enjoyable drives in your classic vehicle. The following steps provide a great foundation for ensuring your car stays in pristine order for as long as possible.
Choose secure car storage
The first, and arguably most important, step for maintaining the appearance and quality of your classic car is to keep it covered under a sheet in a garage or car storage unit. This helps to avoid rust damage from the elements and bad weather, as well as any accidents or scratches from the kids playing too close by or scrapes and chips from stones being kicked up from the gravel or blown onto the car from harsh winds. Even good weather can cause issues – direct sunlight can cause excessive heat which can have a negative impact on various elements of the car.
Keep fluids fresh and topped up
To keep the performance of your classic car optimal, fresh fluids are important. It’s advisable to change the oil in your car every 1,000 miles, which might seem excessive but remember this this is the bloodline of your engine and will really help to preserve the life of your vehicle for as long as possible. As a general rule, you can’t overdo the fluid changes in your car, so make sure that they’re regularly checked and topped up.
Wash it by hand
Regular cleaning is a vital part of the process in maintaining the condition of your car, particularly for ensuring that the paintwork stays looking spotless. Ideally, the car body and undercarriage should be washed with a soft microfibre cloth and then followed up with a coat of good quality wax to protect the paintwork. Make sure you don’t forget the interior too – keep it vacuumed, dusted and polished each time you wash the exterior.
Monitor the condition of the wheels
Tyres can develop flat spots and warp if the car is parked for long periods of time, so make sure they’re turned regularly. This can be as simple as reversing it out of the garage and back in again once a month. If the wheels are out of shape, it can damage the tyre and also affect the steering and suspension, so make sure these are checked too. If the condition of the wheels isn’t great, you might want to consider alloy wheel refurbishment from a company like Whoops Wheel Fix It to have them polished up and looking good as new.
Drive it regularly
An easy and enjoyable way to keep your car looking its best is to drive it! Lack of activity is one of the biggest problems of all, so to make sure your vintage motor stays in top condition, make sure you get it out onto the road as often as you can.
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