I read an article a while back about stored cars, and when buying why it might not be so good. Can anyone give me insight about why you wouldn't want a stored car? I can't find that article, i think it came from thebugshop. Any help appreciated. Thanks ~Peace~Justin
Probably the biggest threat to a stored car (think: old, damp barn) is sheet metal rot. Engines may go bad in storage and tires fall off but that stuff can be fixed. Floorpans rusted from the bottom up and concealed rot in every part of the body structure can not be so easily fixed.
Speedy Jim
Great image! Or they can be hung up like cattle carcases on hooks under the front beam. FWIW I store my vehicles elevated, in a drafty but dry place. Seems the very worst place to store is one that would be comfortable to a human being.
LMAO Thanks for the image...
4play (@\|/@)(.\~/.)Cars are like people, you don't use it you loose it. Well to an extent! I bought a 914 and it was stored for 9 years in an indoor heated garage in the Bronx. The body was perfect but it needed tires and the Fuel Injection was gummed up ( I went for carbs anyway ). Other wise fine. Do see any rubber cracking like seals if the car is not used. Belts, brakes rust, brake fluid is a big one, it rusts out the brake lines. That is why classic car guys use synthetic fluid. If it is a damp barn it may be better for it to be outside were it can dry out once in a while. Oh don't forget the MICE and Bugs, they eat out my seats on one car and on another I cooked a family when I turned on my gas heater. Joe Cali
It all depends on how it is "stored" and if it is "maintained" while it is stored... If fuel system is not "emptied" (lines and carb mostly) things get gummy... Rubber seals in the motor will deteriorate causing the motor to leak oil everywhere... Tires can deteriorate, and storing the car for long periods with weight of the car on the tires is not good either (I think they "flatspot" but not sure what exactly the damage is but it is not good), but along those lines cars stored with wheels off the ground and no weight on the suspension is bad for the suspension... When storing a car tires should be off the ground, but weight should be on the supension (i.e. stored with blocks under shock mounts such that wheels are off the ground).
I can't speak first hand to the tires or suspension, but can to the fuel system and engine seals. Before restoring my Beetle, the car ran fine and leaked a minimal amount of oil (seemed fairly normal for an aircooled VW). Time from "taking the car off the road" (was driven on a daily basis before this) until the car was put "back on the road" (starting the engine for the first time) was 14 months, and during that time engine just sat and nothing at all was done to the engine during that time, not even turning it over by hand or anything... It was basically just taken out and put back in... Also we did not clean out the fuel line from the tank to the engine...
At the end of that 14 months and it was back together enough, it was time to start it up... Cranked and Cranked and Cranked... Wouldn't fire... put a little gas down the carb, and it would fire for a couple seconds.... took the top off the carb and filled the bowl... Would run for a couple minutes and die... Replaced all rubber lines and fuel filter... still same result... started blowing the various metal lines (grand total of two)... Back of chassis to engine... fine... fuel line that runs through the chassis tunnel... CLOGGED! Ran some 12 gauge electrical wire through it, and car started right up... By not cleaning out the fuel line, there was still some gas in the line and over that 14 months had clogged the line... A little while after getting the car back on the road I noticed oil being sprayed on the inside of the engine lid. I had it into a shop for some other things and they noticed the leak and thought it might be the oil cooler... It would leak about 1 quart of oil every 800 miles!!!! had a funny feeling that it might be more than just the oil cooler as oil spot under the car was pretty much dead center (rear main seal)... Finally not having the time to do the oil cooler myself, took the car in to the shop to have them fix the oil cooler leak... turned out the car was leaking oil pretty much everywhere it could possibly leak oil... Oil Cooler, Rear Main Seal, Generator Stand, fuel pump, push rod tubes, distributor, everywhere... :-) They ended up pulling the motor and totally resealing it, which at today's labor rates is not cheap. It was not this bad before we took it off the road... So, just sitting for a year, the already worn seals detieriated enough to leak very badly... After having the motor resealed... it leaks very little oil... just some seepage along the case seam which is very little and normal, and no it longer sprays oil all over the inside of the engine compartment...
Other thing too... You might think you can live with an oil leak... The leaking oil cause other damage to the car... Oil and most rubbers don't get along well... With the leaking rear main seal, the transmission mounts became oil covered and the oil caused the to become "soft" and in need of being replaced... Also the Engine to Body seal became oil soaked and started to detieriate and in need of replacement, and this seal is important in ensuring that your engine is cooled easily and efficiently. Also leaking rear main seal can ruin the clutch disc (in mine the spring in the pressure plate had partially broken, but that was not due to leaking oil or long storage, as the clutch was new).
A "stored" car is not bad as long as it was stored and maintained correctly (even though it is "stored" it needs to be "maintained"). John Henry's web site
Wade Hasbrouck
1967 Beetle (Debugger)
judging from the cars I just purchased, storing cars in the middle of the woods surrounded by damp pinestraw and exposed to the rain is not a good idea. So at least the converse is not true - some environments which are very uncomfortable for humans are also not comfy for VWs :) .
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