car not moved for 8 months.

Well it wouldn't hurt to change the oil, & check the brakes work , you tend to find the rust makes them & the clutch a bit snatchy.

Brakes will need looknig at. At the very least the discs will be pretty coroded, might be a good idea to whip off the wheels and run a flap wheel in leccie drill over them to remove the worst of the rust to save buggering the pads. Handbrake may be stuck on, clutch may also be stuck.

I would strongly suggest you chanage all fluids- especially coolant and brake fluid.

Unleaded is terrible for going off as soon as 6 weeks, so you may have to add some fresh to the tank, and a freshly charged battery of course...

Tim..

Won't the disk surfaces smooth up again after just a few test stops?

Is there a brand of gas stabilizer you would recommend that will increase the storage life of unleaded?

Probably, have a look & check they don't look like the flaky thing from the 1970's. It's been a nice hot , dry summer so it's not as bad as if you've left it over the winter. Stuck handbrake & stuck clutch are the two tricky ones, Don't start it in gear & hit something & obviously you want to test the brakes where only one side working won't cause you a problem.

Not anyware near as cheap as just pouring in a gallon of neat premium unleaded.

Febuary this

should do/be

No big deal IMO. I've left cars parked for over a year, which have started and run without problems. The only thing that might give problems over that sort of time is the battery and handbrake. Clutches can get stuck, but I'd be surprised if it was. As long as the battery has been regularly charged, and it's been parked with the h/b off, the chances are that all that's wrong with it is rust on the discs. As long as you take it easy until the brakes feel OK, that should rub off after a few miles. Mike.

may have to

course.

Dunno where you buy your petrol, but I've never noticed any significant deterioration, even after a year or more. My Toyota Celica turbo was recently left for 6 months, with a transmission fault. After repair, was started, and ran without any noticeable difference in performance to when it was put away. Gets a bit parrafinny after a couple of years upwards though, but a car will still run on it. Probably a little smelly and smoky though. Mike.

Tyres might have started getting a bit rough.

Wouldn't the tyres get flat spots?

Mark S.

The best I've found is

I use it in my motorbike which is prone to 'varnish' clogging the carb if left with petrol over the winter.

time

be

been

wrong

until

Good point. They might have, but IME, as long as they are they are kept properly inflated, flat spots, if any, are not noticeable. They weren't on my Celica, but on the cars I've left for longer, I did rotate the wheels. Mike.

Seized brakes, seized clutch, no fuel in system as its drained back to the tank.

Remove sparkplugs, squirt a little 3-in-1 or similar down each bore and crank over WITH THE PLUGS REMOVED until the oil warning light goes out then replace plugs and fire up.

Belt the back wheels with a serious hammer if the brakes are seized .

The message from "AstraVanMan" contains these words:

That'd only do the front wheels [1]...to do all four you'll need to take the handbrake off.

[1] Assuming FWD and rear handbrake, before the pedants start!

I rotate the wheels on my car all the time. Just need to turn the key, dip the clutch, engage gear, lift the clutch up/give it a bit of gas, pull away, and bingo.

Peter

Heh - I drive a Carlton! :-)

Peter

Then fit new wheel bearings.

-- James

Tyres might have developed a flat spot ...

yeah probably on the bottom

bill