I am about to put a Vauxhall Nova ( currently in excellent condition) into store in my garage for 18 months
I am desperate for good advise as I know car stored this way can deteriate rapidly.
I cant take the wheels off as children are about but can drive about two car lengths in and out of the garage
Are there any measures I can take to cut down deteriation?
If you don't take the wheels off, at least move the car every so often to avoid flat spots on the tyres.
Rob Graham
Yes, preferably drive it in and out of the garage to make sure the engine has plenty of mayonaise in it :P.
ISTR reading that you can pump up tyres to higher than their normal pressures to avoid flat spots. Another option would be to get a set of s**te tyres from a place that sells part worns, and put those on for the duration that you're storing it. I suspect if you keep the car in a garage you'll always park it in more or less the same spot and you'll end up with flat spots despite it having been moved.
Don't even need to do that - just pump up the tyres hard.
Give it a service- fresh oil, brake fluid, coolant (inc antifreeze) Take the car for a 20 mile+ run when its dry before putting in garage. Blow up the tyres to ~50psi or place the car on axle stands so the tyres dont flat spot.
If you dont plan to use the car at all for the 18months, drain the fuel tank and run the carb dry. Take out the plugs, put an egg cup full of oil in each cylinder, spin the engine on the starter, then replace the plugs.
Leave a window open slightly, and leave it in gear, handbrake off.
Tim..
1) Wash it to get all the cr@p off the paintwork. You don't want bird lime eating away at if for 18months. 2) Put it away when it's dry and the engine is *fully* hot straight after a good run. Say 20 miles. 3) Pump the tyres up to 40psi to stop flatspotting 4) Disconnect the battery 5) Make sure that there's at least some ventilation in your garage (shouldn't be a problem.) 6) Stuff a bit of rag in the exhaust. 7) Leave well alone.
8) DON'T be tempted to start it regularly or any nonsense like that, you'll just wear the engine out.
9) DO stick the battery on the charger once a month or so.When you come back to it in 18 months change the oil; reconnect the battery; take out the spark plugs; squirt a *little* oil into each cylinder; spin the engine for 15sec to get the oil round the engine; put back the plugs and, hey presto, it should be fine.
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