Car Start: Bringing a Car Out of Long-Term Storage

Whether you just purchase a car that has not seen the road in years or if it’s your beloved classic that has sat patiently for years waiting for it’s time in the sun again, the process of bringing a car out of long-term storage can be a little labor-intensive. Our slogan when we started the process of bringing our project car out of storage was simple: “Do No Harm.”

As we’ve stated before more can go wrong with a car sitting still than when used daily, but by developing a plan to do a thorough inspection of the car, address any issues discovered, and replace all fluids, we could avoid causing any new damage to our car when we started it.

Any car that has sat for more than a couple years deserves the same amount of care that we used in preparing to start our classic after resting in the back shed for nearly 30-years. To recap our long-term storage project, we’ve cleaned the entire fuel system, repaired the tires, rebuilt the brake master cylinder, re-packed the water pump, replaced an expansion plug, replaced ALL fluids, replaced the battery, installed new battery cables, and replaced the spark plugs.

Of course before starting any of the real work we took a moment to wash the car down and remove as much of the dust and dirt that had accumulated on it over the years. This is an important step as the dust can act like sandpaper on the car’s finish and chrome. It’s not necessary to fully detail the car out at this point, just remove the bulk of the debris from the areas you’ll be working. Of course any vehicle that has been sitting for some time can become home to insects, birds and rodents, so when doing your initial assessment take the time to address these issues as well.