Spring Awakening

The other morning while leaving for work, I heard a sound I hadn’t heard since last fall…the sound of birds singing. After a somewhat mild and relatively snow free winter here in my corner of the world (Cape Cod, Mass.), I’m looking forward to spring’s arrival. Not only for the warm weather it brings, but also for opportunity it affords me to prepare my collectible cars for another driving season.

My 1965 Thunderbird was built in March of 1966, 42 years ago this month, while my 1991 Coupe De Ville is experiencing its 17^th spring. Both cars spent the winter in my garage after being “winter prepped’ (see my December 2007 article) and were started periodically. I am now anxious to clean and wax them, but first I must prepare them for another driving season.

Before storing them last November I topped off their gas tanks and added a fuel preservative called Stabil. Now…some people recommend that you flush out your fuel system and replace all the gas in the spring. Considering that regular gas is approaching $ 3.50 a gallon as of this writing, I find that wasteful. If you added a fuel stabilizer last fall there is no reason to do that. However, if you feel the need to replace the gas anyway, don’t dispose of it as is recommended, use it for your lawn mower, tractor or chain saw.

The next thing I do is flush the cooling system. Even though they have rust inhibitors, antifreeze products can use those same rust inhibitors to spread the very rust they’ve removed, through your engine after a long winter’s sleep. Aside from the fact that I run both my cars to normal operating temperature several times during the winter, I feel it’s just safer to just replace the coolant…for peace of mind.

Changing the oil and filter in both my cars is the next step I undertake. Even though both cars received fresh oil and filters last fall before going into winter storage, oil will absorb moisture over time and become acidic, especially with an engine in storage. This will cause corrosion if not changed.

Next is the battery. I keep a “trickle” charger on both my car batteries during the winter which allow the battery to maintain its charge. For those of you who may not know how a trickle charger works, what it does is charge a battery at the same rate as its discharging, which is something car batteries do when they’re not being used. This maintains the battery with a constant full charge. Cold weather especially robs an unused battery of its power and constant recharging of a dead battery with a regular battery charger can shorten its life.

Check under your car for any leaks. While every older car has some leaks, a good size puddle or stain is a warning sign that all is not well and this matter should be addressed promptly. You wouldn’t want your transmission to disintegrate as you cruised down the street. Or even worse, find out you have no braking ability.

Also check that all tires are properly inflated.

If you’ve left the air cleaner on your carburetor all winter, be sure to first check them to see if mice have used them for nesting. You don’t want any nesting material getting down in the carb when you start the car. Be sure to unblock your exhaust pipe(s) if you covered them to prevent mice.

When starting you car for the first time in the spring, don’t rev the engine. Give it a chance to slowly warm up. Make your first cruise a short and slow one. After 20 minutes or so return home and check under the hood and once again under the car.

Then hook up the hose, get the soap and thoroughly clean her up. Apply a good quality wax after drying and be sure to detail the tires also. Then tackle the interior using a good quality vinyl or leather cleaner and preservative, remembering to also thoroughly vacuum the carpeting.

In a future installment, I will discuss how to properly detail your collectible car.