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| Authors note: Please be aware that what follows is just my opinion based on my experiences in this subject. All matters relating to motoring law, or any other legal/official matters should be pursued with the relevant authorities. I cannot accept any liability for loss/damage/divorce/grey hair or any other misfortune based on any of the following advice, given as it is in good faith only. Ta. |
Preparing your classic car for regular use
Even if your chosen steed has a full MOT, it is essential to give the old girl a thorough checking over. Just because the MOT inspector has given your car a clean bill of health, theres no getting away from the fact that most oldies need more fettling and maintenance than your average modern machine, and even more so if the car hasn't seen regular use for a while. In fact cars that have seen little regular use, while maybe being less worn mechanically, will probably require more servicing in order to get it into a reliable regular runabout. The bottom line is check over all its systems and replace anything that looks faulty, or is easily replaceable. For example, if your classic motor car has hydraulic brake and clutch mechanisms, in most cases replacement seals only cost a few pence and its well worth going around and replacing all hydraulics seals, you don't want them giving out on you while your using the car. Give the brake & clutch lines/linkages a good going over also. Likewise take a long hard look at the tyres - they may have oodles of tread left, but how are the sidewalls looking? are there any hidden bulges on the inside walls? take each wheel off and have a good look. Barrelling through twisty lanes puts huge loads on the sidewalls of your tyres, so best play safe. And talking of tyres, many classics originally were fitted with crossplies, and now run modern radial type tyres. Radials give better grip and seem to last longer than the crossply variety of rubber. However this extra grip can potentially be a problem. Whereas crossplies gripped less and let the car slide a little, radials grip on much better and in so doing pass extra loads through the wheel and into the suspension. Its not unknown for A40s and other BMC machines to exhibit stress cracks between the wheel mounting holes, so have a good look while the wheels are off and replace any wheels that look suspect. Also now is the time to hunt down any electrical gremlins that your classic or vintage car may possess. Try all the lights, and remove all lenses and ensure that none of the bulb connections or holders exhibit any signs of corrosion - replace where necessary. The wiring in an old car is usually fairly simple, and an original manufacturers workshop manual will have a nice clear wiring diagram from which to work. Many electrical problems stem from faulty earthing. Random cutting out of the engine can often be traced to a faulty main earth lead that runs from the engine or gearbox, across to the chassis or body. In fact ensure that the engines electricals are in tip top condition. Intermittent engine running faults can usually be attributed to either fuel or electrical problems. So to try and erradicate electrical gremlins from your car, check over the spark plugs, plug leads, distributor cap, points (if fitted), rotor arm (if fitted), and the low tension wire that runs from the coil (check that too) to the dizzy. When looking at the dizzy cap and coil, look for any hairline cracks in the plastic - these spell bad news and will require replacement. A good way of seeing if theres a problem with either is to run the car at night - if you get a nice display of sparks around the engine, you're in for replacing some of the above. The main objective is to track down and rectify any potential problem areas, before you start using your curvaceous A40 Somerset or VW Beetle
If you have a look through your handbook you'll see that many classics were designed to receive regular maintenance. One of the muckier routine items is often greasing, something that is also often overlooked. Many many classics built up until the 1980s (unless you have a Jag XJ which soldiered on til the early 1990s) were fitted with grease nipples, and lots of 'em. They are commonly found on suspension and steering components, propshaft joints, handbrake linkages and pivots, and so on ... each car is different so make sure you know where they all are. Another thing worth bearing in mind is that some mechanical items, such as the stub axles on Triumph Heralds and Spitfires, seem to survive better being lubricated via their grease nipples with oil instead of grease, so its always worth asking around with people who already own such cars, to find out if your collectible car has any of these idiosyncracies. Last but not least check the engine itself - give it an oil and filter change, and lubricate all control cables and anything else that looks like a dab of oil would help. No matter how much preparation you do, sods law says that something is bound to go wrong at some point. Therefore its wise to carry around a basic toolkit at all times, and a selection of consumable spares that you might need while on the road - things such as bulbs, a few hydraulic seals, some spare plug leads, first aid kit, water, oil, gearbox oil, and even a tin of fuel just in case your Morris' fuel gauge isn't all it could be! Don't forget either that you may get stuck in queues of traffic on your regular run to the shops, so how is your cooling system looking?? replace any cooling hoses that show any cracks, same with fan belt, and make sure you have a healthy mix of antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor in your water system (normally 30-50% is a safe bet). go back to top.. Maintenance schedule.
go back to top.. Getting used to driving your classic.
You'll find you need to be more aware of whats going on, with braking distances being longer you'll need to read the road that little bit better. Likewise will damp roads. Although Ford's finest is unlikely to get you into a lurid oversteering powerslide (unless you hit black ice that is), greasy roads need some respect so go carefully. Heater systems, if fitted that is, were often notoriously bad so bargain for spending more time clearing ice and dampness from your screens on them cold mornings. Talking of cold weather, get yourself acquainted with your starting handle if you are fortunate enough to have one for your car. One thing you will find is that you may get harried by pushy types in their modern yawn-mobiles. As soon as they see a venerable old classic pottering along, they see it as a slur on their man/womanhood if they can't get past at the earliest opportunity. Equally said wallies aren't looking out for semaphor indicators daintily sticking out from your classics flanks, so make sure they're clocked the fact that you wish to turn right before swinging to the centre of the road - you have to try and second guess everything that other drivers might do. Plus not all oldies are as slow as may be assumed - if you see an Austin Healey being enthusiastically driven by a flat-capped gentleman say, he could give many a GTi a good hiding in a race from the lights (at least in a straight line) should he feel tempted. You can go here to find out more: Driving Classic Cars & staying sane!. go back to top.. |
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