With summer on the way, it’s time to pull your classic car out of storage and get it road ready with some basic maintenance and a thorough cleaning.
Vintage Rolls Royce image courtesy of Pixabay
Get Your Classic Car Road Ready for Summer Cruising
By: Laure Justice
Winter can be kind of blah when you’re a classic car owner because, depending on where you live, your favorite ride gets stuck in storage for a few months and you just get to wait… and wait… and wait for nicer weather.
Make Sure Your Car is Mechanically Sound
The last thing you want to do after waiting all winter to drive your car is have it in the garage getting fixed, so ideally the time to take care of mechanical things is now, before you’re ready to head out to a car show or on a long cruise.
Take care of things like changing the oil and topping off fluids, make sure the tires are holding air and have good tread, change plugs and wires if they need it, and put fresh gas in ‘her’ so those basic car maintenance things are out of the way.
Get Out the Car Cleaning Supplies
With the mechanical side of things ready to roll, it’s time to get your car cleaned up and shining – unless we’re talking about a rat rod with plenty of patina, and even then, you’ll probably want your ride cleaned up and comfortable.
Any time you’re in doubt about the ideal way to clean your car, inside or out, talk to a pro, like a detailer, to make sure everything is done correctly, because you don’t want to diminish your car’s value by using the wrong cleaning products or procedures on it.
Vacuum out the interior to remove loose debris that settled in your seats, in the carpet fibers, and on the dash to remove loose debris and to give you a chance to inspect your interior for damage, in case a mouse got in your storage area or anything like that happened.
Choose an upholstery cleaner designed for the type of interior your car has, such as leather cleaner, vinyl cleaner, or fabric upholstery cleaner if things need freshened up a bit.
Wash and polish your car’s exterior surfaces using your favorite type of wash and wax, or polish, or simply gently buff your finish to a silky luster if you prefer not to apply products to your car’s paint (or if your car is newly painted, simply discuss the cleaning process with your body shop to be sure you’re going about cleaning and polishing your car properly.)
Now, get out there and get ready to have some spring and summer fun in your favorite ride!
Classic Cars for Sale
Part of the reason Classic Cars Online US exists is to help connect classic car buyers and sellers, and we’ve added several ways for you to connect – pick your favorite, or join us in all four places: (1) sign up on the Classifieds page here on the site, (2) visit and like this site’s Facebook page, (3) the Best Classic Cars for Sale page or (4) join the Classic Cars Online: Classic Cars for Sale group if you are looking to buy or sell classic cars.