Antique & Classic Cars Blog

It’s never wise to count Minnesota’s winter out, but…. seems most of the big blizzards are behind us. If you have a classic car, you’re now doubt scheming of those first long drives of the season.

Before you fire it up and head for Red Wing or Duluth, here are a few checks worth performing to make sure things go well.

1. Check the fluids. In our joy over the return of fun-car weather, it’s easy to sit down, press the pedals and turn the key. Pop the hood first. A slow leak in the clutch or brake system might have drained them over the winter. Just because the pedal shows resistance on the first push doesn’t mean the system isn’t low.

2. Air up those tires. Tires lose about a pound a month, average, and underinflation isn’t always easy to spot by sight. Proper inflation will reduce excess heat and extend the tires’ life.

3. Charge your battery. If you own a classic car, you probably own a battery charger. Boy is it annoying when a classic starts up, fills us full of summer-cruise dreams, then refuses to start when the sun is setting and you’re 30 miles from your house.

4. Check the wipers and wiper blades. In a perfect world rain and your classic car will seldom meet. When they do, the issue of where that water is going and how much acid is in it is a lot less important than seeing formidable and immovable objects ahead. If you don’t do it during a pre-season car wash–covered car?–spray a little water on the windshield and hit the wipers. They should clear the glass as well as your daily driver’s do.

5. With a friend’s help, check the headlights, turn signals and–most importantly–the brake lights! Older wiring connections are not as secure and weather-tight as modern ones. Things loosen up, corrode, get scummy and fail to work. The bulbs and lenses on an older car can be pretty dim by modern standards. At the very least, you want them to work. If the light is too dim to see well, look into new lenses, a modern headlight conversion, or adding a middle brake light.

6. Puddle check. Look under the car for telltale pools of coolant, brake or clutch fluid, or gear oil. Do this before you move the car. The location of any puddle or spot will provide good evidence of its source.

7. Check those belts. A broken fan or alternator (generator) belt can leave you stranded or overheat your classic’s engine. Check for proper play and make sure the belt is still strong and pliable without excess wear.

8. Fill ‘er up. Gas gauges can get a little fussy on older cars. That half tank it’s promising might be two gallons instead. Also, evaporation has been at work over the long (long, long, long) winter. If your gauge isn’t solid as Sears, reset the trip odometer with each tankful and use that as a backup miles-to-empty reminder.

See ya on the road!

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 6:17 am and is filed under Car parts, Car stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.