Putting a classic away for winter; sharing the love
People say the change of seasons is one reason they love living in New England.
Along with that pleasure comes some pain: shoveling snow, raking leaves, dealing with storm windows, cleaning gutters, and similar seasonal chores.
Also on that list is prepping our fair-weather vehicles—boats, cars, motorcycles, tractors—for winter storage. Do it right and they should be not only bright and shiny but also running well when spring arrives.
The flip side can be dealing with corrosion issues, a dead battery, gummed-up fuel system, nesting rodents, and some hefty repair expenses.
We recently chatted with Rick Drewry, a claims specialist in collector cars at American Modern Insurance Group.
Classic car insurance plans offer excellent rates for special-interest cars, knowing that these cars traditionally are well-maintained, driven carefully, and generally don’t cover a lot of miles each year.
“Storing your car properly is important,’’ Drewry says. “The bad things that can happen during storage generally aren’t the type of damages that are covered by insurance.’’
Drewry himself has 13 classic cars, the oldest a 1953 Chevrolet. “But I’m really big into Pontiacs,’’ he says. “I’ve got four GTOs, and I’m building a 1967 Firebird with my 16-year-old daughter and a 1963 Lemans street-legal drag car with my 23-year-old son.’’
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“Not all young people are glued to their smartphones,’’ he says. “My kids’ friends see what they’re doing and want to get involved.’’ So far, his daughter has learned how to weld and do wiring “and she’s practicing pinstriping and airbrushing,’’ he says.
Among his storage recommendations:
Fuel: A lot of New Englanders recommend using “the blue stuff,’’ marine stabilizer, but Drewry says most any stabilizer will do. “The important thing is to add it according to the directions, fill the tank with fresh gas to mix it up, then run the car until it’s well mixed throughout the fuel system: gas tank, fuel pump, lines, filter, and carburetor. It’s just as important for the injectors if you’ve upgraded to a fuel injection system.’’
Tires: Drewry says to have them at the proper pressure for storage. To avoid flat spots and increase tire longevity, he recommends putting the car on jack stands and covering the sidewalls, front and back, with a light coat of lubricant. “Something like WD-40 works fine,’’ he says. “Spray it on the sidewalls, both sides, and wipe off the excess. It helps keep the sidewalls from drying out. It’s not necessary to treat the tread. Classic car tires are more likely to need replacing from cracking or dry rot than from the tread wearing out.’’
Paint: Instead of waiting until spring to clean and wax your baby, Drewry advises applying a good coat of wax before storage and cleaning and detailing the leather, vinyl, and dashboard inside, too. “That way, you’re ready to roll in the spring,’’ he says.
Battery: Good batteries are expensive these days, often well north of $100. Drewry advises leaving a battery tender or smart charger hooked up all winter. “If you’ve got several cars, replacing batteries can be an avoidable expense,’’ he says.
The Garage: Moisture is your enemy. “Corrosion isn’t covered under policies,’’ he says. “If it’s damp and cold in the garage, you’re talking about condensation. That can lead to mold and mildew, chrome pitting, and rust. A small incandescent light under the car combined with a small fan is a big help. So is a breathable car cover.’’ Drewry is a fan of the bubble-type covers that encapsulate the vehicle, keep it ventilated, and protect it from bumps and scratches. “You drive over the base of it, zip it up and turn on the fan that keeps it inflated.’’
Critters: Bring up this topic at a local cruise night and you’ll get stories, often about how a car owner found a mouse nest in the air cleaner or exhaust system. Drewry learned his lesson by finding a mouse nest in the headliner. “They chewed out stuffing from the seats and made their nest in the headliner,’’ he says. “Come spring, the headliner had sagged way down, the back seat was ruined, and the whole car just stank. I wound up gutting the interior to get the smell out.’’ He recommends liberal use of a product such as D-Con around the car, especially if there are any woods near the garage.
It’s enough to make you envy the folks who live in the sunbelt, have climate-controlled garages, and can drive their classics year-round.
Sharing the Love
Marketing campaigns come and go. When a company sticks with one, it can become a tradition, such as Subaru’s annual “Share the Love’’ campaign, now in its eighth year.
Subaru dealers are donating $250 to charity for each new vehicle purchased or leased through Jan. 2. By then, Subaru estimates that its dealers and owners will have donated $63 million over the eight years.
National charities that benefit from the program are the ASPCA, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Meals on Wheels, and the National Park Foundation.
Individual dealerships also can designate a local charity as a beneficiary.
We checked some local Subaru dealers’ websites and found a wide variety of beneficiaries: CitySide (Belmont) is helping the Foundation for Belmont Education, MetroWest (Natick) designates the Life Is Good for Kids Foundation, Quirk (Braintree) the Ocular Immunology & Uveitus Foundation, Ira (Danvers) the Haven from Hunger in Peabody, and Planet Subaru (Hanover) the Standish Humane Society.
Etc.
While cruise nights might be on hiatus, there are plenty of auto-related items at the Boston Toy Show at the Holiday Inn in Dedham Dec. 6 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. … And if you want to look ahead to the Boston Auto Show (actually the New England International Auto Show), it will run from Jan. 14-18 at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center … A tip of the hat to the automotive dealers recently named among the Globe’s “Top Places to Work’’: Herb Chambers companies, the Kelly Automotive Group, Best Chevrolet, and Planet Subaru.
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