how to prepare a car to sit for six months?

[51steve]

Hello everyone,

I hope to buy a 4L before I leave France on the 15th of Nov. My question is... If I find a 4L, how should I prepare her to sit unused for six months? What I would assume is to change the oil, and see if I can find somebody that wouldn't mind keeping a battery in thier garage with a trickle charger. I have heard that some people even put the car on jack stands so as not to get flat spots on the tires, (supposedly it is also good to take the weight off the suspention). Best case scenario would be to have someone drive it around, but then you get into the wear and tear and insurance issue... Any other suggestions? Is the 4L is a good choice of car for this type of infrequent use?

thanks!

Steve

 

[malcolm]

I often leave my MGA parked up for several months. The only thing I do is inflate the tyres to 45psi to reduce the chance of flat spots. Changing the engine oil is good advice, and making sure there is some anti-freeze in the coolant (it's anti-corrosion too) are the only other things I can think of.

People often recommend leaving the car with a full tank to protect the inside of the tank from rust. I was caught out by that once - fuel goes off after time, and fuel supplied in the winter is normally more volatile than fuel supplied in the summer, so a car might not start in the winter on summer fuel.

Renault can cope with standing as well as any other car. Probably take a bit of starter motor churning to fill the float chamber with fuel when you start it again. Battery keeps it's charge well, and they only cost 30 euros so don't put too much effort into organising things, just charge it when you want to start the car again.

 

[paulandpat]

One way of ending the necessity for a lot of churning on the battery to fill the carb is to fit a hand primer pump from a diesel Citroen C15 van in the fuel line, a few squeezes before you turn it on the battery is usually enough to fill up the float chamber - works on Pats 56 Renault 4cv!

 

[51steve]

Thank you both for the advise. Please keep the suggestions coming!

Steve

 

[rodthrutheblock]

I agree with all the above, but here's a few more:
Small bag of silica gel (from a camera shop or similar - you often get it in the packaging with electronic stuff) put inside the distributor cap keeps the ignition free from damp, but don't forget to take it out before you start it.
Brakes are a major problem: don't put the handbrake on, use blocks to chock the wheels. Bleeding the system thoroughly with new fluid before it is laid up might be an idea: brake fluid absorbs water and can cause insides of lines to rust and wheel cylinders to seize. New fluid will reduce this. A decent grade of synthetic or semi-synthetic fluid helps stop this.
Modern fuel seems to 'go-off' very quickly leaving a varnish-like covering all over your carb and fuel pump (it seems to be engineered to do this to stop people storing it). You can buy fuel preservative which goes in the tank and does a great job. If you can't get it from a car shop try the local lawn mower people as they sell it for petrol mowers that get laid up for months.
Don't put any kind of plastic sheeting over the car; it keeps moisture in. A well-ventilated building with air moving around is the best. Cars we have dug out of storage from concrete lock ups are always terrible. Cars brought out from under plastic sheets are always rotten. Cars from wooden barns with dry floors are (nearly) always lovely as the air has been able to move around them...................

 

[malcolm]

Some very good points there. Especially leaving the handbrake off - that's very important to keep the brakes from sticking on. A similar one - for 6 months it's not worth the bother, but longer term a broomstick holding the clutch pedal down can help prevent the clutch from sticking on too.

Put some plastic sheet over the MG one year as the rear was sticking out of a lean to. Paint hasn't been the same since - it all bubbled up.