Two cars, one for summer, one for winter?
 

Thinking of laying the Scoob up during the winter, garaged etc.

So......if I get another, can I:

Switch the insurance from one to the other easily enough?
Anything else I need to think about?

Mainly because the Scoob ain't getting any younger, it will see 15 next September and I want to treat it more like a classic now than a daily runabout.

Is there a guide to laying cars up, anywhere? Things like letting the fuel tank empty down to bare minimum, how often to charge battery, looking after tyres and brakes, keeping the interior free of mould etc etc.

i have a caterham 7 thingy

when I lay it up for the winter all I do is jack it up off the wheels and disconnect the battery (it has a battery isolator)

before i get it out for the summer I change the oil/filter and put some octane booster in the fuel

I imagine the insurance will switch easily enough with you paying either more/less for said cars... Oh and the £50 admin fee.

Better off changing the oil before you lay it up :) rather than letting it sit in spent oil... cheap would do then drain and refil with quality oil for the summer. :)

Keep 'em coming.

Going to contact Moley on Monday for any problems with the insurance.

true, to a point

don't forget the oil is 6 months old and done only half the miles, so not exactly "spent"

Is there much point as most of the oil would be sat in the sump?

Nik

dont use the parking brake as it can seize on if left for along time,as for mould stick one or 2 of them dehumidifier bag things in your car (1 in boot and 1 on the dash) this will keep moisture levels down

yes, good one

leave the handbrake off (forgot about that)

windows open (i don't have windows)

Depends what you do with it in those 6 months :)

I Park my RB5 for most of the winter and i was told to do the following:

-change oil in spring or when you take it out again
-drain the coolant
-brim the petrol tank to avoid condensation in the tank
-jack up and remove wheels to avoid flat spots on the tyres
-leave the handbrake off
-leave the car out of gear
-disconnect the battery or get a trickle charger
-if covering inside use a breathable cover and leave windows open a tiny bit to let fresh air circulate

Iv just ordered one of these for the battery, can't be bad for the money:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-VOLT-TR...item460572ad4e

Oh and i leave a few desiccant packs (like the silicone gel packs you get with new shoes in the box) throughout the car, this helps to avoid damp inside the car. You could buy a couple of these for inside, would do the same job:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PINGI-XL-4...item257901ccb4

Just a couple of ideas :)

Right, so you will be taking me up on the offer of sorting your garage out :lol1:

Are you looking at anything in particular, Jeff? Once I get the bodywork sorted on mine this year whilst also reducing mileage on biking to work, it'll remain my shopping cart :D

I'll even show you how to clean the Scoob properly ;)

Jack the car up I get - but why take the wheels off?

I'm sure Moley will sort out a suitable policy, but be aware of....

http://www.mib.org.uk/Motor+Insuranc...nt/default.htm

Would you want it to sit in the garage uninsured though? I would think you would want theft cover at least. Are there any companies that provide lay-up cover?

I`ve just bought this to keep my Scoob battery in tip top condition till it sells. Highly recommended on the M3 forum.

It has to be insured anyway doesn`t it, unless it`s declared SORN! Mine has just run out as I couldn`t get hold of Moley on Friday :(

I think I would declare it SORN and look into a policy to give me cover for fire etc, there MUST be something, or what do classic car owners do?

Andy: yep, I would defo need help clearing that lot.......I'm THINKING about getting a nice, small, nippy diesel, Ibiza?

Absolutely no point at all.

I have a MK1 Escort RS2000 with 175x70x13" tyres. All you need to do is over inflate them slightly, Nothing more.

I have stored Classic Cars for many years without any problems. Best, Is a Carcoon if you can afford one. These come with a battery conditioner as standard. These are a must if you are keeping your battery connected.
A good indoor cover is a good idea if you don't have, or want a Carcoon. Ventilation is good also.
Old cars can stand for a very long time in storage but modern(ish) cars do not like to stand unused. Start it once a month and let it get up to temperature. No need to change the oil after lay up if started regularly, & has covered little miles. :)

New car and a raving holiday... You're on ;) :D



Ok,

Nippy small cars I think French for some reason. Twingo, Clio and C1 type cars.

Mines off the road right now it's still insured and road taxed etc but it hasn't been on the road since November, I give it a run every few weeks just bring it up to temp rev it a bit and reverse if back and foreward a few times to keep things moving and free, leaving cars too long in the same spot isn't a good thing IMO.

hope your disconnecting your crank sensor and building oil pressure before you start it.

What would be the difference between an engine that hasn't started for a week and an engine that hasn't been started for 6 weeks?

Some people are really over-killing this.

Mine has been stored inside 6 months of the year for the past 9 years and spent 3 years in storage at one point.

All I ever do is this:

Disconnect battery
Handbrake off and chock the wheels
Start up every 6 weeks ish and run up to temp
Breathable cover on
Run off boost when first out again until old fuel used up.

It's fine. Still has the same battery, although I think I've been lucky there.

about 5 weeks

:lol:

Long one this, but I've justified my reason for doing it and got a bit carried away :o Anyway it'll serve you right for reading this forum with a phone/iPhad :razz:

Fuel tank = Full or bone dry.

The latter is impractical, so go with the former as a half tank of fuel will go off quicker and corrode the exposed areas of the fuel tank (not applicable to cars with plastic tanks of course ;) ). I have a tide-line of rust in the steel tank of my Land Rover by inadvertanty leaving it stand with a quarter tank of fuel :(

With ethanol blended fuels (in other words all modern petrol) there is issues with corrosion and deterioration of rubber components, I'm told this is worse when stored due to the fuel's hydroscopic nature and how it leaches through natural rubber drying it out making it brittle. It appears in the kit car circles that fuel lines tend to fail after de-mothballing which suggests the lack of fuel flow through the lines allows the more volatile compound in the fuel to attack and degrading the rubber. Cure? I don't know. Tell me when you find one.

Oil: Two schools of thought: change it before gets rid of moisture or contaminants, but oil does age when it isn't stored in a sealed container. An engine is not really a sealed container, plus the oil can seperate its base stock from its additives and you can't exactly stir the sump before you start the engine. :lol1:

I don't bother with the Jag, I just change it early-summer. I only start the engine if I'm going to use it. As during cold-starts the engine puts that much unburnt fuel into the oil that this is as more harm when being used diluted with fuel than it is being stored. So I go on the 50:50 approch with changing it mid-way of it being used, that way the oil only ever really sees 3 months of use.

Coolant/antifreeze; make sure its changed as per schedule (3yrs, 5yrs or 10yrs depending on manufacturer) - old antifreeze will go acidic and attack the aluminium, brass/copper etc. especially when its not circulating. Beware long-life OATS antifreezes typically have poorer anti-corrosion properties on certain metals so if your car doesn't use OATS from the factory, don't use OATS in it. Jury is out on HOATS antifreeze, personally I stick to what was put in from the fatory (except I use a few bottles of Forte's coolant system conditioner on the Jag as a alternative to the factory reccomened "Barrs Leaks" :o ).

Tyres. Pain in the arse...I get flat spots on the Jag's tyres all the time, even after standing a month its like driving on square wheels LOL. They soon go round again after a few miles though. Best way to avoid is stick some other wheels/tyres on when storing.

I wouldn't leave the car jacked up with the suspension unloaded, as you are putting torsion on the control arm's rubber bushings which are in their least stressed state when the car is on the ground (unless someone fitted them wrong and torqued up the arms with the suspension unloaded..its should only be done with the vehicle's full weight applied. :nono: ).

Battery: Accumate/Optimate or C-tek = sorted (save re-tuning the radio and reprogramming my 8 band EQ :thumb: ).

Bodywork: Make sure the car is bone dry before garaging it....do not wash it and drive it straight into the garage...it'll turn your garage/shed into a nice moisture rich environment. A cotton car cover will absorb moisture in a unheated garage, polyester is better and if you do get the car cover washed at the laundromat...do not let them use fabric softener, as it leaves a haze on the bodywork everytime you use the cover ( yeah, I know :o :lol1: ).

Handbrake...ON. This my schools of thought: If its is in good condition and the car is put away DRY, they won't stick (Scoob owners: have you checked your car's handbrake drums and lubed the pivots recently? :Thought not nono: ). IMO its better to find out that they are sticking when taking the car out of the garage rather than find out mid-way through a blast where they've over heated causing the friction material to delaminate off the shoe, making it jam and create so much heat it dries out the grease in your wheel bearings (or in the case of Jaguars with inboard brakes: melting the diff seals :o ).

Brake fluid. Again as per shedule...is absobs moisture standing or not. Brake performance would be besft doing it after de-mothballing, corrsoiion from water in teh system would probably happen if teh car is laid up or not.

Brakes in general..best sorted before storing, remove pads and clean up all the slides, guides and pins, assemble with brake assembly paste (not copper slip...there is better stuff to use these days, just use the copper slip on bolts and pins). Of course the same attention should be given to the handbrake assemby especially, those little shoes hidden inside the bells of your brake discs. Finally its better for caliper pistons if the least amount of piston is exposed to the air. Generally speaking that means keeping the car fitted with fresh pads all the time, or removeing the caliper boots and thinly smearing the exposed areas of pistons with some grease or similar..but beware the boots over brake pistons are not always easy to get back on, and sometimes tear when being removed.

Clutch..sometimes they can stick on if stored in the damp; hence only putting the car away with it warm and dry. Best to give the pedal a few presses every once in a while. Of course clutch fluid should be given the same level of attention as the brake fluid.

Thats even better than buying winter tyres!

Les :)

Great post Ali.

Now to find a dry day or two to put it away........
What about a heater in the garage?