Recommissioning a long-stored classic car

Fuel and fire

Stale petrol still gives off flammable vapour. Open the garage doors fully, smell for fuel and look for stains under the car. Do not connect a battery, use a lead lamp or create any spark until you know there is no leak. Keep a suitable fire extinguisher within reach for the whole job, and especially for the first start.

Rodents

A car that has stood for years has very probably housed mice or rats. Their urine and droppings carry small but real health risks: leptospirosis is spread in the urine of infected animals, most commonly rats, and hantavirus mainly by breathing in particles from dried droppings and urine. Do not sweep or vacuum droppings: follow the UKHSA cleaning advice on our mice and rats page, which wets everything down before it is wiped up, and wear gloves and a suitable dust mask. Air the car before you get into it, and look in the air filter housing, heater box and boot for nests.

Moving it

A car whose brakes and tyres have not been checked should not be driven anywhere, including onto a trailer under its own power. If you have bought a non-runner, see getting your car home for transport and paperwork.

When an engine stands, oil drains off the bearings and cylinder walls, and piston rings can rust to the bores. Turning it on the starter in that state can score bearings or, if something is stuck, break a ring or bend a part. Firing it on old fuel can block jets and needle valves with gum. Hagerty UK sets out a staged approach: inspect, deal with fluids, prime the oil system, then start.

Walk round the car with a torch and a notebook, looking for leaks, rodent damage to wiring and pipes, corrosion on brake discs, suspension parts and fasteners, tyre cracking and flat spots, missing parts, and any tags left by the last owner about blockers in the exhaust or intake. What you find becomes your job list. Our inspecting a classic car page covers structure and history in more detail.

Hagerty UK advises assuming a battery left connected is flat and possibly damaged. A battery that has stood flat for years is unlikely to recover. Charge a sound battery slowly with a proper charger rather than jump-starting, and replace it if it will not hold a charge. Before you connect it, inspect the wiring, terminals and earth straps; poor earths cause many apparent electrical faults on old cars. Leave the battery disconnected until you are ready to test electrics or turn the engine on the starter.

Old fuel cannot be saved. The RAC puts the shelf life of petrol at about six months even in a sealed container, and Hagerty UK advises draining or at least diluting untreated fuel more than six months old. After years, drain it completely.

• Drain the tank outdoors or with the doors open, away from any ignition source, into suitable containers (the HSE allows up to 30 litres at home without notifying your council: see fire safety), or have a garage do it, as the RAC suggests. Take old fuel to a household waste recycling centre that accepts it, checking with the site first; never pour it down a drain.
• Inspect the tank. Practical Classics advises removing it to check it is not full of rust and that the pick-up gauze is clear. Rust, sediment or varnish means cleaning or renewal by a specialist.
• Fuel lines and hoses. Practical Classics advises replacing all rubber fuel hose, with new clips and an in-line fuel filter. The FBHVC notes that some elastomers swell and soften in ethanol petrol, then shrink and crack as they dry, and recommends replacing seals and hoses with ethanol-compatible materials.
• Fuel pump. Mechanical pump diaphragms and electric pump points can stick or perish. Practical Classics advises renewing or rebuilding the pump.
• Carburettor. Clean it and fit a service kit of gaskets, rubber parts and needle valve, then set the float level, as Practical Classics advises. Check that the throttle linkage moves freely. The FBHVC warns that plastic floats can be affected by ethanol and should be checked.
• Filters. Fresh petrol can loosen deposits left behind, so check the fuel filter again after the first few runs.

Drain the old oil, which will carry acids and moisture, and fit a new filter. Practical Classics suggests dropping and cleaning the sump if you can, because years of sludge collect there. Refill with the grade your handbook or marque specialist recommends. Check the gearbox and axle oil levels at the same time, and look for water or sludge in the drained oil.

Remove the spark plugs and put a small amount of engine oil or a light penetrating oil into each cylinder. Leave it to soak, overnight or for a day or two. Then turn the engine slowly by hand, in its normal direction of rotation, using a spanner on the crankshaft pulley bolt or, on some cars, by rocking the car in top gear.

• If it turns freely, turn it several full revolutions to spread the oil.
• If it will not turn, stop. Do not force it with a long bar. More oil, more time, and gentle rocking back and forth may free it. A tool supplier's guide warns that heavy force on the crankshaft bolt risks breaking it, and that pistons needing heavy blows to move suggest damaged bores. A seized engine is a job for a specialist.
• Clear the excess oil before the plugs go back in. With the plugs out and the ignition disabled as the workshop manual describes, spinning the engine briefly on the starter blows out surplus oil; keep your face and any rags clear of the plug holes, which spray oil. Never fit the plugs with liquid sitting in a cylinder.

Once the engine turns freely, a compression test shows whether each cylinder is sealing: a gauge goes into each plug hole in turn while the engine is cranked with the throttle held fully open and the ignition, and on fuel-injected cars the fuel pump, disabled. Even readings matter most; one low cylinder points to rings, valves or a head gasket. Oil just put in the bores can raise readings temporarily, so repeat the test after some running. A specialist can interpret the figures and do a leak-down test.

Fit new spark plugs and, on cars with contact breakers, new points, as Practical Classics advises; many owners renew the condenser at the same time. Check the distributor cap, rotor arm and high tension leads for cracks and tracking. Set the points gap and timing to the workshop manual.

Check the coolant level and look at it. Hagerty UK says milky or rust-coloured coolant suggests internal corrosion. Practical Classics advises flushing the system and checking the water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses and pipework. Hoses that are hard, cracked or soft and swollen should be replaced, along with the fan belt if it is cracked. Refill with the correct antifreeze: the FBHVC advises traditional IAT antifreeze for historic vehicles unless the car used another type from new, at the right strength for year-round protection.

Brakes are the system most likely to have suffered and the one that matters most. Practical Classics says that on a long-stored car the braking system should be mostly renewed.

• Expect seized parts. Calipers, wheel cylinders and handbrake mechanisms commonly stick after long storage. Free the drums and discs, and check every wheel turns.
• Hydraulics. Rebuild or replace master cylinder, wheel cylinders and calipers. Practical Classics notes that master cylinders can be relined. Check a servo and replace its hose.
• Flexible hoses. Replace them. Rubber brake hoses perish inside where you cannot see, and Practical Classics notes that they can be made up to pattern.
• Pipes. Replace any steel pipe showing corrosion or damage.
• Friction material. Replace all pads and shoes, which may be contaminated, glazed or swollen.
• Fluid. Fill and bleed with fresh fluid of the type the handbook specifies. Never mix silicone DOT 5 fluid with glycol fluids (DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5.1), and never put either into a system designed for mineral fluid.

After the work, the pedal should feel firm, not spongy or sinking, and the handbrake should hold.

Practical Classics advises renewing clutch hydraulics along with the brakes. On a car that has stood for years, the clutch plate can stick to the flywheel or pressure plate, especially in a damp garage; first check that the clutch hydraulics are working, because a failed slave cylinder can feel the same. Check that the clutch frees with the engine running before relying on it, and ask a specialist if it does not. Hagerty UK advises watching for slip or judder on the first drive.

Do not trust old tyres, however much tread they have. The British Tyre Manufacturers' Association explains that the additives which protect rubber reach the surface through flexing in use, a process that is greatly reduced on vehicles used infrequently. Ageing shows as hardening and fine crazing, though a tyre can be dangerous before that is obvious.

Reading the date code. Tyres made since 2000 carry a four-digit date code in a small box or oval on the sidewall, at the end of a code that starts with the letters DOT. The first two digits are the week and the last two the year: 2318 means week 23 of 2018. A tyre with a three-digit code was made before 2000 and should be replaced.

How old is too old? There is no legal age limit for car tyres. The BTMA notes that some tyre manufacturers recommend withdrawing car tyres more than ten years old, and a classic tyre specialist quoted by Classics World says tyres over ten years old should not be on a car. On a barn find, plan on a new set, and check the tubes, rim tapes and valves too on cars that use them.

Check the steering for play and turn it from lock to lock, listening for knocks from dry ball joints or worn bushes, as Hagerty UK advises. Check wheel bearings, bushes, dampers and gaiters, and grease every nipple the manual lists.

Reconnect the battery and look for chewed or brittle insulation, corroded connectors and loose earths. Test the lights, indicators, horn, wipers and gauges before driving; Hagerty UK points out that faulty lighting is an automatic MOT failure. Before running the heater fan, look into the air intake (usually under the scuttle grille) for nesting material. Then run it briefly with the doors and windows open, standing clear of the vents: debris or a smell means a nest in the heater box, which should be cleaned out wet, as on our mice and rats page.

1. Check the list. All blockers out of the exhaust and intake, all fluids filled, no fuel leaks, battery charged.
2. Doors open. Start the engine with the garage doors fully open, never in a closed garage. The NHS lists running an engine in an enclosed space as a cause of carbon monoxide poisoning. Keep a dry powder or foam extinguisher within reach (see fire safety in the garage), and for more detail on the start itself see starting a car after storage.
3. Prime the oil. With the ignition or fuel delivery disabled, crank the engine in short bursts until the oil pressure gauge rises or the warning light goes out, as Hagerty UK advises. Let the starter cool between bursts.
4. Prime the fuel. Make sure fuel has reached the carburettor before you try to start, and check again for leaks.
5. Start without fuss. Reconnect the ignition and start the engine, using the throttle only if the car needs it. Expect some smoke and rough running at first.
6. Watch and listen. Hagerty UK advises switching off and investigating at once if you hear knocks or loud tapping, or the engine overheats immediately. Watch oil pressure and temperature, and look for leaks as seals and gaskets take up again.
7. Warm it through to normal temperature, then switch off and check levels again.

Before the car goes on a public road, it must be taxed and insured (see below), and roadworthy. Hagerty UK's advice is that the first outing should be short, local and deliberately unambitious: quiet roads, no motorways, all the gears used gently, and an eye on temperature, oil pressure and charging. Test the brakes at low speed before you rely on them. After 10 to 15 miles, Hagerty UK suggests returning to check oil and coolant levels, look for leaks and loose fasteners, and retighten wheel nuts if the wheels have been off. Build up use gradually, and, as Hagerty UK suggests, consider a fresh service once the car has covered a few hundred miles.

• Tax. A car with a SORN must be taxed before it is used on the road, except for a journey to or from a pre-booked MOT or other test; taxing it cancels the SORN. If an exempt car has no current MOT, you declare the exemption when you tax it. Historic class cars pay nothing but must still be taxed.
• Insurance. You must have motor insurance to drive on UK roads. If the car had laid-up cover, Hagerty UK advises contacting your insurer to change it to cover road use.
• MOT. A car built or first registered more than 40 years ago and not substantially changed is exempt from the annual MOT, but must be roadworthy. A car with a SORN may be driven to a pre-booked MOT or other test, insured, but nowhere else. After long storage, a voluntary MOT is a sensible independent check even on an exempt car. See law and security for historic tax and exemption.
• V5C. If you have just bought the car, make sure the keeper change has been reported. Getting your car home covers taxing, insuring and registering a newly bought car.

Get specialist help if:

• the engine will not turn by hand, or turns with a knock or tight spot;
• the compression readings are low or uneven;
• the fuel tank is rusted inside or the carburettor needs more than a service kit;
• you are not confident rebuilding brake hydraulics, which are safety-critical;
• the wiring shows widespread damage, or anything smells of burning when powered;
• the car is rare and its parts are hard to replace.

The marque club for your car will usually know who specialises in it.