All machinery works best when it is used. Even the simplest buggy suffers in storage, and complex VW engines can be a nightmare. It’s not just the corrosion you need to worry about; perished vinyl and rubber, sticking clutches and brakes, flat-spotted tyres and varnished carburettors can be equally vexing. Sometimes there is no avoiding the storage problem. A career posting, a relative who gives up driving or winter roads covered with corrosive gritting salt can demand that you lay up a car for months, perhaps even years. There are a few preventive tasks to perform. The first is to put the car on a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) if its post-72, which keeps it registered. This prevents the local authority from taking your car away and disposing of it under EU directives.
Wash the bodywork, sprayclean the chassis underside and leave the buggy to dry in the open air preferably taking it for a drive to dry it thoroughly. Then waxpolish the exterior and leave the wax on to help prevent paintwork deterioration. Pump the tyres up to 50psi to prevent them from flatspotting while in storage. Charge the battery, coat the terminals with petroleum jelly and leave it attached to a trickle charger such as an Airflow battery conditioner. If you are leaving the car for more than four months, remove the battery, making sure you know the radio security code beforehand (if applicable). Don’t forget to check the distilled water level in the battery cells. So where to leave it? The best option is a dry, airy barn. Cars attract moisture, but moving air carries the damp away before it can do too much damage. Wood or brick garages are preferable to pre-cast concrete units, which tend to “sweat” in very cold conditions. One way to avoid the damp problem is to use an inflatable plastic bubble tent, with fans to keep the air moving inside. There are several on the market: Airflow Airchamber http://www.airflow-uk.co.uk/home.php?cat or Carcoon Airflow System http://www.airflow-uk.co.uk/home.php?cat.
Ideally, you should start the car at least once a month and take it for a short drive to bring the engine up to full operating temperature. If you can’t do this and the car is being stored for a longtime, remove the spark plugs and pour a tablespoon of Redex into each cylinder. Then turn the engine over to ensure everything gets coated and put the plugs back. Even if you do this, you should still turn the engine over occasionally to prevent the compressed valve springs from becoming permanently shortened and to move the oil around the engine and gearbox. You should also pump the clutch pedal occasionally to stop the friction plate sticking to the flywheel. Moisture in the air tends to corrode exposed metal and a burst of Frost’s protection fluid spray over the valve covers, carbs, engine block and any exterior chrome and tinware will prevent this. You can wipe it off the trim and it will evaporate from the engine when you next start it. Similarly, Frost also sells Dinitrol corrosion prevention sprays, the stuff car makers use to keep rust at bay on new cars. Try the thinner cavity wax spray on your chassis because it creeps into the tightest of spot welds. For more exposed areas, there is Dinitrol wax aerosol. Modern fuels tend to go off very quickly and in the past you would have had to drain off the fuel and replace it with paraffin to prevent rust in the tank. You could try Frosts Fuel Preservative. This promises to ward off corrosion, oxidation and varnish formation and keep the fuel in grade.
