LAYING THE AUSTIN 7 UP FOR WINTER

 WHAT MAKES YOUR CAR DETERIORATE?

 A car’s worst enemy during the Winter is attack by dampness and condensation. In an ideal world a car would be best stored in a darkened wooden building or a centrally heated garage with dehumidifiers. For most of us though, we have to put up with a brick built garage with concrete floor and a tin or asbestos roof. This type of garage unfortunately does not provide the best kind of storage. Even if you have electricity in your garage, I am told that dehumidifiers work best when the temperature is between 15 to 20 degrees Centigrade. So, with this in mind, it is up to you to do your best to preserve the condition of your car by following a few straight forward measures.

If possible, choose a nice day or weekend in which to work on the car. I have divided the job into sections. The more work you undertake now mollycoddling your car will pay great dividends next Spring. You could do nothing at all, and your car will not collapse into a pillar of rust, but it will not be in the same condition as you last saw it.

  THE CAR

The main thing is to try and protect the underside by two methods: (1) You could mix clean engine oil with something like duck oil and with the aid of a ‘greenfly’ spray, the underside could have a coat of the mixture.   2) The underneath could have a liberal coating of Waixoil.

Give all the greasing points a good charge of grease and the brake cables ought to have some oil on them as well. This is best achieved with the aid of a baked-bean or similar tin to hold the oil which you apply with a half inch paintbrush. I constantly have such a pot and brush to lubricate the parts of the Seven, anyway.

Also lubricate the front and rear springs. I keep my springs lubricated all year round and twice yearly wash off the filth and grime before re-oiling. I like to use oil because it has the ability to creep into places you can’t always reach with the paintbrush. This especially applies to bodywork joints, and it stops nuts and bolts from seizing, although be careful with running boards and other rubber parts which perish if oiled: Waxoil is best here.

  ENGINE, GEARBOX ETC

First of all run the car for several miles and get the car up to normal running temperature. Then drain off the engine oil whilst it is thin and runs easily. Whilst this is draining, you may either top up the gearbox and rear axle (or drain and refill them, as you wish.) It is advisable to drain the engine as old sump oil can attack white metal big ends. Take care when dealing with old oil as it has been known to contain carcinogens.

Remove the sparking plugs and thoroughly clean and re-gap them. Take the opportunity to squirt about half a dozen squirts of engine oil or preferably Redex into the cylinder bores and slowly turn over the engine on the handle. The idea is to get the lubricant onto the valve seats to prevent rusting and maintain the seals, and to have some oil drain onto the piston rings to prevent them sticking. (Do not use the starter motor or the oil will fly out and drench you and the exterior of the engine!) Replace the plugs and the HT leads in case you don’t have them marked as to firing order. Check and clean (or replace) the contact points. The aluminium parts on the engine crankcase, fan housing and possibly gearbox can suffer from attack by damp, so to counteract this I found a tin coat of engine oil avoids this, and I can wash it off easily next Spring with Jizer, Gunk, etc.

 RADIATOR

Check your top and bottom hoses are sound, renewing them and the clips if necessary. Check also that the water branches are free from leaks. Bars Leaks is a well proven additive worthy of consideration and is anti-freeze compatible.  I use antifreeze in my car all the year round and would strongly recommend its use if you lay up your Seven for Winter. Apart from doing the obvious, antifreeze helps keep your cooling system clean as it contains anti-corrosive compatible with steel and alloys.

  CHROME/NICKEL PLATE

A thinly applied film of Vaseline is best for protecting chrome plate. Even on Rubies and Box saloons the windscreen frame surround needs a little.  Avoid getting it on the glass. Don’t forget to coat the inside of Box saloon rad-shells, and on Rubies the radiator grill surround. The backs of the bumpers may be Waxoiled.  I have no experience with nickel plate except that it is easily marked by road salt.

 UPHOLSTERY

Clean leather well, and apply saddle soap then hide food before storage. Use upholstery cleaner on vinyl.

 EXHAUSTS

The exhaust system will almost certainly have external rust. Its life can be prolonged by smoothing it off with carborundum tape and then applying some heat resisting paint. If you don’t mind the colour, Holts Zinc Plate is an alternative.

 BATTERY

The best way to keep any battery over a dormant period is to take it off the car altogether and trickle charge it until it is fully charged. Batteries will naturally discharge slowly even when disconnected. If you are using a battery conditioner the instructions may say leave it turned on and connected to the battery. If you are using a conventional battery charger recharge the battery monthly (make a note in your diary)

PETROL

Modern petrol has ethanol which will become less volatile more quickly than older petrol and will erode old fuel systems. We recommend draining the whole system and running the engine until every last drop is used up in the bowl and fuel lines. Alternatively add Ethanolmate if you do not already have it in the petrol and make sure it reaches the carburettor.

 TYRES

I over-inflate the tyres on my car. This seems to work well. If you can, jack up the vehicle and use axle stands to raise the wheels off the ground. 

CAR BODYWORK - TOPSIDE

Finally, you should give the car a good wax polish before garaging. Then cover with a clean dust sheet over which you place some polythene or viscoene. If you like, you can then re-cover this with more sheets. If there is electricity in your garage, consider the use of a low wattage tubular heater. Place it under the car - the sheets help retain the heat.

 AVOID

1) Starting the engine in a confined space. Carbon monoxide fumes are lethal.

2) Starting the car for short periods and filling the exhaust with condensation which will corrode the system from the inside. (It is perfectly alright to periodically turn over the engine on the handle to circulate the oil etc.)

3) Opening the garage doors on damp days.

Adapted from an original article by PETER FEARN (WITH THANKS TO THE PRE-WAR AUSTIN SEVEN CLUB)