The winter is at the door where I live and that means its time to work on the car again. It’s always something that needs fixing on these cars. I’m sure that is the case for many of you.
Here I have compiled a small list of tips and tricks of the top of my head that can make your life easier this winter.
1) If your car have fusible links, check them for broken connections. It is not always easy to detect a broken fusible link, but often you can feel that it is broken by slightly pulling at the cable.
2) Never remove the positive cable from the battery first. If you should slip while taking of the positive cable first and the cable hits bare metal, you will have a flash of sparkles. You should always remove the negative cable first. This goes for the reverse to, put the positive cable on first and the the negative last.
3) Before sending your car to paint, make sure you lay (body sealer) in all joints in the body. This will give a nicer look and it also serves the purpose of keeping the moisture out of the car. To make this look as nice as possible, use masking tape on both sides of the joint before you apply the body kit…
4) When polishing some stainless steel part, a good tips is to mount that part on a wooden piece, this makes it easier to polish it, and the you can hold it longer as the heat transfers to the wooden piece and not to your hands.
5) Kill the rust by using electricity. A process called “electrolysis”. This is a real easy method you can use to remove rust on smaller parts. The process is easy and goes approximately as follows. You can read more about this process in a good writeup here or have a look at this video for a introduction to the art of electrolysis:
6) If you have difficulty finding a suitable gasket for the new oil-pan you just bought, or the new oilpan fitment isn’t the best, you can use some RTV silicon do get a god seal. it is best to tighten the bolts on the oil-pan while the silicon is still wet.
7) If you are doing a restoration or some kind of job that requires dismantling of a lot of parts, then it is a good idea to take pictures and keep a written log about which part goes where.
8 ) Always keep a fire extinguisher in you garage. This is a low cost insurance for yours and your families safety. Heck two of them is even better. Keep them in plain sight, hanging on a wall for example, not hidden amongst all your “junk”.
9) Are you buying a car and driving it home? Then it is a good idea to change the oil and oil filter before you do so. You never know what is in the existing oil and when the previous owner changed the oil. The oil is cheap, and engine is not…