Acquiring a classic car isn't easy – it can take a lot of saving up money, and a lot of labor if it's a car that you restored yourself. Naturally, you'll want to keep it in pristine condition, and that means storing it properly when you're not going to be driving it for a while. If the car is going to sit in storage for weeks or months, you can't just drive it into the garage and shut the door. Take a look at the steps you need to take to store the car correctly.

Routine Maintenance First

Before you can get started preparing your car for storage, there are some routine maintenance tasks that should be taken care of. Change the oil and filter and inject new grease in all of your car's grease fittings.

Spray the door and hood hinges with lithium to prevent corrosion, and spray silicon on all of the car's whether stripping. Then you'll be ready to move on to the next step.

Prepare The Gas Tank

You need to prevent gum and varnish from building up in your gas tank while it sits idle. Draining the tank would do the trick, but that's difficult to do, and if you attempt it and do it incorrectly, you could destroy your fuel pump.

A better plan is to fill the tank up and add a fuel stabilizer instead. You can pick up a bottle of fuel stabilizer at any auto parts store. Make sure that you drive the car around for a few minutes to allow the stabilizer to mix with the gas.

Protect The Battery

After a few months of inactivity, the battery will lose its charge. And if you're storing it over the winter months, the battery may actually freeze once it's lost its charge – in which case, that battery is history.

You have a few options. You can remove the battery and store it indoors, in some spot where it will be safe from exposure to extreme temperatures. Or you can leave the battery where it is underneath the hood and hook it up to a battery maintainer that will let your battery keep its charge while it's in storage.

Remove The Tires

The best and safest way to store your tires is to remove them from the car and put them someplace that is safe, dry, and away from extreme temperatures. Wrap them with a polyethylene covering, or purchase tire storage bags from a tire service center in your area. If you leave the tires mounted on the rims, you should inflate them to 15 psi.

If you absolutely can't remove the tires while your car is in storage, inflate the tires to 25% more than the recommended level of inflation. You should also drive your car at least once every three months to maintain the shape of the tires.

One last thing that you should remember to do is toss a cover over the car to protect it from dust. Make sure that you choose one made of a breathable fabric, so that it won't trap moisture. Once that's done, your classic car will be ready to store safely. 

For more information, contact Pete's Service Center or a similar company.