MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Long term storage

I have a restored 1975 midget and will have to put it into storage for 18 months.
Any good advice for this period of time. It will be in a storage building and out of the weather.
RC Bishop

I dont think 18 months is to extreme

Id do seveal things
1. Find a (""responsiable"") friend to drive the car once a month for 50 miles at a time on a nice day... thats by far the best advice I think you can get. driving prevents and cures alot of ill that are common to a midget sitting around for long periods.

If 1. is not an option...

2. put the car up on jack stands so the tires are off the ground and the suspension is relaxed...Nothing like flat spots on tires from sitting around

3. get a big case of those anti mositure packs and put them everywhere in the car...100s of em... engine bay, cockpit, trunk, under the car, ect ect.

4. With fuel going extremey bad this past year (9 months to a packed up crodded full system in my car) and clogging everything up like gorrila snot...

id drain all fuel out of the the entire fuel system and replace with K1 kerosene for the entire fuel system plus fill the tank with it.... I know this is a new one that no one has recommended before... But the K1 wont allow rust in the system, it wont frezze, it wont vaporize (much) in high heat, it will keep the inner parts lubed up and soft pliable, and it evoperates vary slow, and its easy to replace with fuel when you get back... after seeing what 9 month old fuel did to my fuel system I dont trust it to sit for vary long and I dont think fuel stablizer is no longer able to do the job. I might be wrong

5. Get a freind to come by once a month and make sure rats, bees, roaches, and wild life havent decided to make it into a new home.

Prop
Prop

1. Find a (""responsiable"") friend to drive the car once a month for 50 miles at a time on a nice day... thats by far the best advice I think you can get. driving prevents and cures alot of ill that are common to a midget sitting around for long periods.


Sorry I meant to mention, if you do my number 1, you WONT have to do anything else... just make sure that your (""reponsiable"") friend checks the fluids, gives the car a good looking over each time, wash and vacume it, cause they do get dirty just sitting in a storage... All the general basic stuff you would do ... and can call you if anything goes wrong.. racoons?


Prop
Prop

The best things I can suggest are the following but not in a specific order:

Remove the battery. If it's not charged regularly, it will lose the charge, sulphate the plates rendering it incapable of taking a charge. It will then freeze and crack the case in winter and then leak electrolite (battery acid)all over your car. NOT good! Also eliminates any possible electrical shorts etc.

Drain the oil and change the filter. This removes contaminants from the crankcase.

Remove the spark plugs and put in a good quantity of 20/50 oil in the cylinders. Turn over by hand to distribute the oil on the cylinder walls.

Check the freezing point of the coolant. Make sure it will be above anything expected in winter. Freezing will crack the block if the frost plugs don't pop out.

Wash and wax the car. This removes contaminants from the paint such as acid rain and the wax will seal the paint.

Tyres. Lots of opinions here I'm sure. Some will have you deflate them to 50% of their air pressure and jack the car up. This allows the sidewalls to relax and the suspension to sag. I suggest to inflate the tyres to their maximum and allow the car to just rest on the suspension. Park the car on some carpet scraps instead of hard ground. Prevents any possible flat spots on the tyres.

Sheet plastic. Get a piece large enough to park the car over. This prevents any concrete fumes from accumulating under the car. The fumes can be corrosive.

Duct tape. Great stuff! Pack the exhaust with some steel wool to deter critters and seal the pipe with duct tape. Helps to seal out moisture as well.

Grease. Grease all the hinges on the vehicle.

Top: Keep the top erected so the window doesn't deform/crack and the top won't possibly shrink. Leave the windows down just slightly to allow some air circulation.

Moisture bags. Get some and put them in the footwells to take in any potential moisture.

Fuel tank: Fill up completely and add fuel stabiliser to it. 18 months should be no problem. A full tank prevents condensation forming in the tank and that means rusting.

Carburetor: Remove the air cleaner and place duct tape across the carburetor inlet. Creates a sealed environment for the engine combined with the sealed tail pipe. DON'T forget to remove it before starting!! Replace air cleaner assembly.

Cover: Obtain a good car cover to keep the dust off of the car over the time in storage.

Paper tag: Put on the steering wheel with a reminder about the tape on the carb/tail pipe.

Clutch pedal. Some might recommend blocking the pedal down with some wood. This would prevent the clutch plate from sticking to the flywheel. I have found in a reasonably dry storage area, this hasn't been a problem so no need to do it. Your call either way.

Insurance: Keep insurance for fire, theft, vandalism on your car while in storage.

Interior: Clean the interior removing any potential critter attractions such as food wrappers etc. Use cleaners to remove any attractive odours.

Handbrake: Leave in the off position. Block tyres with wood etc.


Before starting after storage.

Remove tape, remove valve cover and spark plugs. Turn engine over by hand to ensure nothing is binding or sticking. Pay attention to the valves as you do so.

Look for any critters calling your car a home and critter damage.

Check fluid/crankcase levels.

Install battery and if everything is good, then take the Midget out of hibernation!!

Check everything over again and change the oil/filter again after start up. It's cheap and removes any accumulated contamination.

This should get you through the storage period!
Clive Reddin

All to complicated.
Give it a good service
Inflate tyres to just under the max
Remove the batery

It will be fine
Onno Könemann

if there is ANY risk of critter invasion, then some moth balls under the car, and in the engine compartment can help to keep them away (the naptha, or whatever it is, smells to them like a predator's urine and they keep away).

mice can cause an enormous amount of damage in a short time, if they are around


Regarding starting / driving regularly: if done, make sure it is for as long as possible each time. Only 10 ~ 20 min is probably too short and may actually increase moisture inside of the engine, transmission, and so on. 50min+ is needed to make sure everything is as hot as possible to boil off moisture.

Norm
Norm Kerr

This thread was discussed between 17/02/2011 and 18/02/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.