Follow these maintenance guidelines and your classic car will provide longer-lasting driving satisfaction
How often you should change your car’s oil depends on when it was built. With cars manufactured before oil filters were common, you need to change the oil every 1609km (1000 miles) in order to prevent sludge build-up in the sump. With cars from the late ’30s on, every 3219km (2000 miles) was typical between services.
Take your car out for a 20-minute drive so the engine is thoroughly warmed up before draining the oil. Sludge, dirt, water and acids settle out of the oil when a car has been sitting. When you drain a cold engine, some of these contaminants remain in the oil galleries and sump, thus defeating the purpose of the oil change. However, if you drain the engine after it is warmed and the oil has been circulating, these by-products will be held in suspension so they will drain out with it.
Slide a drip pan under the sump and roll under your car, then loosen and remove the drain plug. Wear neoprene gloves so the hot oil won’t burn your hands. Let the oil drain completely. Inspect your old oil for metal particles and coolant. If you find either, you need to make repairs. Metal particles could mean damaged bearings, and water could mean a blown head gasket or cracked head or block.
Check the copper washer on the drain plug to make sure it is not cracked or deformed. If it is, replace it with a fresh one. Also, if your drain plug is magnetic, check its tip for metallic deposits. They mean trouble if you find them. When the oil is finished draining, put the plug back in the pan and tighten, but don’t over-tighten it.
Change the filter
The rule of thumb used to be, change the filter at every other oil change. But if you are driving the car frequently in a dusty area, you should change the filter with each oil change.
On more modern cars that have full-flow, self-contained filters, slide your catch pan over until it is under the filter and, using a filter wrench, loosen the filter and remove it. Smear a little oil or grease on your new replacement filter’s gasket to keep it from sticking, and then screw it back on by hand. Snug it up a half to a 3/4 turn with a filter wrench.
On older cars, the oil filters consisted of cartridges in canisters on top of the engine. If your classic is thus equipped, take off the top of the canister, then grab a rag and catch any drips as you lift out the cartridge. After the filter is removed, wipe the canister out with a rag soaked in solvent. Drop the new filter cartridge into it making sure the filter is right side up. Smear a little oil on the seal, then reinstall the canister lid — don’t over-tighten it though.
Add fresh oil
Which type of oil you add depends more on climatic conditions and how worn your engine is than anything else. In cold climates a 5W-20 multi-viscosity oil may be a good choice. With worn engines that consume a little oil, a 20W-50 is likely a good selection. But for most cars and most conditions, 10W-30 is probably your best bet.
The myth that single viscosity oils are necessary for older cars has been tested and proven untrue. Today’s multi-viscosity detergent oils are much better than anything available 40 or 50 years ago, and better for day-to-day use than single weight oils.
Check the gearbox and differential
If your car is equipped with a standard transmission, grab your adjustable spanner and roll back under the car. On the side of the gearbox will be an inspection plug about half way up on its gear case. Remove it and insert your finger into the hole in a straight and level position. Gear oil should just touch the bottom of your finger.
If your transmission is low on oil, you can use a plastic squeeze bottle to squirt in enough to fill the transmission level with the inspection plug. Some old car gearboxes require heavy hypoid gear oil, but check your shop manual to see what yours needs.
There is often no specified interval in your shop manual for changing the lubricant in your transmission or differential in later cars, but it definitely makes sense to change the oil in them. Cars from the ’50s on back should have the lube changed in their standard transmissions every 16,000km/10,000 miles or so.
Grease the chassis
Older cars have zerq fittings to allow them to be greased. Generally, the older the car, the more fittings it will have. Cars from the ’60s might have only six fittings, but cars from the ’30s or ’40s might have 12 to 16. If you can find a lube chart for your classic, it will make your life easier, but you can do the job without one.
You will find fittings top and bottom on the old-style ball joints as well as on kingpin and bushing steering systems, and you will find them at the ends of tie rods, drag links and Pitman arms. There may also be fittings at the pivots for the clutch and brake pedals. And leaf springs will have them at the shackles.
Clean each fitting with a rag and shoot a couple of squirts of chassis grease into it. Wipe away any excess. And once you have the chassis greased, get out from under the car and smear a little grease on door and hood latches, but be careful not to put on so much that it will get on people’s clothing when they get into the car.
The universal joints on your car’s prop shaft may have zerq fittings also. If they do, you don’t need to grease them at every service interval. But once a year you should gently push a little grease into them using a pump-type grease gun.
Vital fluids
Check the coolant to make sure the radiator is topped up, and if it isn’t, add water. Never add coolant. Many old cars were designed to have water only in their cooling systems along with a rust inhibitor, and if you add coolant to them they will run hot.
On later cars that were designed to have coolant in them, as the coolant goes down only add water. Of course, both the coolant and the water in your car’s cooling system should be changed once a year anyway.
Finally, check your brake master cylinder and top it up with the correct fluid. Incidentally, brake fluid should be changed every two years, though very few people do it. To finish the routine maintenance, grab a squirt can with a little light oil in it and oil your car’s door hinges, bonnet hinges and boot hinges.
You’d be surprised how few service techs think to do this, and how much difference it makes to the movement of these items.
Tips on servicing your classic car
| For routine service you’ll need a creeper, jack stands, a grease gun, a catch basin and funnel, a big adjustable wrench, motor oil, brake fluid, gear lube, white grease, and a battery cable cleaning brush |  |
| Block the wheels of your car when jacking it up to prevent accidents. |  |
| Wear gloves when removing the oil pan plug to prevent burns from hot oil |  |
| Check the drain plug for metal filings or a cracked or deformed copper washer |  |
| Wipe each grease fitting clean before pumping in new grease |  |
| Look for grease fittings at leaf spring shackles front and rear |  |
| Kingpins and bushings, as well as tie rods and Pitman arms may also have grease fittings |  |
| On standard transmissions, the inspection plug is located half way up the gear case |  |
| Stick your finger straight in. The oil should just come up to the bottom of your finger |  |
| If the transmission or differential are low on oil, replenish them until a little runs out |  |
| Old style oil filters were canisters on top of the engine with filter cartridges in them |  |
| When installing a new filter, coat the rubber gasket with a little grease first |  |
| Don’t forget to add an extra quart of oil to the filter if your classic has one |  |
| Don’t forget to check your car’s brake master cylinder and top it up as required |  |
| Put a small amount of grease on your classic’s door latches |  |
Words & Photos: Jim Richardson
