Quote:
Originally Posted by Allch Chcar
My grandfather was a mechanic but that doesn't make him an expert on fuel storage. And don't get him started on the new stuff.  |
This^ is where much of the info people believe comes from. Old cars did not store well at all but people still apply the outdated requirements to new cars.
Old cars used natural rubber for seals and gaskets. Natural rubber need to be kept lubricated with oils and fluids or it breaks down. Anybody that has had a carburetor o ring crumble away in their hand knows what I mean. New cars use no natural rubber and the polymers that are used will last for an eternity if just left alone. Heat and pressure destroy them not drying out.
Old cars used an open atmosphere fuel system. You could lose half a tank or more of fuel to evaporation over a few months sitting. That left lots of space for nice moist air to get in and condense giving you water and rust issues. Leaded gas broke down at an alarming rate if not used up so when you started that 1950 Nash Rambler after a few months it would knock and rattle like hell until you got new gas in it. Modern cars with evap systems keep evaporation and therefore air replacement to a tiny, tiny fraction of an open system and new fuels with their additives don't break down at anything near the rate of the old stuff.
Old cars had bias ply tires made (again) with real rubber. The construction and nature of those tires meant that the force of the car was not spread out like a radial and leaving them in one place meant you would indeed end up with a horrible flat spot and that spot touching the ground would indeed start to rot a little. There is no real rubber in tires anymore and I think that everybody understands how a radial tire is different. Ya you will get a very minor flat spot but it will go away with a few minutes of driving.
Old cars were made with a very high percentage of rusty old scrap steel (where did you think all the WW2 ships, tanks and planes went?") and had zero rust inhibiters so paint would bubble and panels rust from the inside out. Ne cars are made of highly treated steel and are actually galvanized and include inhibiters to prevent rust so sitting is not causing them to rot away (driving them will still though).
The only plus side to storing old cars is that the bloody batteries seemed to hold a charge forever since off meant off with zero parasitic drain from electronics. You could leave the things for years and come back, turn the key and drive away.
New cars are not the same as the old ones that most of the storage requirements came from and the term "They don't build em' like they used too" is accurate, but in a good way.