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7 Simple Projects to Refresh Your Vintage Ride
Cars are implements designed to assist us in the completion of tasks. Tools, if you will. Using any tool will result in a little wear and tear, even with the most careful ownership. Vintage and collector cars that are not used as daily drivers can often degrade a lot more than we realize, since infrequent use means we don’t get quite as attuned to the nuances of how the car behaves.
As a prime example, last fall I bought a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette, and its first drive in my ownership was rough. The brakes were inconsistent, the steering was stiff, and the ride was terrible. It didn’t drive at all like what I expected from a Corvette of the era. Only after a quick once-over did I find heaps of deferred maintenance. The brake fluid was black and muddy, its tires could legally order a beer, and much more. That’s a pretty stark example, but even well-maintained and cared-for cars can occasionally need a little refresh. Here are seven ideas to start with that can revive a tired car with relatively little effort.
New tires
It’s expensive and not even in the “fun big purchase” way, but fresh rubber can transform a car. Those four contact patches are the only thing keeping you from sliding off the road, but they also significantly influence the ride and behavior of the car. Old tires can be functional, but fresh rubber will make a car function like it should. Considering even hardened DIY folk rarely change their own tires, this refresh is as complicated as making an appointment at your favorite tire shop.
Fresh Shocks
To continue with the focus on ride quality, let’s talk about dampers. The suspension of a car is comprised of a multitude of parts, but two key and interconnected bits are the shocks and springs. The springs serve to support the vehicle and let the chassis move so every road imperfection is not telegraphed directly into the driver’s backside. The shocks help control that movement. Modern shocks are tuned and sealed at the factory, but do have a service life, and performance will drop off as the oils and seals inside a shock age and deteriorate. Installing fresh shocks can be downright easy on a lot of vintage cars, though there are exceptions to that rule. Regardless, shocks are one of those things that we sometimes don’t notice going bad until we drive with fresh ones.
Clean the glass
With the notable exception of convertibles and roadsters, glass surrounds us when we drive. Glass also has a surprising way of getting hazy and dirty slowly over time, to the point that visibility can suffer. Getting rid of all the bugs and buildup on the outside of your windows and windshield will help, but don’t forget to clean the inside as well. Pro tip: wipe vertically on the outside of a window and horizontally on the inside. If streaks appear, you’ll know which side they’re on.
Polish it up
Just like your windows, regular washing can add up to dull paint on your car. A good detailing will not only get rid of all the dirt and debris that accumulates on paint but can also include a polish or paint correction. This will flatten out the paint surface by removing a very thin layer, leaving a smooth surface without the tiny scratches that can happen whenever something touches the paint. If delicate paint is a concern, consider a cleaner wax, which will be less aggressive than polish but has enough abrasive in it to help remove junk and freshen up even tired paint.
Seat cover or new seat foam
Fresh seat foam can work wonders. Foam degrades over time, and before you know it, even that short trip to get ice cream isn’t that much of a treat. Beware: This is a simple job most of the time, but it always requires a little patience—getting the seat covers back just so and fiddling with the hog rings can be a bit trying.
New steering wheel
The tires might be the only places the car interacts with the road, but the steering wheel is where you connect to the car. While there might be shoeless drivers out there [I have no idea who you’re talking about, Kyle—ee] who are very worried about pedal feel and texture, the reality if most of us don’t concern ourselves with the pedals as much as the steering wheel that we have to both hold and have in view the entire time we are driving.
Faded, falling apart, sticky, bent, or even crumbling steering wheels are common enough and can make an otherwise good car feel tatty. Just make sure you buy a replacement wheel from a quality company—cheap ones can be harmful if you get in a wreck.
Fluid changes
Routine maintenance should be just that, but I know I’ve been guilty of falling into the trap of “I drive it less, so I can stretch that maintenance interval.” Sometimes it works fine, but other times it leads to brake fluid like the mess I found in my Corvette. And that is for a fluid that can be visually checked just by opening the hood. If that is old and gross, it’s pretty safe to question the fluids in differentials or transmissions. Add in a good chassis lube while rolling around under the car, and more than likely you’ll feel at least something different on the next drive. It’ll likely be a good surprise too.
Funny I just started on a new ride. I can’t do fluids as the brakes were just done as was the transmission and no antifreeze. But I did redo a new seat cover on one seat and I hope to change the steering wheel soon.
Two items I would like to introduce to the list is this One is Paint less dent repair. often getting the few small dings out and preserving the paint is a great way to improve the look.
The other is to improve the head lamps. I have the Euro H4 lamps and Oracle makes a bulb that indexes and will work. I’m only doing the head lamps but it is needed as they are just not doing the job.
The key is to get a bulb that is of the more advanced design and can be indexed to a fluted lens so it will spread the light properly. Not all LED bulbs are like this and you can get some really bad results.
Uh, I got a small ding in the tailgate of my pickup and showed it to the paintless dent repair guy. He looked it over and said, that will be about $500. I looked at him and said, you know what? I think I like my dent, bye!
That works both ways though. My paintless dent guy charges by the inch. I recently picked up a new to me old car with a few dings including one on the curve on the edge of the roof. My cost was $500. for all of the dings, and you couldn’t even tell where they had been. One caveat; If your car has been repainted odds are that the paint will fail during paintless dent repair.
Clean glass is one of life’s simple pleasures… but sometimes it’s so hard to achieve ha
Yeah, particularly when you’re dealing with an older windshield with a lot of “character”, all those tiny chips make achieving clean and clear a challenge.
What about a windshield that has seen about 180,000 miles, lots of those highway miles leaving a lot of tiny sand blasted pits in the windshield.
I find it amusing that Kyle touts upgrading a “faded, falling apart, sticky, bent, or even crumbling steering wheel…[because it] can make an otherwise good car feel tatty” – and then shows us a photo of his hands on the somewhat-less-than-upgraded-or-pristine wheel of his Corvair. 😁
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, Kyle! 😉
I noticed the same thing! Paint from the wheel gone at 3 and 9….
The steering wheel in Kyle’s photo is not falling apart, sticky, bent or crumbling. You must have been desperate to make a comment.
Eh, everyone’s life is a work in progress, but at greatly different lengths & levels. And if mine was even a fraction closer to Kyle’s as far as accomplishment, I’d be further ahead. Yup, I know you’re joshin’ the guy and it’s all in fun. Hey, got a smile early in the day? Then it’s all good😊
I agree with Kyle concerning the steering wheel. 5 Years ago I bought a 2002 Eurovan weekender for music festival camping trips and one of the best additions was a leather lace-on cover. Classic sports car owners have used these for years but I can will confirm that is one of the most rewarding simple improvements you can make for most any car, van or truck … under $75 (Wheel Skins).
My stunningly average ’66 MGB roadster’s compliments are always centered around the walnut rimmed Personal steering wheel. It’s worth more than the rest of the car!
Modern tires (and wheels) on an old car or bike are like a miracle. I put some new Pirelli Diablo Rosso’s on my 86 Honda VFR750 with a 17 in wide wheel kit and it literally didn’t even feel like the same bike. Pretty amazing transformation.
I thought that was just a shadow on his steering wheel LOL
Steering with one hand and taking the picture with the other. LOL
Picking on Kyle day I suppose.
I a often tasked with “re commissioning” a car that has been in “storage” for decades. Of the most important bits are usually the dampers, and the wheel/tire package. New tires, fresh performance dampers and an accurate balance job works wonders in returning the original feel and stability to the chassis. Bushings can also be a problem as well and may be an important part of the rebuild.
As for the rest of the article, ll good information.
Yes bushings make a big difference in handling. Usually not too expensive.
I agree about it all except tires, That is the last thing I do so if the project takes a long time they are not just sitting there rotting away.
I believe these tips are for vehicles currently being driven…
Replacing boring OEM tires for an actual performance tire is great way to freshen up the ride.
Yes this 💯%.
Non performance tires on a performance / sporty car really changes the feel of the car. It’s not fun buying tires, and you might not even know your tires suck until you change them, but you will be happy you did when you experience what you were missing.
An old car wash guy recommended 0000 steel wool to clean my glass every now and then.
Clean out loose fragments when you’re done so the don’t rust, but wow it gets that old film off and they look new.
That’s a Scary thought– Scratching a windshield) –I’ve heard about that But am Afraid to try it–
an alternative to steel wool is paint clay. just like claying the paint, one can clay the windshield glass. does wonders for the view!
Yes! Steel wool works great. The finest grit is pretty soft. A little water and 0000 steel wool really did the trick on a windshield that just didn’t want to get clean. It’s like there’s a hardened layer of clear grime that glass cleaner and a rag won’t touch.
I can’t believe I finished my 68 Firebird frame off ten years ago. It’s a garage baby and has about 2000 miles since then. I’ve changed the oil a couple times but nothing else. I know the ball joint rubber covers have rotted away. I guess it’s time to get underneath and check it out. Now the 2002 Firehawk… Another garage baby with 23k miles, I got the itch to take it to a road course a few years ago and bought new tires. Never made it to the track. It needs a lot of attention. It’s articles like this that get me off my a$$. Thanks Hagerty.
The thing about tires is that you don’t feel them going away as it happens very slowly but you sure feel them come back when you get new ones put on!
Yes I Agree!! Clean Glass All Around is A MUST!!
All the above come with the territory!
Replacing a leaky exhaust system or rotting muffler to get back the musical notes the car once made is a top improvement with classics I bring into the shop. I currently have a 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Vette convertible I’m working on, and it has a rattle that’s inside the factory original muffler. As much as I don’t like messing with factory OEM parts on a collector car when they are otherwise doing their job, the rattle just sucks the fun out of the noises the car otherwise makes.
New foam in the seats. Thought about that numerous times. What stops me is I’d get them out, and start debating how heavy they are, and whether the refresh really would be that much improvement. Then start looking at lighter and more comfortable seats.
So a cheap weekend new foam project would quickly balloon into new Recaro seats, and much more money and time. And then they just don’t drop in, so some custom fabrication adds to it.
Think I will ignore them again – I have some sway bar bushings that seem to have less chance of becoming a major project.