You’ve spent a lot of time and money making sure your muscle car is in pristine condition, but you can still pay attention to it. Whether driving back and forth to work every day or just taking long weekend road trips with friends, it’s essential to keep an eye on your beloved ride’s engine and bodywork. The good news is that you can do plenty of things to ensure the car stays in tip-top shape. In this article, we’ll go over some essential unkeep and maintenance tips for muscle cars.
Keep Your Car Waxed
One of the easiest ways to keep your car looking great is to wax it regularly. Waxing will protect the paint from rust, oxidation, and UV damage. It also makes the surface look better by filling in minor scratches and scuffs. You can wax your car with a great car wax kit if you’re comfortable with detailing work, or take it into an auto shop for an express service.
Regardless of how often you decide to have your vehicle detailed, ensure that you always keep up with regular maintenance at home. It includes washing, polishing, and waxing, all good habits that will help keep a car looking its best.
Touch Up Any Scratches
For minor scratches, you can use an automotive touch-up paint pen. These pens are available in almost any color and are easy to apply. First, ensure the surface beneath the scratch is clean and dry. The last thing you want to do is put more dirt into a crevice already there! Next, use a wax and grease remover to remove any impurities or oils left behind on the surface by your finger.
Depending on how long ago your car was touched up last, you may need two separate applications. Apply one coat of primer first. This helps fill in gaps as well as prepare for ensuing coats of paint. Then apply two coats of color overtop, and ensure not to go too heavy with these layers because they’ll start drying quicker than usual due to being primed beforehand.
Check the Brake Fluid
A brake fluid leak can cause your car to pull in a particular direction, which is unsuitable for safety. If you notice that your vehicle is pulling toward the right or left, you should check and make sure that the brake fluid levels are okay. If they aren’t, it’s time to fill them with fresh brake fluid before any damage occurs.
According to Street Directory, brake failure causes 5% of all road crashes in the US.
To check how much brake fluid is remaining in your vehicle’s system, find a spot where there are no obstructions on either side of the car.
You should park on level ground with all four wheels straight ahead to get an accurate reading of how much brake fluid remains in each chamber before filling them up again with fresh liquid.
Also, check your owner’s manual for instructions about what kind of fluid goes into each chamber and how often this process needs to be repeated. If you don’t have access to this information already, we recommend contacting someone who does, like a mechanic.
Don’t Neglect the Engine Oil
While you may know that oil is a crucial part of your car’s engine, it’s essential to understand how its function affects your car. According to Mech Stuff, engine failure is one of the top causes of road traffic accidents.
Engine oil, the engine’s lifeblood, keeps the moving parts lubricated and cool. It also filters out harmful contaminants as they are transported through it, keeping them from causing damage to your vehicle or preventing it from running at peak performance.
Oil needs to be changed regularly, and most manufacturers recommend doing so every 5-7 thousand miles or at least once per year, depending on the manufacturer’s specifications for that particular car model. And when you do have it changed, ensure you get the correct type for your vehicle.
If not done correctly, this could result in severe damage being done to both yourself and others if, one day, something goes wrong while driving, not to mention the damage to the engine itself.
Change the Air Filter
If the air filter is dirty, it can make your car run less effectively. A dirty air filter makes your car work harder to breathe and thus decreases fuel efficiency, affecting how much you spend on gas every year.
On top of that, a dirty air filter can also cause damage to your engine’s internal components due to increased resistance caused by the dirtiness of the filter. You should check for debris or dust in your engine compartment before changing an old filter to know what dirt has accumulated over time. It will help determine if you need to change more than just one thing at a time.
Changing an old one shouldn’t take very long at all. Most vehicles come with step-by-step instructions on their respective website. When looking up how-to videos online, ensure they’re relevant to your vehicle type to avoid getting confused while working on something as delicate as this piece.
Inspect the Tires Regularly
It’s imperative to check your tires regularly. Tires are the only thing that connects your car to the road, so it’s crucial to ensure they’re in good shape. They should be checked for wear and damage, rotated regularly, and replaced if they are over five years old.
The best way to avoid an unexpected blowout is by keeping a close eye on tread depth, the rubber around the outside of a tire that makes contact with the street. This area should measure at least 1/16th inch for proper traction and handling efficiency. It is crucial because WHO states that around 1.3 million individuals die yearly from road crashes.
Conclusion
This guide has given you a better idea of what to expect from your muscle car and how to keep it running smoothly. We know that the thrill of driving an American classic can make regular maintenance feel like a drag, but believe us, taking good care of your car will make all the difference in whether it ends up as just another sad story or a great part of automotive history.
