Cars Been Sitting Since 2017 - Any Advice?

[Slightly Motivated]

So I haven't posted on here in quite a few years, but its good to see things still active!

I used to have an 04 cobra (oxford white with white 2010 GT500 wheels) but sold it for my wedding.

My father passed away in 2016 and we put his 03 cobra convertible into storage shortly after. The cars been sitting since then covered in a garage and rarely started. Last week I had it towed down to my house to begin restoration on it.

Cars overall not in bad shape, about 29,XXX miles on it.

I've never had a car sit this long, so I'm not sure what all I need to do.

I put about 3 gallons of new gas into it and changed the battery. She does drive okay, but I've only driven it about 1 mile just to see how it runs. Its got about a little more than a quarter of a tank of gas, so I was just going to baby it till the fuel gets low and fill it up with fresh gas.

I have new tires on order since I believe the ones on there are OEM from factory. Those are at my dealership now.

I'm going to get oil and filter tomorrow for a change, as well as an air filter.

Top off the coolant fluid. Power steering looks fine.

Anything else I'm missing? Should I be worried about transmission fluid, bushings, hoses, spark plugs, injectors, etc?

Anything specifically prone on these cars when they sit?

I work at a Porsche dealership, so one of my techs there is going to do my Maryland State Inspection. Anything I should tell him to check?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Skitzerman]

I would give the brake system a flush and fresh refill.

 

[olympic]

Change ALL the fluids including the diff, coolant and PS. If the tires are factory original then the fluids could be as well. Change the fuel filter too. If the coolant looks dirty then the system will need a good flushing as well.

 

[hotcobra03]

Belts.

Guide pins on rear calipers lubed

 

[ZiaRunner]

Good luck in restoring. It sounds like a great project. Post pictures when you get a chance!

 

[sonicx]

Change ALL the fluids including the diff, coolant and PS. If the tires are factory original then the fluids could be as well. Change the fuel filter too. If the coolant looks dirty then the system will need a good flushing as well.

adding on: transmission flush too.

 

[Slightly Motivated]

Thanks for the good input all!

Today was hydration day, so I went ahead and did an Oil change, power steering flush, fuel injection system flush, differential flush, transmission flush, and fuel filter. Also went ahead filled the fuel. First time I've heard a terminator whine in a minute! I forgot how slow the stock horsepower is, but we are going to go for reliability and reconditioning first.

The paint is in pretty rough shape all around, but I may put that off a year or two and get a full repainting or wrap.

Our MVA is by appointment only right now due to CVOID-19, so I won't be able to transfer the title and get temp tags till Tuesday. After that point I'll be able to get my new tires installed that I have waiting. I went with the same as I had on my car, Continental Extreme Contact DW.

I did notice this CD Error. Looks like the CD player is full of CD's, but it wont play or eject any. Maybe a CD is warped in there? (Last picture)

Back in 2015 before he passed away. My oxford white on the right and his redfire on the left:

March 10th, 2020 - Getting her out of storage. Also my first car ever, a black 2003 V6 mustang that I sold to a friend. It was abandoned in a field for 3 years and has now been sitting outside of a family members hour for another 2 years. It's in REALLY rough shape and the titling is a mess to deal with, but I'll likely use this as a full blown racecar build in the next 5-10 years.

March 19th, 2020 - First wash and wax in years! Realized how bad the paint is all around. Lots of chips, fading on the front fender, chipping and fadding on the back bumper, etc. Still need to do interior, which isn't as bad.

March 20th, 2020 - Hydration with Oil change, power steering flush, fuel injection system flush, differential flush, transmission flush, and fuel filter.

 

[ZiaRunner]

Thanks for sharing!Awesome to see you showing the car love and bringing it back to shine.

 

[hotcobra03]

CD player is an issue. Mine has broke and shows full.

The eject wheel doesn’t always work.
I had to stick a business card in to slot than disc would eject.

Also had to pull it and open it to get disc out.

 

[CobraBob]

Your '04 OW Cobra was NICE! Keep us posted on the refreshing of your dad's Cobra.

 

[The Abyss]

I had a similar error for the CD player. If it won't eject anything and doesn't seem to make noise when switching disks then there may be a worm gear that has fallen out of the disk changer. When I pulled the head unit out it had fallen out of the changer and was laying on top of the radio portion. It is fairly small and white. It just needs to be fed back into the hole in the bottom of the changer. Good luck with the car! Redfire is awesome!

 

[BOOGIE MAN]

I also had the same issue with my cd player in my 01

Take the cd player out (look up the wire clothes hanger trick) and take it apart to get the CD out. Then put it back in console (never put CDs in it again) and use the radio until the double din head unit you order gets shipped to you

Sent from my SM-N975U using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[ITSTOCK]

2017? Change the oil, fill it up, and go work the flat spots out of the tires.