Five Easy Ways to Transform Your Classic

Pretty soon you’re all going to be full of turkey, gravy and maybe all of that will be topped off with a welcoming layer of mulled wine and/or port. Delicious. But then, when all that is done and you’re trapped in the 500 days between Christmas and New Year, you’re going to start thinking about 2024 and what it will bring. What will the weather be like, how many prime ministers will we have, what classic car shows are you going to attend, and when you do, should you invest in a new classic? Or, should you transform the one you already have?

Yes, it is possible to transform the classic you have, and it’s possible to do it from home, by yourself and without needing to be a mechanical expert. The following five tasks will make your classic look fresh, new and it will dazzle everyone who sees it in 2024. They will also make you fall in love again, but even if you still have the itch to get a ‘new’ classic after all this, the one you have will look better and as such, be worth more while also being an easier sell. So get to it!

1) Wheels

Wheels. Maketh. The car. It’s just a fact. Clean wheels and decent tyres have always carried the power to transform any car. So, treat yours. If you have steel wheels, it couldn’t be easier to strip and paint them at home. Even a slick new coat of gloss black will make for a massive transformation. But don’t be afraid to try using a colour. Depending on your car’s vintage, a nice yellow or red could work too. As for the tyres, a set of deep black, matching tyres will look great, provide better handling and increased safety and if you spring for a set of white-walls, heads will turn. Including your own every time you walk away and have to look back.

2) Engine

Clean your engine. It might sound silly, but trust us when we say a clean engine is a thing of beauty. Not only will it look great, it will also make working on the car a lot less mucky. A clean engine bay is a sign that the car is cared for, too. And we’re not suggesting you go full concours with it. The beauty here is that nobody cleans their engine so even if you give yours a quick wipe down, it will still be better than 90% of the rest. Get some citrus-based cleaner, use some paint brushes to work it in, then dry it all off with some microfibre towels and that’s it. A coat of GT85 will add some shine, while some rubber dressing will clean the hoses and make them gleam. Look at this, it was 30 mins work…

3) Paint

Yes, you’ve cleaned your car. You might have even waxed it. But have you thought about giving it a machine polish? You can do it yourself and it’s really not that hard. The key is to buy a dual action polisher, not a rotary. A rotary can and will burn through the paint if you’re not careful. However, because of the random action of the DA, the only way you’re hurting the paint is if you throw the machine at it. Clean the car, get some single stage polish from the big orange car shop and have at it. You’ll quickly take away years of swirl marks and scratches, resulting in a car with paint so full of depth you’ll want to dive in. See our detailing guide for more information.

4) Service

Okay, a service isn’t a visual transformation but it is still vital and deeply rewarding and you can do it yourself. Don’t be afraid of changing the oil, the filter and the plugs. You could easily do it in an hour, and the result will be a car that runs that bit better, that bit smoother and that bit happier. Plus, you’ll have the peace of mind that comes not only from a job well done, but from knowing the engine is fighting fit.

5) Niggles

The days are short, the nights are long and there are no shows to go to. Now, then, is the time to address all those niggles you have been putting off. That headlight that’s looking at the moon rather than the floor, that leak, that blown fuse, that creak from the nearside rear. All of it. Write down a list and get it all ticked off and done. By the time the Spring flowers emerge, you’ll have a car transformed. It will be perfect and you will enjoy every moment of it, all free of annoying issues that, let’s face it, you’ve been putting off for far too long.