VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Preventative Maintenance

Hey Guys and Gals,
I was wondering about preventative maintenance. Being a pretty conscientious owner and restorer, I drive my restored 51 Coupe about 2-3k miles a year. I change my oil and filter once a year, check and top off fluids monthly, rotate tires annually, etc. etc..

I was wondering how often to flush my cooling system. I'm running a rebuilt engine with about 4K miles on it, new radiator,hoses, thermostat, water pump, etc.. These were changed when the engine was rebuilt. Am using 50/50 mix of Prestone propylene glycol and water (green stuff).

Any ideas? Gene??
I have not flushed the system yet. It still looks pretty clean.

Thanks

I would flush the system every five years. Modern anti-freeze has better rust inhibitors than it did in 1951 when the "Permenant" anti-freeze was intended to last only one year.
At that time I would replace the hoses also.

I would not and do not change the oil filter that often. Your oil will still be clean looking after one year and I change my oil filters every 3000-5000 miles or three years.

Conventional antifreeze coolant is intended to be changed every couple of years. That of course is for normally operated vehicles. Because of the low usage the "life" can be extended to maybe 5 years as recommended by Gene. Back flushing (against the normal flow pattern) with moderate water flow is the best. It is best to flush the engine block and radiator separately. If there is any indication of rust or corrosion then a weak acid can be circulated while running the engine. A warm engine will clean more completely. It will be necessary to thoroughly rinse out the acid, then neutralized with baking soda in water before rinsing again and refilling with distilled or de-ionized water mixture with a minimum 33% quality antifreeze.