It will begin being driven on a regular basis in a few weeks, and I am wondering what exactly I need to do to get it back road-ready.

I actually drove it once or twice a month during this duration, but I still think that sitting up like it has might have expedited a few leaks, as there are spots now that weren't there when it was being driven consistantly.  Other than the following, what |cheaply| do you guys suggest?

1.  oil change if needed
2.  coolant change if deemed necessary
3.  anti-water chemicals run through the gas tank
4.  PCV, thermostat, etc?

The vehicle in question:
1990 ex-LE Caprice
350 H.O. TBI

There is no magic seal-restore fluid.  After changing your lubes and coolant and driving for a while, you will probably end up changing a few seals to stop the leaks.  

I would think that driving it once or twice a month during this time would be enough to stop any major problems.

The good news is that you started and drove it over this period, but there's a few things you need to do/check.

Here's a short list of what I would do in this case.


The first thing you need to do is check all the fluid levels, then with a freshly charged battery, start the car and let it idle until it warms up, DON'T rev the motor. Turn the heater on low.

After it warms up fully, shut it off. Let it cool down some and change the oil and filter.

Bleed the brakes until you get clean fluid out of each bleeder valve. Of course you should look at the brakes at this time as well as the brake hoses for craks in the rubber. Replace if there are cracks or dry rot.

Check the strength of your coolant for protection level. If it's under the accepted standard of approximately -34 degrees F, drain and replace coolant. If it's more than three years old, replace it.

Check ALL the rubber, serp belt, upper and lower hoses, heater hoses, bypas hose, vacum lines etc and replac as needed.

Check your tires for dry rot, check tire pressure.

If it runs, but not very well, old/bad fuel may be the problem. Not much you can do here without emptying the tank. If it's driveable, keep using it and top off the tank with fresh fuel and perhaps a can of injector cleaner in the tank. Don't overlook the fuel filter and tune up. You may need to do them, at the very least change the fuel and air filters, especially if it sputters, bogs or loses power under heavy load. If that helps then drive it until you have the time/cash to do  full tune up which I recommend.

Grease the front end at all grease fittings.

Check differential fluid level, make sure you use limited slip diff fluid if you have a limited slip rear.

That should do it, hopefully I didn't forget something, but keep in mind this is my short list, my long list is what I do for customers, I can't take short cuts with them so it's a lot more detailed. We get a bunch of classic cars in the shop for this typ of work every spring.

Good Luck with your car BeetleBailey.