Long term Auto Parts Storage

[Revere Cycles]

I recently crashed my classic Mercedes-Benz; unfortunately, it doesn't make sense to restore it because of the labor involved. I have plans to replace it with another model in the future, but that could be anywhere from six months to a year from now. I would like to dismantle the car and save anything good on it, from switches to trim, to panels, doors and glass. I will also want to save the engine, transmission, and rear differential.

I already have a storage system for my other vehicles, but my system is at capacity. I don't have much big stuff, just commonly used wear items, wheels with seasonal tires, trim, and the occasional "special part" for when I reach a certain stage in my project. My parts for this car will be kept in a different workshop away from my garage.

Could anyone share with me what their auto parts storage looks like? I imagine that I will have a lot of Rubbermaid bins, coupled with some small parts containers. I am just curious to see how other people do it. Also, I would like to tuck this engine away underneath my workbench, so if there is some kind of universal low engine stand out there, I'm open to suggestions, otherwise my plan was to fabricate my own dolly.


Thanks in advance!

 

[sberry]

Save a bunch of work. Put it on blocks and cover with a tarp. Taking all that carp apart and storing pieces for something you may never use on spec is work and space consuming,

 

[joe_padavano]

Save a bunch of work. Put it on blocks and cover with a tarp. Taking all that carp apart and storing pieces for something you may never use on spec is work and space consuming,

^^^This. I've got a barn full of parts. Suffice to say that they take up much less space when assembled into a car than as individual pieces on shelves. Plus, you will know exactly where they are. Plus, you'll have all those stupid little one-off fasteners and clips that are not available anywhere.

 

[Revere Cycles]

Save a bunch of work. Put it on blocks and cover with a tarp. Taking all that carp apart and storing pieces for something you may never use on spec is work and space consuming,

I live in a dense part of my city and parking space is at a premium. The layout of my yard and driveway leaves no viable way to store the car long term if it is not mobile. The car is presently blocking one of my garage bays and makes use of my dump truck difficult. Since it is the offseason, I don't have to worry about it for a few more weeks, but come mid March, this will be a problem for me and my business.

I have more than enough space to store all the parts at my wood shop off-site. My friends are willing to help me dismantle the car for beer, pizza, and wings, so I am not worried about the labor involved. My particular model is very rare in my part of NY (I haven't seen another in 10+ years), and I stripped all the pick and pulls clean many years ago. The local yards will undoubtedly crush the car within 90 days, so it's not like I can just send it there and expect to pull from it in the future.

 

[Revere Cycles]

^^^This. I've got a barn full of parts. Suffice to say that they take up much less space when assembled into a car than as individual pieces on shelves. Plus, you will know exactly where they are. Plus, you'll have all those stupid little one-off fasteners and clips that are not available anywhere.

See my response to this in another comment. I live in a city and this is not a viable option. I have a large wood shop away from my house that can store all the parts, but parking a whole car on the second floor of a 120 year old building is not going to happen.

 

[SundayFunday]

I'm in a similar situation, but have no extra room indoors.
Small parts will go in totes in the basement.
Bigger parts like fenders, motor, & axles need to stay outside. My plan is to store everything on a trailer with a crate built around it. This way it is mobile enough that it won't be completely in the way.

 

[Chief919]

Put the engine on a furniture dolly, for $20 they work perfect.

 

[fiataccompli]

I second engine on a cheap furniture dolly (maybe some custom carpentry required for stability). I try to use flip top bins for everything because they are stackable and they are a size that sort of prohibits filling them with so much stuff they are too heavy to deal with. Seats, steering columns, door panels, and large mechanical parts are always a creative challenge. I have been turning Fiats & Lancias into piles of parts since the mid 1990s, so I’m fairy good at it. I usually sort bins by component groups, use but sometimes they are purpose-packed like “the so-and-so project”

 

[eyeball]

I can testify to the amount of space a car occupies nice it is blown apart. We had a 1970 Nova completely stripped down for a full restoration a year ago.

What really help us was being extremely organized in our storage.

(1) Small parts into zip locks with bag numbers and a short description. Each bag logged in a spread sheet.

(2) Bags placed into plastic crates again numbered and logged on the spread sheet.

(3) Larger parts into crates and crate number logged in the spread sheet.

(4) Need a part? Look it up on spreadsheet and get bag and crate number.

A said for larger components such a transmission, rear end cheap harbor freight furniture Dolly’s are your friend.

Tip for the rear end: two dollies with a jack stand on each. Put the rear end on the dollies and ratchet strap down tight and it will keep everything together as you roll it around the shop.


For the engine, I bought a cheap used stand off Craig’s list. I sold it for what I bought it for when I was done.

 

[Spulen81]

I can testify to the amount of space a car occupies nice it is blown apart. We had a 1970 Nova completely stripped down for a full restoration a year ago.

What really help us was being extremely organized in our storage.

(1) Small parts into zip locks with bag numbers and a short description. Each bag logged in a spread sheet.

(2) Bags placed into plastic crates again numbered and logged on the spread sheet.

(3) Larger parts into crates and crate number logged in the spread sheet.

(4) Need a part? Look it up on spreadsheet and get bag and crate number.

A said for larger components such a transmission, rear end cheap harbor freight furniture Dolly’s are your friend.

Tip for the rear end: two dollies with a jack stand on each. Put the rear end on the dollies and ratchet strap down tight and it will keep everything together as you roll it around the shop.


For the engine, I bought a cheap used stand off Craig’s list. I sold it for what I bought it for when I was done.

I need to start using a spreadsheet next time I take a car apart. I'm putting a E30 back together that I disassembled 10+ years ago and its a nightmare trying to figure out what is what. I did label a lot of the baggies but quite a bit is a mystery.

 

[PhantomEB]

Now that I am putting my bronco back together, and puttin a lot of it back to what it was like instead of trying to make it EFI etc......I would never blow apart a car to build it up at a later date ever again.

That being said now my folks garage is damn near empty I am looking for a street car to build but it’s gonna stay together until I am ready! Already in talks with friends who own body shops to farm out the body work to be done before I bring it to my garage, floor pans and all!

 

[66Caprice]

As for the engine. pull the valve covers and unscrew the rocker arm nuts so all of the valves are closed. Then pull each spark plug and fog the cylinders with a light oil so they won't rust up..

 

[Perroflojo]

I used a vacuum seal machine to keep the parts seal and label with sharpie.
I also have a drum w/ lid full of the small parts. The vacuum seal help to keep any moisture out. It works great recently I cut open an alternator that I seal 10 years ago and it look just like the day I bag it.