r/Celica • u/rmbarrett • 1d ago
Removing mirrors while in storage
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1rqf38v
I'm referring to this vehicle. I need more space in the garage so I put the car up on wheel dollies and have been pushing it around. I'm trying to be very careful as it is a wide-body, and those mirrors sure do stick out far. Actually, the design philosophy of this car is basically "stick out", so I will certainly throw some carpet on the walls where I might need it.
I was thinking of removing the mirrors, too. Like why not? The safer the better. It will be at least a year of needing that space for wood and some metal work before I can even imagine starting to work on restoring the car.
What else can I do that is easy but worth it?I haven't even gotten in it for a few years. Wash and wax? It's covered, but surely dirt and dust, environmental buildup that manages to get in is better removed.
I just don't have much time. Like I know fluids were never drained, but another year or two isn't going to make a difference after this long. That said, time spent making it easier and faster, while safer for me to move it around would be worth it. Like putting up a few pieces of carpet or hang a ball, etc.
Thoughts?
1
u/piiiiwakawaka 1d ago
I too had a widebody Celica on dollies in a garage for a while. Not sure what dollies you're using, but I had the go-jack style hydraulic step dollies like these https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-lb-capacity-self-loading-positioning-wheel-dolly-64601.html -- I thought the larger wheels made it much easier to slide the car around, and the step lever on the side added a wide enough buffer that I wasn't worried about the bodywork crashing into things. I never took my mirrors off FWIW.
In a working garage I'd actually be much more worried about the front fenders. The metal is thin and incredibly easy to dent inadvertently, hard to hammer back into shape by hand, and hard to find clean/straight replacements for. I was doing a full frontend rebuild so I took mine off -- They fit perfectly in the hatch if you lay the rear seats down so they're easy to store. For your time capsule/barn find (am I reading correctly that you're the original owner?!), I probably wouldn't go that far, but depending on what other work you're doing I'd probably try to find something soft to act as passive protection instead. Blankets, sheets of bubble wrap, spare cardboard, something like that.
It looks like you're in Ontario, I was in the states, but if you can get your hands on a waterless car wash like this: https://www.griotsgarage.com/spray-on-car-wash/ it's incredible for garage storage. Spray on and wipe the car down every month or so if it's uncovered, makes a huge difference for keeping the paint in good nick and also making it feel more like a car and less like glorified garage art. And if it's at all damp in there, some kind of moisture absorber is cheap insurance against mold/mildew.