A classic car built for a radio and a set of points now often carries electronic fuel injection, an electric fan, air conditioning, a digital dash and a sound system, and the charging system it left the factory with was never asked to feed any of that. The result is the most common complaint in the hobby: a car that starts fine at home, runs beautifully for an hour, and dies in traffic with a dead battery. Here is what to upgrade, in what order, and then the part that matters to us, which is what the transport driver needs to know before a modified classic goes on the truck.

Why the Original System Falls Behind

A generator or an early alternator on a 1960s car was sized for headlights, a heater blower and a radio. Add an electric fuel pump, an injection computer, an electric fan that pulls a heavy load at idle, and a compressor clutch, and the electrical demand at low engine speed can exceed what the charging system produces. The battery makes up the difference until it cannot. Nothing is broken. The system is simply doing more than it was built for.

The Upgrades, in the Order That Makes Sense

  • Grounds first. Clean, tight grounds from the battery to the block and from the block to the body fix more electrical faults on old cars than any component does.
  • Battery cable gauge. Original cables are often too thin for modern loads. Heavier cable to the starter and to the ground point costs little and reduces voltage drop.
  • A higher output alternator. A modern one-wire or internally regulated unit that fits the original bracket and pulley is the single biggest change, and it should be sized for the total load with a margin, not for the loads you have today.
  • A modern battery. An absorbed glass mat battery tolerates deep cycling and vibration better than a flooded one and does not vent acid onto the inner fender.
  • A battery cutoff switch. Cheap insurance against drain during storage and a useful safety feature, as long as everyone who handles the car knows where it is.
  • Relays for heavy circuits. Headlights, fan and fuel pump should switch through relays rather than through fifty-year-old dash switches.

Where the Charging System Meets the Transport Truck

A modified classic is usually shipped enclosed, and it is shipped by people who handle classics every week, but the electrical upgrades above are exactly the details a driver cannot see and needs to be told. A car with a battery cutoff switch that nobody mentioned is a car that will not start at delivery. A car with a hidden kill switch or an aftermarket alarm with a motion sensor is a car that drains its own battery on the trailer. A car lowered on new suspension has less clearance than the driver expects at the ramp. None of these is a problem when they are known at booking. All of them are a problem at 6 a.m. in a delivery lot.

Our classic car shipping page covers the equipment, the enclosed carrier page covers what an enclosed trailer does that an open one cannot, and both come down to the same thing: tell the coordinator everything that is not stock.

What to Tell the Coordinator About a Modified Classic

  • The cutoff switch or kill switch, where it is and how it works.
  • The alarm, and how to disable it for transit.
  • Ground clearance after any suspension change, so a liftgate or long ramps are sent.
  • Starting quirks. A manual choke, a hidden fuel pump switch, a starter that needs a second attempt.
  • Battery health. If the battery is marginal, replace it before the car ships. A car that will not start at delivery is winched off, and that is a worse day for everyone than a new battery.
  • Whether it runs at all. A project car with the charging system in pieces ships as inoperable through our inoperable vehicle service, loaded by winch, with no shame in it.

Before the Truck Arrives

Charge the battery fully the day before. Photograph every panel, the wheels, the interior, the engine bay and the undercarriage in daylight. Leave about a quarter tank of fuel. Fix any oil or coolant leak, because a dripping car can be refused at pickup. Remove loose items from the interior and the trunk, since they are not covered by the carrier’s cargo insurance. Then read the condition report on the bill of lading before you sign it at pickup, and again at delivery. That document and your photographs are the whole of your position if a claim were ever needed.

Common Questions

Does a modified classic have to ship enclosed? It does not have to, but it usually should. Enclosed adds about a third to the open rate and keeps weather, grit and stone chips off paint that cannot be matched.

Will the driver disconnect my battery cutoff? Only if told about it. Explain where it is and how it works at pickup, and write it on the bill of lading.

Can the carrier charge the battery if it dies in transit? Drivers carry jump packs, and most will help at delivery. A car that arrives with a flat battery is an inconvenience rather than a claim, but it is one you can avoid.

Is the carrier’s insurance enough for a valuable classic? Cargo insurance has a per-vehicle limit. Ask the coordinator for the carrier’s limit and check whether your agreed-value policy covers transit. Many do.

Can a project car in pieces ship? Yes, as inoperable, with loose parts boxed and secured or shipped separately. Tell the coordinator whether it rolls and steers.

Get a Quote

Put the car, both addresses and your dates into the instant quote calculator, or call (866) 821-4555 and tell a coordinator what is not stock on it. Enclosed trailers and drivers who handle classics are matched before dispatch, and no deposit is taken until a carrier is assigned to your order.