Art & Inspiration Winter Beaters/Daily Drivers

Thanks for the response volvobrynk.
It'll be my son's project (I'm trying to finish the 3 I have) I'm trying to gently pursued him to go with a better cam, cross flow ally head and a pair of twin 1 3/4 SU's I already have. I built lot's of high output spridgets in my early years so I do appreciate well built small motors. Problem is....he did the math....spend a bunch of money building a small motor and maybe get 140hp, or a relatively small amount on a junkyard Buick/Rover V8 and a 5spd trans, which is a bolt in to the car, and get 2 - 3 time the hp and torque with no weight penalty. Unfortunately, he paid attention to the car's I've built so I have absolutely no credibility when I try to convince him to not swap in a V8....I fear I've created a monster.........I'm so proud......it brings a tear to my eye!

having said all that, we probably shouldn't high-jack this thread talking about an ot car

 

Yup, Mr 348 pretty much summed up exactly what i do with oil spray
Like he said i have driven this 1967 Beaumont(chevelle) sedan since 1996, 19 years! every winter without fail. i park it for the summer months and drive my other 1960's cars and trucks. I drive this car every day to work between Oct-May. Also for erands and groceries. Its my only car in the winter. I have to drive downtown thru salt infested roads and horrible drivers 20 miles a day(that equates to 1 hour of drive time or double in the snowdays). The past weeks it has been -30 C, and i dont plug it in at work(it has a block heater and an interior car warmer for overnight), I run a full synthetic 5W30 oil, and 4 fully studded snow tires(and i need them!). Huge windshield washer fluid container too. And the mudflaps, oh ya the mudflaps!! Trunk has jumpercables that have never been used, a shovel, snowbrush and floor mats are a must. Runs a 250 L6 with a Pglide. Ultra reliable, in 19 years it has never failed to start no matter how cold it is (like -42 F). choke works perfect.
I oilspray it 3 times in the winter, when the temps warm to 15F then i really spray it. In the -20F its cold enough, does not get washed until May 1 then i take the pressure washer to it for about 2 hours. But our roads are bad, they are either slippery, or sloppy. And the pothole abuse, in canada most of our potholes are about 2 feet in diameter, one or five every block and they dont get filled for at least 2 weeks. This car hits every one of these betweeen March and May. i have not damaged my 20 inch foose rim with 30 series tires yet, oh wait, thats because i run a 205/75 15.
I have no desire to get a different car for winter, i have thought about it, and this one is getting rusty for sure, but thats what i have been saying for the last 15 years, this one just keeps going, if i can get 10 years more out of it, i will.

 

They actually ski up near flagstaff, Arizona is not all desert, they also have mountains end even a desert plateau where it snows in the winter and gets warm in the summer.

 

Drove this every day in Wisconsin for 4 years. I figured . . . in the 1960's this is what the CEOs of big companies were driving to work all year around. It worked for them. You do need good rear snow tires, though.

 

Dident know that. I just though the dessert-feel pasted fare beyond the borders of Arizona.
Okay, my car skills gets my further then my geography skills.

 

I live about 10 miles from the Mexican border, and it's 4500 ft elevation here. The mountains in eastern central AZ are pretty darn high, compared to where I am. Yeah, it gets cold in some places in AZ.

A friend lives in Ely NV and it snows regularly there. I visited in August and wished I had a heater in my truck.

 

Have been able to drive the A most of the winter on its summer tires as we have had very little snow. The object of this build was to have a car that I can play with summer and winter. So slowly I am getting the pieces together to make it dual purpose. Have just got the studded snow tires on , and also a hood so now I can figure out the clip on fenders and then also the side hood panels.

 

Man, Truckee CA is where I was forced to chain up my 4X4 Suburban and an axle on the trailer when I was on the way to San Fran to pick up the '47 two years ago. Had to buy them on the spot or I couldn't go over the pass. I had never seen snow like I saw on Donner Pass and I lived in SD and MT combined for 11 years.

 

Racer 29 that is one of the reasons that I have come to call Truckee home,as I love the winter season and all the snow we are supposed to get.The last couple of years have been a huge disappointment.The biggest issue for us is not so much the lack of water,but the prospect of fires this coming summer.This is how we should look this time of year!

 

Heres a old picture of my everyday beat way, even in the winter, before I got smart and moved south .lol . Way back then.I loved the heater under the seat. Still wish I had her. Bruce.

 

every day 4 years straight. Just like Montal said "Garage sales, grocery store, work, laundry mat, car shows and cruisin' everywhere.". I even crossed off a bucket list item this year. I drove her from Dallas to Destin Florida for our yearly family vacation.

 

Great thread! I'll post a pix of my 59 wagon in the snow, you can see it in my avatar.

 

I daily drive a '7-0 Chevrolet pick up. It is a little OT but not by much. HAHA before that I drove my '61 Dodge Lancer wagon daily. Back in high school I drove a '58 Chrysler and a '66 Chev pick up.

 

I thought this is what 4 doors were made for ? ? ? Winter beaters until it's a parts car, just wax the bumpers so I can use them later on.

Seriously though in the early 90's I drove a 65 impala 4 door year round for 2 years, worked just fine in the snow, started great everyday. It was a beater that got a hole in the frame plated and welded, some bad bodywork with rivets and fiberglass, then a quickie respray. If I hadn't done the shitty bodywork, trans rebuild, carb rebuild the car would have been parted and scrapped.

 

Good old winter here In Manitoba, although this El Nino has really making things mild by our standards.
Ran into a guy I know, has an off subject 1999 Mercury Villager Van, no rust whatsoever, every crevice has been oiled for years, by Krown Rust Oil Spraying.