Art & Inspiration Coldest Temp You Drove Rod Or Custom In?

Hey all,
Okay much of North America is under a wicked "Polar Vortex", with the exception of the South and Coastal areas.
Monday morning it was 32 below when I left work, my OT Ram started easy and soldiered home. In that kinda cold suspension and drivelines are very stiff. Even brake pedal feels different. Heaters work just fine though.
Its friggin cold this morning at 24 below and no warmer days til Tuesday..
I had my old 47 Chyrsler out in 30 below weather years back no problems.
My 55 Fargo has seen 5 below, thinking of a 20 below cruise...lol
If you live where its around 32f and warmer feel fortunate, as this kinda weather is not only unpleasant its deadly..

 

Minus 38 over here this morning
I will admit I haven’t started anything old since I put them away in November but when I was young my everyday car was a 1965 Valiant, year round

Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

With no heater I’ve done highway miles at 13 F with a heater -30 plenty of times

 

During the 2019 season I drove my 32 sport coupe from Omaha to the Lincoln Speedway Coffee Cruise around 50 mile distance in 21 degree air temp, not certain of the wind chill at highway speeds & without a heater as well the soft top provided little insulation value.

 

Was that no heater a Motorsickle...lol
-30 you from the north? Or does your area get that cold?

 

When I had my T bucket I'd get it out pretty often in the Michigan winters...but nothing like minus 30's! The Caddy had a great heater. The Shoebox at least has windows and a marginal heater but I still keep it in the garage for the most part when it's cold.
BTW...it was warm this morning at 7*. I think it's in the double digits by now!

 

A Tropical 12 Degrees In 1967...

 

I drove my T Bucket over the Smokey mountains at midnight in Sept one time. I swore I would never build another car without a heater.

 

Working my way down this week... 17 above yesterday but headed toward right at zero by the weekend... I’m sure I have done it before when I drove old stuff daily, but this is fresh on my mind now.

 

Back in the early 80's, after a divorce, my 38 Chevy was all I had to drive (I still have that car), the heater was out of a Fiat that was in my private boneyard and it would cook you out in the worst of Iowa's winters. How cold? I don't remember, Iowa is cold in the winter and I am sure there were below zero nights. I lived in the country, about a half mile to a hard surface road and there were times that I had to blow through a snow drift to get to the highway that rolled my license plate under the bumper. I am a lot older and both the car and myself don't get out in the cold all that often

 

It was a nice sunny March Saturday and we were headed to McTims open house in Hanford. Chick was the pilot of her new to her 28 roadster. Leaving Redlands we were in the typical hot rod gear,, jeans and t-shirts. We stopped for fuel in Santa Clarita and thought it might be chilly over the Grapevine so we pulled out our lightweight Rod Rider jackets, it was still sunny. The Grapevine is a big pull over the mountains, in the winter it snows and they close it down, but this was March,, At Goreman we noticed clouds, and they looked ugly, but hey this is SoCal we will be fine.
We hit the summit and the wind was blowing around 45mph across the road and it started to rain, but we could almost see the drop to the valley, then the rain turned to sleet. HOLEY SHIT it was cold and wet! No problem the sleet stopped and,,,,, turned to snow. No stopping now, in a open roadster, in snow, getting blown across the highway and people were staring and pointing,,, yes folks we are hot rodders, real stupid.
We finally got to the decline, the snow stopped, the wind died, but it was still cold,, onward to Hanford,,,

And then there was the time we had to huddle in our tear drop trailer in a snow storm in Fort Stockton Texas,,,,,,,,,,

 

I have had my 1941 Ford pick up out in -15 degrees for a short drive. Glad I had a heater in it. The heater could cook you out of there on any given day but that day it was welcomed. BRRRRR that was cold .
Vic

 

Used to ride to high school in my buddy's 47 Ford coupe before I got my license. It had a heater, but it never blew any warm air. I remember scraping frost off the inside of the windshield while he drove. One day it wouldn't start after school and another friend came and pushed it. He only had to push it about 10 feet. The temps were around -10 F and the 6 volt battery just wouldn't turn the engine over. I also remember driving this car and cold air blowing up your pant leg when you used the clutch.

 

Minus 41 in Edmonton Alberta.
Dec. 22 1983.
Drove my daughter to the hospital and a Grandson arrived.

 

And minus 41 in Prince George, BC.
My propane powered truck would not start.

 

Shortly after I got my roadster I tried to drive it as much as possible, I drove it rain or shine, hot or cold .

Probably the coldest day was a Saturday driving to J.Ed's to his annual cookout, when we left the house it was 33 degrees, no top, no heater and I felt like a Popsicle after driving the 28 miles to his shop.

On the other had I was at work and heard a rumbling in the parking lot and look out to see Brenda in the roadster, it was 13 degrees by the thermometer and she was almost blue when she got out of the roadster.

We lived about 9 miles from the shop, she proved who was the toughest hot rodder in our house. HRP

 

Probably mid 40sF.. This ole Southern boy does not tolerate cold well.

 

Not a rod, but after my Willys got back on the road after being wrecked I drove it to work one day when it was about -10 °F. Only about 5 miles, but with no heat and no top it was pretty cold. The big miracle was that it started after sitting out all day with it's 6V electrical system.

 

31 degrees.....

 

Thawing out under an overpass coming home from GoodGuys DelMar run a few years ago.
12 Degrees when we left Cedar City, Utah.
Hard to see but that's my wife scooping out the interior after a semi passed us and filled the inside with snow and slush.

Mick

 

Last November I hopped into the 40 to take it on its first road trip out of town for the weekend. It was 26 degrees when I left the house and probably a high of 50 the rest of the weekend. Barely any floorboards in it had to find some spare cardboard to insulate it a little better. Had a to replace a brake line in the parts store parking lot about gangway there. Kept on going and had a great weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

It's never been too cold yet. But the roads need to be dry. Guess why?

 

The one I can remember is 25 blo in the upper peninsula of Michigan when I was stationed there,,,Hard to start this 12.5 to 1 motor in that cold...

 

I drove my '56 Victoria hot rod (312/3-speed) all year round when I lived in New England......It was the only car in the neighborhood that would start in -20F weather....never garaged.......terrific car in snow also.....

 

Most of my life I have no owed a "driver" car and a hot rod. So my rod was my daily (if I owned a car at all). I have driven well below zero, I usually have tried to ride my bikes only when he mercury was above 0.

 

no heater was my 46 Ford. This weekend it’s forecasted to be -30 in the Kansas City area. I grew up 300+ miles north of here and the last winter before we moved it was -60 F with the wind chill.


Ugh

 

Wow thats crazy like up here. Im 800 miles due north of Kansas City.
Its 15 below out sunny and calm. I spent over an hour outside. It diďnt feel bad...lol

 

I'd don't think I have never driven when it was below 40. there is a good chance I have never even been outside when it was below 40. I think I hate the cold more than regular people... or it could be I am just more smarterer than you guys.

 

I drove my 48 38 miles to work and back in minus 20 something weather back in the mid 90's. I didn't have anything else to drive at the time and had a percolating engine heater that went in the heater hose to keep the engine warm enough to start. I actually let it idle in the yard all night one night because it was so freaking cold that I was afraid it wouldn't start in the morning. Note My house was at the end of a half mile long driveway out in the middle of a field. I did have long johns and my Carhart insulated coveralls on to make those trips.

 

The coldest I had my 50 Chevy out before I started the rebuild was about 15F. With no heat, and the Safety Second approach the former owner built it with, I wasn't going to press my luck any further.

Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app