Technical Driving a 6V Car in Winter

Well, I am glad that I could motivate you especially since I am just doing it out of necessity. To be honest, my youngest son is headed to Arizona tomorrow for a couple weeks for work so I won’t be driving mine to work much. I’ll probably still drive it every day, but it will be mostly around town. If nothing else, I kinda hate stacking a bunch of miles on an original 60k mile car since my commute to work is 60 miles a day…

 

Six volt was/is not as forgiving as twelve. Period. Short trips, winter time short days, generators that needed to be wound to a higher rpm to charge well, resulted in MOST of the time the car bedded down with a weak battery . Alternators AND 12V helped that a LOT.

Ben

 

my '39 Chevy, stock 6V and 216 I6 starts just fine, even below 0 F
it takes getting a handle on the number of pumps to give the foot throttle, manual choke pulled full, and accelerator pedal to the floor.....hit the starter and push in the choke immediately (a little more than half way) after it starts and let off the accelerator pedal and fiddle with the choke setting until the engine smooths out....
I usually go as soon as I get oil pressure....
I've started running 5-20w in the winter and 5-30w in the summer
the '31 A Roadster 4 banger with 6V and a downdraft carb and manifold, instead of the stock updraft....
takes a technique of pump the accelerator pedal a couple of times, hand throttle about 1/4, crank over the engine and pull the choke after starting cranking and push it back in fully and the engine starts there...
Repeat the choke pull if it doesn't, while still cranking....
my point being that each car starts differently based on what kind of cold start fuel enrichment the engine needs
also running out all your 'summer blend' fuel will help and making sure you have a full tank of 'winter blend' fuel
both these cars are usually parked where there is no electricity for block heaters, which really do help...
plus they get driven an adequate distance to recharge the battery....
good luck...

 

SAE oils are great...for building sludge! My mind says more sludge in the cooler seasons because they cool off faster. "Detergent" oils suspend the nastiness and help prevent that. I'd suggest 5W 30, 5w 20 if you're expecting extended temps in the teens.

Batteries, well that is a topic charged with a lot of doubt and doesn't amp up confidence. I'm not a fan of Optima batteries but I've serviced a lot of cars that have em. The only good I can say is that they seem pretty peppy in the cold but once they're gone, no warning. Instant junk. Won't charge, sometimes won't even take a jump. So now what? Turn the headlights on for 30 seconds on a cold morning. It excites the battery and warms it a bit inside. Once you learn the cold start secret handshake it'll be fine. Best advice? Warm it up as long as possible on cold trips. If everything is in good repair you'll be like the whole country was until 54-55, and later as stated already. We don't see newsreel footage of highways littered with broken down cars because they're 6V.

Oil. Excite the battery for 30 seconds. Learn the cold start courting ritual. Warm it up as much as possible. Done. Yes, I've moved many a car in the cold. Drove 47 Cadillac back from Philadelphia in February many years ago. 6v, all stock, hit a 21" snowfall an hour east of Cleveland on 80. Snow so deep I didn't hardly need steering, followed the truck tracks! I was fine, just took a lot more hrs. Now THAT was a road trip.