Hot Rods Winter Driving

I drive my 34 flathead coupe every month of the year. It loves the cold weather here on Colorado.


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

 

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

 

Took my -40 Olds for a ride

 

Cool man. Your Olds looks good in snow, Orn!
Actually, it just looks good...period.

 

Thanks

 

This thread went 4 pages and not one
" I was doing donuts in the snow" story.

 

last night going to hotrod club party. first pic nice road.

I normally don't run interstates, and I got a refresher course on why I don't. (Zombies in a rush...I was passed by lane-jumping, swerving 90 mph econo-cars??) This was a good break in traffic so I could take a pic.



forecast was 14F overnight low..but did not stop this old time built 32 channeled roadster that came there!!!



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Yeah, I've been known to plow a little bit of the white stuff from time to time. But I prefer if the roads are clear. Built it with a good heater, so there is no sense leaving it at home in the garage. Some people sure give you some looks though. Its just a car, and I plan on enjoying the hell out of it. Like someone said previously. Where we live, you can't wait for perfect days to go for a drive. A couple pics of my snow adventures.

 

I wonder how HRP is doing with all that snow in the Carolinas????.....

 

Well we are in the foot hills of the Smoky Mountians,they said we were just going to get rain, this morning they changed it to rain and sleet, but now at 9A.M. it is snowing hard here, with the wind howling on our mountain top home. It is always hard to predict the weather here.They say we are going to get more snow Monday, I guess I wont be driving the wagon to work but my 4 wheel drive Dodge P.U. You all stay safe out there. Bruce.

 

Deuces, over in the mountain top town of Boone.N.C. they are calling for 19 inches of snow there. Bruce.

 

I find that it is a lot easier to pull hole shots in snow!

 

Under certain conditions, you can do it around here. If the roads stay dry for over a week, the salt is not too much of an issue. And sometimes they run out of salt by March.

 

I was looking through some old family photos....this is my dad, December 1962, in Minneapolis.

We moved to Tucson the following summer.

 

Last winter my friend did some winter driving...

 

He's a damn good driver on those long sweeping curves and not losing it..Must be a dirt track guy.

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That was great fun and makes me think howi miss driving in the snow when i lived higher up the montains. Good driver.

 

Salt has been put on the roads so they stay put.

 

Hello,

It has been about 56-58 years ago that my pristine 1958 black Impala got its first taste of snow. The idea of getting that shiny black paint and cool Impala dirty with road grime, dirty snow from the road plows and just snow on the paint was a frightening thing. Tire chains were kept in the trunk all the way up the mountain to Big Bear City. But, after getting settled in our rental cabin, the snow started surrounding everything in sight. This sojourn up the mountain to Big Bear was an annual thing done by most high schools in Long Beach. (5 from all different locations in Long Beach.)

The teenagers and a chaperone(s), rented cabins, motel rooms, rental houses, etc. all so they could spend the day after Christmas for some snowy times. Some stayed until New Year’s Day and others left before New Year’s Eve. Since we lived close to the ocean, we never saw snow since 1949 when So Cal was blanketed with a big snow storm of the century.
1960-62
This was our annual Christmas Vacation (winter break) from school. The after Christmas Big Bear cabin party time had been going on for many years before we got to be teenagers. There are plenty of stories about what happens up in the thin, snowy air with a ton of teenagers, hot rods, cruisers, more teenagers and chaperones that disappear at night. Being hot rod guys, we knew about thin air playing games with the carburetor adjustments. The whole area that was packed with hot rods and cruisers sounded like a snake pit with the air cleaners taken off to let the engines breathe better in the thin air.

We must have been the only ones that knew how to adjust the carburetor(s) for good performance in the mountain air. We had no problem dusting off others in the back woods straight away roads. But, it was not during the falling snow or on snowy roads. It snows one day, then the roads are clear the next, etc. It was a question of remembering to re-adjust the carbs once down the big mountain to sea level. How did the big black 58 Impala handle the snowy drives when it was packed?

The chains helped somewhat, but it was the steering that was a little shaky. It was a must, to go very slowly and the normal space and stopping area had to be increased ten fold. Otherwise…it was skidding out of control into a tree or bumper. I was not too worried about being covered with snow…the tons of Blue Coral Wax layers did their job and it stayed relatively scratch free.

Jnaki

The 40 Ford Sedan Delivery never made it up the mountain to Big Bear. That Flathead motor was so under powered that we would have been in first gear most of the way up, if at all. The sedan delivery knew its place in the scheme of things…It was a flat surface, road worthy form of transportation that met all teenagers’ needs, just not up a steep hill or mountain.

A zillion years have passed and we have owned several 4 wheel drive and all wheel drive wagons. They do make a difference, but going slow in snowy conditions is the key, 4 wheel drive or a simple 2 wheel drive. Forward momentum and then stopping is multiplied in the snow. For the few times we drove the Impala into town, the roads were clear, muddy and icy, but clear. It was a good thing the center of town was within a short walk to all of the action.

Plus, no salt on So Cal roads... Whew, we already got enough of the salt on the drives down the coast to the beach. But, it was a good thing one of those $.25 cent hand spray, car wash, stall places was built, just down the street from our Long Beach house.

 

Winter driving and the Christmas lights last night.

 

Wow, 41 C28...that's soooooooo soooooooo cooooooolllll !!!
At first glance, I thought the little one was Santa...lol.
Merry Christmas!

 

That's funny because that's what 6 year old grandson said too. Merry Christmas to you.

 

Took my recently aquired T out for a few hot laps around the block this morning. Its held together with hopes and dreams and it runs like garbage, but other then springing a massive oil leak it made it. We havent got much snow yet this year but it was -23 Celsius

 

Jalopies in the Wintertime. Just a great feeling to get out even without a heater.

 

We had the o pportunity to go for a ride on New Year's Day. And we did!

 

January 6, 2019 no snow so off we go!

 

Year round...for the last 10 years and 150k miles..no matter the weather or salt....




I didb't take a pic but i have ran both of these in the snow just to see how they do......





But you really havent lived till you rebuilt a few engines in the snow....lol.

 

Sometimes, we have to pick our spots.

 

I take it out all year around, snow weather permitting. I built the car to enjoy and drive and here in New England you can’t always count on the weather being nice. If it’s not raining when I leave I’m good.

I’m in the same boat for the winter weather, I’ll drive it but when the road is dry and clear even with a coating of salt/calcium chloride. No heat yet, extra gloves and a hat.

Off road exploring, yep that too. Found some mud under there when I pulled to body off a couple years ago.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

I drive my hot rod year round, but I don't drive it in the rain unless I'm already out and get caught in it. I've never driven it in the snow, and I certainly would not do laps in it at the Showdown or flog it at the dirt drags. I want to keep the car nice and clean as long as I can. I do, however, drive my car a lot, both on the road and the drag strip.

Call me a gold chainer, I don't care.