Its getting close to winter, and I have some general questions about the cold. Any suggestions would be great!

I am thinking on getting a set of headers, but I want to know how cold wether drivability is. My car is a daily driver, and will have to be driven in the winter. I put a 180 deg thermostat in for the summer, could I keep that for winter? Unfortunitaly, my heater is out also, the core went, as well as the blower motor. I should be getting new stuff soon, but I don't know how to take that box apart and change them. Any other cold weather driving suggestions/tips I need to know?

Thanks!

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'74 Duster 225 Super Six w/904
14" Cragar SS wheels

I am wondering the same thing, the other morning I had hard starting on our first real cold morning here. (there was ice on the windshield, dunno actual temp) Plus just like dusterguy, I'm planning on headers eventually.

I was wondering if the HEI upgrade I've been putting off may help? (stock 77 electronic ign.) and different plugs? Beings I'm in the south, we don't get arctic tundra weather, but below freezing none the less. Any tips?
Dietz

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for profiles and pictures of my mopars--> http://www.fquick.com/dietz_diggler

Make sure your choke is working properly, and doesn't pull off too soon before warmed up. Headers have nothing to do with starting. But, heat from the factory exhaust manifold will aid in drivability during warm up, heat that will be diminished with header use.

Years ago a lot of used southern carbureted cars would find their way to New England to replace our rust buckets. Often they did not like to run well when it got cold, because the chokes were not used in their previous life, and were gummed up making for sluggish operation.

Keep the 180 deg. thermostat, make sure the ignition system is working properly, and have a good strong battery.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

This morning was the coldest my Valiant has seen with frost on the windshield. Holley 390 w/ electric choke hooked up, headers, etc... Had no issues starting up this morning. Idle kicked up and warmed her right up. Snap the throttle after a few minutes and purred like a kitten.

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Linder Tech.com
Bubba's Trailer Park

I've spent many a cold winter up in Michigan; so a few things for really cold weather that I'd like to suggest:
* in general, any weaknesses in carburation, ignition, etc. are worse the colder it gets
* I've never had problems with 10W40, but found 20W50 just too thick below 0F to let me crank fast enough to start
* weak batteries that are OK hot are often not OK cold; clean the terminals too
* keep your antifreeze ~50/50; don't trust the weather prediction
* check your tire pressure; it always seems that big temperature swings up or down always made mine loose some air. You want tires with good tread and *traction* (some tires, still with good tread like some Mich*n I've had, get *very* slippery when wet. I know of no fix but replacement)
* old windshield washer fluid looses alcohol over time and freezes just when you need it - get fresh stuff - and check the wiper blades
* when it really gets cold, an inexpensive 120VAC dipstick heater to warm the old is a good investment - I've tried an antifreeze heater in the heater line, but it never seem to work well enough to notice.
* if your windows seals leak a bit, water can flow down and freeze on the latch mechanism; then your doors can pop open while you drive even though they looked closed. Lubing the latch didn't stop the problem; finally, I put a sheet of thick polyethelene in the door over the mechanism to keep water out and never had the problem again
* my father used to put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator in his '73 /6 Dart during really cold (<15F) weather - it seemed to help - but remember to remove it when it warms up
* check that the air door in the air cleaner is working right; if it sticks open in cold (40F) wet weather, you can get carburator icing
* at the start of every winter I lube all the locks, latches, and weatherstrip to avoid problems. The locks I give a shot of WD40; the latches spray white grease; the weatherstrip gets silcone spray
* usually also throw in a bottle of dry gas to get any water out of the system before it gets cold (I'm unsure how well this works with E10)

With everything tuned up and in good shape, my /6 started right up down to -35F w/o a problem. Good Luck

The advice you've gotten so far is pretty good; make sure the engine's in top tune for easy starts and good cold driveability. Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this thread, and you should go ahead and do that valve adjustment you've been asking about.

10w40 is never a good oil choice; it is the single most sludge-prone viscosity grade. Use 10w30 or, if your engine is in very good mechanical condition, 5w30. Only if your engine is in really sorry mechanical condition (very worn) should you use 15w-anything or 20w-anything or any straight-viscosity grade such as SAE 30.

A thoughtfully-selected engine block (coolant) heater is far more effective than an oil dipstick heater could possibly ever be. The coolant heaters that go in series with the heater hoses can work OK if they're sized and installed properly, on vehicles that don't have a heater water shutoff valve. The block heaters that replace one of the engine's freeze plugs are considerably better and are neither costly nor difficult to install.

You can keep the 180° thermostat if you want, but a 195° thermostat will give better heater performance, fuel economy, and driveability. If you have to resort to makeshift tricks like shoving cardboard in front of the radiator, your thermostat's faulty and/or of too low a rating.

As KBB suggests, go buy a can of high-grade silicone spray. I like the CRC brand, but there are other good ones. Spray down every weatherstrip — all around the door seal, the trunk seal, the window weatherstrips. WD-40 is useless for almost everything it's advertised for, but especially for locks; most locksmiths love WD-40 for the simple reason that it brings them a lot of business. Better to give each lock a blast of silicone spray (with the added advantage that unlike WD-40, silicone spray won't make your keys/hands/pockets stink).

KBB's suggestion to make sure the thermostatic air cleaner works is another good one. Same goes for the exhaust manifold heat control valve.

"Dry gas" or other gas line anti-freeze is just plain alcohol. It's a waste of money in most locations these days, because most gasoline sold in North America already contains more than enough alcohol to prevent freezing.

The importance of suitable winter tires cannot be stressed enough. So-called "all season" tires are really three-season tires: Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I don't have a heater as of yet, but how much will it effect gas milage and driveability?

The choke works fine, but the fast idle works sometimes and doesn't work others. I have tried adjusting the choke and stuff, but it keeps letting off because I have to give it gas when it starts. I have looked into an electric choke, but its just too expensive.

I don't think ill be needing a block heater or a radiator cover, it may get into the single didgets about 5 days total. The rest are in the teens and 20s in the mornings, and 30s during the day. I park my car in the garage at night, but it sits outside from about 7 am to 3 pm, and if I have to work, untill about 11 pm.

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'74 Duster 225 Super Six w/904
14" Cragar SS wheels

ooh i put 10w40 in my car. I'll be changing it soon to 10w30. or maybe 0w20 full synthetic

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What's that fuzzy blue thing being hurled this way?
::stick::
BOOSH!!!

Yes, a 195 degree thermostat will improve drivability and fuel milage. I just did the fall/winter change from a 180 to 195 and could tell a difference. As for the 10W-40 oil....I removed the oil pan a few weeks ago on my car, and using nothing but 10W-40 for years, there was no slug in the pan or in the engine. I use Valvoline or Napa brand (rebadged Valvoline). Never had bad luck with WD-40 either. I used wd to break the bolts loose for the first time on my manifolds. No broken bolts. Been using the stuff for years and years (as has my dad) and have always had good luck with it.

Plus I like the smell of WD40 and ask a salmon fisherman about it sometime,salmon like to latch onto fishing gear sprayed with it

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Cold start:

When your engine is cold, quickly depress the go pedal to the floor & release to set the choke & high idle, crank her over it should start if everything is in good tune on the ignition side of the equation, and run at high idle.

If the engine dose not start quickly, requires pumping, and excessive cranking something ain't right, you have southern car lazy carb syndrome:

While the engine is cold (over night cold) and choke is wide open, pull the air cleaner, manually operate the throttle while observing the choke pull off & high idle cam to see if it snaps, yes snaps with vigor, the choke closed, and the high idle cam into position.

If these two devices don't move freely, and aggressively when cold, it is time to clean them, and perhaps replace the bimetal spring choke pull off. If the choke pull off spring is broken it will be a flopping mess unable to close the choke when cold.

If the choke works, and pumping is needed for a start, check to see by looking down the carb when opening the throttle if there is a good robust shot of gas dispensed. If not, it is carb rebuild time.

Sometimes all this riggin' works correctly by hand, but due to binding linkage will not freely do its thing from the driver's seat. You may have to disconnect the little rods from the choke pull off, and others to smooth & polish their worn connection points to relive binding. Do not use oily lubricant on these rods, it just attracts dirt, and the binding will soon be back.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Our local E10 (gasohol) tends to have lots of water in it; far, far more (~40X) than straight gasoline. When it gets cold enough the water separates out. There are gov't standards by region and season on how much water they're allowed to have in there; it's usually expressed as the temperature where the water settles out (for example, I think Hawaii is 32F). I've taken samples of E10 from local stations and put them in my freezer - some didn't form a puddle of water at the bottom, others did.

Lacking anything better to get the water out, before I drive up from the southern VA up to MI in the dead of winter (& colder than my freezer!), I add 12oz of dry gas. I prefer the isopropanol over the methanol; it seems to cause less corrosion. When I get up there, I fill up with (presumably low water content) fresh gas. I've not found a good way to get water out of gasohol, but a bottle of dry gas seems cheap insurance.

When I once found lots of water in my system, I made a ~1gal flush of acetone & isopropanol and stirred it in the tank using dry ice and compressed air. It seemed to get the water out OK, but is far from ideal.

I'd be wary of old block heaters that use a rubber biscuit - I had an one just blow out the side of the block one day w/o warning.

Water in fuel: maybe time to adapt a water separator from a diesel application.

Engine block heaters: As with anything else, ya gotta buy a good quality one if you want it to work and last. There are well-made and poorly-made block heaters. Awhile back, there was a guy on eBay clearing out what looked like a whole roomful of good Canadian-made ones from the '70s for something like $9 apiece...maybe he's still on there. If not, no matter; there are still plenty of options for good ones.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I didn't know salmon liked WD-40!! LOL.... I do know it gets crayon drawings off your walls with little fuss.
As far as locks go, my trunk lock on my 63 fury was stiff enough to worry me about bending the aluminum key. A shot of WD-40 a couple years ago cured that.
As for rusted bolts I like some stuff called "Aero Kroil" but I'll use WD-40 if I'm out of the other.

and to wjajr thanks for your last post.

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for profiles and pictures of my mopars--> http://www.fquick.com/dietz_diggler

My carb is rebuild with about 500 mi (already?) on it, and seems to be in good tune. The prob with my carb is that I have to give it a little gas when it fires, so the fast idle gets knocked off. When I pull out of the garage and hit the gas, the fast idle comes back on. Hit the gas again, it goes off. I adjusted the choke, and everything sets right.

That heated air thing on the air cleaner, I hooked that up a few days ago, and it doesn't work. Is there a certain way to hook it up? When I suck on the vac line, it operates, but not when I hook it up to the car. Also, I don't have that metal piece that wraps around the exhaust manifold, is that ok? I have the metal tube.

Im thinking i might put the 195 stat in for the winter. Not sure yet.

I have 10-30 penzoil with a fram filter in my car right now, with some of that lucas crap. I heard that lucas is pretty bad. That was put in before I joind this forum... Never again will I put that crap in my car. Do you guys recommend an oil change before winter? It only has 1000 on the last one.

Scince im in KY, do I need a block heater? If so, whats a good, inexpensive one?

The valve adjustment will be done this weekend!

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'74 Duster 225 Super Six w/904
14" Cragar SS wheels