Do you drive your A in the snow or stormy weather?

[TerryO]

What drive in the snow??? Surely not...

[walkerlakeprinter]

I drove my 1929 Coupe in Haines, Alaska, for several years. No problem in the snow! Cracking the windshield open an inch or two kept frost off the inside of the windshield. Of course, good winter clothing was a must!

[Dave in MN]

Originally Posted by George Miller

After living in the north and driving in the salt there is no way I would drive one of my old cars in the salt. It will get in seams and place that you will not be able to wash it out. But it will come out when it rust its way out. Back in the 50ts the cars would rust out in 4to 6 years. I think the new ones do much better.

George, I am totally in agreement with you.

I just finished a restoration on a '31 S/W Town Sedan that was driven once on salted Minnesota roads and then parked for 8 years without washing it. The entire bottom of the car was deeply rust pitted...nothing through but what a mess.
I rebuilt all the running gear and engine late last fall and drove it until the first snow. I then took it all apart and sandblasted everything and then painted it. That one drive on salted roads cost me the better part of $5K and what's worse than the money is the loss of body and chassis life of the car.

No way will I drive any of my cars when the salt is active on the roads. No way! Please don't do it.

Okay...I am now finished with my rant!

Stormy weather...Rain...Lot's of times!
Good Day!

[holdover]

Back in the 60s I drove my 30 coupe year round, except when the roads were icy. That was when I was young and lived in Huntington New York. Without a heater it was cold at times, even with a blanket and my young wife sitting next to me. I now live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA in a rural area. My 4 A's, '29 Coupe, '29 CCPU, 31 AA and '31 Tudor are fair weather vehicles. During the winter the roads are well salted and I don't want that splashing up and causing rust. If it is clear and dry with rain having washed off the salt and the roads dry I'll drive them even in cold weather But oh the memories of the '60 in the snow are wonderful!

[KenCoupe]

The last time we had snow in my area was about 1987 and it only stuck on the ground for a couple of hours. So I don't drive my Model A in the snow. We only get rain occasionally (although it rained yesterday and today ). So, again, I don't drive the Model A in the rain. Luckily we have lots of sunny days all year round so I can drive almost any time I want.

[1929]

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After doing all this work, NO WAY

[daren007]

I have a manifold waffle heater. works great.

[midgetracer]

I put 50 miles on the Tudor today. Picked up the grandkids from school. It was 20F out and not to chilly in the car. Last Christmas we took the other Tudor out with Christmas lights on it. It has a manifold heater, but the 20 below temps that night made the heater not very helpful. Windows stayed clear until we ran by Starbucks for hot chocolate. Windshield fogged up quickly and I had to keep the drivers side window partly open to see out the windshield. It was such a fun time we will be doing it again this year with the new Tudor.

[freak]

Rain bothers me. I don't like the idea of it getting into the door seams or the cowl. Anyone ever see a cowl rust? Lol. Salt is the real deal killer. My 2000 Ford Explorer that I bought new is all rusted from close to 20 winters. I'm sure my A would fare no better.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by freak

Rain bothers me. I don't like the idea of it getting into the door seams or the cowl. Anyone ever see a cowl rust? Lol. Salt is the real deal killer. My 2000 Ford Explorer that I bought new is all rusted from close 20 winters. I'm sure my A would fare no better.

How often do you wash your car? Every time you do, it gets wet, just like in the rain.

[Bob Bidonde]

I find that the Model "A" drives well in fresh snow, but not good once the snow is trampled and slick.

I drove through a deep puddle in Virginia Beach once, and water was streaming out of the hood louvers. The running boards were under water. The Coupe kept on running!

[MNFATS]

Drive in snow? I live for the snow!!

[freak]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

How often do you wash your car? Every time you do, it gets wet, just like in the rain.

Only wash it a couple of times per year and I don't stream the hose on it. Light mist and I stay away from the windows.

[redmodelt]

No A, but I have driven my T huckster in some very heavy rain (and I do mean heavy) and also snow.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by MNFATS

Drive in snow? I live for the snow!!

Looks like great fun! Do you have front skis for the really deep stuff?

[MNFATS]

I do have skis for it but they don't do much good unless the snow is very hard or packed. I usually take the skis to the shows and just tuck them under the front end. Thanks for note.


MNFATS

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by MNFATS

I do have skis for it but they don't do much good unless the snow is very hard or packed. I usually take the skis to the shows and just tuck them under the front end. Thanks for note.


MNFATS

A couple questions: Do you know the history of this car? Did it start out as a mailman's car? Will it run on top of snowbanks after a typical Minnesota blizzard, or do you need solid footing?

[Synchro909]

Model T, not A but the principle is the same:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9CgOhj0HP0

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

How often do you wash your car? Every time you do, it gets wet, just like in the rain.

That's why I only wipe down my car, never wash it, and try to never get caught in the rain.


Salt on the roads is an absolute that the car gets parked until at least two heavy rains have washed ALL the salt off the roads. This really limits driving in MN, but it sure helps to save the cars.

[darrylkmc]

Yes, and not as often as l like.

It was 28 F degrees out a few days ago and the road graders were out plowing my street, so l hand cranked up the Phaeton and parked it out by the sidewalk.

Darryl in Fairbanks