Driving in rain and snow..

[dennisonk1957]

I want to drive the A in all kinds of weather. These are amazing vehicles...will you share your stories and experiences with me to let me know how to or how not too or to just take the modern car on days with inclement weather.

[BrianBurkert]

Clean it up after your drives and it will last a long time. I would avoid snow and ice. The salt is one thing. One salt spray and rust will begin. The other cars on the road is another. Model A's do not offer the same protection that modern cars do.

[Richard Wilson]

One word.......Rain-X.

[kpreed]

Living in the mountains, we do get some bad weather. I find it comes down to two things for me on Ice and Snow. The right kind of tires is number one with me, I find traction tires on the rear (mud and snow type) work best for me in the Snow and on ice, plus I carry snow chains, but yet to use them.
Number two for me is weight over the rear axle (sand tubes or bags). This is a big deal with me, owning a pick-up. I really think any model body may need some extra weight in Winter as they all seem so light, just for traction. I figure the weight of two people or about 300 lbs. in back of mine.
In rain, I use Rain-X on my windshield, plus I do not ever go real fast, even though my truck could only do the speed limit anyway, but in rain that can be still too fast for conditions. Just my 2¢.
Good Luck and Be Safe!

[P.S.]

A guy in upper Michigan drove a Model A for a full year in all sorts of weather. He said the Model A handles extremely well in bad weather. Sometime after deciding on a Model A, found his blog and began to follow it while actively in the market for a Model A and it really made me over-anxious to find the right car.

Look up www.365daysofa.com

It's been a while since I looked at it, but it still showed up when searched for it on Google.

[Special Coupe Frank]

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I drove my '28 Special Coupe for a whole year when I first got it, just to do it and say I could.

It started easily the coldest day of that year (-2*F), and ran reliably. Traction was another story, as I have stock 4.50x21 tires, and an agressive tread is not available, nor do I have chains...

The down side is exposure to corrosive road treatments; if they salt or brine the roads in your area, leave the A in the garage and wait until spring rains have washed all traces away... even salt dust from dry winter roads will get into the nooks and crannies, and when the car gets wet, the salt will go to work.

Because Pennsylvania loves to go crazy with the salt, I put my A away when the first snow flies. I saw the salt damage from one season, and won't subject it to another.

Rain is another story... make sure your top is water-tight, so that your interior doesn't get water-stained.

SC Frank

[29restorod]

In 1964 and part of 1965 I drove my "A" every day to college classes,and to work. In Feb 65 we had a 12" snow fall,and my car was parked in a garage,with an alley entrance. I wraped some 1" rope through the spokes like chains,and drove to work.I was making fresh tracks on most streets. My boss was mad that I came to work,as everything was closed,he still had to pay me $1.25/hr. I used the $.25 car wash at least twice a week. I had a Trico vacuum fan,that helped keep the windshield clear. Two pencils stuck under the rear edge of the hood,also helped keep the windshield clear. While in class,I would cover the engine with a thick quilt,when the temp was near zero. In the garage at night I kept a 100 watt trouble light up against the engine block. My girl friend(now my wife) burned her leg from the heat coming out of the manifold heater.

[V4F]

i lived in the high desert for like 32 yrs. snow / ice 6 months a yr. i bought a "tire groover" (sprint car stuff) . i "x"d & siped my rear tires & never had a problem ! it would back out of steep curbs & not spin a tire ......... i was lucky as no salt was used there , you just learn to drive in it !

[Pete]

I drive mine year around. I live in the mountains and chains are required much of winter. The A handles far better than my modern car in the snow. I have modern wipers and I wash the underside after I have had it out in the snow. I restored the car 15 years ago and no rust yet.

[dennisonk1957]

yes, i saw that guy in a post on the fordbarn actually, thats what got me interested. he drove everyday 365. wow

I am enjoying all your stories and advise. thanks

[columbiA]

Back in the 50,s I lived in the N-W coast of BC where the average snow fall was 20 to 30 ft per winter.I would drive my "A"7 miles to work & it was on the road every day. After 7 years & 75,000 miles,I sold it & the lower cowl was starting to rust thru due to road salt.

[jr-41ford]

I'm really enjoying the '28 Tudor I bought in April, which replaced my early '28 Roadster. This has a very good heater, electric wipers, I'm planning on making it my daily driver pretty soon.

I have no issues driving it any kind of weather.

[BCCHOPIT]

Me and my kid playing in the snow

http://youtu.be/WduWijQSBPg

[Jerry Parr WI]

In the late 50's I drove a 29 coupe as an everyday car in WI. These are just rambling recollections. The major problem was no windshield defroster. Required often driving with the window open to reduce the windshield fog. The car had a manifold heater but at -10 deg it was just a large hole letting in cold air. With the window cracked open it didn't matter much. Heavy snow was more than the wiper could handle. Once in a blizzard a friend rode on the fender with a windshield scraper until we got home. The high clearance made it possible to get thru snow when most cars couldn't. This was before salt on the roads. I would not drive in today's salt. I don't consider rain a problem and drive in it but I do put the top up!

[mccsix]

I drove around Chicago in the late 60's snow rain not a problem...frozen appendages were.

[mccsix]

"out of your minds. Lack of any sense."
Thanks for your friendly comment!

[dennisonk1957]

BCCHOPIT...that was fun! I wouldnt take mine like that but that sure was fun to watch...dads and sons having fun!

With all the great comments, Ill try it being wary of salt, to was the car and the underside following and to enjoy this great car....

I love getting students from my high school interested in this era of automobile...a Duesenberg would be a great car to add...I always thought they were beautiful...cant afford one but they are remarkable..

[P.S.]

Originally Posted by BCCHOPIT

Me and my kid playing in the snow

http://youtu.be/WduWijQSBPg

Don't let your insurance company see that!!

[jr-41ford]

BCCHOPIT, that looks like fun! I could never get my roadster to do donuts in the snow.

[BCCHOPIT]

Originally Posted by jr-41ford

BCCHOPIT, that looks like fun! I could never get my roadster to do donuts in the snow.

2nd gear....you need wheel speed



I drive in the snow every winter.


cold ride to work with no heat

[Kurt in NJ]

I havn't driven on snow much, but have driven in heavy dounpours --heavy enough that most other cars pulled off the road, the visor kept much of the rain off the upper part of the windshield, I could see, the water coming through the radiator or hood hinge would cause an occasional misfire but I kept driving after stopping for a short time made it worse.

The only problem I have had is getting condensation on the inside of the windshield fogging it up ---hpw well do the anti fog preparations work--I saw a rainex inside treatment I was thinking of trying.

[Napa Skip]

The attached photo was taken in Idaho Falls, Idaho in the winter of 1978-1979. The white stuff is snow and yes, the Model A does handle well in snow and ice when equipped with a set of chains, even without added weight in the back to increase traction (provided reasonable care is taken while driving) although a little more weight in the back certainly wouldn't hurt.

These snow chains (with cleated cross links) were made from a set of chains no longer needed for our 1969 Cadillac Coupe de Ville and also served well during a short (3-4 day) snow storm when we lived on a hill in east Bremerton, Washington (c 1980, if memory serves) and I was using the A for a daily driver.

The chains sit unused since moving back to California in 1982 (I also haven't had to unfreeze a door lock since then, thank goodness).

Additionally, driving in the snow (or cold weather in general) is made marginally more comfortable by a manifold heater (Otwell Health Heater, Model 14 in my case) which provides warm air to the driver's side but will "fry" the passenger's feet after everything reaches operating temperature (so I guess - on the average - it's not too bad...).

As to rain, the best recommendation has already been stated: Rain-X. Don't leave home without it.

[As an aside, it is surprising what a little snow will do. In Newport News, Virginia, during the winter of 1965-66, we received about a 1/4" of snow that lasted less than a day. We had just transferred from Idaho and were accustomed to driving in snow; not so many Tidewater drivers. The "light dusting" of snow basically brought the area to a standstill with drivers skidding through intersections willy-nilly and other such events. Brought new meaning to "defensive driving."]

1979 in Idaho Falls.jpg

[2manycars]

The first photo was taken the day after the blizzard of '78. The second one in january 2011. Same car, still not rotted away.

[BCCHOPIT]

^^^^^^^
That is very cool I hope to have my car that long and longer

[jr-41ford]

My picture that I posted was on my birthday in 2008. I posted that picture on here that day.

There were others that also posted pictures of driving their Model As on their birthdays, the same day in the snow.

There was one posted, I believe it was a Tudor from PA, where the owner put nylon rope through the spokes and around the tires, called them his Model A chains.

Has anyone else used nylon rope for chains on their Model As?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

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Originally Posted by jr-41ford

My picture that I posted was on my birthday in 2008. I posted that picture on here that day.

There were others that also posted pictures of driving their Model As on their birthdays, the same day in the snow.

There was one posted, I believe it was a Tudor from PA, where the owner put nylon rope through the spokes and around the tires, called them his Model A chains.

Has anyone else used nylon rope for chains on their Model As?

When I was young, Chief always had a bunch of 2 ft. pieces of hemp rope in the car to tie around the tire through the spokes when needed on muddy clay roads & always carried a shovel tied across the back bumper. Chief was a GREAT mud driver and rarely ever needed the shovel or ropes! Bill W.
(I wonder if mud driving is a lost art?)

[Cory Moffat]

Up here they pour the calcium chloride on the roads not salt. You get the water from a puddle on the road on a cut on your hands and it burns so bad. It's hard to beleave as the water from the melting snow looks so clean. Cars up here don't stay rust free for long. My car stays in the garage in the winter.

[Richard Redmond]

Maybe not 'on topic' but my attention was caught by 29Restorod's comment about using a Trico vacuum fan to de-mist his windscreen (Post 7).

I bought a Trico fan last year because it looked so archaic. I cleared the dirt out of the exit hole and it worked! I thought it was sold as a 'fresh air' fan to cool one down when driving in Texas, Arizona etc. It was a bit ridiculous on my 29 Roadster which has no side screens and is in windy/cold N. Yorkshire.

Now I understand its probable true purpose.

On topic - I only drive the Roadster on dry, sunny days - no heroics for me!

(the picture shows the Trico through an original windscreen frame that I was fitting - sadly no Trico decal on the round casing.)

[29restorod]

My dad was a real believer in the trico vacuum fans. He had two in his 41 Ford sedan,one on the steering collum,and one in the back window. When we restored the "A",he installed another one for me.

[29restorod]

I just found one of the pictures I took in 1965,of of My "A" in 12" of snow.

[BCCHOPIT]

Lets bring this to the top it's almost that time of the year.