Cold Weather Driveability

[tomfg]

First winter for my 64 since I got her on the road. Being in Minnesota, I can tell already I need some improvements so the engine runs okay in cold weather.

I have a non original engine that came with the truck. I believe it's a 1978 vintage 350 Chevy. Currently has a aftermarket chrome air cleaner, with no "warm" air induction, etc.

The exhaust manifolds are the ram horn style, probably from the original 64 engine.

I'm guessing that the 78 engine origially had the flex tube from the exhaust manifold to air cleaner, to help warm up the carburater, keep it from frosting up, etc.

Did the original 64 engine or air cleaner have any devices to help it run better in cold weather?

My truck starts pretty good, and the automatic choke seems to be doing it's thing. I started it up this morning....(about 25 deg. F outside) and let it warm up for about 5 minutes. (idled fine) Took off, and it spits and sputters while shifting thru the gears and catches hold.

The carb has been rebuilt.
Am I just too spoiled after driving fuel injection cars the last 20 years,
or is there some improvements I can do??
Thanks for any suggestions, Tom

[krazy_texan]

I am not for sure myself so i am going to watch this thread. I would suggest doing a tune up if you havent recently not sure if it will do much good but i just did a full tune up and flushed my radiator making sure all my fluids are good. One thing i am looking at is LMC has a washer fluid heater in thier catalog its kinda pricey but maybe worth it.

[markeb01]

If it starts up okay but sputters a few minutes later, it may be that the automatic choke is set too lean. Check to see the thermostat is working correctly. Also check to see if the heat riser is working just below the passenger side exhaust manifold, or if there is even one present. In the early 60’s these were about the only factory technology standards for cold starts.

It might also be a good idea to replace the smog valve. They are very inexpensive and if stuck open will substantially lean the fuel mixture. If the truck sits outside an engine block heater would make cold morning starts much easier. I’ve read many positive reviews about the mat type that adhere to the bottom of the oil pan.

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by krazy_texan

One thing i am looking at is LMC has a washer fluid heater in thier catalog its kinda pricey but maybe worth it.

This sounds like an intriguing idea, although I'm not sure this would provide much of a return on the investment. Most of the washer fluid on the market remains liquid well below freezing. The stuff I have out in the garage states it protects to -30F. Although it won't warm up the windshield, it also won't crack the glass like can happen when warm water is poured on a frozen windshield.

One thing I've found that really helps on a vehicle left outside in the ice and snow is to apply Rain-X to all the outside glass. Compared to hard scraping sometimes needed on untreated glass - ice, frost, and snow wipe right off with comparative ease. I also apply it to the wiper blades, which restores tired blades to nearly new condition.

http://www.rainx.com/Products/Windsh.../Original.aspx

[Str8axle]

Maybe let it warm up for more than 5 mins. My '65 takes alot longer than that @40 degrees outside temp.
My '99 Tahoe wouldn't even be warm after only 5 mins. of warm up. It would barely be at 100 degrees.


Posted via Mobile Device

[krazy_texan]

Wow i didnt think about the hot water on a cold windshield potentially cracking it. I looked at that heater and it is an inline heater that is supposed to heat your washer fluid to 135 degrees which is rather hot for a really cold day plus the price is kinda high

[64shortbox]

Tom,
I assume you have the Quadrajet carb on it? Have you thought about grabbing the electric choke assy off a late 70's Caddy if it doesn't have the electric choke on it? I ran a fused lead off the alternator to the choke rather than the ignition switch. that way if I had to crank my 71 Caddy for any length of time the choke wouldn't open up prematurely. Just a thought, and dirt cheap if you go to the local pick n pulls with big pockets.

[BR3W CITY]

I've never owned something with a carb that ran in both summer and winter...they tend to choose lol. Snowmobile? Winter, Truck? Summer. Try to run either in the wrong season and it costs me money.

[tomfg]

Thanks for the tips guys.
More information....... The 1978 350 has
a two barrel Rochester carb on it..... not
a Quadrojet. The auto choke is the type
with the "heat tube" from the manifold.
The heat riser seems to work good.
The thermostat is brand new 195 deg.,
and the heater seems like it doesn't
take too long to make heat, but I'll
pay more attention to that.
I installed a block heater when I overhauled
the engine, so I'm good to go there!
I'll play with the auto choke some more,
but recently "enrichened it" so it would
start better.

Does anyone have trouble with using the chrome
aftermarket "open element" air filters in the winter?
I realize that most people park their rigs for winter,
but I plan to run this one all winter.
Thanks, Tom

[gimmy 64]

i have the solution---MOVE--75 degrees here in sunny cali today.hahaha

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by tomfg

Does anyone have trouble with using the chrome
aftermarket "open element" air filters in the winter?

The only problem I ever had during the winter with the open element filter, had to do with the hood. In the early years I still had the original 1960 GMC hood with the open screen in the front. Everything in front of the truck - road spray, snow, sleet and mud was ingested into the engine compartment and packed up the front of the air filter element in short order. Eventually I had to switch to one of those 14" chrome jobs with louvers around the sides to keep the filter alive. Once I got rid of the GMC hood the problem went away.

[tomfg]

Good point on the open filter air cleaner sucking up slush, snow, etc..... Never thought of that. Maybe I'll hunt down the GM air cleaner that came with the truck when I got it...... may be better for winter.
From what I gathered here, and in looking at a motor's manual last night, I'll check out the......

Heat riser to see if it's doing it's job. I never gave much thought to what it's actually doing, but now understand that when closed, the riser is forcing hot exhaust gases exiting the right head, thru the intake manifold (warming up the carb) porting, and exiting the left head exhaust.

Will play with the auto choke again. Sounds like I may be able to "enrichen" the choke further, as long as the "unloader" is set correctly.

Carb adjustments, will throw the vacuum gauge on, and set the mixture screws..... maybe when I adjusted them last summer, it's now too lean for winter. Not sure if the accelerator pump is something that may need adjusted for different seasons or not?

Suppose it would be possible to rig up a GM air cleaner on the 78 350 engine, hooking up the warm air induction hose to the original 64 ram horn exhuast manifold, but wont monkey around with that, unless all else fails!

Thanks again for the tips, Tom

[tomfg]

Update: Checked out the truck over the last two days. Turns out that most of my problem was the ignition timing. I thought that it wasn't running quite up to par as it cruised up to speed, but felt good when it was up to cruising.
Had the timing light hooked up, and when I unplugged the vacuum advance hose on the distributor, the engine died! Noticed that the vacuum hose was "sucking" when I unplugged it. Knew right away that was a "no-no" at idle. Had to manually advance the distributor, then unhook the vacuum hose so I could keep it running. Got the timing set, then found a new port on the carb. for the vacuum hose. Got the Vacuum gauge out and ended up "riching" up the carb some. Went for a test drive..... wow, what a difference.
Started it up this morning when the engine was cold, let it warm up two minutes, and headed out....... Choke working good! Now we'll see what happens when it gets 30 below

[Captainfab]

Your vacuum advance should actualy have full manifold vacuum, not ported vacuum. There is a thread in the 'Engine and Drivetrain' FAQ that gives a good instruction on the proper way to set the timing.