Remember Driving the Big Buicks in Snow?

[dei]

I had a 1967 Mustang and bought bias ply snow tires for it. The motor was the small 6 cylinder with a three speed manual on the floor. Threw a bag of sand in the trunk and guessing since it was under powered the weight to power ratio must have been right and never got stuck for three winters.

[60FlatTop]

I dated a hefty Polish girl once. She could push a stuck car pretty good, even in the dark.

Bernie

[dibarlaw]

Jason:

 We may have had similar experiences. I worked at Liggett Spring and Axle in East Monongahela PA. 1973-1974. I drove a 1943 Ford Army Jeep since my mother drove my/our second car (1969 LeSabre  Convertible) to her job as an O.R. Nurse at Monongahela Hospital. Always having to negotiate steep hills with brick streets. During the winter I would run a set of regular steel wheels and 68 hub caps with "Wagoner" recap tires to replace the chrome road wheels and B.F.Goodrich "Gangster White wall" tires. I kept 2 of the road wheels & tires in the trunk with the spare. Also about 10 sand bags. I never got stuck and neither did my mom while she was driving the car..

 While courting my future wife Joan, who at the time taught school at route 40 school between Frostburg and Grantsville MD. Heavy, heavy snow area. I would go down for our date on Saturday driving the white 1969 Buick LeSabre Convertible. After dinner and a movie there was about 6" of snow on route 40. I left Frostburg about 8:30 choosing to return home on the new route 48 (now 68). Heading west, within 2 miles it was a white out and trying to find the road with out guard rails and oncoming head lights was more than a challenge. After fighting this for 5 miles by this time ploughing snow up to the grill at about 20 mph I found myself running off the shoulder of road. The car slid sideways down into the median embankment where there was a guardrail! The only damage was to the right rear fender extension. But, then my thoughts went to what would the emergency vehicle driver think days later when they found my frozen body in the white car. I also thought  "no way can I drive out of this" up the embankment and back on to an unidentifiable pavement. I know I said at least a few prayers.  They were answered as when I put the car back into drive she took off back up the embankment. I still had another 5 miles to go before the next exit where I could get back on to route 40 at Grantsville MD. How I made it I do not know. There was not as much snow on route 40(a more winding and treacherous road). I stopped at Joan's former landlady's home in Grantsville to try and call her as I should have made it back to Monongahela by then. 12 miles in 2 hours! When I knocked on her door she was on the phone with Joan who called her worried about me and thought I might try to contact her from there. It took another 3 hours to drive the 60+ miles back home. Driving down the Summit to  Uniontown PA. was quite a scare. Hardly any snow getting on to route 51 but there was ice!!!!. At 15-20mph I did have several quick 360 rotational views of the area. I arrived at home around 1:30. My father waiting for the story...... but overall relieved I got home in one piece.

 I made sure I was in church that Sunday morning to give thanks!

[Rivman]

21 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Anyone remember seeing this on TV?

 

TV commercial film for Volkswagen “Snow Plow”

 

I can’t say I remember the commercial but seeing it reminds me of a VW Beetle I once saw when I was living in Ft Wayne, IN in the ‘70s.

 

It was a pretty good snowfall, can’t remember exactly how much but over a foot I’m pretty sure, it closed the city for several days. It was winding down, getting cleaned up pretty good, not melting like it does here in NC at 50+*, and the DOT told everyone to get their vehicles off the roadways.

 

I was driving around a couple days later and there was a VW Beetle that apparently had not gotten moved! SO, the DOT/snow plows, moved it! It was upside down in a snow drift beside the road! The plows were going down a pretty major road and just kept going, plowed the VW right over on its top!

[JZRIV]

9 hours ago, dibarlaw said:

Jason:

 We may have had similar experiences. I worked at Liggett Spring and Axle in East Monongahela PA. 1973-1974. I drove a 1943 Ford Army Jeep since my mother drove my/our second car (1969 LeSabre  Convertible) to her job as an O.R. Nurse at Monongahela Hospital. Always having to negotiate steep hills with brick streets. During the winter I would run a set of regular steel wheels and 68 hub caps with "Wagoner" recap tires to replace the chrome road wheels and B.F.Goodrich "Gangster White wall" tires. I kept 2 of the road wheels & tires in the trunk with the spare. Also about 10 sand bags. I never got stuck and neither did my mom while she was driving the car..

 At 15-20mph I did have several quick 360 rotational views of the area. I arrived at home around 1:30. My father waiting for the story...... but overall relieved I got home in one piece.

 I made sure I was in church that Sunday morning to give thanks!

Larry,

Oh yes I am familiar with the area you traveled. Serious ascents and descents for sure!  And same there were many times I am not sure how I made it through terrible road conditions and it had to be with Jesus at the wheel. Great story and thanks for sharing.

On bad days I often made it out to work and within 1/4 mile of home on way back but surely can't say I never got stuck. Two ways in and one was  a shorter but steepish hill with a 90 degree bend in middle but then high wind deep drift area at top. And the other way in was a loooooong tight winding hill with about 75 feet for a running start. Neither of which were  for the faint of heart. When the drifts were deep I was forced to try the steep winding-hill route often burning my way up and often trying a few times and sometimes I had to walk. I got quite good when I couldn't make it and would starting to backing down, hit the brakes and turn wheels and the front end would come right around so I could go down forward which was safer. We pulled many stuck people out of these areas (including 4x4s) with the tractor during bad winters. 

 

Oh and yes "recap" aggressive winter tires were used by the majority of people I knew. There were recapping shops a-plenty but today they are a rare find. 

 

I know when we talk about hills it can be relative to a readers individual experience of what denotes a "hill" depending where they are from. Its hard for folks to understand that have not experienced the geography in SW PA. Certainly we aren't the only place with hills but the tightness, steepness, narrow width, no berms and often with turns within them sure do increase the challenge. 15 years ago we moved back to the farm where I grew up  and not much has changed  for access except now wife and I drive a Subaru Outback and Forester and while we could make the Big Old Buicks go pretty good in the snow, there is no comparison and rarely ever a challenge that increases heart rate with the traction and stability of the  AWD Soobs. Boring - just boring I say!

Edited January 20, 2018 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[dibarlaw]

Jason:

 Just this past Tuesday we took Joan's mom back to her home in Charleroi. Less than an inch on route 31 coming through Donegal and Mt. Pleasant. (We still avoid the PA. turnpike at all costs. Now over $25 from Blue Mountain to New Stanton. Plus no desire to deal with the constant pelting of slop from the trucks.) It was a different story on the way home. By 5:00 it was snowing steadily and route 70 north bound was backed up to the route 51 east exit. We were lucky and were able to exit there and detour up route 201 to Connelsville. Then route 711 to connect back to RT 31.The roads are exactly as you describe in your post. What we found were people with AWD vehicles going down hill at 25 mph and up the hills at 25 mph. That all critical last 50 feet or so at the crest of the hill saw some swerving.  Driving a 2008 KIA Rondo with only front wheel drive I had to lay back from the cars ahead so I could get a run up the next hill. Problem is compounded as almost all these roads have a sharp bend in the ascent or descent. Another exciting winter adventure.

 As a kid in the late 1950s I remember riding with my dad in the front seat( no child restraint systems at the time) of his Black 1948 Olds 2 dr. with Hydramatic up the steepest hills with out concern during bad snows. As we would just about make the crest of a hill and he felt the car loosing traction he would start swaying his body forward urging "Lucy" and have me do the same chanting "come on Lucy you can make it old girl". We always made it over the top.

 I saw this example at the Hershey car corral. Memories flooded back!

He said he always ran "Sawdust" Snow Recaps. I only think once he ever had to put chains on the car.

[60FlatTop]

My Grandfather had one of the old diamond tread capping machines. We had customers who would travel 50 miles or more to get that tread design for winter.

 

I think we had three old cookers in the basement of the barn and a Honeycut regroving machine down there when he finally closed up. If we didn't have tread we would make it!

Bernie

[Joseph P. Indusi]

I grew up in northern Westchester County in New York.   This is a very hilly region, especially in the towns along the Hudson River.   The old Buicks with Dynaflow were very good in snow if you started out slowly.   I could usually take any of the hills in a 56 Buick Special that was my father's car.  In those days we used bias ply snow tires during the winter and occasionally we installed chains.   The Dynaflow was nice, no abrupt shifts, and if you gave it the gas gently the wheels rarely lost traction.  Cement blocks in the trunk were sometimes also used to get some weight over the rear wheels and improve the front/rear weight distribution.

Those were the days.

Joe, BCA 33493

[Ted "Wildcat65" Nagel]

Learned a lesson about 1982.   I was driving "grandma's" 68 LeSabre 400 4-door from Cincinnati up to Columbus on I-71...

The road seemed clear enough, but looked wet.  I decided to "test" my traction by goosing the throttle.  Next thing I know 

the back end of the car is spinning around,   once, then I'm in the median in the snow stopped.    Dang...thought I was stuck!

after a minute or 2 of contemplation I backed up the median slope till no grip, then down the slope with much momentum...got back

on the highway and on my way again.   "I will never do that again!"

[91vert]

[avgwarhawk]

Define big. I cut my teeth  snow driving in a 1978 Buick Regal. It had Firestone snow biter tires. Then later on a 73 Estate Wagon with Goodyear snow tires. 

Edited February 1, 2020 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[RivNut]

'78 Regal - nope; midsized. 73 Estate wagon - can't get much bigger.