Ever sacrifice a nice vintage car to the salt monster as a winter beater?

[Hemi Joel]

I ran into  guy a couple winters ago who was driving a clean Arizona mid 60's 4 door  Buick as his winter beater here in Minnesota. He figured it would be good for 5 years or so and then be totally rusted out, then he'd get another one. 

I'd love to drive a nice old car in the winter, but I just can't bring myself to destroy an old survivor. It's weird, I won't sacrifice a $6000 50 year old car, but I will my $50,000 late model pickup.  

 

How bout you other rust belters?

Edited December 6, 2023 by Hemi Joel (see edit history)

[Motorpirate]

Yup. kind of.

Does a '96 Bronco count?

The salt has reduced it's weight considerably...

[Hemi Joel]

Winter beaters are fairly common around here. But usually cars 10-25 years old that have fully depreciated out, but still have some life left in them. Not normally a nice car that has reached "collectible" status.

[rocketraider]

That's what Hondas, Nissans and the like are for.

 

The nincompoop sacrificing that Buick to northern road salt should be beaten around his ears.

[Digger914]

1 hour ago, Hemi Joel said:

I ran into  guy a couple winters ago who was driving a clean Arizona mid 60's 4 door  Buick as his winter beater here in Minnesota. He figured it would be good for 5 years or so and then be totally rusted out, then he'd get another one. 

I'd love to drive a nice old car in the winter, but I just can't bring myself to destroy an old survivor. It's weird, I won't sacrifice a $6000 50 year old car, but I will my $50,000 late model pickup.  

 

How bout you other rust belters?

Beaters are better, but:

Do you respect a guy that so enjoys the challenges of winter driving that he will take on snow drifts and slippery winter rush hour traffic with a rear wheel drive and drum brakes? 

Or, do you yank him out of winter traffic and give him a nice warm 72 hour psych hold?

 

 

 

[Porsche 68]

I live in upstate New York where rust is installed at the dealership I used to drive Dodge trucks get 4 years out of them no matter what I did spray oil underneath wash it they still rusted away they all do Now I have a rust free  Volkswagen diesel from Virginia let’s see how long this will last 

[PAV8427]

6 hours ago, Hemi Joel said:

Winter beaters are fairly common around here. But usually cars 10-25 years old that have fully depreciated out, but still have some life left in them. Not normally a nice car that has reached "collectible" status.

Although winter is a little behind schedule here(Mn), it is time to start seeing all the B body GM's show up. 

The best beater I ever had was a

'68 Delmont 88 2dr. 
There is a benefit to having a 455 and low ground clearance. 
Made a great snow plow with a couple sand bags in the trunk.
 And I dont remember ever getting stuck. 

[Mark Wetherbee]

Well yes, but it was in a completely different context of time… 68 Cougar, 72 Rustang, a buddy of mine had couple of the wide track Pontiacs which he had a thing for. Of course they were 10-15 year old $#1tboxes as Hemi Joel pointed out. Say what you want but rear wheel drive and extra mass to loose control of makes winter driving more difficult, but either way it’s his car and his money to throw out any way he wants to - so rather than trying to publicly shame the guy why not try buying or trading a less interesting car for it

 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Yes different time but I recall facillitating the sale of my aunt's one owner 73 Mustang coupe with I believe a 351 AT to my HS pal who had (still does) a 68 Mustang GTA 390.  The 73 was whistle clean but baby blue... 🤮  If it was a better color I might have grabbed it myself.

 

It was definately demoted to beater and I felt a little bad since I figured in time it would be a nice car for someone.  But in 81, 82 a notchback 73 Mustang was not a 66 4 speed fastback.  Never will be I guess...

 

Another kid had a 57 Chevy 2 door hardtop and a 4 door hardtop sport sedan for a winter beater.  I have seen a few tri five guys do that.  The last time I saw a tri five as a beater was at least 25 years ago a guy around here used to drive a 57 wagon year round.

 

I wouldn't mind a tri five beater or other semi interesting car like that but wouldn't subject it to winter.  CT doesn't use salt but the new mystery mix that is supposed to be easy on environment eats cars also...

Edited December 6, 2023 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[mrspeedyt]

in 1985 I bought a good running good driving fairly solid 41 Cadillac sedan. the first few years that I had it I had no issues with driving it in the snow which we get every winter at Flagstaff, Arizona with a 7,000 ft. elevation. at that time Arizona did not use salt at all... just cinders, but that changed after a massive pile up on I-40 in 1989.

 

by that time i wasn't quite so adventurous driving the cad in the winter because of heater issues.

where I live now there's hardly any snow but it still can happen. the Cadillac stays parked most all the time now. it's got some appearance issues such as paint and chrome and interior.

 

now i just drive one of my Toyota's such as my older Prius or my $300 Corolla.

 

[TAKerry]

9 hours ago, Hemi Joel said:

I ran into  guy a couple winters ago who was driving a clean Arizona mid 60's 4 door  Buick as his winter beater here in Minnesota. He figured it would be good for 5 years or so and then be totally rusted out, then he'd get another one. 

I'd love to drive a nice old car in the winter, but I just can't bring myself to destroy an old survivor. It's weird, I won't sacrifice a $6000 50 year old car, but I will my $50,000 late model pickup.  

 

How bout you other rust belters?

How true. I often think about how people will treat their 'classic' car (me included) like glass. In reality the average one is maybe 30k tops but I have no problem taking my 50k truck to Home Depot and throwing a load of sheetrock in the back. In my defense I do keep the truck in a regular wash cycle and it parks inside every night. 

 

We get snow, sometimes its every third year! But in my parts we dont really have winter beaters. I have an expedition that would make a nice one for someone right now. It needs to go, LOL.

[BillinMd]

8 hours ago, Digger914 said:

Beaters are better, but:

Do you respect a guy that so enjoys the challenges of winter driving that he will take on snow drifts and slippery winter rush hour traffic with a rear wheel drive and drum brakes? 

Or, do you yank him out of winter traffic and give him a nice warm 72 hour psych hold?

 

 

 

Like whe Ed was tooling around Boston in a snow storm in his Pierce?😁

[EmTee]

None of my winter cars would have been mistaken for a 'classic'.  Probably the nicest one I had was a '70 Newport 4-door.  It was in good shape overall with minimal rust and a nice interior.  However, the 440 generally returned 10 mpg...

[58L-Y8]

No one here in Western New York wants to deal with the vagaries of carburetor and points ignition in the cold, snowy months.  We've all become accustomed to computer-controlled fuel injection and ignition which handle cold weather much better without returning 8-10mpg in daily operation.  Since those have been the norm for at least thirty years, the oldest winter beater anyone would consider here is a cheap, undesirable but serviceable 1990's vehicle for which parts and service access are still readily available.   Throw in the benefits of fwd and disk brakes which have also been the norm for decades makes any 40+ year old car a non-option as a winter beater. 

[28 Chrysler]

My 1941 Dodge coupe with the razor blade 6X16s did a good job driving on the un-plowed roads in Minnesota.

I had a 1981 Dodge Omni 4 door that was a great winter beater. It got rear ended twice the 3 years I had it, each time on about the coldest day of the year.

[arcticbuicks]

I drive my 55 Merc in winter the last two years here in Canada ,it's a southern US car ,total restoration ,I undercoated it and chassis is well painted etc.......we do not get much salt here or sloppy wet snow ,not like rust belt area ......but do get salt ......I have a quite a few cars and decided to enjoy this one year round ......and it will last as long as it lasts.....I do not keep it in heated garage as the cold warm change accelerates the salt reaction  .....and time may be running out with laws changing towards EV ,classic car milage driving limits talk ....and climate laws with old cars ......the days may be numbered ......so I'm going to drive all I can ....

Edited December 6, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[John348]

I guess it all depends where you live and what your intended use will be. I live a portion of the year in the Greater NYC Metro Area and I don't like driving my vintage cars on nice sunny days the way people have been driving lately. I avoid taking my modern everyday vehicles when the weather is wet in the winter now. 

[60FlatTop]

A well cared for collector car in the 20 to 35 year old range has always been a great value for basic transportation winter or summer. My wife has never commuted and those were the cars or choice for her. We sold most of them to people who planned to restore them. She quit driving a few years ago. Her last one went to a very excited young man. It was a very clean 1999 Tahoe LT suffering from some rust, but a car with a very good following.

She drove a '65 Electra 4 door for a few years. You could tell it was a daily driver. It did not have chrome Buick rally wheels on it. All the real collector ones do. Last time I saw that Electra it was riding on Dubs.

There used to be a dealer called Collector Cars of Rochester. I bought her a nice '68 Skylark two door hardtop there, real nice one. I think I paid $2700 for it a little over 30 years ago. Had that quite a few years and sold it for restoration.

 

That row of critiquing judges on the folding chairs at the entrance to the shows wouldn't look twice at those cars 30 years ago. Even today there are a bunch of old cranks that refuse to recognize anything outside of their limited dogma.

 

I know there are some who would shudder if they saw me driving the wet, snow streets this morning on the way up for coffee in my 18 year old, 80,000 mile cladded  Avalanche.

I am pretty sure someone will buy that for restoration when I am done with it. I shopped and paid under $10,00 for it, maybe under 9,000. One shouldn't tell, you know.

 

One thing I do know, there has never been a shortage of old cars to buy.

[McLovin]

Back in 1982 in Alaska my winter beater was a 67 mustang coupe with a slightly built 302 out of a 70 and 3 speed manual. The car was missing most of the front clip and overall body pretty rough but all functional. With studded tires on the back and the traction lock axle it did amazingly well, always starting even in 15 below weather when much newer cars didn't! Crazy part is the defrost didn't work well so I would look through a one foot defrosted hole in the windshield bundled up in layers of clothing freezing my butt off! I was only 21 then, certainly nothing I would do now, lol! McLovin.

[Hemi Joel]

I think some people look at it the same as when somebody puts a cherry 66 imperial into a demo derby. Because they are the toughest thing ever built. But you're wrecking a nice car.

[Lahti35]

Up until the engine threw a rod 5 years ago I ran a '61 Falcon year round as daily transportation in Michigan. It would go through foot of unplowed snow just fine with the skinny tires. I just kept it hosed off at the carwash and never noticed any appreciable deterioration in the years I ran it. Heater was great, lots of hot! It was in decent shape to begin with but no queen that's for sure. I still miss it, most reliable car I had until the rod went on the little 144 six. 

[TAKerry]

Not a winter beater, but a daily driver. I had a friend in hs that had a big Chrysler station wagon, 65-67 era. We called it the meat wagon. After he graduated as a final farewell he entered it in the derby at the county fair. In 1982 it was just a big ugly station wagon, I know now it would be a collectible.

[gungeey]

 

 

Neither the dd nor stranger to winter. When I'm dead what I leave behind will carry little meaning. If a pimple of rust shows up so be it.

 

 

 

[McLovin]

3 hours ago, Lahti35 said:

Up until the engine threw a rod 5 years ago I ran a '61 Falcon year round as daily transportation in Michigan. It would go through foot of unplowed snow just fine with the skinny tires. I just kept it hosed off at the carwash and never noticed any appreciable deterioration in the years I ran it. Heater was great, lots of hot! It was in decent shape to begin with but no queen that's for sure. I still miss it, most reliable car I had until the rod went on the little 144 six. 

Those old falcons are cool! The predecessor to the mustang, so basic and easy to work on! 🙂

[McLovin]

4 hours ago, TAKerry said:

Not a winter beater, but a daily driver. I had a friend in hs that had a big Chrysler station wagon, 65-67 era. We called it the meat wagon. After he graduated as a final farewell he entered it in the derby at the county fair. In 1982 it was just a big ugly station wagon, I know now it would be a collectible.

All these classics that we know and love today we're just used cars way back then. Probably my biggest regret of all the cars I've had and sold was a 69 Dodge Charger SE, with a 383 in front of a 727 auto. Even though I wasn't fond of the factory green paint, it was a real runner and in pretty nice shape, sold it for 1,600 bucks in 1983. Kicking myself in the ass today for that decision, lol!

[Jim Bollman]

This was Western NY so the heart of Winter rust. Not me but a couple of Model A friends back in the late 70s early 80s that wanted to drive there As year around. Imron was pretty new at the time and they painted the chassis and fenders with Imron with the idea of keeping everything well preserved and they partially dissembling every Spring for a deep cleaning. I know they did it for a Winter or two then one moved to Florida and the other to somewhere in New England and I lost track of them.  It was fun seeing the As running around all Winter in the snow.

[Tph479]

My daily driver is more than half way there to being an aaca accepted car.  Besides slowly turning into a winter beater, it is also on its way to being a high mileage spring, summer and fall beater. 

[ply33]

When I left Arizona for college in Upstate New York our family car was 7 years old which I considered pretty new. I was astounded when I saw the parking lot at the Rochester airport and noticed there were no cars as old as our "new" car. And many of the "brand new" cars had visible rust. People complain about all sorts of things that remove older cars from the road but it seems to me that road salt scraps out a lot more cars than any "cash for clunkers" program ever did.

 

I bought my '33 when in college. It was at the time 40 years old and was originally delivered to a dealer in Rochester so I suspect it spent all of its years before I acquired it there. And it had the rust damage to prove it. If I had more coin or been smarter I would have passed it by.

 

12 hours ago, 28 Chrysler said:

My 1941 Dodge coupe with the razor blade 6X16s did a good job driving on the un-plowed roads in Minnesota.

I used the '33 as my only car for several years and drove it in many Upstate New York winter storms as well as a few in the mid-Atlantic after I was out of school. The 5.25x17 Sears Allstate tires, high ground clearance and relatively low power did quite well in the snow. It seemed to be much better in the snow than the '60s and early '70s cars with more power and wider tires even if those newer cars had snow tires and I didn't.

[JamesR]

On 12/5/2023 at 10:16 PM, Hemi Joel said:

I ran into  guy a couple winters ago who was driving a clean Arizona mid 60's 4 door  Buick as his winter beater here in Minnesota. He figured it would be good for 5 years or so and then be totally rusted out, then he'd get another one. 

 

Not trying to start a conflict, but there are some old car owners who don't see their vehicles as all that historically significant. They see them either as a disposable mode of transportation or a style/fashion statement. They are stylish and should be enjoyed, but that needs to be balanced against the need to be a steward, in my opinion. I don't own show cars or perfectly original examples - I can't afford that - but one thing I CAN afford to do is keep them from rusting out.

 

I think old cars can be driven in winter if salted roads are avoided. If your roads are salted, waiting until roads are cleared of snow and letting the melt-off wash the salt from road surfaces is important. Letting it rain first is an even better idea.  A few years ago, an old guy at our church could be seen plowing his nice-but-rapidly-declining '73 Riviera through snow drifts and rivers of salty slush. Made me cringe.

[demco32]

20 hours ago, Porsche 68 said:

I live in upstate New York where rust is installed at the dealership I used to drive Dodge trucks get 4 years out of them no matter what I did spray oil underneath wash it they still rusted away they all do Now I have a rust free  Volkswagen diesel from Virginia let’s see how long this will last 

I know these cars good, very good engine the 1.9 TDI.

One problem with these engines.

Check the bolt for the crankshaft pully distribution, this one stretches out and play will be on the pully, not a lot but enough to damage the face of the crankshaft  .

Replace bolt with a 12.9 bolt and tighten with special VW tool to hold the pully in place, not an air  impact wrench!

The tension in the bolt is important.

Don't use the same bolt twice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Cluley]

Between 2007 & 2014 I daily drove a '74 Dart year round in Mid-Michigan.

 

At that point, 4 doors were basically $1000 +/- a little depending on condition.  This one had been in Texas & Michigan, so it was both sun baked & rusted.  

Painted it with rattle can Rustoleum and it was a decent 20 footer...maybe 50 feet. 

 

I was sorry to see it go, but by the Spring of 2014 it had some actual structural rust issues and the 318 had developed some serious blowby.

 

[Lahti35]

8 hours ago, JamesR said:

 

Not trying to start a conflict, but there are some old car owners who don't see their vehicles as all that historically significant. They see them either as a disposable mode of transportation or a style/fashion statement. They are stylish and should be enjoyed, but that needs to be balanced against the need to be a steward, in my opinion. I don't own show cars or perfectly original examples - I can't afford that - but one thing I CAN afford to do is keep them from rusting out.

 

I think old cars can be driven in winter if salted roads are avoided. If your roads are salted, waiting until roads are cleared of snow and letting the melt-off wash the salt from road surfaces is important. Letting it rain first is an even better idea.  A few years ago, an old guy at our church could be seen plowing his nice-but-rapidly-declining '73 Riviera through snow drifts and rivers of salty slush. Made me cringe.

I knew a guy who drove a vintage VW bug year round in Michigan, he would take it and have it undercoated each season with a Fluid Film type coating and the bug was still looking great. I use it on my newer cars both having spent their life in Michigan, each over 12yo, and have yet to see any corrosion beyond the exhaust system which is uncoated for obvious reasons. 

 

If I were to pick up another Falcon and daily drive it all over again I'd coat it with Fluid Film and skip the copious amount of car wash visits, lol! 

[Mark Osterman]

I drive my 1923 model T Ford runabout just about every day all through the year here in Rochester NY unless I’m on a trip away from home. Have always owned a T and only one at a time. Model Ts suck in the snow because the tires are so thin. Back in the T era owners put chains on their tires and they worked really well. But chains are no longer legal in our region and without them driving a T in the snow is like riding a bicycle on ice. And then there is the salt. Along with not driving my car when snow is on the roads I don’t drive it while the snow on the road is melting and wet with salt water. I wait until the roads are bone dry which never takes more than a few days.
 

I took this picture last week. We had our first snow … the actual roads were clear and no salt had been put down and I pulled over to a section in our local park for the picture. 

[Ed Luddy]

During the winter of 1975-76 I bought a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda. 383, 727 auto, Black, black vinyl top, black leather interior (front seats only), power windows and many more options. It was 5 yrs. old and rusty already. I didn't want to ruin my 1973 Challenger 318 sunroof car as it was in far better shape and only 2-3 yrs. old.

Yeah, it was a big mistake!

[Bryan G]

My first car was a 67 Impala. It was a rust bucket Dad bought it in 86 and patched it up. I never garaged it, and had to patch it up every 5 years even though I avoided winter driving. Fast forward to about 10 years ago. The fuel pump in my beater pickup went up, around this time of year. I drove the Impala for much of that winter as the car was already starting to pop-out all over anyway. It sure did accelerate the rust. Yes, I felt a bit guilty, but the truth was it really didn't diminish the value any when I sold it a year or two later. 

 

I briefly owned a 50 Cadillac with the rare "Flintstones" floor pan option, plus other fancy features like essentially no upholstery and a steering wheel that was basically nothing but the steel rim. The guy I sold it to never did anything with it. I've daydreamt of buying it back, throwing on some Pep Boys seat covers and a late model steering wheel, sorting out the mechanics, and greeting the season with the coolest old beater around!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Just thought about this.  Worked with a guy in the mid 80s who bought a 75 Corvette.  During the time he had it, he bought a 70 or 71 Buick Skylark 2 door hardtop and used it for a couple years as a winter beater.  It was a one owner car and basically mint.  What I wonder is which one would be the better car today?  

 

Personally I like pretty much all C3s but I know the Buick fits the pre 72 time frame a lot of muscle/pony/60s car guys draw the line on.

[EmTee]

2 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

What I wonder is which one would be the better car today?  

Today, the '75 Corvette would still be a plastic bumper smog-era Corvette.  The '70/'71 Skylark would be a 455 GS! 

[rocketraider]

Ya left out Stage 1...

[Chris Bamford]

"Ever sacrifice a nice vintage car to the salt monster as a winter beater?"

 

Yes, although we don't use much salt here. 

I run two cars as year 'round, any-weather transportation: the '26 T Touring since 2006 and the '47 Dodge since 1991. They're both dressed up for Christmas and ready to go. The garage mats are new this season and something I should have done years ago.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Chris Bamford (see edit history)

[Harold]

My daughter moved to Chicago in 2016 and there was a nice '59 Ford parked curbside on her street.  She left in 2020 and is back there visiting this weekend.  The Ford is still living on her old block looking somewhat worse but not terrible.  I wouldn't have subjected the car to all those Chicago winters.