Can driving in colder weather make the body more prone to cracks or other issuess?

 

I've never had any issues with them cracking. I drive them until the first snowfall, with temps below freezing.

 

Cold (below freezing) can cause all sorts of potential mechanical issues. Extreme cold (below zero) can flat out break stuff and is generally not good for any car. Aside from that...

Back in the day when our classic Vettes were contemporary modes of transportation and driven all year round (which is why so many of them have rust issues with birdcages and frames), I think that the word would have gotten out if cracking fiberglass was a common thing. I grew up with C3's and my dad drove his in the winter (in the snow) - he never said anything about cracking fiberglass in the cold. Moreover, I don't recall seeing anything in the owners manual about it either, which is where I would expect to see cautions such as that. Someone who has a different experience will likely chime in though.

The solution, of course, is to only drive it on nice sunny days. In closing though, do your due diligence and research on the topic from a variety of trusted sources.

 

On the day before new year's eve '78 me & a buddy decided to get the Vette out of storage and drive to Denver for the holiday.
That's a 1200 mile round trip from Omaha and the temp never got above 10 degrees the whole time.

44 years later I still don't have any cracks...

 

Mines been stored in a garage for 25 years and before that it had been outside it’s whole life. Our garage gets to the 20° area during winter and all this time there is no cracks. It’s yet to drive but it’s about ready. I am planning to take it out this Sunday for its first drive around town. I’m gonna aim for it to be above 35° to be safe, but I don’t expect such problems. The only cracks mines got are in the back of the door jam that holds the metal piece the holds the interior trim piece behind the seat. I’m gonna have it fixed when it’s painted.

 

If you're in Washington State, you must be in Eastern WA. In Western WA it hardly every falls below freezing. Temperate with avg around 38-40 degrees, and rain rain rain. Not terribly cold by Midwest and East Coast standards.

 

one thing to make sure is your tires are up to the task. depends on the compound like racing tires its not good for the cold temperatures. jsut make sure your coolant is good (50/50) and drive on. there are more myths about these cars then Elvis sittings

 

I agree that cracking from just being in the cold is unlikely, but I think all things equal, an impact that might not cause a crack at 50+ degrees, might actually cause a crack at below freezing.

 

It's a car. Does the front rubber bumper on your Toyota crack in cold weather.

 

haha! Good point...

 

This isn’t meant to be glib, but is more to ask questions.

Some materials do become more brittle or less pliable over time. I think we can agree that 50-year-old rubber weatherstripping, belts, hoses, tires, etc. all need to be replaced at some point. I worked in a building that was constructed in the late 1950s. It had a huge wall of glass window panes with the original rubber stripping; the rubber was cracked and worn. The glass panes rattled with the wind, and I could feel the wind around the edges. I’m certain that the windows were not as waterproof as they were in 1958, or even 1968.

Freezing temperatures can affect pliability as well, as we learned in a truly awful way when the O-ring seals on the Space Shuttle Challenger failed due to the freezing temperatures in Florida. Florida! Freezing is freezing. So, would a Toyota’s rubber bumper crack? Maybe more so if it were in an impact in 21 degree weather than in 68 degree weather. How about a 50-year old Toyota bumper?

I have no doubt that, when new, my ‘69 C3 could withstand extreme temperatures, and I’m sure it was driven in the rain and in the snow.

It is known, however, that the fiberglass does move and shrink over time, which is how the bonding strips become more visible, especially at the front valance/nose area. I frankly do not know whether its now half century old fiberglass is more brittle in any temperature, or if it is is more vulnerable when temperatures go down to the 20s or lower.




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correct.
we often test paints and the same test at ambient vs frozen are extremely different.
Frozen gravelometer is a frequent test.

 

I would have a small concern about a crack that already exists...
the car is parked outside for some reason....
light rain occurs....
temp drops below freezing for a couple days
.water that has seeped into the crack and bonding strip freezes causing the crack to get larger....
other than that, I got nothing.

 

I've got better winter vehicles, but I wouldn't think it would cause any issues above zero. Now at -30 things start breaking on vehicles in general, even new cars start making weird noises at those temps. I live on top of a big hill, so going beyond my driveway after the snow fly's isn't happening without studded tires. If I need some garage space during winter I always heat the garage up for a few hours first before firing the vette over since it's running dyno oil. It was 0 out this morning, only ~4 more months before I can get back on the road .

 

No problems driving in cold weather. They are surprisingly good in snow on BF Goodrich Radial TA's.

 

Purchased a new 67 corvette and drove it everyday to work and on vacation. It was 5 years old when I traded it in with 118,000 miles. The paint on the rear deck area was checked and cracked, the rest of the car was not. I dont know if it was thermal , vibration, uv ,ozone , or just a bad application on the rear of the car.
Ed

 

No cold weather caused cracks on my '78 which was driven year round when I first got it and it saw -40 one year. It was a bit hard to get it started but once running it drove just fine and neither the glass or body cracked.

 

I delivered pizzas in it in the winter back in 75, we drive in the winter all the time, they are pretty sturdy vehicles.
No stress cracks per say.

 

Great picture! 😎

 

Puget Sound Area, it gets for a few weeks every few years it’s in the 20°s. Not usually in the low 20°s, more so the the 28° range. And it will warm up to 35° during the day. Rn it’s in the 40°s and will be for a week or so. But you don’t know the weather until your in it. Lol. Too un predictable.