Don in VT

Hi,

I have a 1987 Base L98 with a stock cooling system. I live in Northern Vermont where it gets real cold ( last night it was 33 deg. below 0). My old 87 sits out. I was wondering if anyone with a L98 had used one of those inline lower radiator hose heaters that are somewhat popular up i our neck of the woods ? If anyone has any other ideas (a heated garage is not an option) please let me know.

Stay warm

Don

SunCr

Plug in block heater? JC Whitney probably has something.

oldalaskaman

I lived in alaska for over twenty years, the thing that works best is an oil pan heater. they have magnetic ones that you stick on the bottom of your oil pan and plug in. the water ones dont work that well cause all they do is heat the water , what you want is to heat everything and the oil pan heaters do that. Make sure to clean the surface where you'll stick it . it will also defrost your windows and make your heater warm faster.You can plug it into a timer so it starts heating a couple of hours prior to you needing the car or just leave it plugged in . Napa Carquest, and various others sell them

Don in VT

Hi oldalaskaman and SunCr,

SunCr, Thanks for the suggestion I will check into the block heaters



oldalaskaman, After doing some research on what I really need and now with your cold weather experience regarding the pan/oil heater, your approach has go to be the way to go. After all, it is the real cold thick oil that is causing all the starting problems.

Thanks again to both of you for the help,

Don in VT

oldalaskaman

excellent, use one of the form-a-gasket products around the edges of the heater and it will never blow off on you, and dont forget to unplug the extension cord when you leave in the morning. you'ld be surprised how many folks do that.

VtVette

Hi Don, I'm in Colchester and have owned C4's since 1996. I can't imagine you're driving your car this time of year are you? I've always had my C4's in unheated storage through the winter months. I have a '93 in unheated storage right now. I do not have access to the car so, it sits from early December to mid-late March unattended. I've never had any issues of any kind keeping my C4's (from '85's through '93's) in unheated storage.

What are your particular concerns?

oldalaskaman

he drives his every day, even in winter.

Don in VT

Hi Everyone,

First I want to thank everyone for their responses. They all helped a lot.

Now on to the lingering question of why does someone drive a Corvette (any year for that matter) in the winter and especially in the NE ? Well, I drive mine because I can. I drive my Vette because it is set up for winter driving ie, 8in wide alloys with good nonstudded winter tires. I have driven this 87 for 6 years in the winter making at least 30 round trips to my consulting engineering job in South Hadley, MA. My stats are excellent as I have logged almost 130K miles in the 87 with no tickets and no accidents.

When living in the Pacific NW I worked my way through 25 Corvettes, 3 Porsche 928's, 1 DeTomaso Pantera, 2 308 Ferrari's, opps almost forgot the 4 Porsche 911's, 4 Fiero's. All of these cars were driven all year with no problems in the PNW.

Having said all that, we do have one exception. We do have a garage queen. It is off the road as soon as the salt goes down. It is a 90 ZR1 with low miles and a somewhat rare color combo. We drive the car a lot in the summer mostly longish trips.

Wishing you all a successful 2011 and happy Vetting. Save the Wave

Don

oldalaskaman

excellent

larry93lt1

Here is a gentleman who does utilize his auto's for their initial intent.

Way to go Don !

Don in VT

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the support. I kind of go back to a comment that Mr. Zora Duntov made early in Corvette history. "These cars are made to be driven and driven hard". That really stuck with me over the years. Because I started the performance car hobby very early in my life (20 years old) with my first Vette (a 54) I have had the privilage of driving a lot of different cars and even driven the Autobahn at speed in a customers Porsche 928. I have had a love affair from age 14 to now with all things with motors and wheels. It has cost me a lot of money but I don't regret a minute of it. At my age now (almost 77) I intend to get as much Vette seat time as I can. I actually have a choice of what I drive most mornings, I can be bored to death and drive our winter car (99 Volvo XC) or I can put a big smile on my face and hop into the 87 C4 and get it on. It is a no brainer on my end.

Thanks again to all,

Great bunch of folks on the Forum. We are fortunate to have each other so we can keep these great cars on the road.

Cheer

Don




When "Old Blue" bites the dust I am going to go out and get another early C4 and start all over again.

Pwnage1337

I have a water jacket style block heater in my 93 Buick lesabre (3.8L V6) I usually only plug it in when its realllly cold out, (below 0/extreme winds) and if i leave it plugged in for 4 hours (set up on a timer) the coolant temperature is at 100 degrees when i start the car. I imagine the oil gets somewhat warm too, because it starts much easier when I use the heater. Turns over almost instantly.

Don in VT

Hi PWNAGE,

Another excellent suggestion. Thank you for the info. Where did you get the heater and do you remember the brand ?

Thanks,

Don

oldalaskaman

those water jacket heaters require you to remove a freeze plug to install them, and do work, its just that they heat only the water jacket and the oil in the bottom of your engine doesnt see the heat till you start the engine. That slow , first couple of cranks, until the engine starts is hard on your timing chain and starter. I've seen engines with a water jacket heater break lower end parts cause the oil in the pan was frozen like molasses. hope this helps, bob

JrRifleCoach

25 Corvettes,
3 Porsche 928's,
1 DeTomaso Pantera,
2 308 Ferrari's,
4 Porsche 911's,
4 Fiero's.

39 Cars!

All of these cars were driven all year with no problems in the PNW.

Don in VT

Hi,

I want to apologize to everyone for letting this thread get way off topic for the Tech/Performance catagory. I have all the info on the radiator hose heater issue that I need. So thanks for the help.

Again, haviing said that, I will be glad to share my winter and non winter experiences with all those different cars in the General Discussion section.

Any interest,? just start a thread and I will jump in and we can share experiences on cold weather driving, sports cars and just how many unusual cars you can own in 57 years of being a total car nut.

Cheers,

Don