6 Volt Cold Start Regret

[@steverandall5814]

We've all gotten so spoiled by our remote-start, EFI, 12-volt, 900CCA cars, we've completely forgotten what our grandparents went through every winter with their 6-volt, carbureted, manual choke cars and trucks. If you weren't lucky enough to have a garage, this was a daily ritual. I remember my grandfather telling me about how he would set a blowtorch on the inner fender of his Plymouth pointing towards the air cleaner so the air going into the carburetor would be warm for the cold morning start.

[@73honda350]

Every extreme cold spell in WI I'm reminded how much I love computer controlled EFI & ignition compared to the manual choke carbureted I4's, I6's and V8's (most of which were cars of mid-late 60's vintage) I drove in the early 70's in northern IL. It was always an art, not a science, to know how much gas to pump down the throttle throat to start, but not flood, the engine. It's been decades since I cussed a vehicle for being balky to start in even the worst cold weather.

[@jamesthompson8008]

@ 73honda350 NO DOUBT!! I love my classic car n truck stuff, but I DON'T miss that bullshit at all. Merry Christmas

[@davidlocke9949]

For 30 years I had a '53 Dodge truck with a flathead 6, floor stomper starter, manual choke, and 6V positive ground electrical. A couple of times I had to start that old dray at a temp of around -20°F. So this video brings back some memories for me.

[@miltcarlton2593]

My father bought a 1951 Nash statesman. we lived in New Mexico on the southern end of the Rockies at 7000 feet. When his favorite mechanic had it tuned perfectly it took two pumps on then step on the starter. The engine seem to not even make one revolution and it would fire into life. The only thing he did not like about the car was that it only had 85 hp for a car that weighed about 3800 pounds. Really enjoy your channel.

[@jamesthompson8008]

Hey at least you got it going & into the shop, & Stella didn't look to displeased! Merry Christmas to & the family.

[@pauloconnor7951]

Paint job is awesome !!! Nice Sherbert Green !!!!

[@THEMOWERMEDIC1]

The suspense was killing me!

[@2stroketurbo]

Ha !

[@labellamaffia]

Omg this is amazing!! Would love to see a hard start video with the camera at wide angle or pointing towards you inside the car too

[@KiwiCatherineJemma]

With old DC Generator cars it's pretty safe to jump start them on double their normal voltage ie 12 volts, using a car battery (or perhaps one of those newfangled jumpstarters). Only connect it for the minimum time possible, the engine will spin over much faster and the sparkplugs will be super-powered so the engine fires up near instantly so the starter motor will get LESS wear and tear, just ensure any lamps like the car's interior dome lamp are turned OFF and don't turn on headlights , radio or other lights etc. As soon as the car engine fires up, and starts revving well, aided by the choke being on full, we assume, (because it's way below freezing temperatures) yes the "6 volt" system's charging voltage will go up to about 8.5 volts (however as that is less than the 12 volts being jumped across the battery terminals by the 12 volt battery/jumpstarter, the Generator DC regulator charging system "cut-out" which is a mechanical points system pulled in by a magnetic coil will simply NOT pull in, ergo, no problem. As stated, ensure to remove the 12 volt jumping battery immediately the engine starts and runs. Indeed it is my understanding that instead of a standard 3 cell '6 volt' car battery which gives 6.6 volts when fully charged and warm, that brand new "4 cell" car batteries are made now for classic cars, so as to give 8.8 volts on a fully charged "6 volt" battery system, so that classic 6 volt cars start more easily in very cold weather. A "6 volt" charging system can be tweaked to give about 9 volts to charge those special new 4 cell 8 volt car batteries and it ensures that 6 volt headlamps glow as brightly as possible without shortening bulb life, too much. I've had lots of old 12 volt cars that needed 24 volts to get them to start, if the engine is sick or has been left standing for awhile. When a car friend first told me about double-voltage jumpstarting 40 odd years ago, I said "surely that's bad for the starter motor". He said "What's worse, 24 volts for 2 seconds or the normal voltage for 5 or 10 minutes, cranking, cranking, cranking, struggling to get it to start up ?"

[@jorgefernandez-mv8hu]

I remember firing up a small propane heater under the engine to warm it up enough to get it going. I would then put cardboard in front of the radiator so it would warm up and stay warm while driving. Fun times they were.

[@johanvangelderen6715]

Hopefully he pumped the gas pedal a few times before starting Also closed the choke plate. 20 degrees F is not that cold. In fact that's considered a warmish temperature in many states. Cars had 6 volt batteries for decades.

[@crankychris2]

Insta-Start. Easy starting with a healthy dose of Castor oil for upper cyl lubricant during the first few seconds of a cold start up. The ether lets your motor fire up almost instantly. There are other brands too.

[@chriscansdale6389]

I was wondering about your temperatures when you said 5 degrees. I converted to Celcius and was thinking it didnt look like -14 c when you were driving.. Meanwhile its 75 f where I am in Australia today and forecast to be 82 on Christmas day..😆 . Think Id prefer the cold Christmas than a hot one. As for starting a 6v in the cold, or any temp really, my Model T Ford always cranked over like that.. at least it had a crank handle in emergencies. I remember as a kid in the 70's in England hearing from my Dad about a cold snowy Christmas they had in the 60's once. Only 2 cars in their street could start and be moved. My Dad's 6v 4cyl, side valve Ford Popular (because he had the crank) and a Citroen DS because once started, he just raised the suspension until the car was above the snow level and forced his way out... something to be said for old cars.. remember, once upon a time they were new cars and daily drivers in bad weather too...

[@montanablue7960]

Beautiful Brittany!

[@garethjudd5840]

Good night 😴 9.45 pm here in the UK. Merry Christmas 🎄

[@edwardmalfroid946]

Lighter weight oil below 40° as I recall...

[@pstreetgarage7304]

We are truely spoiled with modern day cars. I remember carburettors and having to prime and let warm. This is on an other level. But I guess advanced compared to a Model T

[@lovetocrank]

Great cranking!

[@danbolton3180]

We were at 16 degrees last night on the Olympic Peninsula still with 6 inches of snow. I start my 2017 Subaru daily during this cold since they have factory parasitic draws on batteries.

[@GoliathAngelus]

It was on the news here in the Netherlands,, prepare for the coldest winter so far in the U.S

[@James-xo4uv]

6 volt cars need a 00 Guage battery cables , maybe this might hel

[@ludwigheijden5060]

Brrr, that is cold. Do you know/have Barkas vans/trucks from the DDR? There is one for sale here and I thought about it but I don't think the blue smoke will be appreciated when I drive to town. 😄Thanks again for the video.

[@claycoates5056]

there use to be a lot of these in UTAH and it dose get cold there interesting think that it would be a good idea to convert to 12 volt by adding a small alternator and keep the generator for the water pump that could eliminate a lot of problems the 6 volt starter would work with 12 volt gust do not grind on the thing for a long time I made conversation to old Dodges and they never had any problems

[@marcbeebe]

It was -40 here this morning. Fortunately I did not have to start an old Nash. Or even a new Toyota (which has block heater and trickle charger 'cause I know what it's like trying to get things started in the cold).

[@ToomasTelling]

i have driven diesel cars for years and My first car was a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 190D with the 2.0 liter N/A diesel. well one year we had a really long cold spell and by that i mean it was -30 celsius for 30 days straight. well because my car didnt have a block heater i would just keep it running as much as i could. one really cold night i kept the car running close to 10 hours straight. obviously a bit higher than idle to keep the oil moving.

[@marcbeebe]

@@ToomasTelling Diesels have the extra problem of fuel congealing too! Sometimes even adding propanol doesn't help.

[@ToomasTelling]

@@marcbeebe a truck driver who had driven further up north in the arctic he would mix some gasoline into his diesel. I would add a liter of gasoline to 70liters of diesel and it helped to keep the fuel from freezing. We have fuel that is good down to -32 degrees celsius but you never know what you get at the pumps.

[@54mgtf22]

Hey Stella 🐶

[@LucilleCarmichaelPDX]

That windchill out there is crazy! Winds of over 90 in the gorge. Couple more hours until the freezing rain starts.

[@2stroketurbo]

Yup. Freezing rain started, its going to get messy

[@retrobrid2784]

I chained last night ellensburg to Wenatchee, wear gloves or get frost bite ,, heading to Texas after Yakima pick up ..

[@2stroketurbo]

Texas sounds warm

[@ericwhitehead6451]

@@2stroketurbo Not here in Lubbock. The high was 19 today, about the same for Friday!

[@retrobrid2784]

@@2stroketurbo ran east out of Yakima before they shut 84 down ,, made it to Boise at 4am got going at 2 pm ,,, got to dry roads 15 miles south of twin falls.. it's 40 ish 10 miles n of Ely .. finished 1 of 3 1956 Austin A30 in color for British motor repair,,, the 3rd will be the x4dr retrobrid racing 3 window coupe in red and black ..

[@daviddavis4444]

Sand Springs Ok 4 PM and it's 5 degrees with 2 inches of snow

[@tomlewis3658]

Could you blast some starting fluid from a spray can into the carb? I don't know if it would get through the oil bath air filter, though.

[@johanvangelderen6715]

1. Remove air cleaner. 2. Open choke place 3 Spray starting fluid directly into the carb throat 4. Close choke plate 5. Try to start the engine 6. Replace air cleaner once the engine runs well

[@knutarneaakra6013]

In Norway we got minus 40 degrees. JUST HOPING for a global warming

[@oldskool1979]

The oil migth be way too thick !