Who daily drives their f-body in the winter time? I drove my beater 86 all last winter without any problems. I only got stuck once-at the end of my driveway.

What did you do about washing it?

 

I do-- but I guess I don't count since I live in NC and it barely snows here at all.

 

I do , but the car is a cali car so... :P

 

I've had a thirdgen for a winter driver through the vast majority of my winters driven. Both were V6 cars. With snow tires, weight in the trunk and some common sense, you can get by very well. I never got stuck, and I live in a hilly Vermont town.

My thirdgens handled MUCH better in the snow than my Cherokee or S15 Jimmy handled in 2 wheel drive.

However, I had the misfortune of driving my GTA in an unexpected snowstorm once, and it was the most terrifying driving I've ever done. The only thing harder than going up hills was going down them.

 

Did you ever have a big problem with rust? I drove my 86 firebird all last winter and the paint started bubbling around the rear corner lights and the wheels well lips.

 

I drove my old one (305 regular street tires) last year and made it through fine.

People would always come up to me "how was your sled in the snow" and then laugh.

i would be like "It was great, because i dont drive like an idiot"

Just try to anticipate things in the snow, be easy, and use common sense.

 

Um, yeah. My 86 firebird had no floors left, and my 86 Camaro had no, um, anything left.

Driving your car through 1 winter won't cause rust to pop up immediately, but the more salt your car sees, the more it will rust and the faster it'll rust. 2 or 3 Rochester winters completely devistated my 86 Camaro, but Rochester has wet salty roads every single day all winter long because of the lake effect snow.

 

yeah, central NY anywhere is just gonna be aweful on the car. If you wanna keep it nice, and you are in the salt belt, I would highly reccomend finding a junker to drive in the winter.

 

I drove my 86 sc one winter and that was enough for me, since that year Ive owned a beater, first a civic and now a cavalier that cost me 800 bucks.

 

well i gotta daily drive my camaro this winter or no car...unfornetly i cant afford insurance on 2 cars especally with 2 tickets now being 18...there being i have no choice.

I really really dont wanna put my car threw this winter

 

Take your camaro off the road and get a $500 beater. insurance will cost you less no doubt on the beater.

 

 

i cant take the insurance off the camaro and have tags still on cause its illegal in the state of VA...no tags and it has to be on private property...i live with my parents, no room, i have no money, no choice but to put my car through this. Gonna suck gotta warm it up every morning for work and everything...

 

If you absolutely have to drive it in the winter, get some POR 15 and take a couple days to coat the entire underbody of your car and anywhere else it may rust. If you dont, like was said above your floor pans will be toast.

 

The salt will eat it ya...im either gonna be washing that off after every drive or only driving this car to and from work and make my girl or my freinds drive around any other time.

 

i drove my old bird through two winters, never had any issues just dont stop when your on a hill and you'll be good, had a issue once, dropped it into first and crawled out of it....Now the camaro will not see weather, i hate getting caught in the rain, i drove it when i first got it in a freak snow storm, had about an inch of wet snow on the ground and got it home and said never again...

The amount of money and work i have into it now it doesnt see weather, it is stored year round in a locked and climate controlled spot, i get it out and drive it as much as i can but i have a bravada for the daily driver and am about to buy a powerstroke to pull my trailers,

AS for insurance you can have them drop your thirdgen as the primary driver, my camaro went from 1500 a year to 524 a year since my bravada is driven primariyl and the camaro has less of a risk of getting damaged, i pay 1900 a year( i think) for both of em.

 

POR 15 IT!!! Please just spend the few bucks and a lil time and POR the **** outta it. youll be glad you did

 

i agree with the por. Get a power drill and a wire wheel and scuff and clean as best as you can and then put three coats of por 15 on it and youll have nothing to worry about.

 

in oregon they sand the roads instead of salt. does not rust out cars.only traction problems i had on my car (chains on the rear tires) was when i took them off to play in a parking lot. curbed it and bumped a dumpster. resulted in a bumper with paint flaking off of it and a complete front suspension rebuild (had planned on doing it that spring anyway, just accelerated my plans abit)

DON"T PLAY and you will be fine. keep kitty litter in the well, nonclumping. it will add weight, and if you get stuck, traction, (pour it on the ground)



re:POR15.

i used that stuff once, i thought it was like a goop. will it dry into a coating that is hard?

 

Por is very hard when it is cured and it doesnt seem like goop to m,e maybe you got a bad batch? It is thicker than automotive paint yes but its not goop lol.

 

i remember it being like a pinkish slimy stuff. maybe i had some knock off brand. anyway i think i might POR my fender wells.

 

Your thinking of naval jelly or something, POR 15 is a whole different thing Paint Over Rust. It's supposed to be the best thing out there for stopping rust and at the same time preventing it from spreading. I just picked up a gallon of the stuff and anxious to try it out heard nothing except good things about it.

Buy snow tires if you have to drive an fbody in the winter, i've been saying this for years. Not those cheap generic ones either, some good michelin alpine snows' or bridgestone blizzak they'll pay for themselves the first time you have to stop for some idiot. Not to mention the cool fact you can probably out accelerate 4x4 trucks from stoplights on ice.

 

My baby stays under cover through winter. I did drive it some last year, but this year I wont have to.

 

Say I know this one guy that has done the above every year in Virginia. Just dropped the insurance off of a car and never told the DMV. Let's say he has done this for four years and never been caught. He just calls his insurance agent and tells him that the car is going in the garage to have the motor, trans, whatever is being replaced during the winter. The insurance agent says "okay" and once spring arrives the car is "fixed" and becomes insured again. DMV never finds out either because the insurance doesn't actually report it or whatever reason I don't know. Let's say I know he will continue to do this.

Just, you know, my friend never drives the car on the street that he dropped the insurance on. So he doesn't get caught.

Food for thought...

 

Everyone needs to live in NC, 2 in. of snow shuts everything down(except the grocery store), and there is no need to go anywhere!!
And we dont have to worry about rust from salt!!

 

Steve, here is what u do (if it isnt illegal). Park it are ur parents (back yard, next to the garage - unless u have neither) or at a friends, take the plates off and put that on ur beater, and cover the camaro with a blanket and then car cover.. and make sure to take the dash pad in the house with u

just an Idea

I just parked my Iroc for the winter (early as hell again this year too). I just bought a 1996 Dodge Avenger (love the hell out of the car too.. for a four banger) with low miles for my daily/winter car.. gets 35+mpg. I may pull my camaro out if i get the paint job done in the next month, otherwise she's parked til next summer..