The Dead Of Winter

Welcome to 2016 - and welcome to the new and improved Maximum Power; now known as Full Throttle! As mentioned in earlier blogs, the format, criteria, and style will remain the same. Only the title has changed.

Just after the holidays, our neck of the woods finally received it's first official taste of winter. With about 2-3 inches on the ground, it now seems official that nobody will brave to bring their hot rod, muscle car or street rod out into the elements for at least four months. But who says that hot rodding in general also has to hibernate as well and be limited to "working in the garage"? If you're anything like us, that's only one item on the winter to-do list.



First off, who says you can't drive a hot rod in the winter? Okay - I'll be the first to agree with you that I wouldn't be tooling around in the LS-6 Chevelle all winter, but there are plenty of substitutes that will at least somewhat fill the bill. Hot Rod magazine did an article almost two years ago about the top 10 winter beaters that can be easily modified for your need-for-speed, that you can buy for under $3000. The basic points of that article still ring true. There's a guy who lives locally that drives a black mid-90's Buick Roadmaster wagon - wood grain and all - all year long. It's his daily driver and parts hauler. It has a nicely modified V-8 and a nice set of American Racing wheels that make a reet statement. During this time of year, he swaps over to a beat set of Cragar S/S rims, but it's still cool looking. Plus with a killer set of snow tires, bags of sand in the back, and a rear overhang as long as a par 5 on the PGA tour, this thing is a tank in the snow.

Admittedly, car shows, hot rods, muscle cars, street rods, and drag racing become more scarce during the winter months, except if you live in Florida or southern California. While it's cool reading about the Winternationals, or a Good Guys event, it's even better if you can attend one. You can even bring your gal or family - like generations before us. Even if you take a 2-week vacation in the middle of February, there's something revitalizing about going from an environment where there's 3 feet of snow on the ground and 30 degree temperatures, to palm trees, sun, shorts, and hot rods...

But what if you can't make a trek that far? One of my favorite past times in the winter is cruising antique vehicle junkyards. You can take these types of adventures in two ways; with or without snow. A junkyard that should be on every hot rodders bucket list is Old Car City in White Georgia. It's even better in the winter. It's very rare that there's any snow on the ground, even in January, and all the trees are way past their foliage period, so there's more vintage iron to see. Plus there's no humidity or bugs. It's an ideal time to photograph these ghosts from the past.

The other side of the coin is to utilize Mother Nature's glory and photograph the same type of subject material in the snow. While it's harder to trek through the white stuff that's deeper than a foot, the winter makes for some beautiful and even haunting settings. Even if you're an amateur photographer, try it, experiment, and most of all, have fun. You may discover a part of yourself you never knew.

The bottom line here is, that even though the days are shorter, colder, and most of the country has experienced some snow, don't let it take you prisoner. Don't sit there every weekend watching TV, even if it's of motor-sports in nature. Work on that project that's in the garage, even if it's just a small part of it. Get out and explore your world via it's back roads and snap some cool pics of old Detroit iron that's been forgotten about in some field. Attend an indoor car show or a transportation museum near you - and bring your family. Enroll in an evening adult education class that teaches welding, basic mechanics, body work, or engine rebuilding. Stay engaged in the hobby. You'll thank yourself in the Spring... trust me.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave