Jean,
Forgot to mention in my first note:
Whichever car(s) you take (ignore those who counsil getting rid of the
455;you'll soon learn how important a good heater and windsheild
defoster are) I'd highly recommend that you replace the carb-to-intake manifold
gaskets on each of them.
Every old car I've taken into the cold has refused to start at some
point due a bad seal under the carb. The gaskets dry out and lose their
elastcity with age. In Sunny Cal this usually doesn't matter too much,
but in the dry cold of the Rockies they'll shrink up enough to break
the seal. The car flat won't start and if you don't know lto look for
it, it's a bitch to diagnose.
I remember a minus 20 night in Montana, no garage, ttrying to get a carb
to manifold seal on a Hillman. I spilled a floatbowl's worth of gas on
my bare hand and discovered how really effective evaporative cooling can
be. Then there was the time at thirty below when the Healey's door
handle came off in my hand.
Enjoy
Mike Tobin
planck!hercules!tobin@acsu.buffalo.edu
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