I recently started parking my 1965 F100 outside. With outside temperatures in the low 30's how long should I let the engine warm up before I start driving it? Thank-you, Bert

 

Ideally there would be a garage for every truck or at least, a cover. But as far as the engine is concerned long enough for the engine to drop off high idle and get oil circulating, maybe a few minutes. An engine will warm up much quicker under load. The key though, is to drive gently for the first few miles.

Remember brakes and P/S and gearbox lubricants and everything else is thick and sludgy. If it's real cold - well below zero, maybe about ten minutes or longer. Make sure you have a quality thermostat installed. The idea is to get the engine to normal operating temperature quickly. It's a good time to clear off all the windows of snow and ice and let things warm up a little more than usual. You might want to lubricate the door locks, and wipe down the rubber door insulation w/ silicone. Your truck will be a little ornery at first being left outside like that.

 

What motor do you have? My truck for instants has a 292 with a 2 barrel carb.
I push the pedal once on cold start turn key and it fires up. The RPM is high while it warms up, I then hit accelerator once quickly, if it idles down then I know it's warming up if it remains high I wait a little longer.
It depends on how your engine is set up. I don't have a manual choke so I didn't give any answers on that. My truck is tuned and timed correctly so I don't have any issues.

 

Maybe a minute. You do mean +30* and not - 30* don't you?
Eric

 

The OP's in AZ so I would assume so - but we all know what assuming does...

 

Do you have a manual choke or an automatic choke? My 390 has a manual choke. I let it warm up a couple of minutes at around 1000 - 1200 rpms then make sure the engine will run smoothly on the choke setting as I drive off. I push the choke control in gradually as I get up to normal temperature on the gauge. If the engine will idle satisfactorily, you don't need the choke.

 

Bert, I think When the last time it was driven also comes into play, also. If you parked it last night, I'd give it a few moments, a couple weeks or longer a couple minutes. Start out easy for a couple miles before hard mashing of the gas.

Most everyone that I know gets in their newer vehicle and takes off. The difference is computer compensation, both still have spark plugs.

I'd say a warm up doesn't hurt, does it really help??? Good question.



John

 

Thank-you for the information. I live in Southern Arizona so the coldest it gets at night is about 30 degrees. I hope to be able to get it garaged again soon but in the mean time I'm starting it up at 0400. It still has the original 240 6 cyl and is still going strong. Bert

 

Oh yes definitely + 30. This neck of the woods doesn't know what -30 would be like or even close to zero.

 

The truck has a manual choke with the original 6 cylinder 240. I usually push the choke back in as soon as it starts up which smooths out the idle.

 

I have heard that the other difference is modern oil. A synthetic 5W0-30 (or 0w-30) should be ready to go even when the car is cold. When I was learning to drive--hmmm, some years ago now--it sure wasn't uncommon to pour straight 30 weight into a V-8. It would take a while to get it flowing when it's cold out.

What I don't know is whether a good multi-weight synthetic oil does the same for my old truck as it does for a modern EFI car. I still give it a minute or two to warm up, mostly out of habit. Plus, it's a little embarrassing to sit at a red light with the engine roaring away at high idle.

Depends entirely on the price of gas, to me. When it was up near $5/gallon, I wanted every ounce providing forward momentum.

~Steve

 

Something like 90% of internal engine wear happens during warm up so the less stress you put on a cold engine the better. But it doesn't hurt anything to drive off with a basically cold engine if you aren't mashing the gas. I lived in Alaska 16 years and owned a 72 F250 with a 300-6 the whole time. I would start it, let the oil pressure come up good and slide it into gear without touching the gas. I would get into 3rd still without touching the gas and by the time I got to the end of my 1/4 mile drive I could pull onto the highway and drive normal with good heat coming out. The truck still sits where I left it in 2001 with 194,000 on it and 75,000 on a rebuild, ran like a champ when I parked it.

 

Lots of people jump in and take off but that doesn't mean it's a good idea. In extreme cold (not Arizona) a warmup and a little exercise of the power steering isn't a bad idea. Transmission and differential lubricants will be practically frozen or gelled. Garages are a great invention, even if unheated they will insulate and keep some of the heat from prior day's use.

 

If you were referring specifically to my post, I wasn't talking about 30 below. We always kept the daily driver plugged in and it got warmed up in subzero. What I was talking about was letting the truck move out on high idle with very light load instead of setting still to warm up. As in any case, common sense should prevail.

 

If you have forged pistons, definitely.