The year is 1978 and the location is north of Grande Prairie in northern Alberta. That Subaru was my transportation and it was not built for cold weather. With its very small 4 cylinder horizontally opposed engine, there was not enough heat generated to operate the engine, let alone heat the interior of the car. Did I mention it was -52? It was the coldest temperature I had ever experienced.
I was to leave for home the next day and we took the battery inside overnight to keep it warm and charged. It was not enough because the oil was gelled from the cold and the engine would not turn over, even in the closed garage. We then put a lit camp stove under the oil pan, and after another hour or two we got it started. It was sluggish and powerless all the way to Hinton Alberta where the temperature suddenly warmed up from a Chinook wind. It was only another few miles down the road when the car literally jumped under the gas pedal and I was 'out of the woods'. When I got home I installed a core heater, which I never needed or used.
Subaru was one of the first front wheel drive cars imported to Canada. It was a great car and served me well for about 10 years.
As you can tell, I have been digging in the archives.
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