Rik,
I remember one winter in Wisconsin where it got really cold, in the minus 20 
range and that was the high for the day. It stayed like that for almost two 
weeks. We would take the battery out of the car and bring it inside at night to 
keep it from freezing and hopefully have enough power to crank the engine in 
the morning. Even with a 10 weight oil in the crankcase it was a lost cause. 
I've even placed burning charcoal under the car to heat the oil enough to crank 
the engine. NOT FUN!!!! Especially crawling around in a foot of snow.
I laugh now, but I wouldn't ever do it again. Block heaters and inline hos 
heaters make life up north a little more predictable and enjoyable.

Rummy