Lee,
I have survived 6 Starlite rallies in my open Cobra. I drove from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas on the second weekend in December and we were actually on the road for more than 12 hours. I had heaters from pickup trucks installed into each foot box. In 30 degree weather at more than 45 mph you cannot feel them. The rally almost killed me 6 times, but what a blast it was!
The 7th time, I put a hard top on my car. It's a good thing too because it rained most of the time. The droning noise of the drive train contained by the top and the lack of view took most of the fun out of the experience. But, we were not cold.
I bought an electric blanket for my wife for the No Frills Iron Bottom Motoring Tour which lasted 3 days in the California central valley. She still complains about the bitter cold while going over the Angeles Crest mountain pass in spite of the best ski clothes money can buy, the electric blanket and a truck heater blowing up her legs. I was pretty comfortable probably because I was working so hard to keep the beast on the road (rain, snow and ice) and pass every car we encountered.
A couple of years ago, they put on another Starlite. I finally figured it out. Just buy two electric jackets and one pair of electric gloves
from these folks:
Gerbing's Heated Clothing // The World's Warmest Clothing!. You have to get the temperature controllers too, otherwise the jackets will burn you. You will also need a balaclava for your head from eBay. With this gear, we have run rallies with temperatures in the 30's with no problem. The jackets work amazingly well and the gloves plug into connectors at the ends of the sleeves and keeps your hands warm. On the rally, they worked so well that we had to take the balaclavas off and just use ski caps. The heat applied to your torso keeps your extremities warm too. This is, by far, the best solution.
RS
