Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1919 cars, 55 gallon drums, tin lizzie

Question
I'm writing a story that involves three women who have
slid down a hill on a road covered in sleet in the year
1920. They are in a 1919 Buick. The engine has stopped.
With the temp dropping by the minute, do they need to
drain the radiator and replace the water with alcohol? I've
heard old timers talk about stuff like this, but just heard
them say they drained the radiators on sub-freezing nights
and used alcohol for anti-freeze.

Answer
Hi Terry:
As late as the mid 1950's we were still using alky as antifreeze. My dad used to purchase the stuff in 55 gallon drums and we sold barrels of the stuff. Permanent anti freeze was introduced in the late 1930's but the stuff would leak where water would not and as a result the old alky that had been used since the begriming of the liquid cooled engine was the norm. During the 1940's we teen agers then were known to pilfer kerosine out of the neighbors oil barrel and use that in the radiator for anti freeze. Stink......The question for your story is where do they get the alcohol? Remember that alcohol is highly flammable and many a car engine caught fire because of an alky leak. It was common practice to drain the cars radiator and block on cold nights. Of course seeing that the car was a Buick, and only a year old, would it not have had anti freeze in it? The owner of a 5 year old Ford Tin Lizzie might get his hands dirty draining the radiator every night but a person of means who had enough money to purchase a fine luxury car like a Buick? Well have fun with your story.
Brad