An old thread but it's the first one that pops up when you search winterizing the deuce and artic kits.
I have ran a cardboard front before and while it works, it works until it's soggy then it degrades very quickly.
I made a new piece that was painted and then applied that water repellent silicone spray. This lasted the whole winter.
While the cardboard worked, it's not as good as the artic front cover, which is insulated and it can be closed or opened.
Using the artic cover or the winter front as some say, don't need the clips to install it. Zip ties work great and will last the whole season. The cover definitely made a huge difference as far as how warm I would stay in the truck as well as engine temp.
This is also the time to plug any holes possible in the cab. Every hole will be a shute for cold air so something even like duct tape will help.
When it's cold, the other thing to consider are the batteries. The colder it gets, the less juice the batteries put out. A fully charged battery is less likely to freeze vs a depleted battery, so make sure it's fully charged. This can be done by a trickle charger, normal operation with ample time to charge by the alternator. Let the truck idle for ten minutes with no electronics going such as lights or the heater to charge the batteries. A battery equalizer also helps with this as well as long term battery life and maintenance. Another step to further assist the batteries would be a battery blanket or warmer. This will greatly help as it dips below freezing and will keep them from freezing, even in sub zero temperatures.
Lastly, a block heater and/or an oil pan heater. In most cases I would suggest the block heater, but if that's not an option, the oil pan heater is something to consider. They just stick on the bottom of the pan and keep the oil warmer than the ambient air temperature. For a deuce, I think faster oil flow is a huge benefit, especially if using the stock oil filter set up.
Last winter, there was a few times my truck didn't want to start. Mostly due to batteries being so cold, they didn't have enough juice to turn the engine over fast enough and would die rather quickly. I had to put a space heater on them to warm them up so it would start the deuce. One problem is making sure to have the correct batteries to begin with. Group 31 seem to be the standard, ones that have 900+ cca. I was running group 65's since none of the local battery outlets had group 31's. A bit odd, but I was told "corona" so that pretty much explained it. 65's with 850 cca will work but when it's cold, no, but warm, yes.
Don't forget to prepare. Have extra anti freeze in the back and have an emergency kit ready to go in case there's a breakdown of some sort. A blanket, food, hand warmers, and some flares if need be. A propane heater like a buddy heater will sure come in handy as well if you ever need it. Could even splurge with a small alcohol stove in a SS cup and some hot cocoa. Alcohol stoves work better in the cold vs a butane stove and are more compact than a propane stove.
Also, for deuce owners without winter experience or newer owners, be careful about running alternative fuels in the winter, that is if you do normally. It's nice to save some $$ on fuel, but wmo or wvo will be difficult to start on when it's below 45 degrees and it becomes significantly harder on the fuel pump and IP. If you insist on running wmo/wvo, then I suggest no more than 15-20 gallons at most. Mix with gasoline and some diesel will help blend it all together. If you can get your hands on JP-5 jet fuel, 35 g of that mixed with 15 g of wmo and it'll run like a champ. Below 20°F, I would run 40 g of JP-5 and only 10 g of wmo. I don't suggest running it straight as it's clear and seems very dry so I would mix wmo with it regardless for the IP.
This is all based on if the deuce has a heater to begin with and everything works as it should.
