You might still want to consider a stuck thermostat.  Mine has always gone to
the normal area even at -35F (what is that about -33C?).  Mine was slow to
start this morning too but that just means that at about a -1F I should have
20W-50 in it.  But with fourth (fifth) gear out, I won't be driving it much!

Brad Spear
'72 Westy (Really too cold for this one!)
'87 Syncro GL (Minus one forward gear)

In a message dated 20-12-99 11:01:05 AM Central Standard Time,
gbrandt@RUBICON.NET writes:

> Well, in Winnipeg we woke up to some Frosty temps this morning (-30C
>  about -22F ) and alot of snow.  Went out to start the van and after some
>  troubles it started (I think I need thinner oil).  As I was driving around
>  this morning running my errands I noticed that the temperature needle
>  never went into 'normal' range.  Normally my needle sits right on the
>  light, this morning it never even touched it.  The van got warm inside,
>  but it wasn't great.  The rear heater threw a fair amount of heat and the
>  front was pathetic, even throwing cold air.  It also was warmer on the
>  passenger side than the drivers side.
>