Peter R. wrote:

Given any other day, I would have plugged the aircraft back in and scrapped
the flight but in this case I had an Angel Flight patient waiting in another
city for my arrival and I was already late. Thus I made the painful decision
to start up the aircraft and allow it to low idle until the oil heated
thoroughly. A small consolation is that the engine had been recently filled
with fresh Exxon Elite oil. To my relief the aircraft started right up.

I think you made the right judgment call.

The engine life is more dependent on your long-
term level of care than for a single instance
of pressing the limits.

BTW, a simple overhand knot in the power cord
where the heater plug and the extension cord
mate will prevent someone from inadvertently
unplugging them.

I know what I did has negative long term repercussions on my engine's health
and I have already derived a tool to lock the two cords and prevent this
accidental unplugging from happening again. However, this leads me to
question the differences between aircraft engines and auto engines:

Why is it that here in the Northeast US seemingly no one preheats their
automobile engine before start-up in very cold temperatures? Is the long-term
damage the same for both autos and aircraft engines? If so, why do you
suppose auto owners don't typically do this? Is it because that most auto
owners do not keep their cars very long?