now wait a second...
to original poster:
now don't go looking to fly into a thunderstorm, or clouds with great vertical development (CB, towering Q et) unless you really know what you are doing.
it also seems to me that perhaps you are hesitant to fly IMC because you have not had enough instruction in actual IMC...perhaps your instructor hasn't had much actual experience in the clouds.
certainly without radar and other modern conveniences you can get hurt...
I've read some stuff about Va here on the forum...alot of things can cause a plane to crash. Losing the attitude gyro, ask air franc epilots about pitot tubes icing up...
you can even bump your head on the ceiling of the plane and knock yourself out.
read all you can about weather flying...indeed there is a fine book called: ''weather flying'' by buck.
have an ''out''. (with ifr clearance) go into clouds, but know that you can turn to BLANK heading and be out soon.
but by the same token...a pilot has to be in command of a situation.
when I was actively teaching, I insisted my students know where they were while IFR/IMC...even without fancy moving maps, gps etc. And that they could ''make up'' an instrument approach to any airport on the chart.
my advice is to find a more experienced instructor/pilot and pay him to teach you a bit more than you already know.
and to anyone who thinks a cherokee six is a well equipped plane ...well you have along way to go. I flew bank checks in a cherokee six, the original lance, and the arrow. It was WORK and I had to THINK to stay ahead of every eventuality.
Our bank check company lost a number of pilots in bad wx.
so...think about it.