Author Topic: Daily Drivers (Read 5375 times)

splitworld · « **on:** July 06, 2007, 12:52:43 AM »

just woundering who on the forum drives aircooleds all year round, and what kinda cars they have. And some advice on year round driving! Defrost stories haha

egspot · « **Reply #1 on:** July 06, 2007, 06:03:35 AM »

Mine was totalled this year but here are two pevious:

http://www.airspeedparts.com/community-for...t=10425&hl=snow

http://www.airspeedparts.com/community-for...&f=4&t=6807&hl=

Bruce · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2007, 10:56:49 AM »

Eberspacher gas heater, and genuine VW heaterboxes.

68IIIbuggy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2007, 05:05:13 PM »

I'd drive mine all winter, but the road salt they're using around here these days is a real killer. I drove it once last winter when there was salt on the road, and instanly there was rust-stain bleeding from my hinges and any other place the paint was slightly chipped. Also, my POS repro chrome mirror arm went all rusty.

OUTKAST · « **Reply #4 on:** July 06, 2007, 05:52:02 PM »

Drive my older 92 jetta all winter

Its hard but I wont put the van through the punishment . :lol: I pull it out for one snow photo otherwise bundle up under cover like a baby .

I know what a wimp :lol:
Kudos to you who drive them year round at almost 40 been there done that ,never again

silas · « **Reply #5 on:** July 06, 2007, 05:52:49 PM »

daily driver 64 sunroof beetle. all through the winter w/ no heat. wool socks, long johns, parka, mitts, toque and a scraper for the frost on the inside of the windshield.

there's a good chance i'll be parking/storing the bug this winter & buying a non-aircooled cheap beater 4 banger tho.

DEADLYTOYS · « **Reply #6 on:** July 08, 2007, 01:42:04 AM »

Daily driver past 4 winters... 68 beetle ...bundle up and don't forget the squeegee...and my Idle shut off has to be swapped out when it gets cold . I have one with the little plunger thing on the end and one with it cut off ...cant remember which one is the winter one ..but the car wont idle right unless I do it. I have a header not stock exhaust...don't think it's an issue with stock heater boxes. And plug any holes in the dash if you have any rust holes in the front (wind chill sucks!!).

piercedvw · « **Reply #7 on:** July 08, 2007, 09:43:01 AM »

Drove my 68 sunroof bug for 3 winters.. Invested in 'tuning up' heater channels, etc.. Used hockey mask defog on windows.. and a nice jacket and gloves. Was just me back then.

This year will be driving my DC.. Working on redoing all heater channels (heaters worked.. faintly when I bought her.. lotsa holes).. All else fails, I'm getting her wired for a small ceramic heater. Gotta think of my little pickles this year.

Trick is wash often.. Protect well.

May buy a little disposable beater if I come across something under 800... simply to protect me from the dumb BC drivers that haven't seen snow in their lives before.

Shane · « **Reply #8 on:** July 08, 2007, 10:03:06 AM »

MY thing is , If you dont have to drive it why bother.... I want my investment to last

silas · « **Reply #9 on:** July 08, 2007, 11:45:49 AM »

Quote

MY thing is , If you dont have to drive it why bother.... I want my investment to last

my thing is, if you feel like driving an acvw year round then go for it. you only live once and it really isnt that big of a deal!!

DEADLYTOYS · « **Reply #10 on:** July 08, 2007, 01:52:53 PM »

A ship is safe in the harbor ...but that's not what a ship was built for

egspot · « **Reply #11 on:** July 08, 2007, 04:31:37 PM »

Quote

A ship is safe in the harbor ...but that's not what a ship was built for

In the Final analysis:

Shane has lots of VW and I know he enjoys them in many ways (track, dunes, shows.) He also has some business ventures and he is a big boy and can afford to park them.

Some of us enjoy the choice to drive ours and in many cases because we can't store them of we don't have another car to drive.

I personally love to drive mine but given the choice, I would fix my 66 Beetle and drive VW Golf or something like it. I think that would cut on my maintenance expenses while I still have my toy for the summers

Greg · « **Reply #12 on:** July 08, 2007, 09:30:27 PM »

I drove my 67 year around for 4 years... good times had by all.

I solved my defrost issue by putting two booster fans between the heater boxes and the body., they worked great (and I replaced the paper tubes under the hood).

HeliMike · « **Reply #13 on:** July 08, 2007, 10:37:23 PM »

I drove my first beetle for 2 winters, my first type3 (the squareback) for two winters, and my 73 fastback for one winter before it rusted to all hell and had to finally bury it. This winter it'll be a '63 Beetle. The stop-and-go driving (I live 12 blocks from work) is torture on my diesel truck so I'm drivin' the bug to work and back to lighten the load on the truck a bit. Gotta have an Eberspacher though, those things are kick-ass when you're stuck idling in traffic.

Bruce · « **Reply #14 on:** July 09, 2007, 12:38:42 AM »

When I first got the Mexi-bug, I was certain I would have to install an Eberspacher. The original Mexican heaterboxes were worthless, so I replaced them with genuine VW ones. That produced a massive increase in heat. Then I upgraded the engine to include cooling flaps and a thermostat. Another improvement in heat.
The Mexi has a huge advantage over a German car. No flow through ventilation to freeze you. No front hood grille. No back seat heat outlets.
The air flow is so fast that the wind noise of the hot air out the lower right side of the front window is annoying. It is to the point that the Eberspacher is not necessary.

piercedvw · « **Reply #15 on:** July 09, 2007, 06:55:29 AM »

The times I'd run into a nice AC daily driver.. and talk about the beetle 'I once had'.. or the DC I was 'working on'.. what I would have given at the time to have them see me enjoying it.

I LOVE the looks I get while driving my truck.. the stories I hear when I'm stopped at the gas station.. I really had no idea before how many old German guys lived in Langley... haha.. and man. Those Old German dudes can talk and talk.....

It's only when you drive one.. when you learn of \" MY Grandma has this old vw in her garage.... been trying to convince her to get rid of.. do you know of anyone?\"....
Or the \"I've got some old parts from ..... do you want them?. I have no use for them\".

I live volkswagen... Guess having it taken away from me for a few years has made me appreciate it all that much more.

amishrabbi · « **Reply #16 on:** July 09, 2007, 07:25:37 AM »

if i was living in the lowermainland id more than likely drive it all winter, but since i live in calgary for the winter there is no chance in hell im driving a 63 all winter.

if i had the option id have a summer cruiser (or several) and a winter vw, designed specifically to be driven in the winter and such.

CHEECH · « **Reply #17 on:** July 09, 2007, 07:43:30 AM »

I LOVE MY BUTTERBALL

Couldnt see myself driving ANYTHING else at all........ im sure Pierced will keep me warm on thoes cold winter drives

Back in 87 i drove my buggy through the winters too....

silas · « **Reply #18 on:** July 09, 2007, 08:06:23 PM »

Quote

It's only when you drive one.. when you learn of " MY Grandma has this old vw in her garage.... been trying to convince her to get rid of.. do you know of anyone?"....
Or the "I've got some old parts from ..... do you want them?. I have no use for them".

this is true. it is a great conversation piece and you often meet people that have some old acvw stuff that they need to get rid of!!

splitworld · « **Reply #19 on:** July 10, 2007, 06:07:18 PM »

its good to know I am not alone, haha, Well last winter was one hell of a winter driving, defenatly more defensive now. The problem is I have heat ( i did what greg did with the bildge fans, Works like a dream) Nothing gets to the window, so It gets hot in the car but that causes the windows to fog more. My fresh air vents are gone too, poop. When october comes around I will just tighten up all those pipes get those fans working and seal all those tiny holes in the dash.

I undercoated my wells about 8 times.

I love seeing peoples faces in the winter \"your Crazy\".

I didnt see 1 ghia last Winter

Greg · « **Reply #20 on:** July 10, 2007, 09:40:51 PM »

Man I love those booster fans, they work amazingly.

When we got that week of cold weather, I was blasting aroung in my bug (front end was 2ish inches off the ground) I was plowing the snow... Well holy, I got so many crazy looks from people and when people walked up to me the general comment was \"Are you stuck?\" or \"Will you come plow my driveway?\". It was Great times... I miss that car.

splitworld · « **Reply #21 on:** July 11, 2007, 10:37:50 PM »

Yea you sold it eh?, hows the bus? looks like its still in the works

Greg · « **Reply #22 on:** July 12, 2007, 05:05:39 PM »

I blew up the trans in the bug... so I said screw it and bought a 07 GTI

The bus is running and driving, im in the process of trying to get all the rust *fixed* so it'll pass inspection

splitworld · « **Reply #23 on:** July 14, 2007, 09:46:07 PM »

thats great man, Is it going to be at the show in Aug? It looks like a sweet bus, I want a bus soooo bad. Only thing I would trade the Ghia for haha!

Greg · « **Reply #24 on:** July 14, 2007, 10:27:30 PM »

it shall. I hope to have it slammed by that time... but we'll see how ambitious I actually am.

Mowser · « **Reply #25 on:** July 15, 2007, 11:00:38 AM »

Time to join in. I've driven two of my beetles through the winter. The first was my first car ever. A '67 sporting some fantastic patina (picture taken in 1986). Great car, never had any problems getting around. In fact I too used it as a snow plow and nothing could stop it in the snow. I grew up in Medicine Hat Alberta so it was always cold but dry. In order to keep the windshield clear I disconnected the ducts to the dash and had fresh air blowing in all winter. No gas heater (at least not a working one) and just the heat off the motor. It would be so cold when I started it up that I couldn't take my foot off the clutch and let it idle 'cause the gear oil was so thick that it would stall the engine. I'd drive it from the back yard to the front and that was enough to ever so gently take my foot off the clutch and it would idle. (it would slow down alot though as I released the clutch).

The second was Waldo. 1964 and bulletproof. I used it as a grocery getter and a second vehicle for a couple years and he never had a problem getting around in the winter. Salmon Arm is all hills and he conquered every one I threw at him. Again no gas heater but as long as I let him warm up all was good. Biggest problem I've always had with AirCooled's in the winter was the wipers. Simply not enough heat on the windshield for them to work effectively.

Greg · « **Reply #26 on:** July 15, 2007, 11:17:44 AM »

Yeah I forgot I had pictures!

And heres what my front apron ended up looking like after the snow (and after I cut it off)

VW 144th · « **Reply #27 on:** July 15, 2007, 02:46:16 PM »

Our 1970 bug has been to this town in the artic just north of the 67th parallell about 10 years ago...got the pics to prove it!Gas heater,heaterboxes do the trick. Very hard to start though at - 50.

Mowser · « **Reply #28 on:** July 15, 2007, 04:12:58 PM »

Quote

Our 1970 bug has been to this town in the artic just north of the 67th parallell about 10 years ago...got the pics to prove it!Gas heater,heaterboxes do the trick. Very hard to start though at - 50.

My trick, although bizarre, was to pull the battery and bring it inside. Worked like a charm and as long as the battery had a handle for lifting really not that big a deal.

Bruce · « **Reply #29 on:** July 15, 2007, 04:32:55 PM »

Quote

Our 1970 bug has been to this town in the artic just north of the 67th parallell about 10 years ago...got the pics to prove it!Gas heater,heaterboxes do the trick. Very hard to start though at - 50.

Ding, Ding, We have a winner, Folks!

Author Topic: Daily Drivers (Read 5375 times)

CHEECH