RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
We would all be safer if cars had 36 HP, poor brakes and no radios. And old time ignition system so none of the "personal electronics" would ever work. But then I'm an old curmudgeon.
Responsibility, character, self-esteem, and respect
- Thread starter Petrol & Powder
- Start date
462
California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
It is most unfortunate that modern American society does not understand all that we curmudgeons have to offer. If only they'd listen.
Tomme boy
Well-Known Member
Heck I know I am a lot younger than some of you. But I really enjoy things from the past. Whenever we go to the old ladies parents farm we usually take the old Alli chalmers for a ride into town. I also like to head to the back barn. They still have a old hit an miss hooked up to a well. I love hearing them things run.
About 5 years ago we were cleaning out their basement. There was a really old 2 stroke Maytag washing machine. We ended up selling that instead of junking it.
About 5 years ago we were cleaning out their basement. There was a really old 2 stroke Maytag washing machine. We ended up selling that instead of junking it.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Almost every Beetle here had a gasoline heater if it was driven in winter. It used as much gas as the engine and made a fair amount of car fires.
Rick H
Well-Known Member
Had a buddy who was an autoshop teacher. He went all in on a beetle as perfect hunting vehicle. He fully loaded the thing with the bobbed fenders, stinger exhaust, roof rack (with lights) custom wheels, he emptied the JC Whitney catalog.....the whole shebang. He finished it in mid February and convinced me to join him on the maiden voyage of the the "perfect hunting vehicle".
The appointed Saturday arrived and we headed out to some state land some 45 miles away in hopes of blooding the VW with the only game animal open that time of year, cottontail rabbit. It had snowed rather heavily during the week but the highway dept. is pretty good about clearing the roads and it was clear and bright. Oh, and it was 8 below zero.
Not to be daunted we bundled up and headed West. Bob assured me that he understood the knobs, levers, and valves that were the VW's "heating defrost system", but you couldn't prove it to me. It was a good thing we had an ice scraper and the back of a pocket comb for "defrosting" the inside of the windshield. The wipers worked for about the first 10 miles before the cold air in the spare tire wasn't enough to push them across the windshield. Still the little bug got us to the hunting territory in one piece.
The path West was well plowed, freeway open and the main secondary roads too, but the sideroads.....well they hadn't been touched and there was at least a foot of snow and it was drifted and.......................Bob assured me that VW's were like snowmobiles and a "little snow" would never stop us.....until we floated the whole undercarriage on a drift. There we sat High and not so dry, rear wheels about 6" off the ground and we weren't going anywhere without a lot of work. Bob did have a folding snow shovel thing and an entrenching tool in the back seat.....but we came to hunt.
Loaded the shotguns took a pass around the fields/swamp before we lost the feeling in our fingers, subzero and 10-15 mph winds will do that to you. So, not finding any insane rabbits out wandering in that weather we headed back to the car to "warm up".
I had a stainless steel thermos of coffee in the car and we both needed some. I jumped in peeled off my glove, grabbed my thermos and my hand stuck to the damned thing.......I told you it was COLD!!!!! We got the coffee opened and my fingers off of the thermos, drank a cup of coffee before beginning the task of digging out the Bug.
The digging out was anticlimactic about 45 minutes of hard work, digging, pushing, cursing, digging some more and cursing a lot more before we got that little piece of Shx!.....um we got the VW back on the path headed home. We had to stop at a Mom and Pop diner to thaw out but otherwise made it home safe and sound.
We never made another attempt with the VW and Bob sold the thing (at a profit too) to some unsuspecting wide eyed kid looking for the "Perfect Hunting Vehicle".
Frankly, if I had known about the gasoline heaters and their propensity for starting car fires, I would have bought one for that beast just to watch it burn.
The appointed Saturday arrived and we headed out to some state land some 45 miles away in hopes of blooding the VW with the only game animal open that time of year, cottontail rabbit. It had snowed rather heavily during the week but the highway dept. is pretty good about clearing the roads and it was clear and bright. Oh, and it was 8 below zero.
Not to be daunted we bundled up and headed West. Bob assured me that he understood the knobs, levers, and valves that were the VW's "heating defrost system", but you couldn't prove it to me. It was a good thing we had an ice scraper and the back of a pocket comb for "defrosting" the inside of the windshield. The wipers worked for about the first 10 miles before the cold air in the spare tire wasn't enough to push them across the windshield. Still the little bug got us to the hunting territory in one piece.
The path West was well plowed, freeway open and the main secondary roads too, but the sideroads.....well they hadn't been touched and there was at least a foot of snow and it was drifted and.......................Bob assured me that VW's were like snowmobiles and a "little snow" would never stop us.....until we floated the whole undercarriage on a drift. There we sat High and not so dry, rear wheels about 6" off the ground and we weren't going anywhere without a lot of work. Bob did have a folding snow shovel thing and an entrenching tool in the back seat.....but we came to hunt.
Loaded the shotguns took a pass around the fields/swamp before we lost the feeling in our fingers, subzero and 10-15 mph winds will do that to you. So, not finding any insane rabbits out wandering in that weather we headed back to the car to "warm up".
I had a stainless steel thermos of coffee in the car and we both needed some. I jumped in peeled off my glove, grabbed my thermos and my hand stuck to the damned thing.......I told you it was COLD!!!!! We got the coffee opened and my fingers off of the thermos, drank a cup of coffee before beginning the task of digging out the Bug.
The digging out was anticlimactic about 45 minutes of hard work, digging, pushing, cursing, digging some more and cursing a lot more before we got that little piece of Shx!.....um we got the VW back on the path headed home. We had to stop at a Mom and Pop diner to thaw out but otherwise made it home safe and sound.
We never made another attempt with the VW and Bob sold the thing (at a profit too) to some unsuspecting wide eyed kid looking for the "Perfect Hunting Vehicle".
Frankly, if I had known about the gasoline heaters and their propensity for starting car fires, I would have bought one for that beast just to watch it burn.
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Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
The wipers didn't run off of the spare tire air but the windshield washer did.
The heat in VW Bug did come from air that passed over the exhaust manifolds but the problem was never heating the air; the problem was getting that air to where it was needed. The heater channels typically rusted, and therefore leaked. The floor pan was often so cold that by the time the air reached the cabin or windshield the air was cold too. You generally had no heat at all or too much heat. You had to learn how to make that system work for you.
Air cooled VW's had a lot of quirks. Some people viewed the quirks as problems while others simply came to an agreement with the car.
The heat in VW Bug did come from air that passed over the exhaust manifolds but the problem was never heating the air; the problem was getting that air to where it was needed. The heater channels typically rusted, and therefore leaked. The floor pan was often so cold that by the time the air reached the cabin or windshield the air was cold too. You generally had no heat at all or too much heat. You had to learn how to make that system work for you.
Air cooled VW's had a lot of quirks. Some people viewed the quirks as problems while others simply came to an agreement with the car.