TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:14 am

PETETE wrote: Randy in Maine wrote: Suggestion:

In September buy a gallon of this stuff and spray the entire undercarriage. http://www.mowpart.com/Fluid-Film/c1200/p143969/Fluid-Film-1-gal.-(Click-here-for-more-information.)/product_info.html?osCsid=r12mltjbg2kc7bk02sijg0c942 =D> I tried this product, and I have to tell you, It's great!! Thanks!!

How did you apply it?

Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:41 am

Best way would be to use a paint sprayer hooked up to an air compressor to really mist it in the hard to reach places really well, but a 2 gallon hand pump garden sprayer would also work OK. Keep as much pressure in there as you can.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:46 am

I know this isn't really acceptable in this day and age but my great grand father used to take the oil from his fall oil change and use a garden sprayer to spray down the under carriage for the winter. I imagine that it would work pretty well for that product.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:57 am

I have found that the stock heat has a lot of potential, but it loses velocity in many places. The only stock part of my heat is the heat exchangers and the shroud to heater box aluminum hose. I made the rest out of pvc pipe. It is dirt cheap, and works awesome. Completely different animal. I mean, defrost and everything. I did a similar setup on the gf's ghia except used a blower motor with it, and that will even get her warm on a 5 mile commute.

My commute is 20 miles hwy, so I don't need a blower, these things are made for highway heat.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:06 am

Use ABS pipe or metal as opposed to PVC.

You do not want to breathe what PVC emits.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:02 am

When I was in College, I travelled between Toronto and just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota in a 1973 Bug that I bought for $150.00 - I installed a gas heater, a couple of sand bags up front to keep the front end from sliding up over the snow when the snow pushes up under the pan and the biggest pair of eat-em-up snow tires on the back. I believe they were 235/75/15 - they just cleared the lip of the rear fenders.

Coming home one Christmas they had just shut down the interstate outside of Minnesota - a State Trooper informed me that I'd have to pull off the interstate for the night - I told him about all the 18 wheelers I had passed getting to the Wisconsin boarder, he looked at the car and told me to be careful - 27 hours later my $150.00 bug and I made it back to Toronto!

Have a safe and great winter in your Bug!

Fri Nov 06, 2009 3:50 pm

Snow ...No problem. My first was a 74SB that I delivered pizzas with. I was the last driver delivering in town even after all the 4wd guys were done. I made a killing that night with tips. The good ol' days.

Another spot not to forget when cleaning the car regularly is between the running board and the body. A lot of salt gets down in there. Don't go cheap when spraying down the car. Spend lots of quarters on the rinse cycle, if you don't get all of the salt mix off and disolved away from the car it is worse then the salt itself. The salt is activated by water.

You will love driving in the snow!

Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:16 pm

tailwaggers wrote:

How did you apply it?

I used an old metal hand pump, but like Randy said, the best would be the compressor and a spray gun, but for us "tool lackers" the pump will do the trick, if you can do it on grass, it is not hazardous.

Good Luck!!

Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:04 pm

I used my old '64 for years of snowboarding trips up to Mt. Hood. Never got stuck once even when blizzards, and freezing rain shutdown everything. We get some nasty ice storms around here too, and one year the entire Portland metro area was a skating rink--nothing moving--so I tried chaining my rear tires--mistake. Turns out the chains were better on the front end. With an easy foot on the fuel, I went anywhere I wanted.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:22 pm

I hear that. With studded snows, my Baja feels like it could climb trees. 8)

The biggest problem is that I can out-stop the SUV behind me. :shock: Just got to be careful with the brakes.

Max

Mon Nov 09, 2009 12:52 am

make sure that you have a new thermostat spring that goes in the fan shrout

Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:48 am

I can't wait for the snow here in Portland, Or.

It will be my first year in the snow with a bug also.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:46 am

Max Welton wrote: I hear that. With studded snows, my Baja feels like it could climb trees. 8)

The biggest problem is that I can out-stop the SUV behind me. :shock: Just got to be careful with the brakes.

Max

How often do you ride with teenage drivers? I can tell you for sure, after riding with some of my friends (during the winter) I am genuinely scared of fellow teens while driving :shock: . One kid used ABS like power breaks, just slam em on and let the ABS keep em from locking :shock: :shock:

Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:20 am

LeviMan2001 wrote: How often do you ride with teenage drivers?
Never, thankfully.

Max

Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:19 pm

LeviMan2001 wrote: How often do you ride with teenage drivers? I can tell you for sure, after riding with some of my friends (during the winter) I am genuinely scared of fellow teens while driving :shock: . One kid used ABS like power breaks, just slam em on and let the ABS keep em from locking :shock: :shock:

Well, tell them they're idiots and stop riding with them. They'll stop doing that after they begin paying for their own brakes, or when a Freightliner applies a little precussive education from the rear. Oh sure, the trucker will get the blame, but the dumb kid will get the ambulance ride.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:34 pm

Fitz of Rage wrote: LeviMan2001 wrote: How often do you ride with teenage drivers? I can tell you for sure, after riding with some of my friends (during the winter) I am genuinely scared of fellow teens while driving :shock: . One kid used ABS like power breaks, just slam em on and let the ABS keep em from locking :shock: :shock:

Well, tell them they're idiots and stop riding with them. They'll stop doing that after they begin paying for their own brakes, or when a Freightliner applies a little precussive education from the rear. Oh sure, the trucker will get the blame, but the dumb kid will get the ambulance ride.

Yeah, a lot of kids around here drive with two settings: Floored, or brakes on. Not much in between. What scares me more is some kids I know that are struggling with the basic concept of just driving, ie the function of the round thingy in front of them, and those two pedals on the floor. I don't think they should ever be allowed to drive a motor vehicle if they can't master stuff like that first. Honestly, I'd rather ride with someone who drives fast all the time but knows what they're doing, than someone who drives the speed limit/slower but has no clue what they're doing. /endrant/

Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:04 pm

But Rusty, it's not just that round thing in front of them. It's the radio, the cell phone, the girls/guys in the car next to them they're trying to impress.

It's tough driving when you're a teen haha

69rulz wrote: robclark63 wrote: there are some great old VW comercials on youtube. Just search old volkswagen commercials and you can find how the snowplow driver gets to work. They are really cool!!! Just proves how reliable these old cars really are!! Enjoy.

that one was awesome man

That video is going to be me this winter. I get stuck on plow duty at work a lot of the time. If the wife is in town, I'll be driving the bug (hopefully it's running). If not, I get to drive the Toyota haha. Got brand new 165's on the Bug, so it should do just fine. And won't have to worry about salt until the drive home...

Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:32 pm

The biggest problem with "snow handling" is not the snow per se, it's the defroster! Use that ice scraper inside the car! :lol:

Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:35 pm

Fitz of Rage wrote: LeviMan2001 wrote: How often do you ride with teenage drivers? I can tell you for sure, after riding with some of my friends (during the winter) I am genuinely scared of fellow teens while driving :shock: . One kid used ABS like power breaks, just slam em on and let the ABS keep em from locking :shock: :shock:

Well, tell them they're idiots and stop riding with them. They'll stop doing that after they begin paying for their own brakes, or when a Freightliner applies a little precussive education from the rear. Oh sure, the trucker will get the blame, but the dumb kid will get the ambulance ride.

Yeah, each of these kids I only rode with once then I was like alright, this isn't cool. The one that uses ABS like it's there for daily driving also tried to e brake park and slammed into the curb which either bent a rim or suspension, either way, it had a good wobble to it after that :lol: .

Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:57 pm

LeviMan2001 wrote: Yeah, each of these kids I only rode with once then I was like alright, this isn't cool. The one that uses ABS like it's there for daily driving also tried to e brake park and slammed into the curb which either bent a rim or suspension, either way, it had a good wobble to it after that :lol: .

Y'know... for the five years I was stationed at Eielson, I saw stuff like that happen on-base a dozen times a year. I think it's one place I can think of where 'experienced' drivers can be far more dangerous than the local teens.

Take a person who grew up in south Texas, Florida, etc, whose mentality is "OMG BIG FOUR BY" for even a faint bit of moisture on a smooth stretch of asphalt, stick 'em in the six-month arctic winters. Entertaining, if you're not close enough to be involved!

Me and my trusty rear-drive, posi-equipped, 295-wide rubber wearin', manual-trans '66 Olds musta passed a hundred $50,000 4x4 pickups/SUVs in the ditch, upside down... and once, in a tree! I got 'er stuck once (snow drifted over the edge of the road - no curb. Got a wheel off and sucked in) and spun 'er once (rain over ice, less than a mile from home). Heh... it's great fun to be in the 48s again - I pass everyone when there's snow out!

How many tires do the pushin' or pullin' don't mean shit if you don't know what you're doing to begin with.

And people wonder why I haven't upgraded to power brakes and steering... can't 'feel' the road! The MG's great in snow (aside from ground clearance) for just that reason - you're super-connected by way of 'feel'.

That said, Bugs excel in slick stuff, provided you're a competent driver to begin with and have learned how to 'talk to' your baby. Just remember to not let off the throttle sharply in a corner, and you'll be just fine!