DAILY DRIVER - VS - Weekend Only Driver?

[my59]

[oprn]

[Abscate]

[Xevin]

[mikec4193]

Old thread...yes but when I had my first air-cooled in 36 years (back in the fall of 2017) and I had my daily driver (S10 truck) was in the garage getting some serious work down at the shop...the 1968 VW I had at the time was brought into service...I felt like I was 18 years old again...scary everyday dealing with traffic flow but I did it...

It was fun to feel that feeling again...it was like I was in High School again...even took my wife out for Sunday breakfast in it...she didn't like the gasoline smell in the cabin and she was claustrophobic so she rode with the window down...

So yes for 1 week back in 2017 I had a 1968 VW daily driver....

MikeC
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Dad bought his first Beetle on Dec 17, 1953.

[mark tucker]

if you build it like many vw guys do it may be a block by block car....i would suggest building a good one...

[Abscate]

[goober]

The way I see it, there are 4 main gripes people have against using our Bugs as daily-drivers. 1) Can our Bugs be made dependable and drivable enough for modern daily use? 2) Will Winter/salt rust/eat my Bug away? 3) The desire to bring and keep our Bugs original. 4) The amount of maintenance/work necessary to daily-drive.

1) If you put your Bug in top mechanical shape the answer is, yes. There's is no inherent reason a Bug should be more undependable than any other car. In fact, I think they're more dependable than most. Even with my 1684cc engines I have no problem doing the speed limit or getting into traffic.

2) Salt will eat away at steel. In the winter, I repeatedly look for spots of rust all under and all over my Bug and dab them with some form of petroleum. This keeps rust at bay and under control until I can touch things up in the Spring.

3) I'm not a purist, I'm a practicalist. If I spent thousands of dollars and much effort making my Bug as show-room original as possible, I wouldn't daily-drive my Bug either especially in Winter. If you're going to daily-drive your Bug you need to approach your Bug ownership from a completely different more practical direction. Do I want a daily-driver or a toy?

4) Even when our Bugs were new they required more maintenance than a Ford or Chevy. That's the downside. The upside is our Bugs were designed from the beginning to be simply and easily maintained. You have to do the work but it's work you can easily do.

When our Bugs were new they never did anything fantastically but they did do everything good enough. And they still do.
Stop thinking what you can't do with your Bug and start thinking what you can.

[kpf]

The tinkering is a big part of the fun. My advice to newbies is: if you are looking for a hobby, including doing maintenance and sourcing rare parts, then an antique car could be for you. If you’re hoping to just pay your way out of all that and just drive it, then you’d better have Jay Leno money. If you’re just looking for cheap transportation, then don’t get anything older than about 20 years.
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1971 Super Beetle

[oprn]

Goober, I agree with you with the exception of #2.

Yes rust can start on the outside on a scratch or rock chip but the vast majority of rust starts on the inside and works out. Moisture condenses on the inside, runs down the panels (on the inside) collects at the bottom (on the inside) and rots it out (from the inside). By the time it appears on the outside there is 10 times or more damage to the inside that is not readily apparent from the outside and no amount of touch ups will ever stop it.

These things can help. Leave the car outside in the winter if you are going to drive it. This keeps the car at a more constant temperature and reduces condensation. Also, remember that the warmer salt is the better it works so DO NOT coat your car with salt and bring it in a warm garage every night, then recoat it with fresh salt again the next day!

Spray some sort of rust inhibitor INSIDE all the panels you can possibly get to and let it drain out the bottom. Inside the doors, inside the roof and rear 1/4 panels, inside the hood and engine cover where there is double panels welded together. Even used engine oil is better than nothing. And do it as a regular scheduled maintenance item once or twice a year.

The factory provided drains on the bottom of much of the structure. CLEAN THEM OUT! With time, driving and ignorance these drains get plugged off with mud, road tar, undercoating and yes some owners stuff rags etc. in them too. They MUST be free to drain or there will be a puddle of water in there rusting everything in sight!

Hope this helps.

[AutoMechanic]

Only a weekend driver. In Virginia where I live if the vehicle has vintage or antique tags it can’t be driven all the time. So I couldn’t drive it every day unless I put regular tags on it.

[goober]

Good points, oprn.

The dry heat from an in-cab 1300 watt 120 volt ac electric heater used an hour or so before driving in the Winter will go a long way to dry out the doors and body panels. Even frozen door locks will eventually thaw and dry out over time. Keeping moisture from getting into doors/panels in the first place is important. Plug all holes and keep your window rubber in good shape. I don't run heater channels which can have moisture problems. VW should have used a plastic tube or liner in the channels. With the in-cab heater you can also kiss having to scrape ice off your windows goodbye. And remember, a warm battery is a happy battery.

I have drum brakes and I use 3-4 applications of WD-40 on my chrome rims, hubcaps and rim/tire edge during the course of the Winter. This builds a protective layer of crud that protects the rims.

Another thing I do is when I return home and park (outside), with a dedicated window brush for the body, I'll wipe all the salt/slosh build-up off the outside body/doors with snow. You can actually 'wash' your car with dry snow and a brush. I also knock any big chunks off from under the fenders and body.

Finally, I plug in my extension cord and position the heater, wipe all the lights with a paper towel, check the oil, shake any oil-snot from my vent tube, maybe squirt a little 91% alcohol around the locks and window washer nozzle. All I have to do tomorrow morning is flip a switch in the garage, warm it and I'm good to go.

This all takes about 10-15 minutes to do, not much fun when it's really cold outside. But it protects my Bug and keeps me going dependably through the Winter. I'm a geezer, what else have I got to do?

[oprn]

Yes I had forgotten those 120 volt in car heaters. We had one for every VW and yes they do help!

[Jonah888]

I think the member - "Goober" - response was extremely good, well thought out and well said. I totally agree with his views. I feel a bit better in being a daily driver, should I choose to do so. Thanks Goober

[modok]

He must be a "morning person"
If it was easy AND comfortable to hop in my car and GO, right away, on a cold morning, I'd probably get a few blocks then drive it into a tree, or worse.

[Jonah888]

[1970PAKombi]

I drive around 30,000 miles a year on my TDI for work. I have a truck for getting VW's. Both of my split windows are in the process of being rebuilt/restored. I have a 60's Mustang that is original, but one of the reasons why I run regular tags on it is so that I keep up on the maintenance.

[oprn]

Modern cars are head and shoulders above old VWs in comfort, convenience, low maintenance, fuel economy, dependability and durability. To me there is absolutely no possible practical argument in favor of running an old VW on a daily basis.

That said, they look like crap, have very little if any driver feed back and ZERO personality. The majority don't even have a color. Ask Kodak - black, white and grey are not colors! And as an old British chap told me, there is nothing to tinker with on the driveway at the weekend!

So - I have a modern car for daily driving and an old VW for real motoring pleasure on the weekends!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[Abscate]

[Tom K.]

I don't think about it in terms of daily v. weekends. The determining factors for me are (1) length of trip and (2) time of year in PA. I drive the VW for anything less than about 30 miles when it's not winter. I use another car for long interstate trips and for all trips in winter.
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'91 Vanagon Westfalia
'70 Beetle Convertible
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