Winter modifications and necessities.

[Kyle Davis]

Hi all,

     With the coming of winter and my unfortunate losing of a garage, what are the best modifications to do to my 66 for daily driving of 6 mile trips in mostly city/suburban driving to stay safe and reasonably warm?

Kyle

66 beetle

Dreading winter

[Dan Moy]

What temps are u looking at and what carburetor do you have ?

--
Visit the VintagVW archives at http://mail-archive.com/vint...@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vintagvw+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to vint...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

[No Quarter]

One of the best things you can do for heat in a beetle is to block off the output from the fanshroud with 1 7/8" freeze plugs and hose clamps and install bilge pump fans on the firewall behind the backseat.  These were known years ago at Barney Blowers and how they worked was to take the air inside the passenger compartment and duct it through bilge pump fans.  You need to make a couple of adapters which is like a snout on a flat plate and then fasten them on either side of the firewall with a gasket (RTV) between the adapters and the firewall.  It means you have to bore 2 holes in your firewall, but then you can chain a couple of those plastic heater tubes from Gene Berg together to hook the snouts to the input of your heater boxes.  Aftewards you get such strong heat blowing into the beetle, you can darn near cruise naked in the winter and be toasty warm.  Of course you have to wire it all up, but if you're just being cheap, you can wire a switch to a fused wire from the battery to the fans and just leave your seat propped up so you can reach under there to turn it on and off.

 

Other option is to install a gas heater.  In my baja, I was going to install a 20lb propane tank and an infrared heater, but never got it done. 

 

As far as your engine and transmission goes, I've converted to Amsoil products 100%.  I've seen enough people around here getting over 300,000 miles on their engines and the transmissions shift on the coldest sub-zero mornings as if cruising on a summer day.  If you don't have a filter on your engine, then at least run synthetic transmission fluid.

 

NQ

[Bert Knupp]

Hi, Kyle,

 

Erin (No Quarter) made a great recommendation for creating a real heating system.  Nebraska folks know what cold is!

 

Down here in Nashville we rarely have more than a handful of single-digit days each year.  Back when I used my 1965 Type 3 as a daily driver, I kept a 150-watt light bulb in an old saucepan, with its handle attached to a broom handle, underneath the oil pan.  (I have no garage, only a carport.)  It kept the oil warm enough that it didn’t turn to Crisco in the cold, and allowed the stock heater to become warm after just a couple of blocks of slow driving.  (It’s always best to get moving to warm up, not just to sit there.)  Still no toe-burner, but you could at least feel the warm coming through pretty promptly.

 

Bert

--

[Kyle]

I'm in Central Indiana.

We're looking at a bad winter here. Usually means at least a week of subzero temperatures.

Also, snow and ice aplenty, if the farmers almanac can be trusted.

Oh yeah, believe I'm running the stock solex 30 pict 2 carb.

Kyle

[Dan Moy]

Here is my check list:

(1) Make sure that the carburetor risers are clean

(2) Clean and adjust your choke

(3) Insure that the temperature control is working (the bellows underneath the engine that controls the cooling flaps)

(4) Use the recommended oil viscosity for winter use

(5) Check the heater boxes and channels, I have had many bugs and when the system is in order the car will keep you warm enough where you need to open the window in the winter.

(6) RainX on the windshield

(7) New windshield wipers

I will not make oil recommendations other than what I believe some experts have already stated as they have done testing regarding oil and our air cooled engines and transmissions: aircooledtechnology, lnengineering, aircooled.net, lowbudget.com, geneberg

Kyle

[No Quarter]

I concur with Don as well. The deal with oil is there are so many different
opinions and justifications that it's hard to decide what to use. What I
tell people is to interview a hundred different people and listen to what
they use and why. Then decide for yourself what oil is best after weighing
all the options knowing full well you're right, but don't tell anyone that
you are. Personally, I run Amsoil after seeing people hitting over 300,000
on their rides and the engines still test with great compression. Even one
local has put a million miles on his semi and all he has ever done is oil
filter changes. He orders the test kits for $26 and sends them in for
analysis. He keeps getting good reports from the team at amsoil so he's
never changed the oil in his semi. After a million miles though, it's
probably had the oil changed just in replacing what is lost when changing
the filter.

One time I was road-tripping to Tennessee and I was running hot. I decided
to pull into a gas station and do an oil change - switching over to Mobil 1
synthetic. Doing that netted me a 10 degree temperature drop just from
changing the oil. Turns out my timing advanced on me and backing it off
later on that day corrected the heat issue and it ran cooler than at the
same setting before. This was around the time Katrina made landfall because
I drove through the rain on the way back home. That was the last great trip
I took in a VW. I drove 1000 miles straight through in Li'l Red my 74 Super
Beetle. I left Athens, TN at 7:30 and made it to Beatrice, NE at 2:30 the
next morning. I had a couple naps along the way at a McDonald's outside St.
Louis and a gas station parking lot in St. Joseph, MO.

Blah, I better shut-up - I'm rambling and living vicariously through the
past with my stories...LOL!

NQ

[Gerald Livingston]

The heat in a beetle only has to travel about 2 feet to get inside the
cab. My '69 had air leaks all over the place but the heat would melt
anything left on the rear floor and I had the sneakers to prove it.

My problem was that I had a bent boot lid. So, all the hair was burned
off the back of my calves but I had to wear HEAVY gloves to keep my
fingers from getting frostbitten from the cold air blowing through the
dash at 75 or 80mph.

If your boot leaks any air at all then get a couple of heavy moving
blankets to line it during the winter.

G2

[Kyle Davis]

I appreciate the low budget tips. 

I am planning on utilizing this one a lot. I need a new front apron, and I figure towels placed appropriately will go a long way to keeping a bit of the cold out. 

Kyle

--
Visit the VintagVW archives at http://mail-archive.com/vint...@googlegroups.com
---

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/vintagvw/pI71pQCT9vc/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to vintagvw+u...@googlegroups.com.

[Dan Moy]

Do you have the cover that "blocks" back side of the dash from inside the boot?

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vintagvw+u...@googlegroups.com.

[Gerald Livingston]

No towels unless you're planning on using so many you can never shower.

I'm in SE Texas and the wind is **COLD** when at commuting speeds.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-inch-x-72-inch-movers-blanket-47262.html

And if that doesn't stop it all then break out the duct tape and cover
leaks from inside the cab. You can use Goo Gone to clean up when the
sun comes out again.

G2

> > > <01ks...@gmail.com<javascript:;>>

> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I'm in Central Indiana.
> > > >
> > > > We're looking at a bad winter here. Usually means at least a
> > > > week of subzero temperatures.
> > > >
> > > > Also, snow and ice aplenty, if the farmers almanac can be
> > > > trusted.
> > > >
> > > > Oh yeah, believe I'm running the stock solex 30 pict 2 carb.
> > > >
> > > > Kyle
> >
> > --
> > Visit the VintagVW archives at
> > http://mail-archive.com/vint...@googlegroups.com
> > ---
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in
> > the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion
> > List" group. To unsubscribe from this topic, visit
> > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/vintagvw/pI71pQCT9vc/unsubscribe.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to

> > vintagvw+u...@googlegroups.com <javascript:;>.

> > To post to this group, send email to

> > vint...@googlegroups.com<javascript:;> .

[Bruce Howard]

Racer tape won't leave residue and it comes in assorted colors. Sticks until you want it to come off. I've taped rust holes in my rockers with it to make a more presentable 20-footer.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=racer%27s+tape&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=3487279556&ref=pd_sl_y5234ferp_e

Bruce

Sent from my iPhone

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vintagvw+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to vint...@googlegroups.com.

[Dan Moy]

Here is the wire cover that can help block air