Woman (The singular, not the plural) refused to ride in my car. Really, she did. I'd offer to take her on a motoring extravaganza and she would want to stay home. My classic made her nauseous. Now on looks alone, possibly, but this highlights one of the downsides of classic car ownership. I think some background is in order.
The beetle heater is powered by a pair of heat exchangers on the exhausts. If the engines on you have heat, right? Not so fast, see there are a few minor downsides. The first is the smell as they warm up. You'll swear you have an exhaust leak. And with all the tubes and pipes, something will go amiss and you'll suddenly lose defrost all at once. Now being slightly cold, breathing what you swear is exhaust, and having to touch your companions leg every time you want to adjust the heat does make for an interesting driving experience I'll grant that.
But that is also part of the fun! You don't know when your heat will actually start working. I've got an idea this winter to help cover fuel costs, bet on the heat! I'll take a poll before the car is started about when and where the heat will actually begin to warm the car and not just spew hot air in the foot wells. Have you ever seen hot air freeze solid? It's not a pretty sight. But the winner of the betting pool gets to fill my car with gas, which at current prices can be under a tenner.
All this talk of heat reminds me of my first true classic car experience. My family for years drove a 1981 VW Vanagon. Had it for thirteen years before is self destructed on Highway 93. It had the same heating set up as my current classic car, with for a vehicle that big isn't much of one. I have family in the heartland and we were driving to meet them. In the middle of winter. We had brought along some Montana water for them to try, it being so pollutant free and delicious. Well we put it in front of the rear heater vent. And it froze solid. Ah, life in the slow lane.
Merry Christmas!
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