Winter driving ,Rot protection
Garrick Clark:
So guys . I'm tempted to use my o.g panel never welded 67 bug as a daily.
For 1 There's no tax to pay, no mot, cheap insurance plus I get to use the motor I spent ages building/tuning.
As it is now its only a summer car (sometimes).
It is wax oiled BUT the risk of it rotting is making it hard for me to commit .
Who's using there bug as a daily and how is the body/chassis fairing up.
Also what wax products are you using. I think wax oil is a bit old hat these days and there are better products out there to stop the rot.
Neil Davies:
I think it's the risk of accidents that would make me wary of dailying it more than rust. A good hose down every weekend would see off the worst of the salt, but the standard of driving I see on my 10 mile commute, especially as the weather gets worse, is why I've not taken mine in to work since the summer holidays.
richie:
I've been doing it in my red 67 cabrio last couple years as my daily all year round , last winter i only stopped driving it for about only 3 weeks while salt/snow was on road here, apart from that was pretty mild winter, just rained a lot so no salt just mud 7 general road grime to deal with, worse part for me was coming home from work at night in heavy rain, lack of heating/old windscreen/shitty beetle wipers & modern car lights being so bright it made it hard to see road clearly at times but this is out in middle of nowhere with no street lighting etc mostly.
cheers Richie
Martin S.:
Since I live in the rust belt, I know what you're talking about >:(
Number one is to avoid the bad days, but take advantage of the good ones because life is too short not to drive one of these things whenever you want. They are not rare enough to worry. To me only an original paint vehicle is worth treating like the queen.
There's only one way to keep rust away if you want to drive something in bad weather, and that is oil spray.
I've done oil spray just before planning to drive a vintage vehicle in the winter, and it has worked over the years and decades.
I've had it swell up some spongy seals, like on a bus, but that's easy to fix compared to body work.
The oil attracts dirt and looks awful but cleans up fine with a pressure wash. Watch the video here: https://www.krown.com/en/our-promise/
For windshields the best treatment is Aquapel (ordered from Canada). It comes in a one-application and works amazing, especially if you have a new replacement windshield. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/6-PACK-AQUAPEL-Windshield-and-Glass-Applications-Original/262150897714?hash=item3d09694032:g:UKwAAOSwNphWZw~i
I use Rain-x treatment on the inside of the glass for anti-mist, and it's similar to the stuff for welding goggles.
LED headlight bulbs for bugs are about $50 a pair which is worth it, and super bright brake/tail lights are a must for about $10/ea.
I've also rebuilt my own gas heaters are they are a dime a dozen here, but they all need rebuilding to work.
The one I have running works amazing and you will be sweating within about 5 - 10 minutes of running it. Heater boxes work too as long as the plumbing is looked at, blown out and sealed up. Sometimes it's possible to find a working electric heated rear late glass which is awesome.
Last winter I worked straight north of me, up toward the snow belt and it was a wicked cold winter and I drove my low mile 68 and got to slide it into the approach for the parking lot at work (on a dead end road), and power through snow drifts that could stop a lesser car. Tons of snow last year and a must to have stock height, snow tires, note my Nokian 185/65R15 on 5.5" 914-2.0 rims.
The attitude I take with driving an unsafe car like a bug in todays traffic, is to drive it as if it were a motorcycle and be more defensive than normal and that should help make up for the odds of an accident.
Garrick Clark:
Hey thanks for the reply's. Your right Martin. Bugs arent rare yet. But never welded o.g paint ones are, which is what mine is albeit in a patina style due to age. I dont no what type of salty grit you use in Usa/canada, but over here it seams to to be real potent. Around were I live after the winter gritters have done there job for a few months the authorities have to re tarmac a lot of the roads due to the grit/salt eating into the road leaving multiple pot holes. Which is why good bugs turn to repro panelled junk after a few years. Shame really.
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