Baby Blue to the Rescue...again

[SaxMan]

I pranged the Jetta on a huge double pot-hole on a gravel road on Saturday. I thought I had only damaged the front valence and air dam. Turns out I also busted the radiator, both fans and the intercooler. How the car remained driveable for 3 more days before the coolant all burst out this morning is beyond me. Needless to say, I'm filing an insurance claim for this one.

With the Jetta out of action, I have to once again turn to the Sprite to be my daily driver...right when we get this blast of Arctic air. Fortunately, the car is garaged overnight, so morning starts shouldn't be a huge issue. Anything I need to know about driving these cars in sub-freezing weather? I do know once warmed up, they get rather toasty inside.

I have a couple of trips into DC on Thursday and Saturday. I'm thinking I may borrow a friends car rather than take my chances with Baby Blue on the very unfriendly roads in D.C.

...and probably should think about getting an old Jeep CJ the next time I want to go venturing down gravel roads.

 

[SaxMan]

Even though it sat in an unheated garage and the outside temps were in the 20s, the Sprite fired right up with full choke. It actually got warm faster than the Jetta and quickly discovered the heater has two settings "Sauna" and "Off". The idle was a bit faster than usual, but nothing terrible.

 

[Bill H]

I guess since you aren't praising your VW it is ok to talk about it on this forum

Bill H.

 

[mrsprite]

Several years ago I had to drive my Bugeye as a daily year 'round driver. It actually does pretty well....even in snow. My only issue was the snow was so heavy and wet that it stopped the wipers mid wipe. I had to move over 3 lanes of traffic blind to pull over and clear the windshield. Big pucker moment.

As long as there is no snow you should have no real issues. Of course, you are dealing with possibly the worst drivers in America, so borrowing your friends car may make more sense.

 

[nomad]

On the earlier car's you can control the heat somewhat by closing the air intake flap by pulling out on the heater fan knob. In general though, you do get "Sauna and off". you can also close the door that directs heat into your foot well and let your navigator have the heat. Mine appreciates it!

Kurt.

 

[SaxMan]

After borrowing my friend's car to get to my gig tonight, I went to pick Baby Blue up at his house. I was hoping I'd get home before the heavy rain came through, but I didn't make it. Driving the Sprite at night through a deluge was a rather eye opening experience. However, the passenger compartment remained almost completely watertight, save a stray drop or two that made it through. Hitting deep puddles was a bit disquieting at first, but then it was fairly predictable, and I got to wash some of the oil off the underside, too. :wink-new:

 

[Bayless]

Be very careful washing that oil off. Now it will start to rust.layful:

 

[SaxMan]

Baby Blue served faithfully again this week as a daily driver through some of the coldest weather it has been exposed to since I've owned the car. It has the weekend off as I'm tooling around in a Chevy Suburban. Talk about a shock to your system hopping out of the Sprite with manual rack and pinion steering and going to the Suburban's recirculating ball unit. It literally felt like the steering wheel had been shot full of Novacain and that I was navigating a boat, not driving a car.

The mechanical work on the Jetta is done and now it's up in the body shop getting a new front bumper. I'm hoping to have the car back by the middle of next week so I can give Baby Blue a well deserved rest and start into my winter maintenance projects on her.

 

[SaxMan]

I got word that the Jetta will be ready for pickup tomorrow. Baby Blue had one final day of commuting in sub-freezing weather. She started hard this evening with the temps hovering around 20 degrees, but soon collected herself and happily buzzed her way home. The Sprite did absolutely everything that I asked of it and was driven in conditions that I never would have thought I would have ever taken it out of the garage for. And, it did this at the end of a driving season and probably not in the best of tune or adjustment. Even though I'm preaching to the choir here, I would suspect that this shatters the myth of the unreliability of Little British Cars. With some attentive care and feeding, it's as reliable as any other car, even at nearly 47 years old.

So, Baby Blue is now getting a well deserved break so I can give the car its winter overhaul / tune up. I don't suspect it's going to be on the road again for at least another month. With the snow they are calling for this weekend in the D.C. area (anywhere from 1 to 3 feet depending on the weather model), it's probably the right time. And, no more off-road jousts in the Jetta, either.