First of all; HI everybody!! Long time, no see... We have been pretty busy with moving from the farm, to a apartment in the suburbs for the winter, getting a internet connection and so on.. Now when the days are short, cold, snow and ice we have rented a horse-indoor exercise track to hold the Wulffdogs classes, a couple of hours a week. This facility is located about 10miles from our usual exercise place.. Yesterday it was snowing pretty hard, and it was about 4-5 inches of snow on the roads, you have all seen it on the movies! Its really beautiful when its all dark around, the woods are covered in white, vision is less than 10 feet and all sounds are kind of dampened.. What is better in that situation than crank the mighty one, and take it for a spin, and enjoying the sealed beam lights, just listening to the straight exhaust that walls against the snow all around? I dont like the winter much, but these moments are magic!!! All of the sudden i spot some blinking yellow lights ahead, thinking it may be a tractor shoveling snow from a dirtroad or something.. But NO:banghead3: The lights come from a truck, with no shovel, just a salt machine in the back, drowning my beautiful buick in watermixed salt, clogged up my windscreen and left me with a salty taste in my mouth.. And two miles from that, the beautiful white snow has turned to a slippery grey, cloggy mix that made me skid all over the road, taking all the lights out on my car.. My sweet ride in the winter-wonderland was ruined, and after the class i had to take the car straight to a car wash, trying to get all that pesky salt off it.. -So, now i will put it to rest in a neighbours barn, waiting for spring to get here..... How about you guys? Do you ride your entusiasth cars in winter and snow? I know that i will take my car out on christmas eve, and ride around town to say merry christmas to the relatives, and some of our friends, but not any more, sad to say..
Gee Lowlow, as much as that all sounds so romantic, exciting, and wonderful, we moved from the midwest to Florida. We don't get to enjoy things like that anymore. I miss the salty taste in my mouth now and then so we take a ride to the ocean and ride up and down the sand. Not as pretty, not as white, but there are no trucks throwin things all over my wagon! All I get to see are those nasty young girls in tiny bikinis distracting me. HO HO HO!
I usually don't drive my old cars after the first real snowfall of the season. Once the salt hits the roads, I keep the old car(s) in the garage until the rains have washed the roads clean.
That was a great story until the truck came along, 2lo! What a shame! Glad you got it all off the wagon. Nope. I don't drive my wagon in the winter. It went into storage a few weeks ago. I don't like winter either and here we are, you and me, living in snow country!
If it wasn't for those snow plows and salt trucks many people really would be hibernatin all winter! MERRY CHRISTMAS where ever you are!
CatModelT asked: "Isn't that from October till May?" Not here; usually just from mid-December till late March or early April. Still a LONG time...
I think that was ment to be a joke, but actually, this is kind of reallity up in the north, where we used to live.... This year, the snow have still not setteled on the ground, thats why the salt is such a mess.. It makes the roads even more slippery when it doesent allow the snow and ice bite on the ground, just leaving a thin black surface of ice all over... No tires in the world will find a grip on these premecies..
Had the shop,s G20 out for a spin today.. Picking up a new table for the new livingroom... Drove for about 30miles, and saw no less than 8 (!) cars that had ran off the road.. I have been driving on snow and ice for all my life, benn racing on lakes for fifteen winters, and even driven some winter rally. But this day...... My gawd!!!! As soon as the gear changed to third, the car just skidded.. Hardcore drifting on the highway, no way i could get the car doing even 50.. The traction just wasnt there.. I run studless winterfriction tyres on it, and usually have no probs at all. Almost all snow is gone on the streets, so me and the dogs went out on a dirtroad to the woods, and had a beautiful walk for almost a hour, playing in the little snow that still lies between the trees.. Seems like we will have a grey christmas this year Not that i miss the snow that much, but i will be stuck driving the V70 with the awd.. I miss driving my V8 cars!!!!
I remember in central Illinois when 4-wheel drives became popular. I drove tractor trailers so saw a lot of strange drivers. People seemed to think because they could drive on mud, slush, and snow they could drive on ice! Believe me even 18 wheels can't handle the ice. I saw more 4-wheel drive vehicles in strange places than other cars and trucks. I know about when real winter driving begins up north. I just try to forget about it.
I used to, didn't matter what the weather but spent alot of $ washing.... My 83 was the first wagon I ever barned for the winter but this year it's at home. Still insured but I'll only drive it on dry sunny weekends. My 65 truck and 83 wagon get run regular and taken around the block weekly. My poor 87 is the only one I'm not running perioud. It's developed so many elctrical gremlins I'm afraid of a under dash fire. All and all it's alot of work keeping them clean and dry inside this time of year. This winter I'm driving my honey's old 99 GMC mini van.....at least it's RWD It's been a strange winter here also. I've been driving the same windy country back roads to work since 97, I know every inch and what to expect.... except for this year. I know where all the black ice spots are...I know when I can sip my coffee compared to keep both hands on the wheel. Strangly this winter so far the few times we have had black ice it's never in the normal spots but in places where it's NEVER been before. Sounds like idiouts are the same everywhere, in bad weather like snow and ice there is always 5x more 4x4's in the ditch out here also.
lowlow, you mentioned moving from the farm to the suburbs(apartment). I'm curious, what steps do you have to take there to winterize the house to sit empty all winter?
this is the TiKi HuT and that is where TiKi will hibernate till spring (usually april. ) i had to drive her the first winter i had her and i am paying for it now. i had a 100% rust free undercarriage that has spotty surface rust now. i'll clean and paint the underside in the spring.
The house isnt empty.. My father in law lives there all year around, we live in one of the cabins on the farm. No water, nor waterfed heat, so we just closed the door and left until spring..
Remember the concept of the 'winter beater'? That's exactly how I get around the problem. I buy an oldie that would otherwise be derbied, and drive it until the body falls off, then buy another. I get the pleasure of driving an old car that I love, and not worrying about ruining a good old car. I usually get 5 years from a $1,000 beater.
