That is a crazy story! This 411 will hopefully just be used in the summer, I have '99 VWMKIV to bore me at wintertime, and I also have a '70 Bug but has got too much rust and will cost too much to repair for now. So I made a fairly quick descission when I heard that this 411 was considered soldraygreenwood wrote:Welcome Haz! I have been saying the same thing that Lars has for decades. Seriously....when the D-jet injection is correctly tuned and running....it does actually seem to start better and better the colder it gets.
Mindyou...I have never had mine in areas as cold as where you are, but I have had it at -10F with 40 mph winds. It starts generally on the first revolution.
Very nice car. When you get time and warm weather, start on the rubber suspension parts replacement. They may be perfect now, but with age alone they break down.
So...you were "drawn" to it on impulse?......Yes...you have the disease now! Cold weather in a 411 or 412 will do that to you. They have all of teh "bulletproof" atributes of the original beetle......with superb snow handling abilities.....much more comfort and room....and HEAT.
You almost feel like a you have aminiature camper.
One of the most fun I had in my 412.....simply because it ran like a dream....brought me through the situation without a single problem...and operated like it was made for snow....was when I got stranded with thosuands of other vehicles in Oklahoma....during a freak blizzard that dropped 13" of snow in 5 hours and stopped traffic dead on the highway because of ice.
The heater worked properly...I had a full fuel tank....actually had food and water that I store in the cavernous trunk in the winter...plenty of intertainment with my CD's....and coveralls and two studded snow-tires and a set of chains in the trunk. I was one of about only 6 vehicles in a line of 100 cars that was able to drive around on teh shoulder and reach Tulsa before the sun went down. Got the last available room for the night.
These cars are a joy in winter when properly maintained and prepared. Ray
Tell me more about those rubber suspension parts that will need maintenance, if you would. I'm such a noob on this 411.
Hehehe.. thanks MGVWfan and fellow Norwegian, we have many VW maniacs from Trondheim, they always show up at VW meets with the finest old Vdubs, along with a nice can of good old Trøndersk moonshineMGVWfan wrote:My Norwegian ancestors (from Trondheim) salute you Haz! And your choice of a Type 4 proves that us Norskes really are practical and discerning.
I've driven RWD (a friend's Chevelle), rear engine (a friend's '78 Super Beetle), and FWD (my own '82 Plymouth TC3) in Upstate NY (Rome, NY, 100" of snow every year), and though FWD is OK, the good old rear engine VW is the king of snowy driving. I can only imagine how sweet it would be with a T4 instead of a Beetle, bigger engine, D-Jet, and a good heater, what's not to like?
As I said, this will probably be a summercar, but we'll see when next september/ october shows how keen I am too risk using my 411 when snow arrives and I feel the urge for going sideways
