How To Winterise Your Classic VW Beetle

Classic VW Beetle Winter Care

My VW Beetle was a dream to run and insure, if only I knew I'd need classic car insurance cover at the time. I remember having to abandon my VW Beetle half way during it's daily 2 mile drive to work one freezing winter morning as my breath was freezing on to the inside of the windscreen making it impossible to see. The legacy of owning a car where your nose is about an inch from the windscreen you might say. Well, yes partly, but also because I hadn't considered how severe the weather actually was. I've also had freezing fog freeze the outside of the windscreen while driving through it.

But there are things you can do that can help get you from A to B safely.

Battery For Classic Cars

Cold weather can play havoc with your battery. if you haven't driven for a few days, you battery strength may be struggling a little. If you're still running an old generator in your classic (& if you are, then why?) it might be worth seriously considering an upgrade to an alternator. An alternator takes less time to charge and will keep those modern halogen lights and cd player working at full efficiency when you put the windscreen wipers on as well. I remember noticing a severe dimming of my lights in a torrential downpour one hairy night in the countryside in my pre-alternator Beetle – not what one needs at all. Constant small journeys are not good for any car's battery in cold weather, consider taking your car for a crisp winter's day spin when conditions are favourable, so that your battery gets a nice full charge.

Also worth remembering is to turn off anything that doesn't need to be on when you first start the car – make sure the battery is concentrating it's power where you want it to go to start with. And remember, a battery's lifespan is around 5 years. Your garage can check it's durability for you.

Windscreen

The last thing you want to do is abandon your car on the side of the road for a couple of hours due to freezing mornings like I had to do. But if you can't see properly to drive, you are a danger to yourself and other motorists. In fact, traffic police these days take a very dim view of the driver wrapped in scarf and hat, constantly clearing a tiny portal to see through while the rest of the windows might as well be non-existent. It's simply not safe.

Heat the inside of the car up as best you can to avoid the internal freezing that I (& no doubt many other classic and vintage car drivers) experienced. It makes the car much more pleasant to drive in as well.

The myth is that Beetles heating systems simply don't work, well they do. But like anything, if the components are rusty, blocked or faulty, then airflow won't be so good. Common problems are that your heater channels (running either side of the floorpan below the doors) are rusted through and holes are allowing the air to escape. Heater channels are structural in any case, so this needs to be fixed immediately. If you don't then at best you will fail the MoT.

The heat exchangers may also have rust holes in them as well, this causes warm air to escape under your bug, but it also can cause more dangerous problems. The chances are a badly damaged exchanger may also have internal rust problems too, which may in turn allow exhaust gases to be pumped into the inside of the car where you are sitting. I've experienced this before as well, it's much akin to sitting in traffic on my bike behind a bus pumping out fumes. Unless you're fed up with life, then it's imperative that you replace the offending exchanger. Not only to stay healthy, but to get some heat into your car. You won't believe how much nicer it is to be able to drive your classic old VW in just a t-shirt in mid winter. This gives you freedom of movement in the car - another safety aspect worth considering.

Flexible pipework connects the heat exchangers to inside pipes under the rear seat which in turn connect to the heater channels, which – depending on your vintage – have opening outlets either side of the front or in each front footwell. There are also outlets in the rear passenger area.

Make sure all the pipework is in a fit condition and secured so that no hot air can escape. Ok, I know, it's a mucky job that requires some effort and it's not as rewarding as polishing your chrome wheels and getting admiring glances, but it really is worth it. Be disciplined – do this sort of thing in Autumn when the weather is still warm enough for it to be less of a chore.

Your Beetle may well have air vents under the windscreen which are there to clear the screen. Well, in theory at least. These are often disconnected during a 'body-off' restoration and forgotten about because of their inaccessibility or just left as they never worked so well in the first place.

The solution? Either fix them properly, but remember that your classic car will be pumping cold air onto your screen until the engine warms enough, or buy a heated windscreen. Yes, they do exist for Beetles. Less than £300 will get you something that you will absolutely love in winter. No longer will you be outside in the cold trying to defrost your car an hour before having to go anywhere! Quite simply, it's not a luxury, it's really a necessity when you are driving an automobile that doesn't have a particularly good windscreen clearing system.

Same goes for the rear windscreen, you can't reach that to be constantly wiping it clear anyway, so get one. At under £70 for a good quality item there's really no excuse for not having one of these. Yu can even with a little bit of knowledge wire one of these in yourself, it's really not difficult – just make sure it's connected to a fuse that is only on when the car is started in case you leave it switched on over night.

Tyres

Buy good quality tyres when you can afford to – I've had the frightening experience of replacing rear tyres with a cheaper brand only to lose traction going round a roundabout in the wet one night and coming close to nosediving into a ditch. It was due to cheap tyres. There is a lot of weight on the back of a Beetle, so secure it to the ground with the best you can get. It is recommended that your tyres are checked regularly to make sure they comply with the laws regarding tread depth. The penalties for driving on illegal tyres are rightly harsh – up to £2500 fine per tyre and penalty points. The AA recommends at least 3mm of tread for winter driving. Also worth noting when you are driving a Beetle or Camper Van is making sure the tyre pressures are right. I've driven my car away from a garage before where the handling has felt odd, only to check and find that the garage had put air in the tyres as if the car was a modern car. A Beetle has all it's weight at the back, so the front tyres air pressure needs to be surprisingly low. My old 1972 Volkswagen has a front tyre pressure of 17psi and 27psi at the rear.

It's popular to increase your tyre size on a Beetle or Camper. But take note that pressure and volume are two different things. So increasing the pressure because you have bigger tyres is not the best thing you can be doing. VW set the pressures and as with everything, it's surely best to stick to the manufacturer's recommendations. I see a lot of advice on specialist forums that is dubious and relates to recommended pressures for a modern, high tech, front engined car. If you're at all in doubt – because this is important – please contact your preferred classic VW specialist.

Breakdowns

And finally, some logical advice if you do breakdown on a cold winter's day. Remember I said it was lovely to be able to drive in just a t-shirt? Well one January afternoon on my birthday, I broke down on the outskirts of my local town. I called the rescue company (who shall remain nameless) and waited – and waited. The sun started to sink and deep cold started to set in. You see, I hadn't any coat with me at all and to say I was cold was an understatement. Eventually a friend had to collect me and drive me home with the heating on in his (modern) car at full blast. Now imagine if this had happened miles from anywhere and I hadn't had a phone..

The point is, go prepared. So you've got your classic car insurance and your vintage Beetle or Splitty ready to go see the relatives on New Year's Day, but what if the worse happens and you grind to a halt? If you put provisions in your car for such an occurrence you can leave them there and forget about them until they are needed. Basics are a warm coat, hat, gloves and scarf, a blanket, reflective clothing, a torch, de-icer, tow rope, scraper, walking boots, packable rainproof if you do need to abandon the car for any reason, that type of thing. Make sure you have your breakdown service provider details with you and a fully charged mobile phone as well. It's a good idea to make yourself a flask of something hot as well. It'll not go to waste.

If you're prepared, then you stand a better chance of a winter breakdown being just an inconvenience rather than a harrowing near-death experience. Drive safely.