Volkswagen in Antarctica

Elijah B.

Elijah B.

Active Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
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269
Location
Oz
When I saw this cinema short from 1963 of a Beetle in Antarctica I thought of the TG run to the North Pole. The first 6.5 minutes give the back story, but the payoff is from about the 7 minute mark. I thought I'd put the link up as a curiosity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FftkcIIdg&feature=feedu
 
I hope they had a a aftermarket heater installed, Cause from what I've heard the original heating system was not so good.
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My first ever car was a 1963 Beetle, bought for sixty quid. You're right about the heater - it was a vent under the seat with a sliding metal shutter, which was either open or closed and eventually, with age, inevitably became jammed in one or other position. In my car, it became stuck in the open position, so I drove all through one of the hottest (for Britain) summers on record with the equivalent of a small blast furnace belching out two inches behind my ankles. I ended up having to stuff a towel into the vent to stop myself suffering third degree burns.
 
Amie8 said:
My first ever car was a 1963 Beetle, bought for sixty quid. You're right about the heater - it was a vent under the seat with a sliding metal shutter, which was either open or closed and eventually, with age, inevitably became jammed in one or other position. In my car, it became stuck in the open position, so I drove all through one of the hottest (for Britain) summers on record with the equivalent of a small blast furnace belching out two inches behind my ankles. I ended up having to stuff a towel into the vent to stop myself suffering third degree burns.
Click to expand...

For some reason, The heater vents in my Dad's Beetle where welded shut by a previous owner. Most of the Beetles i have seen (in India) have had this done.
 
The heating of the Beetle was fine. I remember the wheels of my toy cars melting in the storage space behind the back seats, which was right above the engine.

What the Beetle lacked, was an effective system of defrosting/defogging the windows and preventing them from fogging up again. There was constant wiping the windows, which usually was a job for the co-driver.
 
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MacGuffin said:
The heating of the Beetle was fine. I remember the wheels of my toy cars melting in the storage space behind the back seats, which was right above the engine.

What the Beetle lacked, was an effective system of defrosting/defogging the windows and preventing them from fogging up again. There was constant wiping the windows, which usually was a job for the co-driver.
Click to expand...

Ah yes. Heater on, windows open.

Great headlights too. To quote Bill "Beardie" Bryson, I've seen more luminous insects.
 
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