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Spitfire, snow and frost...


wimpus

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As I used my Spitfire as daily and it started to snow and freeze very good this week... 

She did it well.

Only very hard to start after standing a day in -5°c !

Mornings after standing in a non heated garage, she does it pretty good.

 

Today took some pics in the snow (got a bit stuck.. :D ) as it was 'International Drive Your Triumph Day' .

After that noticed the carwash was open... time to clean off the salt.

Incl cleaning floor edge, rear of chassis/suspension, boot floor etc etc. (People did look a bit strange sitting on my knees washing the Spitfire :D)

 

 

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The heated garage might save you from this but, having driven a Spitfire as a daily driver you might want to take the hard top OFF if daytime temps. are sub-zero.  I well remember a winter spent with twice daily (no garage) drives that went:

  1. Scrape ice of outside of glass.
  2. Sit on cold, hard seat and scrape ice of inside of glass.
  3. Start driving with heater on, waiting for the heat to come.
  4. Brief window of comfort and visibility when it does and the warm air blows up the screen absorbing the moisture.
  5. Cold, hard seat transforms into still cold but softer, wetter seat as bum-heat melts the water that's been absorbed into the seat foam and frozen.
  6. Top of head starts to get cold and wet as the moisture absorbed and pushed up the screen by the demister that then condensed on the cold steel of the hardtop and had frozen starts to thaw out and drip.
  7. Park car outside, either at home or at work and let nature re-freeze everything that had thawed.
  8. Repeat.

It IS fun to find a nice side, empty piece of snow covered road and provoke the rear end into breaking away (at low speeds) though :)

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I've had to dig out the petroleum jelly for the modern this past while, as the driver's door is always frozen solid. A few times I've had to enter via the passenger door then put my feet against the driver's door to get it to open. I can remember in past times opening the door and having the door seal split with half stuck to the door and half on the car body... and DO NOT as 'Er Indoors did, use hot water. The door opens, yes, but then the water cools, and freezes, and you come back to the car to find it ten times worse than before.

However: lovely mild 10 degree day here this morning, frost and snow all gone.

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I drove my MKIV as a daily driver in Michigan (pronounce Mish-again) USA and had no problems (no hard top).

The trick was really thick upper-body clothing and very good gloves. I also put a bit of cardboard in front of the radiator if it was RALLY cold.

The car is so light it is like skiing!

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A few years back, we where "Wild Camping" down by the Mexican Border the couple on the next "pitch" where from Iowa. He was speaking to his neighbour, who was reporting 16ft of snow up against his front door (Drift). The 4 of us are sat in Tee shirts, drinking wine and beer!. watching the sundown.

Currently Houston (TX) where my son lives, is -8 (F). (-20C?) if it get`s much colder they have the record for low temp since Texas was "borrowed" from Mexico. 18?? something. Last week it was 68(F).

Pete

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