I know a little old VW Beetle that would've made its Schwimmwagen cousins proud today. We had a torrential downpour, right as I was getting onto the interstate. I was hoping to make it to the store before the heavy rain started, but oh well.
We were all going about 20mph on the interstate, and my shifting arm was getting itchy from being between gears so I decided to exit off at the medical park about 5 minutes in. I did so and parked under a tree and let the rain pour down. All the other suckers in their massive SUVs were looking for bank drive-thrus and oversized awnings and such, while me and my Bug were safely tucked under a tiny little tree.
Getting on down the road after about 10 minutes was also fun. Land yachts plowed through water puddling at the sides of the road, while I zipped between the puddles and the yellow dividing line with room to spare. And while others plodded through and stalled in rising water, and snarled up traffic, I just lit under another tree and waited.
From tree to tree, I made my way down the road and waited the storm out. I finally got to where I couldn't go anymore: There was a rising flood in the middle of the street and a little Japanese car sitting in the middle of it. Unable to help, I parked and waited, watching a kindly fellow and his Golden Retriever, in a giant Ford F350, nudge the car out of the lake and into an adjacent parking lot. The dog was sitting in the passenger seat just like any other passenger, and he looked a trifle on the mildly uninterested side.
I pictured myself sitting in my Bug in that little lake instead, and cringed. I've heard about the mythical floatiness of the VW Beetle, but I'm not willing to test it out. Also, the thought of having an SUV nudging me by my deck lid into an adjacent lot really turned me off.
My engine talked to me the whole time. It would grunt and whistle, something in the back would rattle, the gears would make a noise, something would clink when I was turning, and I kinda really realized that I was taking in all these noises I had a guess at what all of them were. I never really knew with any of my other cars. I knew the basics, but not enough.
The Bug sputtered a lot, really wanted to die from all the water. That sucked and I felt bad about having it out in such weather, but I tried to look at the bright side. At least the paint job and underbody were getting a power wash. I promised it I'd get some of that fancy water-getter-outter at the store, and I did. I put it in the tank, checked the idle again, and just for kicks and giggles I replaced that dirty, funky old fuel filter to see if the car started and idled better with it on. Lo and behold, it did. Not by a huge margin, but enough to be noticeable to my amateur VW owner Spidey senses. A couple of weeks ago I had been able to blow through the new filter with no problem, but I've read that the clog can still be present even with no resistance when blowing. How can you even tell then?
So we'll see if the old fuel filter makes any kind of difference. I'll give it a few days at least.
Back on the interstate on the way home, I took 'er up to 60mph half the way home, which was about 5 minutes. You can normally find me granny warping it in the slow lane. But this time, I thought what the hey. I haven't had it up to 60 yet. When we hit 60, nothing bad happened, the engine did not burst into flames, nor did a rip form in the space-time continuum, so I am guessing all was "okay". With the fuel additive, plus all the water that got into everything, it was probably okay to do.
She rattles a bit from 48 to 51. I wonder what that is. But at 52, she smooths out again. At 60, the ride felt a lot different than at 50. Louder, definitely. Maybe more powerful. That engine was working hard. I could picture all the parts doing their thing, only much faster. All the oil lubricating everything, the air being drawn in to cool it all off, and starting all over again.
I think it's happening: I'm becoming one with my Bug. Fahrvergnügen! (cue angels)
Happy Fourth of July!
\/
\/\/
No comments:
Post a Comment