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Driving
Driving a 1951 Volkswagen is a little bit different then driving a
modern car. The engine needs to be started by shifting the gear in
neutral and you need to release the clutch. Then press the big button
on the dash and the engine starts up. This sounds pretty
straightforward, but during the winter it's not that easy. The car
isn't very fond of cold weather and she often refuses to drive, when
she hadn't drove for a while and it's pretty cold outside. The first
time the engine is started you'll notice that the sound of the engine
is louder then you're used to, but what sounds is better then the
sound of an air-cooled boxer engine?
When shifting in first gear nothing strange will happen and you can
drive away pretty easily. Then you need to shift to second gear and
that is were the fun starts. You have to double clutch to prevent
the bug from making unwanted gearbox noise. This is easy, just hit
the clutch. Shift to neutral. Release the clutch. Press it again and
shift up. When the engine and gearbox are a little cold, then gently
add some gas when in neutral to prevent to gearbox from grinding. Then
you drive to the first corner and you hit the brakes. Nothing happens
and you start wondering if brakes are installed at all. Well, they are
but there effect is minimal compared to a modern car. This is also
easy, because you just have to press harder and earlier. Steering is
the same as with modern cars, but of course there is no power steering.
This isn't necessary, because the car isn't heavy and the tires are
pretty small. You have to be careful, because the back of the car
tends to break out pretty fast. Shifting up to three is in sight and
after you know the double clutch it isn't hard at all.
Then the real pain kicks in, when you have to make a turn and need to
shift back to second gear. There are several things you need to do in
a modern car. Brake a little bit and press the clutch. Shift back and
release the clutch gently. Because you press the clutch and you
release the gas the cars RPMs drop fast. However, the RPMs need to
increase, because you switch to a lower gear. Things get out of sync
here and modern gearboxes try to compensate this, which is called a
synchronized gearbox. Old gearboxes don't, so you have to do it
yourself, which is pretty hard. After switching to neutral and
releasing the clutch, you'll have to press the gas again to compensate
this by hand (or better: by foot). At first this is pretty difficult,
but after some practice it is a lot of fun to do.
Another issue to deal with is other drivers. A lot of drivers are not
aware of the cars lower performance, braking, etc... A 1951 Beetle
doesn't accelerate from 0-100km/h within 10 seconds. It doesn't brake
as easily and the car cannot round corners as fast as a modern car.
You need to be very careful and drive extremely defensive to avoid
getting into dangerous situations. Of course, the car is well insured
but I don't want to see my beloved bug towed away in pieces.
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