Winter Triumphs

By Christian Probasco, 1-31-09

I wrote an article in November about my efforts to prepare for winter. Now my preparations have run up against the juggernaut of winter weather reality.

First, a few things that have worked as planned. The Styrofoam insulation on the laundry room windows is retaining heat. The economy heater also seems to be doing its job, as the drainage pipe, on the floor, is the only pipe that has frozen so far.

My N3B military parka is invincible. I’m cozy in temperatures well below zero. When I close the snorkel hood, throw on Walls Blizzard-Proof insulated coveralls and a Sorel vest, I’m comfortable working on the Heep all night and into the wee hours of the morning. The only things that get cold are my hands. I don’t know of any solution for keeping them warm. Maybe thin, electrically heated gloves…

The new toolbox in the Heep’s bed is indeed snow and water-proof. Saves me the hassle of having to slather the tools in naval jelly every other week.

I installed a grill cover to keep the Heep’s 151 engine warm. At first, I kept the cover half-open, but the carburetor continued to freeze. So I blocked the whole grill. Now the engine warms to 160 degrees, which is enough to thaw the carb. But it’s still not up to spec. If I remember correctly, the engine is supposed to run at 195. I’ve ordered a stock air cleaner which I’ll hook to a homemade heat stove on the exhaust manifold.

Another problem w/ the engine: in cold weather, I have to start it up about ten times before it will idle. Lots of wear. I’m thinking about getting a plug-in engine heater.

The electrical water temperature sensor on the Heep failed. I replaced it with a mechanical sensor which has worked fine so far.

We have a cat that came with our house and on the coldest days she was sneaking into the Heep through the holes in the vinyl top. I had to clean cat fur off the front seat every day. Patching the top (several times) seems to have solved the problem.

The Heap’s new heater is pathetic but it does at least raise the interior temperature above freezing and defrost the windshield.

The most disconcerting, and ironic thing that has gone wrong with the Heep was the left rear wheel and axle assembly coming completely off. I was driving through town on my way to work and it came loose and spun into somebody’s front yard, thankfully missing several parked cars. There was little warning. I was able to pilot the pile of junk to the median where I called for a tow. The shop replaced the failed bearing but the axle came loose again the day after I picked it up, this time while I was cruising down the highway. I steered the Jeep to the shoulder and called the shop back. They picked up the Heep again and replaced both rear axles at no charge to me.

What else? The Honeywell programmable thermostat is still working admirably. The economy heater doesn’t reset itself after a power outage, so I have to keep an eye on it. The tape holding the water heater jacket came loose, so I rebound it with duct tape. That came loose too, so I rebound it again, this time with a hell of a lot of duct tape.

Hey, that could almost be my motto: “When in doubt, use more duct tape.”