Some of the most enjoyable drives I've experienced in a Midget involved
snow, and lots of it.
I remember a sales/customer relations trip I made to St. Louis, about 20
years ago, in January or February. My itinerary called for a run from St.
Louis to Nashville, before heading back to Pittsburgh. Left St. Louis early
in the morning, and, by the time I got to the point at which I had to decide
to go/no-go to Nashville, the snow was really coming down. Called my
client, in Nashville, and learned that their forecast called for freezing
rain. At that point, I decided to head straight home. With a set of
Gislaved studded snows on the rear, and misc. tools & Spitfire parts in the
boot (that's all Spitfire engine parts are good for, anyway), towels/rags
stuffed into air leaks, and some warm, wool clothes on, I settled into a
nice, long drive through a major snow storm. When the Interstate got a bit
greasy, I got off onto the secondary route (US-40), rather than risk staying
on the Super Slab and betting caught up in someone else's wreck, or having
to sit for a couple of hours, while the wreck was cleaned off.
What a great feeling! Not a lot of heat, for sure, but enough to keep it
from being uncomfortable. The Midget's beautiful balance made it a very
relaxing car to drive in "slippy" (that's Pittsburghese for "really slick &
icy") conditions.
I remember stopping at a gas station, in Ohio, for my final fill-up before
starting the last leg of the trip. The attendant was in utter disbelief
that such an "itty-bitty little car" could get through all this snow. By
that time, it was late enough that the Interstate traffic had really thinned
out/chickened out, and I could get back on the Super Slab. It was too cold
for the salt to work, so, they were just trying to at least run a plow over
it, periodically, to keep from letting the snow get too deep. Just right
for a Spridget! I pretty much had the road to myself, for the last couple
of hours of the trip, and I could run 50-60 mph without any effort/drama.
The Midget never so much as hiccupped (as usual, that little sucker was
BULLET-PROOF), and I would have liked it a lot better if I'd had a few more
hours of driving to do.
But, all good things must come to an end, which they did, as soon as I
turned (power-slid, actually) into my 400' long, steep driveway. Had to
stuff it into a snow drift, to get it clear of the road, and out of the way,
until next morning, when I could get the farm tractor out and bust a path
down the driveway. I remember the total silence, except for my footsteps,
and the sound of the snow flakes landing, as I walked up the hill to my
house.
Sure wish I could turn the ol' clock back a couple two or three or four
decades, to the time before SUVs, too much salt (ANY salt is too much,
unless it's on the dinner table), and too much traffic.
Bud Osbourne
-----Original Message-----
From owner-spridgets at autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spridgets@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Frank Clarici
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2006 11:06 PM
To: Spridgets
Subject: Snow and driving which car
So everybody parks their Spridgets when there is salt on the roads.
That means you drive your $20,000 + vehicle out in the salt.
But the Spridget is worth $10,000 tops.
Even modern plastic cars have metal floors that rust out.
--
Frank Clarici
Toms River, NJ
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