Hello Forum peeps
its gone very quiet here! Is it because, like me, you can't get into your treasured B' My doors are totally iced over! why did I bother putting snow tyres on her? although once I'm in she does normally start 1st time. So I'm really only moaning about the *****ing weather not 'my precious'
Wish you all a Happy Christmas and 'Safe Driving'
STU

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas to all, I wish you all safe driving!

My B is tucked up in the garage. I'm using the wife's Volvo S40 while there's snow about. The Barchetta is probably more reliable but why make the poor thing get cold if it doesn't have to. I have ordered a new gas strut for the boot but have slowed down with projects since my second child arrived at the end of November. No time and no money.

Looking forward to driving the B again. Happy Christmas and New Year.

Mine's in the garage too - the A-Class has to stand out on the drive, taking all the weather now. I've just started planning next year's holiday - the B is booked onto Britanny Ferries boat to Caen mid June, to return end June via Santander/Plymouth.

Now to work out the grand tour - down France, possibly via Switzerland to Milan, then meander round northern Italy, probably no further south than Siena, where we may stay a few days. After that, we'll think about returning via Lucca & San Remo, then back in France to Aix. We aim to call in on friends south of Carcassonne, then stop overnight (probably St Jean Pied de Port) before getting the ferry at Santander.

I've not taken the B that far before; I'm thinking to be careful that neither of us get too tired, so maybe no more than 400 km/day. What about motorways though - use some & avoid others?

All the best from 'just over the border'. My B is in hibernation mode. I did fire her up ready for Steve G's Christmas run but this was cancelled due to bad weather. I still havent got round to fitting my new rear discs and pads yet but she was good to go. The other bay in the garage is being used by 'er indoors' and the XC70 and my SLK is out on the drive being reburied by todays snow. We have had a further 30cm of snow this week and, last week, night time temperature dropped to minus 17.5 causing the Freelander to 'wax up'. It was suggested that the Barchetta be put outside so the Freelander could be garaged at night but, like a lot of 'er indoors's suggestions, this wasnt taken too seriously. Anyway, I'm off for two weeks, so don't need to be anywhere in a hurry. Happy Christmas everyone.

Steve

Oops - didn't mean to ignore your post Foldsmobile - Your trip sounds brilliant, I am really jealous. If you have the time, I would ignore all the French autoroutes and, if you go through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, I would ignore the new toll road through the Valle d Aosta too and stick to the old road with its spectacular views. Look forward to seeing some pics of the adventure.

Happy Christmas form outside borders of EU it's quiet over here too, barch is on sleep especially now when battery died (forgot to unplug), 30cm snow, -20°c... i wish i could go to sleep and wake up somewhere in May.

Happy Christmas

Just wanted to wish everyone and their Barchettas a happy Christmas and all the best for 2011.

I hope that all that snow over there isn't stopping you all from driving with the top down

Merry Christmas

Re: Happy Christmas

actually it's stopping me to drive te car

Happy holliday's to you all:slayer:

Re: Happy Christmas

Happy holidays!
Did anyone catch the top gear special? is it on the web at all?

Re: Happy Christmas

It's tonight at 9 on bbc2 Don't miss it.

you can rewatch them on watch series.com

nicholasb said:

My B is tucked up in the garage. I'm using the wife's Volvo S40 while there's snow about. The Barchetta is probably more reliable but why make the poor thing get cold if it doesn't have to. I have ordered a new gas strut for the boot but have slowed down with projects since my second child arrived at the end of November. No time and no money.

Looking forward to driving the B again. Happy Christmas and New Year.

Click to expand...

congratulation on the baby, if the wife gets a b as well you could have some nice family outing 2 kids 2 b sounds good to me.

mine looks more like a madeleine! :yum:

Happy Xmas all. My B has been off the road for a year and a half now but once the weather turns in 2011, she will be back on the road.

Seems most Bs in Europe are having a rest due to the snow & cold. Well my grey wonder is used every day and as long as I fiddle with the cover, the car is dry and no window scraping required.

I am avoiding the main roads though as they are salted. Also I give the B a good wash about once a week in an indoors shopping market where they have plenty of space. B gets jet washed especially on the underside, and I let her dry before taking her out again, using microfibre cloths and time.

Happy snow year!

Well, my B has been safely tucked up in its winter haven since the tax ran out at the end of September. I am lucky enough to have a space in a unit on a local industrial estate.. unheated, but secure. It will be fine in there until the spring, when it'll get dusted down and brought out blinking into the sunshine again..

Cheers,

Gaz

I drive mine every few days to keep her going. I find it stutters for a few mins if I leave her for a few weeks.

Although the kitten loves the snow!!!!

I know i havent been on the forum much lately but would just like to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year 2011... and hope to get to some new mods in the comming year.. have fun .

With the off and on... Will it won't it weather forecasting that we had a couple of weeks ago I didnt know what the do with my Barchetta. Unfortunately I don't have shelter for her and I live in an apartment block so trickle charging isn't an option either.
The battery kinda got the better of the situation. It went flat (or was drained by the alarm) and set the alarm off. The only thing I could do was remove the battery. Since taking the battery out as we now know the snow fell and the grit was laid so I wasnt going to risk the car from the salt or snow etc...

Therefore I haven't properly put my barchetta to bed.. what advice can you give to when the weather is safe to start her up? There was very little petrol in the tank prior to battery removal. She has her hardtop on and the fabric roof has only been up once since it was fitted in May.

Believe it or not I am looking at Engine and Gearbox rebuilds for her.. (and no not because of this but because of my evergoing quest for Barchetta perfection!) so maybe I might look at speeding up the choosing of the Rebuilder to ensure no damage is caused by starting her up after the winter condtions etc.. - 10 degs etc.

How long has the car been laid up for?