sam@sco.com (Sam Sjogren) (02/08/90)
From: T.J. Higgins <uunet!harvard.harvard.edu!mit-eddie!uunet.UU.NET!alpine!tj>
... driving with the top down in cold
weather can contribute to a condition known as Bell's palsy. Apparently
this is a condition in which the facial muscles become partially
paralyzed, similar to Sylvester Stallone. ...
Yow! What a terrible fate that would be, to look like Sly! >B-}
What I've taken to doing when driving in cold weather with the
top down is to drive with my Nomex hood on. I guess that the proper
term for the style is balaclava. It only leaves the area around my
eyes exposed. I generally wear a ski cap or some such also, which
serves to keep my head warm as well as make me look less odd to
the people around me. I wear glasses, but there have been times
that I've wished I had my ski goggles along, also.
The other nite, driving home from Sears Point (only an SOL'er would
be mad enough to drive his car to the racetrack, and depend on said
race car to actually not fail so badly and get him home!), I really
wish that I'd had the right adapter with me so that I could run my
electric vest off the cigarette lighter. The vest is an Eclipse
brand that I bought for cold weather motorcycling, and runs off a
12V source and produces about 40 watts or so of heat to help keep
you warm. This would be a great compliment to the car's heater which
does a great job of keeping my feet warm. Why didn't I just put the
top up, you may ask? Well, it's because the rollcage prevents the
use of a stock top, and I haven't yet produced a custom top that will
fit over the cage.
Regarding the starter problem that someone commented on, it was I,
and not Andy, who had his starter decide to take a tea break the
other day. It could be argued that it's less of a problem on a race
car, since the car can just be push started by the pit crew or by
corner workers. As it's a street car, too, I would like a reliable
starter for when I'm not able to push start it. Come to think of it,
I did stall the engine when I spun around coming out of turn #7 in
the rain last Satyrday, so a starter _is_ useful on a race car! I'll
note that the starter has worked perfectly since the other day when
it glitched, so I'll just hope for now that it's OK. I've got to spend
my money on some more performance oriented parts right now.
-Mr. Motorhead