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1969-70 vintage skis

Bad Bob

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Out of curiosity, what is the currently accepted daily driver heater box hack on these?
No clue. Gas heaters scared me in those things then doubt they are too much better now. Ran 3 Bugs over the years, 2 in AK & 1 in CO, just toughed it out with standard heaters. Last was a "Super Beetle", better heater as I remember. (It is kind of hard to remember too much from back then.)
 

noncrazycanuck

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my 68 had heater boxes located near the dripping oil by the motor. For 68 they added a weak aux fan to help move the smelly air forward. Mine did not have a gas heater.
If you ran it wound out in 3rd gear for an extended period (about 50-55 mpg) occasionally you would see a bit of thawing on the inside of windshield. Going to Baker or Whistler 4th was reserved for downhill.
we used ice scrappers and squeeges.
 
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TS
johnnyvw

johnnyvw

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Out of curiosity, what is the currently accepted daily driver heater box hack on these?

Um...just replace them?? LOL

Actually, there are 3 options: first is to replace with new. If you are going for higher performance, you can either eliminate the heater boxes with straight tubes (called "J" tubes) or use special heater boxes that have larger internal pipes with less finning (if thats a word LOL) for better flow. Depends on how much heating capability you want to retain.

Oh, you mean you actually want to drive one of these in the middle of winter? Then put in a Subaru motor! :ogbiggrin:
1597176322254.png
 
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Sethmasia

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For the 1969-70 season the hot skis to have (if you were, or wanted to be, an expert skier) were the Dynamic VR17, Rossignol Strato (or even cooler, the Allais Major), Fischer Alu-Steel Combi or RSL, Head Master, Hart Javelin, K2 Comp, Kastle CPM, and Volkl Zebra. The Spalding Sideral was introduced the following winter.

To be authentic, the skis should be mounted with Look Nevada, Salomon 505, Marker Simplex or Geze Jet Set bindings. And look for some period poles, like gold-anodized Scotts with the aluminum basket ring and rubber spokes, or Barrecrafters with a similar basket, or Tomics.

Something often forgetten is that that the original Beetle, with the engine out beyond the rear wheels, was regarded as a good snow car for the period. That was the era when only Saab had front-wheel (in America -- Citroen had great FWD but you couldn't get them here). My first ski trips were in my 1962 Beetle.
 

noncrazycanuck

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beetles were great in snow, as were the vans
my first ski trip was in a 62 mini. FWD with 2 snows, it went great in snow too. Less comfort than a beetle and a lot less reliability.
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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In 1969 I seem to remember skiing on Fisher President Alu-Steel Combi with Look Nevada II toe and N 17 Granprix heel but my memory can be questionable, as someone once said "if you remember the 60's you weren't really with it" or something like that.
 

Jilly

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I had the red Fischer Silverglass Senators. My Dad was on the Fischer ALU's mentioned about. Mom was Head, think they were black. All with Marker Rotomat's and elastic safety straps!!
 

Sethmasia

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In 1969 I seem to remember skiing on Fisher President Alu-Steel Combi with Look Nevada II toe and N 17 Granprix heel but my memory can be questionable, as someone once said "if you remember the 60's you weren't really with it" or something like that.
I had a pair of Presidents in '72, with Rosemount boots and bindings.

Forgot! the ultra-cool ski to have was the Head Killy 800, but there were only a couple of hundred pair in the whole country.
 

PinnacleJim

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Hmmm... I used to know someone that had 360's. Long gone, unfortunately. This is a start, thanks!
I had a pair of those! Same black top with the engraved 360. They were marketed as "cheaters". Delaminated one when I buried a tip on Castlerock at Sugarbush. Replaced with the original K2 Four. Red, white and blue on top with the same red, white and blue look on the base.
 

Uncle-A

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I had a pair of Presidents in '72, with Rosemount boots and bindings.

Forgot! the ultra-cool ski to have was the Head Killy 800, but there were only a couple of hundred pair in the whole country.
The Killy 800 was a short supply ski. The first ski shop I worked at in the very early 1970's only had two pair and one pair of the Killy 606. They were very light in weight and I think they had some durability issues. They tried to be Head's answer to the Strato 102 but fell short of the mark.
BTW @Sethmasia when I was skiing the Fisher President I was using Lange boots. Did your Rosemont boots have the "Red Stuff" packets? Or were they an older model?
 
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Sethmasia

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The leather pockets in my Rosemounts were pre-loaded, but you could add additional packets behind the built-in compartments. I liked it that you could even customize the tongue with extra packets, which helped compensate for my skinny calf. The boot was brilliant other than the fact that like all plastic boots of the time it made a sharp crease across the front of the shin. I built mine up about three inches in front and five inches in back for comfort and power -- in fact it's the same height as my Lange RX130 boots. Half pair of my Rosemounts is on display at the Alf Engen Museum in Park City.
RosemountLangeCropped.jpg


For the full story of the Killy 800 see my article "When Head Went Modern" in the July-August 2018 issue of Skiing History. https://www.skiinghistory.org/issue/digital/volume-30-no-4-july-august-2018
 

Sethmasia

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my 68 had heater boxes located near the dripping oil by the motor. For 68 they added a weak aux fan to help move the smelly air forward. Mine did not have a gas heater.
If you ran it wound out in 3rd gear for an extended period (about 50-55 mpg) occasionally you would see a bit of thawing on the inside of windshield. Going to Baker or Whistler 4th was reserved for downhill.
we used ice scrappers and squeeges.
Fortunately the windscreen was short and flat and close enough to your face that you could reach around the a-pillar and scrape off a small clear hole in the ice without stopping.
 

noncrazycanuck

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That was the solo method,
A passenger climbed out the widow, sat on the sill and did the whole window.
on cold winter days at speed they usually put ski goggles and gloves on first, if they'd done it before.
 

Posaune

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Forgot! the ultra-cool ski to have was the Head Killy 800, but there were only a couple of hundred pair in the whole country.
I had a pair of the Killy 800 SL. They were cool, but were complete dogs. The worst ski I've ever owned. Luckily at the same time I had some K2 Winter Heats. I skied them for a long time and now they're part of a ski bench at my cabin.

I also had a '65 Bug to carry all of these on, rear mount. It looked like the OP's pic, but the red was the oxidized tint.
 

Bad Bob

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Was around for a little different way to handle the iceing windshield on a bug. Thank God not me or my car!
Bridger Bowl 1969. Many beers later at the Saint Bernard another of the instructors walked out to his bug did not feel like clearing the ice off his windshield so he did the quick way; broke the windshield out with his skibootts put on his goggles and drove to town. Think he had a blackeye the next day. Same guy I bought the Austin 1100 from.
True story.
 

RiderRay

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Used a roof ski rack on my 71 Super Beetle. Put studded snows on the rear and never got stuck. A bunch of ski trips up to VT in some really crazy weather. Every time I am on the Taconic State Parkway it brings back memories.
 

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