(12-25-2008) Merry Christmas, Dumbass!

Well, I gave myself one great Christmas present by backing into the shop with my 911 (see the picture) on Christmas day. The rest of Christmas with my baby was great, but messing up my car made me sick... :( I have found a guy who may work on it, and I hope he does because his work looks great.

(11-08-2008) Porsche Palooza 2008

Here are a few pictures from this year's Porsche Palooza in Eureka Springs, AR. It was a great time. We met lots of great people and saw some amazing cars. Thanks to everyone who worked at the event and made it such a great time for Porsche enthusiasts. Oh, and thanks to Jody for letting me borrow his awesome camera.

(11-04-2008) New speakers and door panels

The past few evenings I have been working on installing speakers and new door panels into the 911. The passenger side door is done, and I started working on the driver's side door. I think it's going to look very good when it's done. Once the door panels are complete, I will have to mount the crossovers and tweeters somewhere inside the car... Jody came over to give me a hand, but was so disheartened by the election results that he went home. I still lots of work to do before this weekend and the Porsche Palooza show in Eureka Springs.

(08-11-2008) - Nothing to see here...

Not much to report from the shop for the past few weeks. Just the normal goings on in the shop: movie watching and working on various equipment. We watched all three of the extended Lord of the Rings movie this past weekend, what a marathon. Current projects have been working on the old riding mower (seems I work on it more than I use it) and I have started refurbishing an old Raven pinball machine.

(07-19-2008 - 07-20-2008) Working in the shop

Busy weekend. Saturday, Flash and I put up some more lights in the shop, organized the stuff in the shop, worked on the charging issue with the 911 and lots of other little things like mowing the lawn and putting the smoker / grille together. We worked all day, and the shop looks a lot better.

Sunday was Formula 1 race day. Flash, Jason and I watched the race and had a great time - what a crazy race. I did manage to do a little work in the shop on Sunday: mounted the grinder on the bench, bug bombed the shop and created a new battery for the Roomba.

(07-16-2008) - Gah! Summer...

The drive in the 911 was great yesterday, but... On the way home I stopped to work on a computer and when I got ready to leave the car wouldn't start. I suspect that the alternator belt is loose, but I didn't really check it out. Jody gave me a hand getting it started and put her to bed in the shop.

Jody and Shannon hung around for a while in the shop and we watched a movie. It was a good time.

I was thinking it would be good to put a serpentine pulley system on the 911. Also, I'm not happy with the mounting of the alternator. So lots of work to do. Maybe when I get the air conditioner compressor I can rework all of these items at the same time.

(07-16-2008) - Ah, summer...

First of all, the sound issue with the NARC machine was fixed last night, so now the game is 100%. I even recalibrated the monitor settings and it looks like new again.

Decided it was a good day to take the 911 out for a drive. Even had a car acting like remora fish (you know, those little fishes that swim close to sharks) and the driver was smiling and waving. Great fun!

07-15-2008 - The NARC machine lives!!

Today, I got the NARC machine up and running. Replaced the system board to fix the video glitches and it now works great, except now the sound doesn't work. I'll replace the sound board and see if I can fix that, but either way it's playable now and that's the main thing. One of these days I need to start working on converting a Playchoice 10 over to a MAME machine, but that will likely be a winter project.

07-10-2008 - A/C in the shop!

Shannon has been working on my air conditioning system this week and last night he finished it up. All of the vents have been run, the AC is cold. It's great!! I can't thank Shannon enough, and I dread the "favors" he asks of me in return.

The Last Thing the 'Possum Saw...

07-06-2008 - In and around the shop this past weekend...

This was a fairly productive weekend. Several brain cells were killed in the name of keeping cool, thirst quenched and enhancing mood.

Shannon dropped by yesterday, as did Jody and Ed, and helped get the HVAC set up. There is a bit to go, but it's in the right location now. Maybe this week I can get the power run so that Shannon can do the rest of the work. Fingers crossed.

Flash came by and brush hogged behind my shop and we burned the brush. It looks great, even if I have to fight a black snake for the territory. Not sure what I'm going to do back there, but it's great to have it cleaned off so that when I do decide...

Jason and I went washed and went cruising in the 911 on the 4th of July. Drank far too many whiskey sours and enjoyed the fireworks at my brothers house.

Jason and Jody also helped me cut up and install my new workbench in the shop. Looks good, even though I can't really see it through all the clutter now.

So, nothing big, but lots of little things got some attention in and around the shop.

07-03-2008 - Still nothing happening...

Nothing much is going on in the shop lately. Spent some time yesterday with Jason rebuilding my push mower - this will be push mower Mark III, and I think it will be a much better solution. We'll see in a few days when the lawn needs to be mowed.

I still need to finish up the door panels on the 911, but the door pockets still haven't been covered and they may be so far gone that they aren't salvageable. Waiting to hear back from my upholsterer friend.

The shop is in dire need of a complete cleaning, so maybe that will be my next goal.

Shannon keeps after me to get the air conditioning installed, and I'm inclined to agree with him. Maybe one of these days we can get around to that as well.

Jody and I did manage to take two arcade machines to Eureka Springs and install them at Jayme's arcade - Second Life. I worked on several of the machines while I was there trying to make them better to use and easier for them to have free-play options. I brought home an NBA Jam machine for repair and it's now ready to return. Thanks Jayme for the cool shirts and letting us play in your awesome arcade, and thanks Jody for helping me out when I really needed it.

6-1-2008: Nothing much to tell

Not much in the way of updates. Jody has his truck on the road, and as far as we can tell it all seems good. I took the door pockets for the 911 to a friend to have them reupholstered. As soon as they return I will get to work on finishing up the doors on the 911. Things are busy right now, so I don't have much time to have fun in the shop.

(05-10-2008) New speakers, and work on the white lump Mk II.

First, on Saturday I dropped by Wilson TV and Appliance and talked with David Wilson. David is a hell of a nice guy, with a Porsche 911 and a 914. He gave me some advice on speakers for my car and made me a great deal. I hope we can get together with David sometime and go for a cruise or just talk cars. Thanks David!! I appreciate all your help and the deal you gave me.

Next, Jody and I worked on his truck. We didn't get as far as I wished, and we destroyed tools in the process. Several beers gave their lives in the effort to bring this truck back to life, and for that we will be eternally grateful. We've lost the harmonic balancer bolt, so that stopped our progress, but we're close to being ready to put the engine back in the beast.

(05-06-2008) The Great White Lump, Mk II

No, not the same white lump, this time it's a different white lump, but it has the same problem: blown motor. This is my friend Jody's pickup, and after a thermostat stuck and a severe overheat it needs a new engine. The new motor should arrive on Friday of this week, so maybe this weekend we can have it back on the road.

In other news, the door panels for the 911 arrived today and they look great! Still looking for speakers and other hardware to complete the doors. Looking forward to that project.

(04-30-2008) New door panels

I just bought some new door panels for the 911. They should arrive in about a week. I plan to buy some new door speakers in the next few days as well, then redo the doors so that everything is like it should be. New speakers, new door panels, install the door pockets, lube the window regulators and fix any issues with them, wire up the rear view mirrors to work - the whole thing.

4-19-2008 - 4-20-2008 - Cruising!!

Did a little bit of cruising this weekend. Saturday I took a little trip with Jody down some back-roads. Sunday, I drove it on a business trip (of sorts). Both trips were great fun! Can't wait to clean up the car and hit the road this summer.

4-13-2008 - On the road again

Blondie is back on the road again. The coil pack for cylinder #3 arrived on Friday. Flash installed it on Saturday, then gave her an oil change on Sunday. She runs great and is back to her old self. She had been kicking error codes for a while, but now the "check engine" light has gone away, without having to boot up the computer and clear her codes. Glad to have her back, and thanks Flash for doing all of the work (and cutting up my Beetle! - but that's another story).

04/04/2008 - The White Lump Saves the Day!!

So, the Great White Lump has saved my bacon. My GTI laid down last week with a coil pack failure (I hope it's just a coil pack failure...). So, the White Lump is my daily driver right now, and I have to say it's really a good car. There is a bit of vibration trough the wheel and pedals, but other than that the car drives good and seems very stable. I'm actually impressed considering the life it's led up to this point. I need to get the wheels aligned this week (hopefully today), so maybe that will help it be even more stable and road worthy.

(03-02-2008) The White Lump - interior

Saturday (3/1/2008), Flash worked on pulling out the interior and cleaning it. He moved along quite a ways. Sunday (3/2/2008), I borrowed a carpet cleaner from Jason and cleaned the carpets. Then we installed a fresh set of leather seats into the car. The car is now drivable and has a nice clean interior. I need to tint the replaced window to match the rest of the car, but I didn't have the time yesterday. I tried to buy touch-up paint, but wasn't able to find the paint code for this car. We're down to detailing the car, getting a new set of tires and installing a new windshield. A few more dollars need to be spent, but I think it's going to be a very nice car.

(2-16-2008) - The Great White Lump Lives!!!

How do you like the look of the old motor? Terrible to think what this car has been through.

Part 1: On Friday the 15th, Flash finished installing the motor. We started it up and it sounded great, but after warming up the valve train began to make terrible noise and the engine started missing. We feared that the engine had jumped time and that the valves had crashed into the pistons. We checked the timing (no problem) and finally closed the shop and talked it out, over a drink.

Part 2: Flash came back on Saturday, fired up the engine, and it all sounded great, again. Until it was warm, then the same valve train noise came back. Flash removed the oil filter and the engine blew oil everywhere (my shop is a huge mess!). Turns out the oil line was air-locked and was keeping the oil from pumping up the hydraulic lifters. So, anyway, the lump now lives and we can start working on cleaning it up and making it into a nice driver.

The lump is no longer just a lump. It's a living, breathing machine again. I suspect that it will soon be cleaned up and have Herbie stickers applied to it.

2-10-2008 - The Great White Lump - continued

The new motor has arrived for the great white lump, the old motor is out and we're getting parts together to put the new motor in the car. Had to buy a new clutch, pressure plate, oil dip stick and funnel, timing belt and tensioner, water pump and various other little bits. If things go well we could have the motor in the car in a few days - weather permitting (It's too darn cold in the shop!).

(1-18-2008) - The Great White Lump - part 2

Plans now are to pull the motor, pick up a salvage motor in Illinois and drive it. Next week we should go pick up the motor. Looking forward to getting it on the road.

(1-15-2008) - The Great White Lump

The current project in the shop is Flash's new toy. Something that I'm calling the Great White Lump - until it becomes a real car. It's a 1998 Beetle with a thrashed motor, broken glass and a smell that is either pee or puke, or maybe both. He's started pulling it apart to reconstruct it into a running car. The engine block has a fist sized hole in the side of it, and the plans are to try and braise the block (non-compression area) and get it back on the road as a driver. Only time will tell if this works out.

01-08-2008 - What's new?

What's new? Nothing much. It's been cold here in the Ozarks except for last weekend. Saturday and Sunday I was able to get the 930 out and run around a bit. Picked up Jason Morris and did a little cruising. Fun, but I'll be glad when spring is here. I'm ready for warm weather and cold beer.

(11-17-2007) New window regulator in the 911

After a long time I finally have a new window regulator in the passenger side door. It's been far too long in coming, but I'm glad that it's done. Flash and Morris gave me a helping hand, and the project went fairly smooth, now I just need to buy some beer to repay the boys.

(11-10-2007) Porsche Palooza 2007 in Eureka Springs

On Saturday Ryan, Bob, Jason, Flash and myself invaded the 2007 Porsche Palooza event in Eureka Springs. Here are a few pictures of the event. This was a fun event, and after a little ice-breaking, we had a really good time. Looking forward to next year's event!

10-21-2007 - Herbie Golf Cart

We worked on a Herbie golf-cart for my nephew Austin. Turned out pretty good, I think.

Just a little update...

A few weeks back Flash and I lowered his Beetle. Looks pretty good, but the visual impact wasn't as great because his low-profile tires still show a lot of gap between the tire and the fender. Flash seems happy with the handling of the car, and I'm sure once he has new tires the stance will be awesome.

On other fronts the old '70 Chevy pickup is now on the road. I installed a new stereo (AM/FM/TV/MP3/DVD/etc... player) and some new Pioneer speakers so that the drive wouldn't be so boring. The truck seems to drive well, but it needs front shocks - maybe this weekend I'll install those.

The Super Beetle project is still languishing. I've removed all of the glass, removed the rear fenders and I'm waiting for one of my friends to come and help me clean up and weld some troublesome rust spots on the car.

9-22-2007 - Blondie gets down to earth

Flash and I installed drop springs on Blondie this weekend. She's now about 1.5 inches lower and I love it. The rides a bit harsh on the rebound, so I may need to change struts at some point for comfort. Next weekend we'll try to lower Flash's Beetle.

My 911 before the conversion

I was stumbling around the 'net and discovered some history about my 911. Here are a couple of pictures before it was reconstructed into the V8 monstrosity it is today.

09-03-2007 - Super Beetle work

This weekend I started working on the Super Beetle again. I installed electronic ignition - no more points, along with an new coil. I also have new plug wires, but haven't finished installing them. I installed new heater hoses. Flash and I did an oil change, installed a new screen and oil drain plate. Then just for grins I removed all of the fixed window glass (everything except the door windows). So, it's moved along a little this weekend. I hope to get the interior cleaned out and some rust fixed soon.

What's going on...

So many projects, so little time (and motivation). It's been a while since I've updated the car-blog, so here goes: First, my '72 Chevy pickup is at the shop getting a new 305 motor installed and power brakes. My brother, Flash, has really been great helping me get this old beast together. It's just a farm truck, but it drives good and hopefully it will run and stop even better.

Second, After last weekend's trip to the Eureka Springs VW Show I have been much more motivated to get the old Super Beetle back on the road. I want to remove the glass and interior, then fix the rust spots (removing the interior first to keep from starting a fire). I'm not sure if I want to go for a VolksRod look or a Herbie replica. It's a Super Beetle so it's gonna be wrong either way I go.

08-07-2005 - Blondie's bad day

Here is a picture of Blondie's bad day - when a van backed into her while in a parking lot. She's much better now, but without context the make-over shots don't seem to have any impact. The guy driving the van was a super nice guy, who made a mistake. He came over when the cops arrived to file a report. I can't imagine many people would have the character to own up for an expensive mistake such as that.

It took nearly two years, but she's finally back to her old self. I hope she doesn't have any more incidents like this in the future.

7-11-2007 - Porsche update

Well, it's been far too long since I've updated on the Porsche. I haven't been idle, but I haven't really spent time or money working on the 911 as of late. I did purchase new carpet and window hardware for the car. The passenger side window now works great! I also purchased a new stereo (AM/FM/CD/DVD/MP3, etc, etc...) only to find that the face-plate is too large for the dash. So, that will have to go into the Beetle or the pickup. Ah well, those are the breaks.

Other changes planned are to change oil pans, so that oil pickup is constant during acceleration - no more fluctuating oil pressure! Also, new gaskets for the intake and valve covers to minimize the oil leaks,. Air conditioning and sealing up the air flow around the radiator to keep the fuel and interior as cool as possible.

Blondie gets a make-over - part 4

This weekend I finally cleaned and reassembled the interior, shampooed the carpet, installed the new lights and washed Blondie. So, for the most part she's done - at least for now. :)

Blondie gets a make-over - part 3

Blondie is back on the road. Last night Steve buffed the paint and it looks great. A couple of small imperfections, but more than good enough for a daily driver. The door trim was painted last night and will probably be applied today. I also cleaned the trunk and installed the new Phatbox - it's great to have tunes again.

Next week I hope to give the whole car a good cleaning and waxing to make it look new again. Also, I hope to install the new headlights, once the headlight protectors arrive.

Blondie gets a make-over - part 2

Blondie's transformation continues. This time Steve masked and painted the car. The car turned out very well, even without a paint booth. It will need some sanding and buffing to make it look really good, but it's already much better than it was. He also has the trim to repair and paint, but most of that should be done tonight. Then the reassembly process can begin - I can hardly wait to see how she looks with fresh paint and a new set of R32 headlights (Thanks Mike!).

Blondie gets a make-over - part 1

Blondie finally gets a well deserved make-over. Steve Perryman has been working to get Blondie back in tip-top shape. Here is a picture after she had her dent hammered out, body filler applied and a coat or two of sandable primer. Tonight he plans to wet-sand and prepare the car for paint. If everything goes well, then she should see paint on Friday.

03-18-2006 - Quick zip through the woods...

Today my brother, Flash, and I went for a little cruise over the lake and through the woods. Flash was driving his 914, and I took the 911 - it was great to get them out and stretch their legs a bit. Won't be long until we'll have lots of opportunities to take drives, but for now good weather is still a luxury that we take every chance to avail ourselves of...

I worked on the passenger side window regulator after ordering parts from DC Automotive. The parts didn't exactly fit, so I'm going to have to call them and see if I can get the right parts.

Oh no, more winter!

Yesterday, I took the Porsche out and had a great time with the car. Unfortunately the Porsche saw it's own shadow, we tried but we couldn't outrun it, and now there will be six more weeks of winter.

Nice day for a drive!

The weather in the Ozarks has been extremely nice this week, but that's about to end. Rain is forecast for the next few days, and so today was my best bet to drive the car for a while (it's been several months since I've had the chance to drive it!). Now that I'm sure that the car will clear the driveway entrance here at work I'm much more likely to drive the car on nice days.

01-16-2007 - End of the rat attack!

Well, it's been far too long since I've updated this page. Not much has happened since the rat attack on the 911, but that's about too change. I purchased some new carpet from a guy on PelicanParts.com and it was shipped today.

11-19-2006 - Will Bimen's Velomobile

Sunday morning I had the pleasure to meet Will Bimen and his Velomobile. The Velomobile is pedal powered and designed much like a recumbent bike with a aerodynamic skin made of carbon fiber and Kevlar. Will said that he had started his trip in Colorado then progressed up to Illinois, then down to Memphis Tennessee, and is now headed back to Colorado. The Velomobile is equipped with headlights, turn signals and a brake light that is powered from a 12 volt battery pack. The battery pack is recharged via a solar panel that he places on top of the Velomobile. He said that on flat ground he can travel at a sustained 22 miles per hour and that a comparable bike, without the aerodynamic shell, he would only be able to maintain 17 miles an hour. If you would like more information about Will and his adventures or human-powered vehicles, then you should check out his web site at www.9th-hennepin.com

11-18-2006 - Let it roll...

Friday and Saturday we continued the re-assembly of the GTI. About 6PM on Saturday evening the GTI was finally all bolted together and buttoned up - Ready for a test drive. The first few experimental trips were without incident. So far, with about 100 miles on the clock the motor hasn't leaked any fluids, acted improperly and every function of the car works exactly as it did before the engine swap (Touch wood). In fact, except for the massive amount of time spent, the oily spot on the shop floor and huge metal lump sitting in the floor, I would think that the car was exactly the same as before the valve-to-piston impact. I'm glad that it's back on the road and thanks to Flash for his help and ingenuity in those critical times.

Trials and tribulations...

This weekend the work on the GTI continued. The old engine is now officially out of the car, and we have examined the top of the pistons by looking down into the spark plug holes with a flash light and there has definitely been valve impacts on cylinders 2 and 3. I have started swapping over parts from the old motor to the new and I think all of the new parts that are needed are on the way - until something else breaks.

On a side note, there has been a rat that has taken up residence in my shop about two weeks ago. The first week he was there without my knowledge and did a lot of damage. This past week has been a constant hunt to find and kill him. I am happy to say that the little bastard is dead and I can start cleaning up the mess he made. He ate a fuel line, some of the wiring and the carpet of the 911... Now I know what Rat Bastard really means!

Saturday night we started playing around on the Super Beetle and decided to put the new windshield seal in... Long story short - the windshield is now broken. Searching around I found a replacement for around $50 + shipping. I may check some local places to see if I can get a better deal.

And the dead-beat goes on...

Last week I bought a motor for the GTI. It has 75K miles on it, and hopefully it should be good for a few thousand more. The timing belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, etc, etc showed up and so I'm ready to that bit of work. Picked the motor up from Jeff, seemed like one really nice guy, and the boys at Hoods Motorsports (www.hoodsmotorsports.com) really helped with some good advise on making the swap. Appreciate it guys! Maybe sometime when I'm back up your way I can buy you a beer.

The GTI saga continues...

Flash and I worked on the GTI some this weekend. We pulled off a lot of pieces to inspect the timing belt and we found that the timing belt was fine. The timing belt tensioner on the other hand wasn't fine. The stud mounting it to the block had broken and caused the failure. The motor will have to be pulled so that we can drill the offending stud and use an E-Z Out to hopefully get that sucker out of there. We followed directions exactly - so the stud was installed with a thread-locking agent (AKA: We're so screwed!).

On the other hand the Beetle project moved forward - the body is all back together and primered. The engine isn't running very well right now - hope that we can get that fixed and I can start driving it this week.

FRAK!! The GTI Bites the Dust!

Today hasn't been the greatest day. On the way to work the GTI just died while driving down the road. Called my brother, Flash, to help me get it home (I owe you big time, bro!). Flash listened to me turn the car over and instantly descided that the timing belt had broke - and he was correct. About 30K miles ago I replaced the timing belt, tensioner and water pump - just trying to keep it well maintained. Anyway, I'm certain that it bent the valves when the belt let go. I'll probably find out more this weekend, but I'm fairly certain that it's dead for now. Now I've gotta get the Beetle up and running for a daily driver. Other than that - this day has really sucked!

The Beetle's resurrection continues...

I finally got around to sealing and priming the Beetle this weekend. It doesn't look great, but it's a lot better than bare metal and rust. Lots of rust repair still needs to be done but for now the surface rust is gone and it's much more weather proof than it was previously. And it's all the same color - mostly...

Over the weekend a few friends came over and we had a good time. Mike took me for a ride in his turbo-enhanced R32 - wowzers! That thing is crazy-fast! I was able to return the favor to a very small degree in the 911, but it just isn't the same without all wheel drive. I also gave Reggie a ride in the 911, and while I didn't really get on it, he seemed fairly happy with the ride.

A bit off topic...

Here are some pictures of my current project. It's not the 930 V8, but hey, it's all good. The top picture is how the Beetle looked about a week ago, since then all of the fenders and trim are completely removed and a lot more sanding has been done. The bottom picture shows the car when it arrived about two weeks and a couple of days ago. The middle picture was a test to see how the car looked in primer (which is the color I plan to paint it - semi-gloss black). It has some rust on the body (just behind the side glass on the passenger side) that goes all the way through, and the fenders are beat. On the plus side, the car runs good and drives great. If all goes well the body should be sanded and sealed/primed tomorrow, but a lot of work needs to happen tonight before that can be... That will leave the fenders, hood and engine lid to sand and seal. Once I have all of the surface rust under control (my main goal right now), the plan is to cut and replace the rusted sections of the body with some help from my friends (I trust thier welding ability much more than my own).

No signal?

I have been working on the car, trying to get the tach to work, but to no avail. After trying several different things I have discovered the the MSD ignition isn't producing a tach signal. Not sure what I'm going to do now. But, it's good to know what the problem is - or to think that I know.

I have a new project. It's a 1974 Super Beetle and I've been working on it for the last few weeks trying to get it ready for paint. There hasn't been much time to work on the Porsche, but this winter I hope that I can rewire the car and install a heating and cooling system, so that it will be ready for next summer and be very comfortable.

08-14-2006 - Down on the farm

Vacation was great! Some nice time was spent kicking back on the farm with my son.

Flash and I did play with our Porsche's a little bit, but didn't get a whole lot accomplished. Maybe sometime in the near future we can spend a day working on them.

I did spend a day working on the shop and getting it a bit more organized, but it still has a long way to go before it will be done. Need to finish wiring up the HDTV projector and surround sound in the office before we can start the sheet-rocking. Also, I need to run power to the air compressor and finish that installation.

08-06-2006 - Vacation time...

It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to update things on the blog. The past week my son has been visiting, and other family issues have been much more important, so the 911 has been on the back burner to some degree.

I did a quick swap on the coil to see if I could get the tach to function. I found that if I turned the key "almost" to the off position that the tach would work, the RPMs were wrong, but it did work. Just as luck would have it, I was doing this near dusk and outside at my brothers house. When I turned the key to the "almost off" position, I noticed that the headlights of car would pulse with the engine - and so determined that when the key is in that position that it's running solely on the alternator instead of the battery. I don't know what that tells me, but I thought it was interesting.

I also removed the door panels and examined the window regulators on both sides. The regulator on the driver's side works great, but the passenger side needs some work. I found the issues with the regulator and now I need to get parts. While I'm in there I plan to finish wiring up the mirror and the passenger side window control on the driver's door.