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!