(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.