You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.

I went out and bought another set of ramps for the car to level it out. Now that it's up in the air - I wish I'd done this years ago. It's so much easier to get under the car and bending over the back to fiddle with the engine is easier as well.

 

 

Carburetors were taken apart, cleaned and I double checked the float gaps and bench set them once they went back together. I took note of the mains, airs and idles after confirming they were clean.

Overall, they were fairly clean given their limited use and I didn't have to do a lot of adjustment to them.

 

I removed the ~2 gallons of gas that were in the tank - had a look around inside (pretty clean overall) - not much noteworthy here (fortunately).

I checked the oil - it's still very clean but about a quart low so I added the quart and called it good.

The transmission fluid will be checked before I go out anywhere but I suspect it'll be in good condition as well. 

 

 

 

 

  

I bought a group 91 battery from work - sweet employee discount got me a battery for less than half of what Napa wanted for the exact same battery (same manufacturer, different stickers).

The group 91 was a little less expensive than the group 40R or 41. I'd previously used a group 58 battery - this one has a little better reserve and more CCA.  

I didn't get as much done this weekend as I'd hoped - I was looking to make the first attempt at starting it - but I chose a low stress, 'let's see where things go' approach. I am making progress but it's a lot slower than I thought it would be given how close I am to turning it over. I'm not sure I'll be successful at getting this thing to turn over but I guess I'll find out soon enough - maybe next weekend. 

“My sun sets to rise again.”

I spent a few hours in the garage today after essentially doing nothing for about a week - a sinus infection sidelined me for a week. I'm still feeling like trash but I'm up and mobile. And I'm tired of watching television. Weather has largely been shit with sporadic rain/blah weather so not much incentive to go outside.

I took down all the dusty bins full of parts and went through them one by one to figure out what's in them and whether I need the parts anymore. Turns out, I'd kept a lot of random shit I didn't need and I threw out about seven bins of random crap I've been hauling around for far too long. I also better organized and cleaned up the parts that I do need.

I started removing the steering column because a couple of weeks ago, I got in the car and couldn't remove the ignition key. I've since sprayed it with lubricant, tried tripping the column lock (it's not locking) - to no avail. So, looks like I have to pull the column to figure out why the key won't come out, then I can clean it up and put it back in the car. 

During the cleaning whirlwind, I found the stash of the iterations of the oil filter mount brackets. The only one that works is the one that's in the car right now. At some point, I'll be adding the remote oil cooler and the bracket will need to be changed. I wound up keeping these although I'm not entirely sure why just yet.

I pulled the five year old battery out - it's entirely dead by now. I will try to charge it before swapping it out but I don't hold much hope for life in it. Good thing is that I can order a battery through work for about half of retail.

I'm going to have to trace all of the accessory gauge wires at this point because I don't have a fucking clue which wires were intended for each gauge. I know it was close to being done when I stopped.

The rubber floor mat is very crunchy and will likely meet its demise this year...meaning I've got to find a carpet solution if I'm keeping the floor pan the way it is right now.

When this fell out from under the dash, I actually did laugh out loud because I realized that this belongs to the accessory gauge pod that I put together several years ago, although I have no idea which wires belong to which gauges. So, I'll get to pull this apart, sort out what goes where and then put it back together.

Still makes me smile when I look at the OG parts of this car - the doors are in great shape and function perfectly.

I can't wait to get the rest of the car in this shape as well!

I'm hoping to be in good enough shape to get back out tomorrow and finish pulling the column out for repair. 

I've got a few more bins to get through before I'm fully reconciled with the sheer amount of parts waiting for this car. 

Spring refresh - ignition column

I bought this ignition column about two months ago from a Samba ad - after a little back and forth with the seller in Germany - and a two week shipping cycle, this is what I received. Overall, an ignition column in good condition with a scripted bezel ignition and all wiring intact. It's a Koln column - so it's a bit more rare than the SWF that's more commonly found.

On a whim, I decided to send this column to Lionel to rebuild right after I received it from Germany. Lionel and I got to discussing ignition switches and I decided to include the H1100 ignition switch that I recently got back after a 12 year absence. The ignition switch was missing too many pieces to be rebuilt. While digging through a lot of forgotten purchases, I found another switch and sent that one to be tested out - it was in good condition and worked as expected - Lionel added some new wiring to it and it's ready to go back into service. The column came back today in amazing condition after being cleaned, powder coated and reassembled/tested. I'm already four months down on the year but I'm going to make a serious effort to get the car back to functional and start working out how I'll get the remaining pieces fixed and restored. It's going to be expensive and time-consuming but it's time.
 

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

A whole fucking year went by and I did absolutely nothing with the car, consumed by a house full of projects and delays...trying to live life and not miss those moments of parenthood that seem to fly by faster than I can recognize. The car has sat waiting for me to have the time and patience required to dig in. To have the funds to dedicate to getting the car back up and running in the way that I want - properly.

That time is slowly coming around - we're on the last two rooms of the house...the front door is getting replaced next week, flooring inspection is happening this week. It'll be down to baseboard and window trim and refacing the fireplace (sample tile is on order). Next year has a lot of changes taking place - private school to public school for the kid, no large scale house projects (only landscaping)...I'll have time and funds to dig into the car - and hopefully I'll finish it before my knees blow out and I can't drive a stick shift. As of now, I've got plenty of time...but who knows what tomorrow holds. 

I did, very recently, reach out to a friend in California to ask about a reputable engine builder - the first recommendation was for a shop that will only build a new engine - not dig into one already built. Fair enough - why take heat for something that someone else built if something goes wrong after they work on it? I got a second contact who might be willing to work on the the engine I have - I'll be reaching out to that guy this week to see what can be worked out. If I don't get the warm and fuzzy, I'll get a new engine built.

I might just yet make progress on this car yet. It's wildly overdue. 

"However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light"

I think I'm coming around to wanting to work on the car again. We've completed a LOT of the house remodeling and I've had a few conversations with Type 3 friends that have helped with my motivation.

I'll take a swing at it in the coming weeks and see how far I can get.

The first task is to get it running.

Either way, I need to start laying bricks.

"...and ambitions are low"

This is likely the only entry for the year. 

I'm here to report that absolutely nothing has happened with the car - short of being pushed to the driveway because it was in the way of something else and needed to be temporarily relocated. 

I have no active ads, I don't visit the forums with any regularity, I've purchased nothing. Apathy is what I feel toward this car and the related activities.

I remain undecided on what happens with the car as 2024 looks to bring fewer house projects and more time should I choose to start back up again. As of now - I don't see it happening.

"There comes a point where you no longer care if there's a light at the end of the tunnel. You're just sick of the tunnel."

Not a whole lot to report yet. The car is covered in a fine coating of drywall dust and surrounded by all manner of garage contents while the main garage is finished. The only movement with the car is in and out of the garage to simplify the relocation of something that is hindered by the presence of the car.

The weather, while wildly inconsistent, is steadily growing colder. I have no interest in wrenching on a cantankerous old car while the weather is unfriendly. I will have the space, tools, and most likely, the time. What I lack is interest. I always find something else to consume that time. Right now, it's the house but the largest project undertaken is slowly wrapping up and I will be far more likely to farm out future work.

Almost ironic that I finally have a house with a 3-car garage and I haven't done anything with the car whatsoever since moving into this place. In previous circumstances, I'd create a checklist of things to get done so I could go back to working on the car. I haven't made that list and am unlikely to do so any time soon.

I've briefly entertained the idea of going through the parts and listing up anything I know I don't need or want, although I've always found something else to do with that time. And I have no clue where half of the parts are actually located with the current state of the garage.

I have this internally driven sense that I'm running out of time to start anything with this car beyond where it is right now. I don't know where this originated but it's very much a 'fight or flight' type of feeling. I've been ignoring it for several months while I try to finish other house-related tasks.

I'm not sure where this is going - if anywhere - but I do know that nothing is going to happen for several months. And then I'll have a decision to make - continue on this journey or end it. 

I have yet to write that chapter.

"You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind"

 As far as the car goes - no progress to report. I have done absolutely nothing to it since we moved into the house nearly a year ago. It has been moved between garage spaces as we have gutted, insulated, and drywalled each space.

This is the 1 car garage where the car will ultimately wind up - this picture shows the day after the drywall went up. It now has primer on the walls and the lights are mounted. We bought the paint for the walls and it should be going up tomorrow. A new garage door and opener will be installed near the end of the month. We're installing a new door at the back and I need to frame out the openings and window.

The 2-car garage needs some more work before it'll be considered 'finished' but it's close. We'd be a lot further along if not for having to replace the entire driveway. In a month or so - we should have the entire garage space fully gutted, cleaned out, re-insulated, and closed up. It's going to be a nice space when it's done.

As of right now - the car will have to wait until next Spring. I'll hand-turn the engine to keep the lubrication going inside and make sure I don't have any issues with the seals/rings. It'll need tires to be roadworthy as they're coming up on 10 years old. 

"Maybe next year" is the motto for this car.

"You are free and that is why you are lost."

First things first: I have zero idea what happened to the month of February.  It was cold, we tore some shit up in the house and nothing happened in the garage (or with the Volkswagen).

Projects in the house that were initially intended to be contained to specific rooms have essentially crept into several other rooms...so we're doing a lot more early on than we planned.  It's eating up a lot of time/money but I guess the bright side is that we should be done sooner?  

I pulled open the South wall in the Volkswagen garage to figure out some dryer vent issues - and I found a giant mouse piss scented tunnel system in what was left of the insulation. Spent the better part of three hours tearing that all out and fixing the dryer vent so that it'd exhaust properly.  It's a temporary fix but I did rid the garage of a rather large mouse nest and some stench.  There's a dumpster coming where the nasty wood and the mouse shit insulation will be disposed of.  I've already purchased new LED lighting and plan on replacing the thin wood paneling with drywall and proper insulation. I have to relocate the attic hatch because it's currently located exactly where the garage door opener will be mounted.  Attic insulation, fix the lighting up there and it should be a much nicer place.  These are tentative Summer projects - as long as the rest of the shit we have torn up goes back together in a respectable amount of time.  That garage will get a lot of love.  And, hopefully, so will the car.  This is also the year I plan to fire up the welder and figure it out.  Seat belts for the back seat, brackets for the rear brake lines...loads of practice!  I've got lots of random metal to start with.

I was given a recommendation for a body shop that's semi-local so I plan to go check that out as well.  I'd really like to get this car painted.  

First things first - clean up the garage and get the car running.

"Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed"

 I'm a week late on my 4-week update, so here we go.

The car was moved via flatbed tow truck from the old house to the new house without much fanfare.  The driver was familiar with these cars and knew we had to turn it around in the garage to get it on the truck - there's really nothing to grab on the back end to haul it up on the bed.

30 minutes later, the car was in the new garage with a little help from the tow truck driver and my plumber to push it into the garage where it now sits.

The first couple of weeks with the car in the new house have been uneventful - I haven't had time to do anything with the car - other than walk around it.  I did replace most of the previous owner's rickety shelving with properly mounted shelving.  It's tight in there now but will open up quite a bit once I have more time to dedicate to organizing the garage.  There's a lot to get rid of in the coming weeks.

For the first month - I've replaced two garage door openers, replaced 7 exterior locksets, removed the coax cable in the house, started installing ethernet cable, torn down LOTS of cobbled together shelving, removed several old fluorescent light fixtures, and replaced them with LED light fixtures, replaced five ceiling fans, replaced the kitchen sink faucet, installed a Nest doorbell, replaced the doorbell chime (which is no longer working due to old wires in the walls).  We had an electrician replace incorrectly installed 3-way switches, fix ceiling fan boxes (not wired correctly), install lights in the living room, and install hard-wired and interconnected smoke/CO detectors.  The plumber removed the RO water filter under the kitchen sink and replaced the water heater.  He's due to return to remove the water softener (not in use) and a bunch of gas line that isn't in use.  I'm about nine projects deep right now with an estimated completion date sometime out in late February.

When I do get back to working on the car - it'll be nice to have a place where I can dig into it without anything else getting in the way or having it be in the way.  Both of the daily drivers fit in the other garage - the first house we've owned where all of the cars (and our stuff) fit in the garage.  It's been a nice change.

It'll be quiet around here, minus the random updates, for a while.  I will have this car running/driving this year.

"Freedom itself demands discomfort."

I guess it's time for a 30-day update, lest I forget what has happened over the last 4 weeks.

The house buying/selling process has been tedious, to say the least.  The buying part was dragged out for several weeks because the seller is going through a divorce with some additional drama attached.  She's apparently incapable of making decisions quickly so 7 decisions that should have taken her a day or two at most - took three weeks.  We're now just waiting for the clock to tick down to the end of the year when the closing date approaches and we can move forward.

The selling process was much faster - fixed a few things, forced ourselves to finish a couple of small projects, rented a truck and filled a 10x15 storage space with stuff mostly from the garage and basement.  A little drywall patch here, some paint touch up there...and we listed the house a week later than we wanted but it went up.  And 20 minutes later, we had our first showing scheduled.  Between Thursday and Sunday, there were 16 showings and an open house.  We're closing on this house on the 14th so we've technically got 2 weeks to get our shit together and move out.

Needless to say, I haven't done anything with the car in spite of the rather mild weather this Winter. I'm hoping this pattern holds at least until we're moved - then it can snow all it wants.  But we'll likely experience our first blizzard the day we're supposed to move.

Two weeks of holding pattern, Christmas, NYE, NYD and then a move - a lot going on.  When the dust settles a little, I'll get back to the car.  I'd guess by February I'll be back to doing something with the car.

“I was not proud of what I had learned but I never doubted that it was worth knowing.”

 I started working on getting the Bluetooth distributor installed today but I did not finish it.  I need to get the proper advance curve into the distributor, reset the carburetors and then I should be good to go.  

In other news - there's a 50/50 chance we're moving in January - and the process of buying a house is super fucking tedious and time-consuming.  Inspections, offers, counter-offers, requests for information, waiting for other people to make decisions.  We might know something by Thursday - whether the seller tells us to fuck off or tries to lowball us on the requested repairs - we will have news.

The car was going to go into storage for 5 months but this house buying process has put a halt to that because it won't be necessary if the house purchase goes through.  I haven't worked on the car all that much because most of my free time has been consumed by getting the current house ready to be sold.  Soon it'll be cold enough that I won't care what condition the car is in and I'll just stop working on it until Spring - regardless of where we live.

It's going to be quiet around this blog for a while as the pieces slowly find their place.

“Let us celebrate the stupidity of our endurance.”

I know, I know...what the fuck?  It's been raining quite a lot lately and that's slowed my progress on tuning the carbs.

To dig my heels in at a really weird time and place and opt to step it up a notch and go with a Bluetooth-enabled distributor.  What a weird thing to add now...well, yeah, indeed.  Welcome to how I got to this place.

So, I'm going to install this thing and see if the app can tell me anything new.  

The plan to enlarge the garage has hit a rather large obstacle for now.  We're either going to do it at a later date, not do it and pay for storage for the VW or move to a different house with a proper garage.  Those are the three options on the table.  For now, the car will go into storage over the Winter.

I should have some time to work on this tomorrow - I'm looking forward to seeing what happens...