October 22nd, 2006
I am looking to build a New York City Volkswagen crew. The reason I am saying crew, instead of saying club is because I want to put together a unique group of people who want to explore VW’s to the next level. I am talking about Nitro, Super-Charged and totally customized vehicles. Hopefully we could all pull together and get a nice garage and call it the Lab (home). Please post if you have any intertest.
Posted in General | 2 Comments »
October 16th, 2006
Now I am loosing my mind. My 1958 Beetle Sedan project has running and counting for four years, 8 months, 23 days, 9 hours and 22 minutes. This was a project that I anticipated taking only 1 year tops. When first I started I had lots of money, good energy and more than anything, I was excited. I pulled my project in to a place where I rented space across the river in New Jersey at that time. It was in a shop where the owner worked on Volkswagens for many years and in his shop he had dozens of Volkswagen cars, thousands of carburetors, fan shrouds and engines. Unfortunately, because his shop was a business and my project was a weekend come around and fix situation, my car and parts were often moved from side to side without my knowledge. This is where things when terribly wrong. Parts were lost in transistion. I eventually removed my car from his place because one of my NOS rubber floor mats was cut in half and used as a batter insulator for a customer’s car. It hurts me to know that some person is driving around New Jersey or New York with a piece of my irreplaceable mat keeping his electric system safe. I’m sure the cost of his repair was nothing near the cost and time I spent on obtaining it.
Now that my car has been relocated to Long Island, New York, my problem has just begun. I’m looking for my screws and I can’t find any of them. I went completely off pan restoration. All the hard work is done, but an even harder job has begun and that is spending 4 to 5 hours per day looking for replacement screws or digging thru bags that were placed in my inventor from the NJ shop (mostly 1970’s screws). I was going to order the miscellaneous screws from BFY Obsolete parts, but I really liked the original ones my Beetle was born with. Currently, I am looking for a donor car to keep my baby real.
Here is my suggestion for anyone doing a complete restoration.
- Always buy new containers to place your removed parts in.
- Label every single part you remove or the sub container or packaging you put it in.
- When you remove your parts, put them in a place that is stationary and in a place where nobody will confuse them for replacement screws for their bike or lawn mower.
- Clean your screws up so that they won’t create a dirty holding area and you can clearly see them when you need them.
- Look for replacement screws at the time that you find out that a screw is stripped and will need replacement.
- If you buy parts online or at a swap meet, ask for the original screws that came with the part. Sometimes parts from the same year might be slight different for how it was secured on your vehicle.
Remember, this is suppose to be a fun hobby; a way to relax during the weekend. I’ve learned from my own mistakes. I will not dismantle my Oval Window until I have my own garage.
Posted in Restoration, Informative | No Comments »
October 6th, 2006
I
was thinking while searching my normal websites for old parts, has the term rat become popular so that people can unload their crappy
parts on others? When I decided to sell things online in the past, I would normally go through the process of cleaning things up before I posted them. For example, I would sand things down and etch prime parts for resale. Or I would sandblast and powdercoat crappy metals. I would like for the person buying something from me to have a hassle free time with my JUNK. If things were too far gone, I would trash it, as trying to make $10 off rusty crap just ain’t worth my time. I m starting to become weary of the phrase “Ratty.” Hmmm… I found this oil bath selling on the Samba today for $20 with the message “pretty ratty.” What is going on here. “1958 Karmann Ghia front bumper - $80 This is an original VW Karmann Ghia front bumper off a 1958 Karmann Ghia. This is not an original 1958 Karmann but off a later 1960’s Ghia. I say this because the bumper guards aren’t the cast type they are the later style. Its banged up but can be restored. Maybe 1 or 2 tubes are shot. $80 plus shipping and insurance. Check my other ads for original VW parts and Accessories. Thanks for looking”
Posted in new | 2 Comments »
October 5th, 2006
We are coming down to the last of the shows for the season in the North East. Englishtown, NJ is normally filled with a lot of cars and a lot of swap parts. If you have read my last review of their Spring show, lets hope that they have it on the traditional size of the drag track and not the round-about way on the far side (read it here). Here is the location of the show.
Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
(732)-446-7800 - Show Info
230 Pension Rd., Englishtown, NJ. 07726
Gates Open - 8:00 AM
Drag Time Trials - 10:30 AM & 11:15 AM
1st Round Elims - 12:00 Noon
Show Car Awards - 3:00 PM
Have Fun!Stay tuned for my review next week.10. 9.06 -
Posted in new, Show Review | No Comments »