Wow…. It’s Sooo big ;-)

Another whack of updates.  First up, after months of humming and thinking, Shannon and I decided to purchase a new TV. We had planned to wait till Christmas and get one for each other as a gift for the basement, but we are weak. And having Ian looking for one too didn’t help. He and I went to Best Buy and both bought a Samsung 56″ DLP. Shannon and I also picked up a new Samsung HDMI DVD player. Big screen + HD quality. Shannon and I couldn’t be happier. I am sure Ian will be as well when he gets his hooked up this weekend.

Couple bug updates. First, I was finally able to catch Paul on a day off. We spoke about the beetle, and when it would be done, etc. Looks like I will have the car back no later then the end of October. First instinct was ‘wow’ thats still a long time from now. Then I realized, actually no, thats 1 month from now. More or less. So a big wahoo for a soon to be painted beetle. Also, on the beetle front, I had a spare engine graciously donated to me from one of my VW Get together buddies, Sandor. It started as a 1600DP block, and has been machined to work as a 1776cc or an 1835cc engine. Either way, it should be a good starting point to build up a slightly stronger/faster enginer.  Here are some pictures of the short block. Needs some loving, but hopefully I can shine it up and make some power.

Kevin finally talked me into working on my rear seat delete for the MINI. I figured, i’ve owned the car for over a year now, and I have taken back seat passengers 2 or 3 times, yet I have had a car full of computer parts dozens of times.  That and the weight reduction is an added bonus. Less weight, less car to move. Faster it goes 🙂 . Turned out really good. Carpetted it all up to match the sub box. Almost looks like it came this way from MINI Canada. While on the subject of the MINI, got some new parts on the way at the end of the month. New grill, and some maintenance items. Will be picking them up the last Saturday of the month at the September MINI meet.

Lastly, if I have any money left over at the end of the month, I will be picking up the lumber I need for my basement to get the framing started.  Slowly but surely, all my projects will get done.