Bugs Palace!

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.

Well, September is here, and that means one thing. Goodbye to summer 🙁  Luckilly for me, I am a huge fan of the fall season. Colours are beautiful, temperature is perfect for jeans and a t-shirt, and Major League Baseball is wrapping up, so the Yankees will be getting ready to win another championship 🙂  

Speaking of baseball, my tenure as coach of the Hagersville Midget Girls is officially over as of last weekend. Although we didn’t win very many games, Shannon and I had a very fun summer. Shannon was kind enough to take on the role of team ma nager again, and take care of all the bookings and paper work. I really couldn’t have made it through the season without her. Thanks babe. And thanks to all the girls who came out every week to play. You should be proud of how well you’s did (most of the time 🙂  ).

Also, last weekend, Shan and I visited our first MINI Meet. Met some new faces, and seen some pretty sweet cars. Pretty sure we will try and make this meet a bit more regularily.  HERE are the few pictures I took before going in to eat.

Bug Update: Not a heck of a lot to post about the bug. Been doing some hunting for place to do interior for bug. While in Simcoe booking my MINI in (more on that later), I inquired about having interior done while they had my Bug for a headliner install. The owner pointed me in the right direction. After speaking to his buddy, I now have a place to do my seat and panel recoverring. Also, if I take my headliner to him before I have him do my seats, he will dye them all to match. So when I take the bug in, It will come home with headliner and all upholstery done, installed and matching. And all at a reasonable price. 

On to the MINI. I figured for my one year anniversary with the car, I would buy her a new winshield with the optional tinted viser. Looks excellent. No more cracks or pits. Hurray for clear vision. Sadly, that week I had to spend a bit more cash on it too. My battery died in an exciting fashing with blinking lights and all sorts of fan fare.  On the upside, I was inspired to remove the back seat of the car, and turn it into a 2 seater with a nice carpetted hatch. Now I can haul more stuff as I often need to. And if i need to haul people, 20 minutes and voila. 4 seater.

A little bit of time last weekend, and many hours yesturday were spent on a new car audio task for Kevins car. As we get older we get more and more creative. This time, It was fiberglass kick panels.  HERE are some pictures of the project in progress. Not quite done yet, but its getting their. Crappy weather slowed the cure time yesturday. Damn it

Well, only other side effect of September being here, is … back to work full time. I have enjoyed my 2 day work weeks all of July and August. Sadly, those days are gone. One more 4 day work week, and its back to full 5 days. Garr.. Gonna take some getting used to..

Till nex time ..

Been a while since an update, and I have a bunch of them!

First off, congratulations to Foxxxy and Melissa! The two were wed last Friday at an outdoor service. Shannon and I had an awesome night. Lots of good friends, and even more laughs. Hope you guys are as happy as Shannon and I are. Pictures are HERE.

Two new vehicles in the garage! Well, newish, and one is actually ‘back’ in the garage. First, I picked up my old dirt bike from my Uncle Buddies house. Its a 1982 Honda XR80. Needs a bit of work, but Kevin and I were able to get it up and running in about 20 minutes. I need a new front tire, as it seems to keep going flat on me. Hopefully that will be replaced soon. I have a huge field next to the house just beggin to be torn up. HERE are a couple pics of the old gal. 

Also, Alex had a spare lawn mower laying around which he was so kind as to donate to me. After trying to cut the grass with it for the first time, I realized it needed to be lowered 🙂 Purely for function though, not just cause I like lowering stuff. It was only fanning the grass when I started. Couple cranks of my wrench, and the mower was slammed and cutting lots of green 🙂 Thanks Alex!

Speaking of the garage 🙂 . Today marks 1 complete year with my MINI CooperS. It has been one hell of a fun ride, I will say that.  Only a couple issues with the car; ABS sensor went about a month after I got the car, cracked windshield a week after I got the car (being replaced this Monday), and a ding in the rear quarter panel the day after I got it. Other then the first month, it has been pretty much problem free. (Touch wood!) During the first year, I was able to do quite a bit of modding. Many go fast parts have been installed, and also some stuff to help me handle and stop better too! I am by no means done with the modding, but I was lucky to get so much done in the first year. Hopefully next year will be even better! 1 year, and 50,000kms down, and a whole bunch more to go! 

Lastly I have a handful of galleries to add to the site from the past couple months.

• Trip to Niagara Falls with Jim and Alicia
• Car stereo install pics with Kevin
• LOTS of scanned images from the VanDalens photo box
• Grandma and Grandpas 50th anniversary pics