Thursday, December 21, 2006

2006 - The Year in Review




It's hard to believe another year has passed. The onslaught of Christmas themed newsletters - from Kyle & Natalie, Frank & Betty, Ralph & Vivian, and Bob to name a few, has motivated me to wax philosophic on the year that has passed.

Too often it seems time just flies. I guess it's a good thing. In our case, anyway, I know I feel that way because we get so busy. But when you get so busy it's easy to forget what you've done. A quick look at the blog history glosses over some of the general things we did in 06. I'll try to fill in some details on a month-by-month basis here:

January


  • celebrated New Years 2006 in Orillia with Mike and Shirley (I know, that was '05, but who's counting)

  • broke up concrete floor in basement and roughed in bathroom, new floor drain, a/c condensation drain

  • eliminated all remaining knob and tube wiring in house

  • replaced main support columns in basement with steel teleposts

  • roughed in furnace room, closet, bathroom walls in basement

February



March



  • see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_archive.html

  • continued Bob's Bug restoration

  • purchased 1976 VW camper (Westfalia)

  • patched body metal on 1974 VW Thing, listed for sale and sold!

  • Vanessa traveled to Montreal with her Mom, Sister, and Niece

  • got historic vehicle insurance for the '72 and '76 through Lant Insurance

April



May



June



  • see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html

  • fixed steering problem on the '76

  • purchased and installed DVD/TV/STEREO system in '76

  • designed and installed front hitch on the '76 for a bike rack

  • camped at Rock Point Provincial Park

  • attended the June Jitterbug in Niagara Falls

  • camped at McRae Provincial park

  • went to my cousin Ann's wedding

  • got delivery of supplies for the garage project

July



  • see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html

  • visited Gary Scott Breithaupt's island and enjoyed boat ride

  • camped at Six Mile Lake

  • did one week camping trip from Oshawa to Orillia to Killbear Park to Manitoulin Island to Bruce National Park to The Pinery to the Kitchener-Waterloo Bug-Out and home

  • did tree cleanup at Sherry and Kevin's island

  • purchased '96 Sea-Ray Sea-Rayder

  • first trip in boat was for a weekend at Sherry and Kevin's island and more tree work

  • fabricated and installed hitch for '76

  • continued work on garage

August



  • see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

  • continued work on garage

  • spent long weekend at Sherry and Kevin's island (wakeboarding, tubing, general mayhem)

  • camped at Emily Provincial Park, boated to Bobcaygeon

  • went to Dylan's 1st birthday party

  • went to Shirley's family reunion in Powassan and camped

  • bought Vee a Canon S3 IS digital camera

September



October



November



December


posted by Brad @ 5:47 p.m.  

On the 5th Day of Christmas - What I've Been Up To

Well, the garage is done, most Christmas festivities are underway, and I can finally work on some of my projects... I'm back baby!!


This new version of Blogger seems a little less prone to crashing, so starting this post I will try to put descriptive text under each of the pictures as was originally intended.


The first project I worked on in my new garage was rebuilding the heat system on the 1976 Westfalia. After much anticipation of working on the BA6 gas heater system, I decided to remove it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the rotting outer case and electrical components in need of replacement. It will soon be for sale online.
Next I fabricated new, insulated ducting running from rear to front and the necessary gaskets to make it fit.
Finally I replaced the heat cables, cleaned up a number of wiring issues, and adjusted the system. We now have working heat (that is VW-style heat)...




I installed a 4800W 240V heater in the garage. Now that the walls are insulated and the garage sealed my 85000 BTU heater is a little overkill. Its fumes were also a little dangerous so this is for the best. I used the #10/2 wiring I roughed into the wall "just in case" and installed the correct breaker and plug. The heater is actually only a 20A draw, on a 30A breaker. It runs quietly, puts out 16000 BTU and has a built-in thermostat. Naturally it's only to be run when you plan to be working, it's not a full-time endeavour. So far, at 0 degrees Celcius outside, the new heater has no problem keeping the garage toasty.




Following my dad's lead, I decided early-on I would put hardwood flooring on my woodworking / assembly bench as an inexpensive tabletop. During a recent trip to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Bracebridge I found the box of oak flooring shorts above for $10. After leveling the existing tabletop I installed the flooring, ripping and routering some to make an outer frame. The result is a nice looking hardwood bench. Eventually I will put a metal top on my metal-working bench with a concrete board backing.


With all the newfound room in the garage I finally got back to working on the '72 Super Beetle. I parked it diagonally (yes - no centre posts!!!), removed the decklid, disconnected all connections to the engine, removed the firewall insulation, air cleaner, hoses, etc. Basically all I have to do now is plug the gas line, remove 4 bolts, and the engine will pull right out.

Once out I have a long to-do list including:
-fixing the bent frame horns with a kafer cup bar (or similar)
-fixing exhaust studs on heads
-clean and paint-detail engine
-final body welding
-final paint preparations
-some chassis welding
-fuel line relocation
-etc.

posted by Brad @ 5:07 p.m.  

Saturday, December 16, 2006

The Schmidty Splitty - Restoration Musings

One of the most popular current trends in VW restorations is the "logo'd" vehicle. Our "Schmidty Splitty" - 1966 VW Single Cab - is aching for a restoration. It also represents one of the most desirable canvasses for this type of art. For a while now we've been thinking of a theme.


Inspiration came to Vanessa today after watching a Jack Daniels commercial. She suggested using a period-correct Schmidt Beer logo on the bus and adding a few period pieces like Schmidt-branded coolers and wooden beer cases.


I suggested making it a stake style truck with solid oak boards hinged on the original gate hinges.


I then used the Bus Selecta - http://www.busselecta.com/ - to get a general outline of the bus. Vanessa imported this into Adobe Photoshop and worked her magic. A few minutes later she came up with the image above. What do you think?


Here are some accessories we could put in the bed:




posted by Brad @ 9:31 p.m.  

Sunday, December 10, 2006

X-MAS Season Update




T'is two weeks 'till Christmas and all through the place, decorations are appearing right in front of my face!

The tree was erected in the corner with care, we can't keep Cole from sleeping under there!

The Enterprise and War Bird are traditionally hung, near the top of the tree on the highest rung.

Of course Beetles are hanging in places of honour, one near Dasher, one near Dancer, and of course one near Donner!

Ashley's cuddled all snug in her bed, bones, cats, and kibble dancing in her head.

So what to our wondering eyes will appear this year? Lots of presents I hope, but cloth still doesn't count - let's be clear!

As I try to finish this rhyme with all of my mite, Vanessa and I say, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

posted by Brad @ 8:47 p.m.