The Main Blog

Links to Facebook Pictures from the Summer of '08

2008-08-18T23:05:00.002-04:00

Now that Vanessa (the picture taker) is on Facebook, I no longer have the burden of adding the pictures here... So, check out the links below for images from the summer of '08 so far...

Durham Region Bugfest 2008: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006566&l=b4f62&id=1176788821

Goose Island 2008: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005928&l=3c2cc&id=1176788821

Bon Echo Camping: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005198&l=6c2a7&id=1176788821

Stacey & Bryon's Wedding: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004706&l=0b7d4&id=1176788821

June Jitter Bug 2008: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004612&l=9e7e6&id=1176788821

Town & Country VW Spring Fling - The Speedster Takes Home Hardware!!

2008-05-31T16:42:00.005-04:00

Despite rain, thunder, lightning, and power outages all Friday night, the Town and Country VW (formerly Greenbelt) Spring Fling went on today. Because of the atrocious forecast we decided we would take either Bob's Bug or Vanessa's New Beetle. However, when we stepped outside this morning the sun was shining and we decided we'd take the Speedster. Though we had polished and waxed it this week (see the technical blog) there were a few loose ends like vacuuming and filling up with gas that had to take place before we could really get rolling.

We put the top up, with no side curtains, and took highway 7 to 407. We were greeted by a lot of friends when we arrived. Bob, Fiona & James Weber, Greg Potts, Gord & Marg Potts, AJ Welsh, Clyde Walters, Travis & Sara Doll, "Harry" (the bus parts hippy looking guy), as well as some other people that looked familiar. The sun was doing its best to peek out around the clouds, so we put the top down and washed the bugs from the front of the car.

We ate complimentary hot dogs and popcorn, and drank iced tea and coke, all on Town & Country. We also received a loot bag for coming. The big surprise was the end of the show. This is a participant and visitor judged show. We won both the participants choice, and peoples choice air-cooled! The only other award was for water-cooled, so we were pretty flattered!

There were about 10 bugs of different vintages, a Thing, the Vanagons, and our Speedster present. AJ brought the only bay window bus.

Myrtle Beach / Everybus 2008

2008-04-21T22:33:00.013-04:00

We left last Saturday with Stacey and Bryon following. After stops in Niagara Falls for the "Wet and Chilly Swap Meet" and in Grove City for the Prime Outlets, we made it to Wytheville, VA, on that Saturday, then cruised into Myrtle Beach with lots of time to setup camp at the State Park on Sunday. Temps were cool, but the weather was clear and sunny! We had a little rain on Monday, if I recall correctly, but it cleared right up and got warmer every day until it was into the eighties on Friday when we left. The State Park in Myrtle Beach is pretty nice. We had some good sites this year on a rarely traveled loop, so it was pretty private. The showers and bathrooms are almost always vacant because most of the campers are retirees in their motor homes with built-in facilities. It's a five minute walk through the campground to the ocean, and the park is located right on the main strip, so it's close to everything. We split up with S & B most days, but crossed paths occasionally at the local shopping or dining establishments. Vanessa and I made a side trip an hour and a half south to Charleston, SC, which was as scenic and charming as its reputation. We had plenty of time walking on the beach, swimming (I was the only one brave enough), walking, shopping, and eating...

We all took off Friday morning for EBX, with a stop in Cheraw, SC, for me to pick up some bug parts. The drive north to EBX was great, as it was about eighty degrees and sunny. As always it was great to see old friends and make new acquaintances. I'm amazed that Bob and Fiona still chose to tent-it at the park after the problems with their bus. Let's hope that it gets fixed up as quickly, easily and cheaply as possible. The beer and moonshine went down easily Friday night, and back up easily for Jamie and Greg the next a.m. I enjoyed becoming the glow-in-the-dark-bocce champion, too. Saturday morning came without the rain that was forecast. Despite our usual reputation of leaving early, we decided to stick it out - it's so great to soak up the sun and chat with good friends. However, ultimately Vanessa and I would keep our reputation and take off. The combination of the first raindrops, and some kid putting a 16" scratch into the drivers door of our bus with his bike put us in the mood to leave. We got packed up and were out of there just in time to need the windshield wipers as we merged on the 220 north. The rain let up almost as soon as it started, but came back with a vengeance as we came out of the second tunnel in VA. The five mile climb as you leave NC and head into VA was a killer - the fog was so thick I really could see nothing, and worried the faster vehicles behind would have the same problem. I had headlights and 4-ways on. I even had Vanessa looking straight ahead for the back of slower trucks, which seemed to appear out of nowhere. We stopped at the top in Fancy Gap for fuel, and merged back on for about one more mile of fog before it cleared. By Beckley it was pitch black with occasional shots of lightning. The wipers could barely keep the window clear. I hoped to get all the way up the Mountaineer Expressway (19) but we wound up stopping at a Comfort Inn in Summersville WV. I found it tough to navigate the big hills at any kind of speed - I just couldn't see far enough to feel safe.

We had a long nap in Summersville and didn't get back on the highway until 11am or so. The weather held and it was otherwise a great ride home. We stretched the fuel stops longer than S&B were comfortable with on the way down, filling up every 200 - 225 miles instead of every 150. We even stopped somewhere in PA for a sit-down lunch, and in Grove City briefly at the outlet stores again. The Border crossing was uneventful and I had blast screaming across the QEW and 401 at 75 - 80 MPH in places. By far the worst drivers we encountered on the whole trip were from the Peace Bridge to Oshawa! I think we pulled in the driveway a little after 9.

In the end it was about a 2365 mile trip. Interestingly, last year's trip was 2344 miles. Last year we took the slow way (I-81) down, but didn't do Charleston. My fuel mileage was 17.8 MPG. That was NOT driving for economy, 65-70 MPH average highway speed, climbing all the mountains as fast as possible. I was fully loaded with camping gear, and pulling my backpacker trailer the whole way, with a full water tank in the Westy, two bug doors and two bug fenders in tow as well!

The first day of driving was a little disappointing with my new FI system. I saw my head temps hit 450 on a couple not-so-steep uphills and was easily passed again and again by Bryon with his smaller engine and 3 rib tranny. I chalked some of that up to the speeds he was passing at and his lower gearing, but I was concerned with the head temps. With no other options I popped the cover off my rebuilt AFM Sunday morning. I marked the cog's original position with two dots of white-out, and turned the cog five notches richer, then adjusted the idle mixture and speed. I thought maybe the spring tension was too tight and that this may help my problem. Anyway, I saw a marked improvement in power with this change and never saw a head temperature over 425 even on the steepest and longest full throttle climb after that. Maybe as the spring breaks in I can put it back to the factory setting, but for now it's much more pleasureable to drive, and the temps are very, very good. Last year I got a strong whiff of gasoline everytime I floored the progressive carb, this year, not even a trace of gas smell. Last year I stalled coming off the highway a few times, this year I never stalled. What I'm getting at is I love the FI system.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

6AM Saturday, meeting at Country Style Donuts for Breakfast...

We made good use of the CB's, which allowed constant conversation, and a little singing.

We stopped near Beckley for dinner at the Cracker Barrel on Saturday night. The Bus parking seemed appropriate.

It was dark by the time we left. We pushed another hour and a half to Wytheville Red Roof Inn.
Ash enjoyed the $50 room.
Sunday morning at the motel - my creative parking and the mountains in the background. This is where I adjusted the AFM.
We've arrived at the State Park.
Making some Jambalaya.

The obligatory "camera to camera" shot with Stacey.
Stacey and Bryon's bus.
Ash in her chair.

Some pictures from our Charleston excursion...
Watching TV on a rainy night, Ash in the luggage area.

More of Ash in her chair.
A real Alligator at Huntington Beach State Park... And more pictures below from this excursion... Huntington Beach is just south of Murrell's Inlet, about 20 mintues south of Myrtle Beach.

This is the summer home for the Huntingtons, the people for whom this park is named. It's a national historic site.

Vanessa on Huntington Beach.

Skinny (V) and Fat (ME) shadows.

Dinner out at Nance's, Stacey and Bryon playing with Stacey's food.
Vanessa's idea.. The buses caught in a shark's mouth.
Get me out of here!!!

A nighttime shot.
V's cute new shoes and the resulting blisters.
Ashley moved to the picnic table, her new favourite spot.
Ash and V on the beach.

The park is right beside an airport, with regular air force / military traffic.

Starting a book on the beach.
Playing in the surf.

The obligatory long arm shot, just before we left Friday morning.
Lined up at the park exit.
The loot from a stop in Cheraw, SC.
Trying to get the scope of Everybus in NC. 100+ buses, at least 7 other sage green ones, split window, bay window, vanagon, eurovan, and everything in between.

The Canadian corner. Note our spot allows for a quick escape.

Our bus in a reflection.

Heading up the mountains on the way home... It started raining heavily on the other side of this tunnel.

Vanessa's New Wheels

2008-04-11T22:48:00.004-04:00

With the price of gas and the risk of commuting in a vehicle with 278,000km on the odometer, Vee recently decided to start looking for a more fuel efficient vehicle with fewer kilometres. Salvation came in the form of a New Beetle. Just like all of our VW's this one needs a few things to be "just right" for us.. I already installed a new antenna. Vanessa wants the logos changed out with chrome versions, we need to do a deep polish and waxing, and the stereo is due for a revamp with an IPOD ready version. Then there's the licence surrounds, the winter tires we'll need, but the good news is this one's got about 200,000km fewer than the last one, and it will burn 1/3 less fuel at least! Oh, and it's a VW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I'm the only Schmuck with a hunk of American iron.

OK, here are the pics:

March 08 Musings

2008-03-11T21:36:00.008-04:00

Can you believe we're almost half-way into March? Where does time go? Vanessa and I first started dating 8 years ago. 8 years have gone by since I started my job at Republic. In a month we'll have lived in our house for 7 years. In August we'll have been married 5 years. This summer Cole will be 8 and Ashley will be 5. Since 2000 Vanessa is on her third car. I'm on my fifth. In my vehicles alone I've driven over half a million kilometres in 8 years. Vanessa's truck has travelled nearly 125,000 km since we've owned it, and we've put 20,000+ miles on the VW's. The cost of gas has gone from $0.65 / L to $1.10 / L. We've cycled through 7 VW's, of which we still have three... We've been on countless trips both driving and flying. We've seen Sarah McLachlan perform almost 15 times in person, and Jann Arden and BNL about half as many times. I'm starting to understand why "older" people comment on how quickly time flies.

This winter, to be succinct, has been a bitch. Vanessa and I have wasted hours of our life on the highway stuck in weather-related traffic. One highlight was my neighbour giving me an old snowblower, which has made the monumental dumps a little less troubling. Here are some pictures from the weekend, as you can see, despite being March, we got over a foot of snow.

Other recent news is that we decided to sell our boat. We want to concentrate on land-based activities (the VW's, the Porsche replica, camping, etc.). As fun as the boat was, it really was more of a burden than anything. So, as they say, easy come, easy go. I made a deal with a young couple in St. Catherines. They paid most of my asking price and traded a 2 year-old canoe and a Reese Backpacker trailer for the boat package. Both of the traded items will fit really well with our camping activities. I know it'll be a little sad when the lakes open up, but it was the right decision for this year. I think our next boat will be either something considerably larger, or a smallish antique runabout with an outboard. For now, we'll stick to the canoe.

Also, using some of the proceeds from the boat, I bought an original FI system from German Supply and installed it on the bus. We're now running stock fuel injection, with considerable gains in driveability and performance. There really aren't any pictures of this process, so you'll have to take my word for it.

I've also started working on the Porsche kit, trying to have it ready for the Kit Car Nationals in Carlisle, PA on May 2-4 weekend... Driving there may be a pipe dream, though, being 8 hours each way, but we will definitely be taking it to the Michigan Vintage show in early June. Check the VW blog here: http://ad-libs-vw-technical.blogspot.com/ for some pictures of the progress.

Finally, the best thing that's happened recently has been the (almost) completion of the long-standing basement project. Check the home reno blog here: http://ad-libs-home-reno.blogspot.com/ for pictures.

True Canadian Winter Bus Campout...

2008-02-17T22:59:00.006-05:00

This weekend marked the fifth annual True Canadian Winter Bus Campout, organized by Greg Potts. Here's his website for this event: http://www.pottsfamily.ca/The_Bug_Pack/TCWBC/

This was Vanessa and my first time attending, and are we ever happy we did! Camping in the winter is not much different than camping in the summer. With a big fire to keep you warm and a heater in the bus, it's really fun!

The weather on Saturday was beautiful. We left Oshawa with Stacey and Bryon at noonish. It had been pre-arranged that I would bring the trailer and stop at Greg's old employer's shop to pick up some waste skids for the fire. As we were passing 401 & Markham Road, Greg called and told me he was just merging on at Neilson and would meet us in Mississauga at his old shop. True to his word, a few minutes after we arrived the red Westfakia showed up. We loaded the trailer while Greg pumped up his tire. Then Vanessa noticed a few piles of garbage skids in the industrial park next door, so we ventured over to pick them up too.

The sites at Valens were plowed when we arrived and the sun was shining. The rest of the day and night consisted of catching up with friends, feeding the fire, eating dinner, etc. Our new Espar heater kept us warm, even with the Westy top up!

This morning was not pretty weather wise. We woke to a 1/8" coating of ice on everything. We decided to leave right away before it got worse. The roads were slippery but manageable and our trusty steed got us home in due course.

Check out the pics below from the weekend.. We left the camera in the bus for most of the evening, hence the lack of pictures around the fire... How's that for a load of firewood?

Our first parking spot, with a twin behind us. There was no hydro at this site and we paid for it, so we later moved.

This is the site we stayed at.
Ashley liked running on the x-c ski trails.

Bryon and Stacey and Rene and Kristas buses.
My homemade burgers - the first I've eaten in a month.
Me posing.
Vee posing.

A self portrait.
The three of us being goofy.

Ash wore her "Gangsta Hoodie" all day but changed into her Roots coat and night.

Christmas 2007 - A Summary and Inventory

2007-12-26T14:23:00.000-05:00

Why do atheists celebrate Christmas? For the presents, of course! A late "Merry Christmas" and an early "Happy New Year" to all... Here's some pictures from the past few days:

The whole family...

The grand tally as it relates to VW parts!! Santa was good to us!

Here's the new steering wheel for the Porsche...

And a complete VDO electronic gauge set!!

A deep cycle battery for our bus. Thanks Vee.
A Facet style fuel pump - a spare for the bus... See the post about our Cape Cod trip and you'll see why this was on the wish list.

Our present to ourselves - an Espar B3LC 3KW gasoline fired air heater for the bus!
And most originally and surprisingly, a handmade quilt designed and manufactured by my aunt Shelley and commissioned by Dianne and Bob.

The Fall Tour, 2007

2007-10-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Jamie and Ruth Rivers (2SLO2BAD) for setting up this year's fall tour, our first... We spent most of day one with the group, but left as everyone was setting up camp in the rain. After nursing an eye and bladder infection and popping and dropping anti-biotics constantly, a damp night in the bus wasn't a good idea...

The route took us from Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in Milton over miles of backroads to Creemore, criss-crossing the Niagara Escarpment. We enjoyed a tour of the Creemore Springs Brewery and continued on, ending up in Collingwood at Craigleith Provincial Park... It was bright and crisp in the morning, followed by wet and cold in the afternoon. Perfect conditions for a Fall Tour... Thanks to Jamie for this pic of Vanessa...
A view from Rattlesnake Point.
Ashley tried committing suicide twice, nonchalantly jumping on the rock wall protecting visitors from the fall over the escarpment. I took to carrying her for this shot.

The "carabus."
Jamie's bus on the left, ours on the right, with Greg Pott's bus in the background. This was a quick stop to look at a waterfall after a steep gravel climb.
Ashley jumping the hills and valleys of the Badlands.
A cool shot by the badlands. Jerome and Carrie's bus is closest. You can just make out ours, parked in front of the high-roof near the top. My bald spot is particularly stunning in this shot...

Cape Cod & Vermont 2007

2007-10-06T20:22:00.000-04:00

Vanessa and I got back yesterday from our 2000 mile US roadtrip. This time we entrusted our Westy to take us from our home in Oshawa through Albany NY, Cape Cod MA, Boston MA, Stowe VT, and back home. We enjoyed ourselves but the trip wasn't without its adventures... Read on:

The night before we were due to leave I decided to adjust the rear brakes, and I'm glad I did! I found the driver's side to be leaking brake fluid profusely. I knew immediately I'd need new wheel cylinders prior to leaving. Scott from German Supply had some in stock in downtown Toronto, and since we had a family gathering on Queen Street that night, a plan was hatched. The cylinders went in with little problem Saturday prior to departure, but I did need to pull out my MAPP / OXYGEN torch to free the adjuster on the driver's side.... I bled the brakes and made an adjustment. We left shortly after without even testing the brakes once!! PS - they worked fine.

As we left The Big Apple near Cobourg with our stomachs full of pie, our speedometer cable broke. This bothered me more than I thought and thus a quest began to find a replacement somewhere along the route. In the end NAPA in Hyannis, MA ordered one in for me, but I didn't pick it up until after I got one from Wally, a Hyannis local, on a tip from Vdubya, Bill, from theSamba.com. I installed it in Wally's driveway and we were off to see the rest of Cape Cod!
We spent a free night at Nickerson State Park. We weathered the cold by burning a bus full of wet cedar. Well, I stayed warm by chopping it into toothpick sized pieces so it would actually burn...

These are some shots from Provincetown Cape Cod, and a Salt Pond in the National Seashore Park.
The bar that inspired the TV show, across from Boston Common.

A reflection of the old in the new.
Driving through part of the "Big Dig."
A shot from Vermont.

Dealing with the final problem, a fuel pump that broke as we were waiting to go through customs... NAPA came to the rescue again. After a couple cab rides, we had the pump in hand and we installed it together in the parking lot of Canada Customs. The rest of the ride was troublefree, and we cruised home at 75MPH from Cornwall.

The summary:

-didn't keep track of gas costs, but they weren't too bad

-didn't (couldn't) keep track of miles, but 1600-2000 total is a good estimate

-repairs worked out as follows: $10 to Wally for a speedo cable, $20 + $30 shipping to NAPA for the spare cable I committed to prior to meeting Wally, $80 to NAPA for a fuel pump, $10 for bike tire patches, $6 for a new tube when the patches failed, one bike spoke (because I cut a piece out of mine to repair the carburetor when I lost an important part), and I think that's it

-oh, and I now have a scratched cornea, pink-eye, and it hurts to pee.

-I hate trips.

Busquinox 2007

2007-09-23T19:20:00.000-04:00

This was a great event, organized by Adam Narraway and Heather Coulis. It was at the Aspen Cove group camping area of Valens Conservation Area: http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/parks/visit/valens.asp.

We arrived late Friday and enjoyed teriyaki beef strips, sesame oil infused rice noodles, ebi and salmon sushi, and california rolls. We then warmed up around a large fire where our voices, the flames, and the group blood-alcohol levels climbed to the heavens.

Many spent Saturday relaxing by their buses. Vanessa and I went for a pleasant bike ride with the dog on the boardwalk trail. We dined on ham and swiss whole-wheat wraps for lunch and butter chicken and Naan bread for dinner.

The campfire Saturday was a little smaller and in my case was punctuated by frequent trips to the loo. I guess Montezuma's got his revenge.

Sunday we packed up and headed home. All in all it was a pleasant, sunny, relaxing, good natured end to the summer camping season.

Still on deck for this year are our Cape Cod / Vermont trip next week, and the BugPack Fall Tour...

Buses at Da Caves

2007-09-03T21:36:00.001-04:00

Labour Day 2007 marked the "Buses at Da Caves" VW camping event at Warsaw Caves, near Peterborough. Warsaw Caves, owned by the Otonabee Conservation Authority, is a great place to check out. The event took place in the Group Camping area, but there are many individual campsites as well. There are hiking trails, caves, kettles, and a river for exploration. Check out http://www.warsawcaves.com/.

Over 30 buses attended this weekend event. We arrived early and got a prime spot near the fire. We chose to leave Ashley at the Kennel, which was a bit disappointing at times, but it did allow us a little more freedom than usual. We spent the weekend biking, caving, hiking, and we even got to ride on Vanessa's boss' 30' Chris-Craft in Clear and Stony Lakes!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

BugFest 2007

2007-08-19T22:23:00.000-04:00

The Durham Region VW Club hosted BugFest at Haugen's Barbeque for the first time this year. It was a great success for a first-time show. Lots of great cars and buses showed up, along with key sponsor John's Bug Shop. The swap meet area was a dissapointment as there was a very limited turnout, but that will hopefully change in the future as the show attracts more and more people.

Here are some pictures of our bus and Bob's Bug at its first show. Bob called from home to report a trouble free drive to Orillia and emailed a few of the pictures below.

My latest project is a garage cleanup now that "Bob's Bug" is officially finished. Check out the VW Technical Blog at http://ad-libs-vw-technical.blogspot.com/ and the 2006 archives at the main page, www.ad-libs.ca and read any posts titled "Bob's Bug" for the full report from day one when we hauled the car from Gatineau, QC...

Congrats to the guys from the VW club who put on a very well organized and well attended show. You can count on two regulars (our Westy and Bob's Bug), and hopefully our Porsche next year!

Our display...
Vee's art shot of Bob's Bug.
Bob and Vee relaxing.
A shot of Bob's dash and some of the other cars in the background.
Reflecting on the 'cap.
Another shot of our display.
Dianne's first and only sit.
Vee and Mee

Civic Holiday Weekend - 2007

2007-08-06T19:59:00.000-04:00

The Civic Holiday marks the fourth annual Schmidt - Burtt / Sweet cook-off (now the Goose Island cook-off) and the second time this holiday has been spent on Goose Island. Here are some pictures and a bit of dialogue about the weekend:

Here's the view from the cottage. It sits in a calm bay on unpredictable Lake Nipissing. It really is a hidden oasis.Here are the castaways... Vanessa is behind the camera. Then, from left to right, Sherry, Kevin, Matt (Kevin's Brother), Julie (Matt's soon-to-be wife), Me, Courtney, Jordan, Lauren, and Joel.
Here's Vincent Strolling on the boardwalk.
This is Kevin and I leaving in the Four Winns Vista on Saturday morning to pick up Matt and Julie. The Four Winns was our hotel for the weekend too!
Vanessa's feet and the (new) dock.
Here's a shot of the beach and part of the flotilla. The furthest boat is Kevin and Sherry's Four Winns Fling, then our Sea-Rayder, and a canoe. The big Four Winns is tied up to the dock as is the new aluminum boat!!!
The "Kids" out for a paddle.
Kevin and I giving Courtney a spin.
Me kicking up a little wake for the crowd.
Taking Court for a slow cruise around the bay.

Joel and Lauren making the "Tim Horton's" style sandwiches.
Ta-da!
Kev taking me for a spin in the Fling.
Kevin showing his tubing prowess with me at the helm of the Fling. He was soon begging for mercy.
Sherry and Court modelling.

Me and Vee.
Kev and Sher.
Can you say Shrimp?The winning meal - homemade crabcakes, jumbalaya, shrimp. Very good and very hot in perfect burning-diarrhea-causing goodness.

Kevin and Matt in the Fling, Jordan, Courtney, and I in the Sea-Rayder going for an evening cruise of the French river.
Kevin and my winning sand-castle from our competition. We made this in about one hour. I wish I could be modest but we clearly obliterated the competition...
Courtney and Matt with their runner-up sculpture - Corona bottles in a bucket...
Vanessa and Julie's pitiful excuse for a castle... BTW - there's no picture of Sherry and Jordan's castle because I ran it over with the boat. Oh, and Joel and Lauren were too cool for the competition.
One of the surprising highlights of the weekend for me was fishing at dusk with Kevin and Matt in Kev's new aluminum boat. I thought I hated fishing but it did bring back a lot of memories of trolling around with my dad. I think I still enjoy the boating more than the actual fishing, but that's because I've never caught anything like Kevin did - the 5.5 lb bass above!!!

That's it for the pictures.. Thanks to Kevin and Sherry for their hospitality.

Oastler Lake 2007

2007-07-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

We spent this weekend at Oastler Lake Provincial Park near Parry Sound. Vanessa spent many weeks here as a child with her aunts and uncles. Oastler is a small park situated on a quaint little lake. It boasts some greatly varied terrain for such a small area - many of the sites are located on a shallow treed and sandy slope to one side of the park (Vanessa remembers when this was sandy, open, and hot with no privacy as the trees were in their infancy) while other sites are located on a large typically-Canadian-Shield hill that is part of a point that juts into the water. Most of the sites are car-camping sites but there are some walk-in tenting sites on the tip of the point that are very nice!

The main attraction of this park is the facilities for boating. We were able to leave The Toad at their docks all weekend. Stacey and Bryon joined us for the weekend with their bus, only a few sites away, and we enjoyed their company. I doubt we'll see them at this park again because of the heavy train traffic nearby, but it didn't deter us from making the most of it.

As you can see from the pictures above we did quite a bit of tubing. We all took a few turns on the tube, even Vanessa and I. The tubing ended abruptly today, however, when we ran out of gas. Luckily it was anticipated and we were only a hundred metres or so from shore. Bryon and I handily paddled us to safety while Vanessa gleefully took "what-not-to-do" pictures for CPS....

Here's to another great weekend of fossil-fuel-burning fun!

A few Mid-July Updates

2007-07-15T21:23:00.000-04:00

I've been a little lax on the updates... My apologies.

The summer is drifting away before our very eyes. The weather hasn't been particularly co-operative over the last few weekends... We're keeping pretty busy, though. I've been working on Bob's Bug in the evenings (see the VW Tech section for updates) and we've been away every weekend since the last post.

The first weekend after Vanessa's birthday was spent renovating her parents' bathroom. We did a full reno, including replacing the tub, toilet, vanity, tile surround, floor, taps, etc.

The following weekend was spent at Rock Point Provincial Park and June Jitterbug in Niagara falls. It was another great, well organized weekend. We met some new friends, Rene, Krista, and their Weimaraner, Kristin, Mike, and their kids, and again we camped with Stacey and Bryon. I was a vendor for the first time at the show and I'm very happy with the results! Here are some pics:

The weekend after JJB was Canada Day. We spent the long weekend in Orillia visiting friends. We did get a chance to get out in the boat as these pictures evidence:

The weekend following Canada Day was spent at Killbear Provincial Park. It is a beautiful park indeed, however the weather and the expense of camping, gas, food, etc. has me rethinking the whole combination of camping and boating. I wonder if we should just pick one (camping) and try not to combine everything??

This past weekend was Kerri Tambling's wedding. We enjoyed a great time in Woodbridge. The Tambling and Commisso hospitality was second to none!

Now, back to the grind for a week, then camping and boating at Oastler Lake Park next weekend with Stacey and Bryon...

Vanessa's Birthday Weekend - Worth Waxing Poetic

2007-06-10T22:35:00.000-04:00

Friday, June 8 dawned with the threat of severe thunderstorms. Although the heavens opened for a while in the evening, we weren't around to experience it. You see, shortly after work on Friday I hitched our new utility trailer (in 12' flatbed mode) to Vanessa's Escape and we headed due south-east, destination: Middletown, NY. Sunday's surprise visit by niece Courtney made the weekend even better including some time on the water. Read on:

In the quaint town of Middletown lives a man named Eric
Whose garage was too full for him to bear it.

He answered my want ad on The Samba dot com
For a Speedster replica for Vanessa (Ashley's Mom)

After many phone calls a deal was struck
We'd tow it home in two trips behind Vee's truck.

It was even more glorious than I could have dreamed
As it glistened in the sunlight, Vanessa beamed.

The money traded hands and the trailer was secured
Followed by 7.5 hours of driving with my rearward vision obscured!

Customs wasn't too pleased with the sight of a car clone,
But level heads prevailed and they threw me a bone.

We got it home to our garage with the sunset hot on our heels
Where it's awaiting arrival of its chassis and wheels.

The weather kept getting nicer and by Sunday we knew
I'd be hitting lake Scugog with my good ship and crew.

For two hours the Merc toiled over waves and weedy goo
Burning a whole tank of gas and some 2 cycle oil too.

A dinner followed at Crabby Joe's Port Perry
Then a nightcap at home made it all the more merry.

Long Overdue April and May Updates

2007-05-15T21:57:00.000-04:00

Wow. I've been a little lax with the updates. Nearly two months have passed, as have many events in our lives!

MYRTLE BEACH / EVERYBUS 2007

Starting in late March we pulled our Westfalia camper out of storage and started to prepare it for a long trip. In early April we left Oshawa with our friends Stacey and Bryon, headed due South to Myrtle Beach, SC. We were driving our '76 Westy, loaded with camping gear, warm weather gear, and our Weimaraner. They were driving their '75 Westy, loaded with their camping gear, lots of propane bottles, and their horse of a Goldendoodle... In the course of a week we made it to Myrtle Beach State Park for a few days, then on to Everybus 2007 in Greensboro, NC. The trip covered 2350 miles. The weather was (naturally) colder than usual. We drove through quite a blizzard in New York State. Although it warmed up considerably thereafter we experienced record lows in Myrtle Beach. I still made it for a dip in the Atlantic with the dogs though. Here are some pictures:

We returned with a lot of laundry, and a laundry list of projects for the bus. Vanessa spear-headed this initiative because of how much we enjoyed the trip. Many of these projects are complete and will be written about in the VW Tech Blog... Check over there (http://ad-libs-vw-technical.blogspot.com/) to see details soon.

FIRST BOATING OF THE SEASON (VIDEO)

The weather upon our return was outstanding. Vanessa needed to take some pictures for work and we headed to Orillia to capture some technical shots of our boat around the 22nd of April. I was motivated by the great weather and put the boat in the freshly-thawed lake. The hour long run was an absolute blast. See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmDKUrlqpdU

THE PONTIAC G6

The idea of a new car was playing on my mind in the weeks and months leading up to our trip. Over the trip I mulled it over and decided against the overly expensive luxury cars I was considering (i.e. Audi A3). When the Hyundai started to act up again in the weeks following the trip I bit the bullet and made a deal I am very happy with... I picked up an '05 Pontiac G6 GT, fully loaded. I am happy because it's a very comfortable and reliable car, it performs well, and it will be CHEAP to fix down the line... Here's a pic from when I first got it. I've since removed the ugly sunroof deflector and added a hood bug deflector:

MICHIGAN VINTAGE VOLKSWAGEN FESTIVAL

Just this weekend we attended the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club's annual show in Ypsilanti, Michigan. We traveled with Stacey and Bryon once again and we let Bob Weber and his son lead the way in their pristine Vanagon Westy.. The show was as good or better than last year, but the weather was considerably better making it an all-round better trip. Our lakefront site at the KOA was great and so was the company. My compliments to Stacey from whom I've "stolen" a few of these pictures.... A good time was had by all:

Vanessa's CASBA Award

2007-03-26T21:34:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, Vanessa recently accepted a CASBA (Canadian Safe Boating Award) from the Canadian Safe Boating Council on behalf of her company. The award was recognition of visible PFD wear in advertising. Vanessa is solely responsible for the images used in the advertising for Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, so this is quite an honour.

Her achievment was recognized recently on this website: http://www.csbc.ca/html/CASBAAwards2006.html where these photos are pictured:

You can also pick up the most recent edition (April 2007) of Canadian Yachting. There is a write-up and picture on page 18 of the Port Hole insert.

On a sidenote, Vanessa has also put our VW Bus and boat on page 14 of the insert.

My First VW

2007-02-05T22:48:00.000-05:00

Well, Vanessa got around to scanning these pictures of my first beetle. I'm the little guy... The others are my brother and my dad. I reckon these are from about 1983. I think I look about three - four in the pictures. Interestingly, the bug has a curved front windshield which means it is a '73 and later model super beetle, so it was less than 10 years old!! They were scanned for a thread on The Samba here.

Welcome to www.ad-libs.ca !!!

2007-01-13T20:20:00.000-05:00

What are we up to these days? Find out here: MAIN BLOG

What are we renovating these days? Find out here: HOME RENO

What are we wrenching on these days? Find out here: VW

Interested in camping for free? Try this: CROWN LAND BLOG

2006 ARCHIVES:

Non-categorized:

The Garage:

Bob's Bug:

The 1974 Thing:

The 1976 Westfalia

Changes Coming Soon, check back often!

2007-01-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

A few exciting changes are happening here at the blog. Here's a hint:

As the title says, check back soon. You won't be disappointed!

The 2003 Hyundai hits 200,000 KM!

2007-01-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

I snapped this picture with my camera phone today as I was merging on the 407 at Brock Road. I thought it was fitting to post a tribute to the car I love to hate.

I bought this car on my birthday, October 24, 2003. It was a demo model from Pickering Hyundai. I had admired the Elantra GT (a 5 door hatchback similar in looks to a SAAB) from the day they were introduced (in 2002). I signed the papers more out of necessity than anything else - this dealer was the only one that would help me get out of the lease on the 2002 Dodge Dakota I owned. Soon after I took possession I decided to treat it as my tank, not to baby it, but to load it full of whatever I needed to, and to not be concerned about scratches or dents. The latter two were an additon after Vanessa accidentally backed into the front fender one morning, leaving no damage on her car and a sizeable dent in mine!

So I admit I've never been particularly in love with the car but it has a number of redeeming qualities that make me think twice about replacing it. For example:

In three years and 200,000 kilometres the car has required a rediculously small amount of maintenance. Naturally it has had routine oil changes, a set of tires, brakes and rotors, windshield wipers, etc. Unexpected repairs have been few - two rear wheel bearings, a rearview mirror (my fault) and an unusual wiring fault. Since I do my own maintenance and repairs (and this car makes it easy) I've spent very little in this area.
The car drives like a tank through any weather conditions. Rock solid at all times.
I don't care for automatic transmissions, but this has to have one of the smoothest I've ever driven
The electronic fuel mileage, distance to empty calculator gets heavy use.
The air conditioning is so cold you can see your breath if you breath into the a/c stream in the summer. Best air conditioning I've ever had in a car.
The cruise control is the smoothest and most accurate of any car. It's weird a creature comfort would stand out like this, but it has very intuitive controls and gets continual use (I've never bothered with it on any other car I've driven but this one lends itself to being used).
The stereo system is very well balanced, 6 speakers with no distortion or rattling, even after 200,000 km and thousands of hours of use.

The car has also performed some remarkable feats for a 4 cyl econobox. Most notably:

We used the Hyundai to tow our camping trailer a few times. Both the trailer and the car were fully loaded, plus Vanessa, the dog, and I. We towed it this way to Algonquin Park, and I've towed it to Balsam Lake and Orillia on at least two occasions.
I've used the Hyundai to tow UHaul trailers to the dump, and to pick up goods at Home Depot.
I've used the car for multiple trips to the dump carrying over 1000LBS, often with long planks hanging out the tailgate!
I hauled Bob's 1600 DP engine AND front axle beam (in the back of the car) from Niagara Falls to Oshawa
I hauled a stack of counter tops from Ikea in Vaughan to Oshawa, with Vanessa in the car too
I loaded the car full of VW parts from the seller of our Westfalia, including a 091 transmission, three sets of fuel injection, camper tables, 2 van doors, and more
I've made countless trips to Home Depot loading the car full of lumber, pipes, hardware, etc.
I've made countless trips to Algonquin carrying samples of their auto parts and my packaging, often filling the entire car, sometimes even part of the driver's seat!
I've driven from Peterborough to Oshawa with a bathroom vanity, completely assembled, hanging out the tailgate.

That's about all I can think of for now. So, despite not loving the car, it sure sounds like I like it a lot! I think I'm going to have to keep it now, at least until it hits 300,000. Or maybe 500,000??

Basement Update - 2007/01/07

2007-01-07T21:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't have pictures of everything that has transpired, but I've been busy! Here's a point form list of what's been going on:

front outlets reconnected (new wires fished to each)
side room/upstairs circuit fixed (upstairs bedroom on one circuit now, side room switches and office on another)
bathroom exhaust fan installed, wall drilled and chiseled to allow installation of energy saving vent
both the dryer and exhaust fans now have the same vents, the last picture above shows how they prevent influx of outside air (the picture here shows the dryer in use)
bathroom circuit roughed in
support for pool table lamp roughed in as well as electrical box
partition wall beside stairs removed
jacuzzi tub junction moved to under tub

The work needs to continue, though. Here's what's up next:

adjust pot light placement over Vanessa's art area
adjust pot light placement over pool table, wire in pool table light, remove pre-wired dimmer switch from original rough-in
complete bathroom circuit, including outlets in art area
replace feed to washer/dryer
tie down loose wires, pipes
make bulkheads around ductwork
add nailing edges as needed
after drywall is moved downstairs, build new partition wall beside stairs, jack up the room above and make it a supporting wall.

Basement Update - 2007/01/02

2007-01-02T17:24:00.000-05:00

The Christmas break offered some free time to get started in the basement. In between working, visiting friends and eating out I finished the hot and cold water plumbing rough-ins for the new bathroom. I also re-plumbed the pressure lines and drain lines for the laundry room and added proper 1/2" copper piping and braided hoses to the fridge and humidifier. Part of the change involved re-routing the main cold water line from the water meter, through the new bathroom and through the joists to meet up with the main water distribution lines. It's been a multi-year project (not necessarily intentional, but born from necessity of multiple renovations) but now every single pipe - copper and ABS - in the whole house has been installed or replaced by me!

Next I need to tie the loose ends up on the wiring project. Basically this will involve finishing three existing circuits - the front room outlet circuit that has been disabled for nearly a year (a tedious and slow fishing job), the rerouting of the computer room / TV outlet circuit (a very simple job), and the reconnection of the outside plug (the hardest part will be finding a circuit to join it to). Then I need to replace the washer/over-counter outlet circuit, reroute the dryer wiring, add a circuit for the bathroom/Vanessa's art and portfolio area, and repair the circuit feeding the outlets in the main room. Once the high voltage wiring is finished I will reroute the phone and cable circuits.

Then we're ready for drywall! This will mean adding some 2 x 2 nailing cleats here and there, but should exhaust not only our current funds but our patience...

We also got a great deal on some large planks from Ikea that we will use as countertops, desktops, desk legs, etc. As you can see I've mocked one up over the washer-dryer. We also got a deal on a base cabinet at Ikea I will use with one of Bob and Dianne's cabinet doors to finish the lower cabinets. The rest of their oak doors will be used for access panels, upper cabinets, breaker box doors, etc.

Other (vehicle) projects are currently on hold... I'm postponing the fun, really. Vanessa bought me all the brake parts for the Herbie project. Bob and Dianne bought me some gift certificates at California Import Parts so I'm excited about spending the big bucks... I think the Kafer Cup Bar will be the next purchase in order to continue the Lemon project....

Lots of stuff up on Ebay and The Samba right now, check my links on the link bar and purchase at will!

2006 - The Year in Review

2006-12-21T17:47:00.000-05:00

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

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html

started this blog

traveled to Quebec to pick up Bob's Bug

started full restoration on Bob's Bug

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

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html

continued Bob's Bug restoration

attended John's Bug Shop's Wet & Chilly Swap Meet with Bob, sold quite a bit of kit

hosted Vanessa's family for Easter dinner

towed Bob's Bug to Orillia

May

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html

purchased and replaced exhaust system on the '76

purchased and replaced pop-top canvas

sandblasted and painted wheels on the '76

replaced worn plywood in the '76

attended the Michigan VW Show in Ypsilanti, MI
went to Jacob's birthday party

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

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

spent extra long weekend at Restoule Provincial park, did lots of boating

continued work on garage

went to Greg Pinchin's wedding in Belleville

boated in Sparrow Lake to the Swift Rapids

drove Bob's Bug to Port Carling

October

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html

finished garage (for the most part)

took bus to Orillia for Thanksgiving, had last boat ride of season

took weeklong trip to Vancouver

purchased another bug, this one a '65

November

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

had Bob's birthday party in Oshawa

attended Ruth Gratrix's 80th in Barrie

started work on the '76

December

see: http://bradsprojectblog.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html

got ready for Christmas

kept working in garage

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

2006-12-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

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.

The Schmidty Splitty - Restoration Musings

2006-12-16T21:31:00.000-05:00

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:

X-MAS Season Update

2006-12-10T20:47:00.000-05:00

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!"

Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and the Island 2006

2006-11-07T17:40:00.000-05:00

NEW: 2006-11-12 - CHECK OUT VEE'S SLIDESHOW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxvyXuvcOc

We just returned from our 2006 B.C. trip. As a customer of mine says, B.C. doesn't stand for British Columbia, it stands for Bring Cash! Luckily Vanessa did a great job of setting aside cash for the trip and with a few notable exceptions we stayed in fantastic hotels and ate at great restaurants throughout the trip!

Loosely following an itinerary from a Hello B.C. publication, we laid out an ambitious route that added up to 1500 KM on the rental car and close to 75 nautical miles on BC Ferries!

It went something like this:

DAY 1 & 2
-weather was cool, clear, and crisp, very sunny!
-stayed at our favourite Vancouver hotel, the Hampton Inn, www.hamptoninnvancouver.com
-walked a goodly portion of the Stanley Park sea wall
-visited the Vancouver Aquarium, www.vanaqua.org
-took the Grouse Mountain skyride to the peak and ate lunch, www.grousemountain.com
-dined at a revolving restaurant
-dined at The Cannery, www.canneryseafood.com
-made 2 failed attempts to visit Wilkinson's Automobilia, http://www.eautomobilia.com/
-drove to New Westminster to purchase two head rests for the Lime (from a www.thesamba.com ad)
-visited Granville Island
-drove up Mount Seymour, took pictures of the city

DAY 3
-hiked all through Lighthose Park, http://www.westvancouver.net/article.asp?a=2011&c=649
-ate lunch (fish and chips) at Troll's Seafood
-drove up the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler
-the reconstruction of this highway is well underway and to driving enthusiasts like myself this represents a real dissapointment as many of the tightest and most complex sections will soon be straighted and levelled
-stayed at The Hilton in Whistler in a beautiful room with a fireplace and jacuzzi tub (thanks to off season rates), http://www.hiltonwhistler.com/

DAY 4
-descended the Sea to Sky Highway to Horseshoe Bay
-due to construction and an unexpected Police stop, we missed the ferry by three minutes
-ate breakfast at Troll's and caught the next Ferry, The Queen of Surrey, http://www.bcferries.com/about/fleet/profile-queen_of_surrey.html, to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast (this is near Gibsons)
-drove from Langdale to Earl's Cove (1.5 hours) and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for The Queen of Chilliwack, http://www.bcferries.com/about/fleet/profile-queen_of_chilliwack.html, to take us to Saltery Bay
-drove from Saltery Bay to Powell River and ate at McDonalds
-waited and waited and waited and waited and waited for the Queen of Burnaby, http://www.bcferries.com/about/fleet/profile-queen_of_burnaby.html, to take us to Comox, on Vancouver Island
-We arrived (finally) at about 10pm in Comox and stayed at a Best Western in Courtenay
-I would NOT recommend this route to anyone. The Sunshine Coast doesn't offer much in the way of sightseeing, accomodation, or attractions, which adds up to lots of waiting and meandering. I would suggest the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo route (about 1hr, 2omin) and eliminate visiting the Sunshine Coast or Comox areas!

DAY 5
-drove from Courtenay to Tofino (about 3 hours)
-beautiful driving along highway 4 from the east to the west coast of Vancouver Island!
-drove through the Pacific Rim National Park
-ate lunch at the Schooner Restaurant in Tofino
-Checked into the Tin Wis resort in Tofino, http://www.tinwis.com/, and secured a beautiful suite with jacuzzi tub and a view of the Pacific
-combed the beaches at low tide
-at dinner at the resort

DAY 6
-spent more time at Long Beach @ Pacific Rim
-walked the Rainforest trails @ Pacific Rim
-drove to Victoria (5 hours)
-checked into the Dalton Hotel (DON'T GO HERE!!)
-ate at http://www.marinarestaurant.com/

DAY 7
-shopped in Victoria
-boarded the Spirit of Vancouver Island, http://www.bcferries.com/about/fleet/profile-spirit_of_vancouver_island.html, and sailed back to Tswwassan on the mainland
-visited Wilkinson's and purchased an original manual for the Crown Jewel (the '1956 Sedan)
-checked into the Hampton Inn and got upgraded to a suite
-ate at a Sakana Sushi restaurant in Yaletown

DAY 8
-flew home

Overall it was a great overview of these areas of BC. I'm not sure the island measures up to its reputation. I was a little underwhelmed by Tofino and Pacific Rim Park. Don't get me wrong, they're beautiful places and I'm happy I saw them but I would recommend people lower their expectations a little before they go to avoid dissappointment. The exception to this rule is the sheer number of air-cooled VW's on the island. This was a nice surprise as they were EVERYWHERE!

The Garage - The First Roll-In

2006-10-28T20:27:00.000-04:00

Today represents the culmination of months of work and thousands of dollars. It was very gratifying to drive the Lemon and the Lime into the newly renovated garage!! Naturally, Herbie is still outside getting his patina.

Here's a list of the latest things done in the garage:
-all wiring complete
-wall insulation and vapour barrier
-outside pot lights installed
-aluminum soffit and fascia complete
-compressor located to final location and bolted down, self-draining valve installed
-wall braced and hose reel installed
-most items moved to close to their final location
-outer trim cut and routered from spruce 1x4, painted (thanks Vee), and installed

Here's a list of what's left to do:
-garage door jamb needs paint on a warm day
-garage door weather stripping needs to be purchased and installed
-trim needs to be caulked on a warm day
-ceiling needs to eventually be insulated (not this year)
-second workbench needs assembly
-both workbenches need levelling

Herbie Rides Again!

2006-10-15T19:37:00.000-04:00

Well, we got the "bug" again... Literally. This one is a '65. It showed up in the Super Shopper - www.supershopper.com, listed in Warminster. I made the call and found out it was located at Durham Road 23 (Lakeridge Road) and Highway 7. I've been passing this bug on my way to work every day for over a year!!!

I made arrangements to see the bug and quickly knew that we had to have it. It is a California car, never registered in Ontario and it is obvious. It is wearing almost all original paint. The heater channels and lower body extremities are absolutely solid. It has typical battery rot in the passenger side floor but is otherwise perfectly solid. It also has a crank back sunroof, pop-out windows, and the original 6V Sapphire radio. These options alone are worth more than I paid for the bug!

Our plan is to keep this one original - patched where necessary and stabilized - but original, as you see it. We also want to give it the "junkyard Herbie look" - something like you see in the last photo above.

Stay tuned for updates!

Brad's Birthday List - UPDATE

2006-10-09T18:07:00.000-04:00

Update.

2006-10-09T17:58:00.000-04:00

As you can see the roof is finished. The new fence is installed. The driveway was pressure-washed for 2 hours today. The Lemon is now back on the driveway. The bushes and trees have been clipped. The front of the house has been pressure-washed.

The outside of the garage still needs fascia, soffit, and trim. The inside needs electrical, insulation, and a clean-up.

This is my sixth attempt to post these pictures, hence the small amount of copy.

Brad's Birthday Wish List

2006-09-09T16:41:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of the items I need for my birthday, coming up quickly on the 24th of October. Please discuss amongst yourselves to determine how this list will be fulfilled. Please don't forget about the lead times on shipped items - you should consider purchasing these items as soon as possible to make sure you have them in time!

REVOLUTION COVER FOR THE LIME
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C13%2D15%2D6409

CYLINDER HEAD TEMPERATURE GAUGE
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VDO%2D310%2D901
-or-
http://www.germansupply.com/home/customer/product.php?productid=16133&cat=340&page=3

KAFER CUP BAR (FOR SUPPORTING THE ENGINE IN THE LEMON)
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C12%2D6518%2D11

MIRROR FOR THE LIME
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C24%2D211%2D857%2D514%2DF

UPPER BUMP STOP (2 REQ'D)
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D211%2D401%2D253

LOWER BUMP STOP (2 REQ'D)
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D211%2D401%2D263%2DA

BUMP STOP CLIPS (4 REQ'D)
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D211%2D401%2D279

BOB'S SHIFT ROD
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D111%2D711%2D155%2DG

BOB'S BUSHING
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C24%2D111%2D701%2D259%2DA

BOB'S COUPLER
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D311%2D711%2D245

HEAT CABLE CLAMPS
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D111%2D298%2D101%2DA

LEFT HEAT CABLE
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D211%2D711%2D629%2DN

RIGHT HEAT CABLE
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D211%2D711%2D630%2DN

CABLE CLAMP (2 REQ'D)
http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC%2D311%2D129%2D777

PRINCESS AUTO ITEMS
-$500 - $750 gift certificate will suffice
-looking into combo metal brake, shear, roller ($499) or at a minimum metal brake ($250)

MISC ITEMS
-universal mitre saw stand (brand or supplier not important)
-additional CIP1.CA gift certificate for misc. parts (in addition to the items above)

Please email me directly with any questions. It is essential all of these items be purchased!

The Schmidt POS Show...

2006-09-06T21:17:00.000-04:00

Keen observers may have noticed another recent change to the blog... Vanessa's anniversary gift was a Canon S3 IS digital camera and our pictures got a whole lot better. Naturally, not every picture on the blog will be taken with the new camera - it's not allowed in the garage!!

The pictures it takes are very large and need to be resized for posting online so the size of the pictures here is actually smaller than before.

These are some magazine style shots I took a few weekends ago of The Lime and Bob's Bug. I snuck a few minutes with the camera while Vanessa was having her hair done...

The Lime and The Toad - Labour Day Camping 2

2006-09-06T21:11:00.000-04:00

For some reason Blogger wouldn't let me edit the last post with these pictures. So, here you go. This is the van set up for a rainy long weekend at Restoule Provincial Park...

The Lime and The Toad - Labour Day Camping

2006-09-05T19:07:00.000-04:00

This post marks a change in the format of this blog. Formerly "Brad's Project Blog," it was designed as a vehicle to show my friends, family, and colleagues the progress on my projects. It also served as a convenient and free host for pictures I reference on various sites.

The blog, accessed at the same address, is now called "Brad and Vanessa's Blog". I will still showcase my projects, but now always step by step. I will also be posting more personal shots of us enjoying the projects, as you can see in the photos above.

These were taken at Restoule Provincial Park in Restoule, Ontario - just south of North Bay. I'll post more pictures of the van setup later...

The Garage - Update

2006-09-05T16:58:00.000-04:00

Once again, it's been a long time since my last post. My apologies. With work, camping, boating, social obligations, etc., I've been working on the garage solely weeknights, after work.

The pictures above detail the most exciting phase of the construction: demolition of the old walls (exposing the new walls behind) and erection of the Smart Panel sheathing. Somewhere in there I also fit installation of the man-door, burying of the power conduit, installation of a new Siemens breaker box, and other things too, I'm sure.

When we first started on this project the idea was to have a dumpster dropped off for the waste. However, I decided against it for two reasons... Firstly, the waste was quite bulky and I worried it would fill the bin, requiring a second drop-off fee. Secondly, because of the slow pace of construction (and destruction), I was worried I couldn't produce all the waste in the 1 week window that they leave the bin.

It turned out to be a wise choice. After taking the walls down in sections (with my chainsaw) I rented a U-Haul 5 x 9 open trailer. From 8am to noon I ran loads from home to my local transfer station with the walls and assorted waste. In total it cost $236 and I dumped over 5000 pounds of waste.

Once the garbage was out of the way I was able to put up the Smart Panel sheathing. It went up well with PL200 and nails from my nail gun. My dad (of Bob's Bug fame) helped with one wall.

The man-door and wiring went in with little trouble, though drilling through the pad to run a flexible conduit proved easier than sourcing the drill bit with which to do it. CTC, Home Depot, Millwork, Holland Building Centre, and countless other stores in town did not have a 1" masonry drill bit in stock - let alone one long enough to go through the concrete pad at the right angle. Of all places, I found one right off the shelf at Home Hardware in Gravenhurst, Ontario for $40. Naturally, the popcorn was complimentary.

The inside shots show the framing - some fire bracing left to do, the headers in place for the windows to be installed sometime in the future. The front wall was insulated before the siding was installed. All other walls will be insulated as well once the wiring is complete.

I now have some final work to do in the roof. Then the rotten overhang of the roof will be cut off flush with the wall. Next I will mark 12" up from this point and remove the rotten decking boards. New tails will be installed and 5/8" roof sheathing overlapping the 12" exposed and creating a new 12" overhang. Then shingles, fascia, soffit, exterior moldings, paint, etc., etc., etc...

The Garage - 4 Weddings and a Funeral

2006-08-04T19:15:00.000-04:00

Wait, I meant four walls and a door...

All the walls are now built inside the old garage. This was a pretty easy process. The hardest part was moving all my belongings around in the garage so there was room to build each wall. Lifting the 16 foot laminated 5.5 x 12 header into place by myself wasn't particularly easy either!

My garage door finally arrived at Home Depot this week. I arranged delivery Thursday (yesterday). As soon as I got home from work I finalized the levelling and temporary bracing of the front wall, then demolished the old front wall (the waste can be seen in these pictures). I put OSB sheathing in the inside of this wall so the door could be installed in its final resting place. Long term the entire inside of the garage will be sheathed in 7/16" OSB. Finally I ripped and installed pine door jambs to give the rough opening a finished look.

After reviewing the VHS instruction video and instruction manuals, I started installing the door. All indications are that it is an 8 - 10 hour job. Since I have no other exits from the garage at this time, once I started I had to finish the job! I had an emergency plan to cut a hole through the old wall with my chain saw if I needed to make a hasty exit.

All in all the process went according to plan. I started at 7:30 PM and finally opened the door for the first time at 11:30.

Today when I got home from work I installed the locking latch and lift handles. I still need to improve the rear brackets I made hastily and install weatherstripping around the door. I will also eliminate the top gap (visible in the picture above) which is a simple adjustment, but can't be done until the temporary bracing that is in the way is removed.

Our Miniature Collection - Fully Loaded

2006-07-28T21:02:00.000-04:00

During a late-afternoon shopping trip at Winners I spotted these 1/6 scale "Herbie Fully Loaded" radio-controlled cars. They were listed at $59.99 each and are very detailed! Each one has a fully featured remote and also has full "hydraulics" so it will lift up, down, rock side to side, etc. They also have headlights, tail lights, turn signals, sound effects and horns. All this is activated from the remote! They also came with chargers and 9.6V battery packs. The car is 27 MHZ and the van is 49 MHZ.

I noticed the van had a small scratch and got an additional 10% off the asking price.

Right now they're charging up. I can't wait to take them for a spin. For now they are on display in our kitchen. When the "men's den" is done in the basement they will be stored there for easy access.

Now we just need to keep our eyes open for a 1/6 scale jet boat and trailer to put behind the van!!!!!!!

The Lime and The Toad Get Hitched

2006-07-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

Some NOS (New Old Stock) and aftermarket hitches are still available for the VW Bus to this day. Most are out of sight price-wise and not particularly sturdy looking.

I decided to fabricate my own. A while back I bought some 1/4" wall thickness 2" OD square tubing and some angle iron for this project. It was scrap and I think it cost me $11.

Due to time constraints (lots of projects and plans fighting for my time) I decided to look for a suitable hitch to work with as a starting point. I found exactly what I needed at Princess Auto in an ACAR adjustable 1 1/4" receiver style hitch. These are regular $199 but on sale for $139. I found an un-boxed hitch and asked for a price reduction and got it for $79! It is a universal style with an oversized centre section and sliding end pieces that bolt to a typical SUV or pickup frame. These end pieces were far too short and the bracketry far too tall to fit the Bus so I opted to use the metal I already purchased to fabricate a main crossbar and then slide the commercially available centre section over it.

It actually went together quite quickly and bolted up perfectly between the bumper and frame with new 8.8 grade bolts.

I also had to splice in trailer wiring. Since the bus has amber turn signals a 3 to 2 wire converter was required. A little trick I learned was to look at surplus places like Princess Auto for "plug and play" style wiring kits for obsolete vehicles with amber signals instead of buying a universal kit. I picked up a 1995 Honda wiring kit for $6.99 as opposed to $26.99 and literally only had to snip the plugs off to make it identical...

So far I've taken the rig only around a big block. Everything seems to work!

Goose Island Tree Work - My Charitable Project

2006-07-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

OK. Sorry for the sideways pictures. I forgot to turn them before posting... Last Monday, a week ago today, Sherry and Kevin weathered an extreme storm on their island, Goose Island, in Lake Nipissing. The storm was brief and destructive, downing over 20 trees on their property alone. The storm's wrath continued wiping out power for much of the week in Callander, Powassan, North Bay and elsewhere. It caused at least two deaths.

I received a call from Sherry Monday night asking for assistance to take a large pine off their cottage and to clean up a number of other dangerous trees.

I agreed and took Wednesday off, packed the Hyundai with all of the necessary paraphenalia, then drove the 3.5 hours north. I met Kevin at Hunter's Bay marina and took the trip across the water in his boat.

Over the course of the day I first dropped a severely leaning pine that was threatening their dock and boat, later cutting it an pulling it from the water, then spent time on the roof trimming the massive pine that landed on its corner. Eventually I cut the 30 foot top of the tree hanging over the roof (the trunk was still 12" diameter at this point), the blocked a few sections of trunk down, then tied it off so the main trunk could be pulled away from the cottage as I cut the tree at it's 24" diameter base.

The biggest project of the day was felling "Chico" - the long-dead pine leaning severely over their cottage. This tree didn't budge in the storm, but just looking at it made you fear for you life. I had Kevin fashion a weight to throw from the roof into one of the branches. He eventually got it pretty high and I was able to tie off a sliding knot and run it up around the trunk so I had a solid rope about 2/3 the way up the tree. Next I tied the rope up to another tree and used a come-along to apply tension. I cut a large notch and a small backcut leaving a lot of holding wood. We applied more tension and more tension again but the tree wouldn't budge. Eventually I increased the backcut a few times and noticed that our tension was enough to start pulling the tree in the right direction. A few more slices of the holding wood and the massive beast finally gave way, falling exactly where we wanted. This was a triumphant moment.

For the rest of Wednesday I cleared a number of other uprooted trees off the paths throughout the island.

When Vanessa and I returned on Saturday in The Toad I continued my work, cutting a large number of the trees into firewood and piling the brush.

The last picture is from Saturday night. After the cutting we decided to have a few drinks and roast marshmallows over the fire. Unfortunately the marshmallows had mostly fused together in their bag so I took pleasure in roasting the entire lump at once. The people in the picture from left to right are Vanessa, Sherry, Desmond (Kevin's friend from Toronto) and me with the marshmallow...

The Toad - Another Diversion

2006-07-24T07:21:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit Vanessa's friend, Gary Scott Breithaupt on his island in Georgian Bay. He tooks us out on his Campion centre console boat with a 90 HP Mercury outboard. It was a good time and a good test of Vanessa's enjoyment on the water.

I've always loved boats and boating in general. The pieces of the puzzle started to come together this year when we replaced the camping trailer with "The Lime". We started to notice that most of the parks where we camp have boat ramps and docking or mooring for boats. Since we are no longer towing a trailer, but driving the van, we have the ability to take a boat with us. So, we bit the bullet this week and picked up a 1996 Sea-Ray Sea-Rayder Jet Boat with a 90HP 2-stroke oil injected Mercury Sport Jet engine and a beautiful original Shorelander trailer.

Until we come up with something better, for the purpose of this blog, the boat will be called "The Toad." This is a natural play on the fact this boat will be towed everywhere we go. There are long-term plans to update the colour scheme, and since the tow vehicle will most often be The Lime, it would be appropriate to go with a lime green paint scheme on the boat as well.

We got our first chance to use the boat this weekend when we launched it at Hunter's Bay Marina in Nipissing and took it over 15 miles to Sherry and Kevin's Island (Goose Island) in Lake Nipissing. We acheived speeds of over 32 MPH with Vanessa, myself, and all our gear in the boat. We later used the boat for some sightseeing, spin-outs, and we also took Kevin tubing. All this took place on just over a half-tank of gas. Not bad, since it costs Kevin over $50 one-way to his island in his Four Winns Vista.

This is a project blog, so I should point out some of the things I have done and need to do to the craft:

DONE:
-greased bearing buddies on the hubs
-purchased and mounted a spare tire
-checked all lights, wiring
-tightened grab handles in boat
-mounted CPS (www.cps-ecp.ca) flag on light pole
-purchased and stored all safety equipment and new ropes

TO DO:
-replace bilge pump (old one is shot, wiring OK)
-replace fuel hose
-clean and polish boat
-get longer rope for tube
-design, build, and install hitch for The Lime

The Garage - First Wall Is Up!!

2006-07-12T22:00:00.000-04:00

Well, the pictures do the talking here. First wall is up at 97". Door and windows are rough framed. The weight is off the old wall and the new wall is supporting the trussed roof... One down, three to go! Next the other side, then the back, then the front!!

The Garage - Status Report

2006-07-10T16:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since my last post. Life has gotten in the way of posting, and working on the garage. It looks like this renovation is going to happen on evenings only unless I take some time off work since we're so busy every weekend...

The pictures above show the "trusserizing" of the roof. Basically this was a pretty rewarding process of installing the components of my own truss system into the existing roof. Backwards construction, really. I made the inner 6 trusses myself based on templates from the first. By then I had taken a considerable amount of sag from the middle of the roof, and the trusses aren't even supported on the new walls yet! I also felt I could remove the old cobbled-together support beam and posts which I have walked around for years - this was the rewarding part. Working on the two differently shaped trusses on each end proved to be more difficult because of the demolition that was required. I also needed more than my two hands, so my dad came down to help out and we got the framework of these four trusses in together. After he left and before our week-long vacation I was able to brace the trusses. All that is left for the roofing system is to complete the extensions front and rear, but I have decided to wait to do this until I have the side walls built. This will allow me to accurately place them at the right height, since the clearance needed for my new garage door is critical.

The next step, then, is to build the two 2 x 4 side walls. I plan to start this today. I need to make a trip to Home Depot to get the rough sizing for the future side windows so I can frame the walls accordingly. I believe I will build these walls with a PT bottom plate, 92 - 5/8 studs, and a double top plate. This will make the finished height 97 - 1/8, which, since the floor is heaved in the middle, should allow an eight foot height in the centre of the garage...

More posts will come as I can write them.

The Garage - Project Intro and Material Delivery

2006-06-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

For the next while my focus will be shifting from vehicles to their stable.... My garage is in desparate need of an "Extreme Makeover".

After much debate and penny pinching, we bit the bullet and purchased the materials we will need to rebuild the garage. The "Extreme Makeover" will consist of the following:

-strengthening of existing roof by modifying to a trussed style full-span structure
-replacement of bottom 2 feet of roof sheathing
-removal of old shingles, new shingles installed
-construction of new 2x4 framed walls on 3 sides, 2x6 wall on front, inside existing structure, tied to new roof structure
-removal of existing walls
-"smart panel" siding on all four walls
-16 foot insulated steel garage door
-32" insulated steel entry door on side of garage
-framing for windows in future
-65' "good neighbour" style fence down LHS of property line
-eventual new wiring, fuse box, lighting, insulation, inside OSB, air lines, paint, etc...

The first stage of the makeover, the delivery of goods, occured today. After a 12 hour delay the Home Depot truck arrived and the material was delivered by forklift where needed. Yes - everything on that truck is for us! The garage door won't be available for a few more weeks. In the next week I will move the remaining vehicles into storage and start on the roof modifications. I will then build the walls, then order a garbage bin to dispose of the walls and scrape down the roof. The fun has just begun!

PS - figure out how the skid of shingles (and the Lemon) got on the other side of the railing and I'll buy you a beer...

The Lime - Front Hitch

2006-06-09T00:11:00.000-04:00

Here's another creation I plan on marketing. As soon as we planned to get the van Vanessa and I planned on utilizing a front-mounted bike rack to carry our bikes camping. Some people with front mounted spare tires have spare tire mounted bike racks more commonly seen on SUV's. I would have considered this kind of setup, but since the spare mounts only to the sheet metal of the nose I thought it best not to hang 100+ pounds of bikes on such a contraption. Most bike racks now conveniently connect to trailer hitch receivers, so it made sense to me to fabricate a front-mounted hitch. Naturally I am not the first to do this, but possibly the first to do it this way.

After agonizing over how big the assembly was going to be, and trying to find a suitable mounting surface, it became apparent to me that the front impact beam beneath the bumper is a very solid unit. I decided if I could mount a plate between it and the bumper it would have enough strength to handle the hitch.

As with any project I plan to make more than once, I laid it out in AutoCad before I started - hence the image above. Production went according to plan with the exception of relieving the angle iron with a 1" chamfer where the receiver tube protrudes, in order to provide clearance for the pin or bolt that would hold the rack in place.

The plate is held to the vehicle with eight grade 8.8 8mm x 1.25 bolts and 16 washers. The bolt and washer is "fished" through the access openings on the back of the impact beam with leftover welding wire and electrical tape. The other washer and nut are gingerly threaded and tightened. The holes in the hitch are 3/8 and the hitch is clamped in place to act as a template for drilling the impact beam, also 3/8. The holes are oversized to allow for the bolts and the welding wire, as well as any misalignment in drilling.

The hitch went together easily and with a small modification to the licence plate location and the bottom of the bumper, the receiver now exits about 1/4" below the bumper in a very subtle way. I am quite happy with the look.

I will post some pictures of the finished product soon, once I can put the bikes on and test it out.

Once fully tested I will sell these hitches complete with installation instructions. The price will be $75 US plus shipping. Email me if you are interested.

The Lime - Front End Repairs - Part 2

2006-06-08T23:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry, no pics for this post. I was too busy fixing to snap some shots. I already regret it. The best way to make this post now is to summarize what has now been completed:

TORSION HOUSING PATCHES
-drivers side outer bottom 5" completely removed and refabricated
-drivers side inner, passenger side inner and outer patched where necessary and completely braced from 6" up around the bottom
-all patches made from 18 gauge steel, welded with .023 wire
-holes drilled on lower inner and outer both sides to drain any moisture, small hole drilled on top flange both sides for future rust-proofing endeavours
-both sides painted solely to prevent rust

NEW SHOCKS
-removal of the old was a real issue last week, breaking off the hardened top drivers side mounting bolt
-no combination of hammers, pullers or prybars worked
-used a propane / oxygen torch to heat it red hot, still nothing
-wrecked two titanium drill bits
-bought a $16 cobalt drill bit - worth its weight in gold, which is pretty much what I paid
-drilled out the old bolt which relieved enough pressure to finally knock out the remaining hollow bolt
-12mm bolts are not available in the right length at CTC, HOME DEPOT, or BRAFASCO (same bolt I needed when fixing Bob's Bug's front end!)
-decided due to time constraints to use high grade fine thread 1/2" bolts and nuts, which required the mounts and the new shocks to be reamed to fit
-bought a 1/2" cobalt drill that made short work of this task
-otherwise the new shocks bolted up with no surprises

SWAY BAR
-removal was necessary to access the steering pivot
-old clamps were pretty rotten too
-wire brushed and painted sway bar red
-used new mounting kits from www.cip1.ca which were fine except the mounting bolts provided were too short, had to get two longer 10mm bolts
-otherwise the new sway bar bolted and clamped up nicely with the new rubber bushings - a big improvement in the looks and safety department

STEERING DAMPENER
-this was a simple removal and swap with new
-the old dampener slid from side to side with no resistance whatsoever, meaning it was faulty (and it looked original to the car)
-the new dampener bolted up perfectly and has much more resistance so it should actually do its job

LUBRICATION
-a new 6mm grease nipple was installed into the steering pivot
-all nipples were greased on the front end (5 in total) and it took LOTS of grease likely because of age mostly, but I'm sure the heat from welding didn't do much to preserve the grease that was left inside

THE TEST DRIVE
-once the wheels were torqued back on the van lowered I fired it up and maneuvered out of the work area
-the change was immediately apparent!
-driving along the road the steering is crisp and decisive, a far cry from my last memory
-the new shocks seem to be doing their job, but I can't say yet if they are any better or worse than the originals, I am sure I will notice this on my next big drive
-for the next thousand kilometres I will keep a close eye on the repairs, especially the steering pivot mount
-I can do a test while driving, stopped at a light, to feel for steering freeplay. If I notice any change I will immediately pull over and investigate

The Lime - Front End Repairs Part 1

2006-06-05T23:18:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in my last post, we were shocked to find out that despite passing a safety check, the front steering pivot mount was rotten. This pivot mount holds a pin about which a swing lever rotates, transferring the front to back motion of the drag link (connected through the steering box to the steering wheel) to side to side motion needed to move the tie rods and thus the wheels back and forth. Our mount was so bad, in fact, that as we pulled into the driveway after our trip to Michigan, we lost all steering altogether. The first picture above shows this rot.

After looking at the cost of new front axle beams (bare $600+) and used beams ($100US - $500US) and the associated labour involved with removing the current beam I began thinking of other options. Though many disagreed with my plan, John Spironello from Johns Bug Shop - www.johnsbugshop.com told me he used to fabricate new pivot mounts on bus beams all the time, while they were still mounted on the bus! His method seemed to parallel my thoughts, so I ventured forward and created a design in AutoCAD 2000.

In the second picture you can see me cutting out my 1:1 plots of my design. Next I began cutting the parts out using a variety of bimetal hole saws and a 1/16" x 4.5" cut-off wheel in my angle grinder. The next step was to remove the pivot tube from the old sheet metal assembly, clean it, and weld it at the right height onto the top plate of my new pivot mount. Next I squared up the parts using a magnet and tacked the pivot together. I followed this up with a full high-penetration bead (in some cases multiple beads) of weld using .035" wire and a high setting on my MIG machine.

When this was done I realized in removing the pivot tube from the old assembly, I lost the provision for a dust cap on the bottom. So, using more bimetal hole saws, I cut a plate with the exact ID needed to snugly fit a new dust cap and welded it in place, thus completing the new pivot.

In my next post I will show the installation on the vehicle and subsequent installation of new brass bushings, spring washer, pivot pin, thrust washer, top seal, top sealing ring, o-ring, small thrust washer, swing arm, and dust cap.

I plan to market this design when I have proven the concept. Keep checking back for more info!

The Lime - Show Prep and Michigan VW Show

2006-05-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

May 21, 2006 was the 19th Annual Vintage Festival hosted by the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This was long planned to be our first outing in the new Westfalia.

Prior to departing on the trip we had a long to-do list. As you can see from the pictures, Vanessa insisted on fabricating new interior panels for the van. I cut them from a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. Vanessa sanded them and I stained them in green water based stain.

Vanessa also used her new steam cleaner to clean the original Westfalia plain cushions. You should have seen the dirt come out of them!

I also installed our Innovatek radio from www.mp3playerstore.com, purchased during a promotional no reserve auction at www.ebay.ca for $60 very late at night prior to our departure. The radio is actually a DVD/MP3/CD/TV/AM/FM/WMA player. I rigged it with a toggle so it is triggered either by the ignition when driving or the toggle when camping. I wired it into 4 Rampage 60 Watt 5" speakers purchased for $9.99 a pair from Princess Auto. I recently won a 8.4" colour screen from the same company in a similar auction for $67 and will be installing it shortly to make use of the DVD and TV features of the radio. Pictures will follow once this is installed fully. Oh, by the way, the radio sounds great, especially when you can hear it over the engine noise.

The last pics are me driving along the 402 near Sarnia, Vanessa in front of the Van at the KOA in Ypsilanti, and our van (the one in the middle) on display at the show!

Watch the next posts for images and repair info on the steering system. We were lucky to make it home from Michigan as the van now sits in our driveway with no steering whatsoever!

The Lime - Exhaust Replacement

2006-05-16T23:03:00.000-04:00

I bought the Westy with the foreknowledge that there was a minor exhaust manifold leak, causing a leaning of the mixture and backfiring. Being familiar with type 1 engines I thought very little of it - other than the backfiring, the van sounded fine! Well, I got a safety certificate, which was a minor miracle in itself... Because when I got the van home and checked it over I found a plethora of problems in the exhaust system!

First of all, the worst part is that other than the eliminator style exhaust that was on the van when I purchased it, it retained its stock style exhaust. Vans produced from '72 - '74 had a simpler exhaust system where the exhaust manifolds were part of the heat exchangers, which led directly into the exhaust. The '75 - '78 vans (mine included) have a very complex system that consists of two different exhaust manifolds, two 180 degree u-pipes and heat exchangers. From there on my system was replaced with an eliminator exhaust, but original vans still had a 90 degree elbow, a crossover pipe, a catalytic converter, a muffler, and a tail pipe!!!

Secondly, when I examined the current system I found poorly repaired and unrepairable rot in the muffler itself - no biggie. I also found that the U-pipes on the van were very worn and severely leaking (see picture above - note the thin flanges), and worse yet, the exhaust manifold was leaking (see the carbon traces in the picture above). Removal of the parts and further examination ensued. Basically I deemed that the U-pipes and one manifold were unrepairable. I eventually sourced good used U-pipes and a used manifold that needed a repair. I also ordered a BUGPACK header and quiet pack system (recommended by two sources as the best of the cheap exhausts) from www.cip1.ca. Since my heater boxes were relatively new (and they're in the magnitude of $300 each) it didn't make sense to convert to the older style of exhaust, since new heater boxes and engine tin would be required.

Though the manifolds are made of stainless and cast iron I was able to find a setting on my mig welder that yielded good penetration on both parts. I spent quite a bit of time repairing and strengthening both, including building up the flanges with weld.

Next I sandblasted everything, including the new parts, since they are shipped only with a rust-preventative paint that can't handle heat. Once sandblasted I hung everything and sprayed them with POR20 high temperature paint I purchased locally from http://www.tgfbumper.com/. This product has mixed reviews on the 'net, but was the only high temperature product I could find that can handle 1200 degrees F plus and is a non-aerosol. The aerosol solutions usually don't last too long.

Once two thin coats were applied 24 hours apart I was ready to install everything.

The first step was removing the old copper seals from the heads, which was a rather difficult job. I wound up bending a jewelers straight-blade screwdriver and using it as a tiny prybar. Once out I cleaned the mating surface of the head. Then I moved into the garage and laid some 100 grit sandpaper on a flat work surface. I used this paper to make sure both mating surfaces on each manifold was filed perfectly flat. Next I used a propane torch, following the instructions on www.ratwell.com and annealed the new copper sealing rings. Did you know that normally the copper will make a ringing sound when dropped on concrete, but once annealed will make a dull clunk? Neat! Anyway, this process softens the copper so it seals better. Once annealed I installed the manifolds onto the engine and torqued the self-locking copper nuts down using my brother's torque wrench to 18 foot pounds.

The rest of the process is just the reverse of removal, with new hardware. 21 8mm bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts, sweat, tears, and some blood.

Check out the pictures.. It was all worth it. Oh, and it sounds good too! Plugging the exhaust tip with a rag stalls the engine in a few seconds - no leaks!

My initial concerns about the low hanging header system are gone - it leaves just enough room under the bumper for a hitch!! See that in an upcoming post!

The Lime - Wheel Refinishing

2006-05-15T22:23:00.000-04:00

In my opinion, nothing is more of a detractor in the looks department from a vehicle than dirty, rusty, ugly wheels. Our Westfalia was suffering from this problem, as evidenced by the first picture above.

In the past, my options for restoring the wheels would have been getting them sandblasted by a sandblasting firm or wire brushing them with an electric drill (as I did on my yellow SB), then painting them with spray paint. Now that I have a large air compressor I am able to do many things at home that I would have farmed out in the past.

Using my pressure pot sandblaster and about 15 pounds of sand, I took all four wheels down to bare metal. I removed all the balancing weights from the wheel. Next I masked them using I technique I read about online - using aluminum flashing and a clamp to wrap around the lip of the rim of the wheel rather than trying to make masking tape bend in a perfect circle. This step alone was a vast improvement over any way I've tried this in the past when the tires were still on the wheel.

I then thinned some Tremclad grey primer with mineral spirits and shot it at about 50 psi with my gravity feed HVLP gun. After drying overnight I loaded the gun with Tremclad aluminum paint and laid down the first coat. Another 24 hours later I abraded the first coat with a scotchbrite pad and shot the final coat of Tremclad.

I am happy with how the wheels turned out. I had a local shop balance them again and now they are ready to go back on the car. I have brand new VW hubcaps for them too!

The Lime - Pop-Top Replacement Part 3

2006-05-10T23:41:00.000-04:00

Having some trouble posting lately, sorry for the delay. This is the pop-top conclusion. Basically I used the old support tube as a jig and drilled through the threaded rod. Next I cut a small section off the end of the old support tube to act as a bushing around the threaded rod. Next I installed the new strut into the old support bracket and put it back into the van.

Now I am happy to report I have full adjustability up and down. I don't have a picture, but I have added a second nut on each side so I can lock the nuts together at the required height. Overall I am very happy with the change. I have perfect tension now all the way around and I don't have to worry if the tent shrinks or stretches, I can easily make up the difference!!

The Lime - Pop-Top Replacement Part 2

2006-05-07T21:36:00.000-04:00

After all the work of replacing the poptop I was dismayed to find out it was too tight! After posting my problems on www.thesamba.com for help it was heavily advised I take the canvas back off and restaple it. My concern in doing this was that I followed the replacement steps exactly, including draping the canvas over the tacking strip. My research indicated that many of the replacement tops are too short meaning you can't properly drape the top over the tacking strip.

One interesting solution I read about was cutting the support struts to relieve the tension. I wasn't fond of this idea at first since I didn't know how much to cut off, and I didn't want to damage the van irreversibly. In other words, if the top stretches or I replace it again with a different brand I would like to be able to put it back to stock height.

So, I devised this adjustable strut modification!

The pictures show me removing 4" from the support strut, cutting a 5/8" diameter threaded rod to a 12" length and test fitting it in the remaining strut. Next I removed the support bracket from the end I removed from the strut, and used the remaining scrap piece as a jig to drill through the threaded rod.

Check the next post for the conclusion!

The Lime - Pop-Top Replacement Part 1

2006-05-06T21:22:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I started what I thought would be an easy job - the replacement of the pop-top canvas on my '76 Westy. It turned out to be a very time consuming job in the end. I followed the procedure as written in an old issue of VW Trends, except I left the top on the van. Basically it entails removing the old completely, measuring, marking, and tack stapling the new tent into the top, then fully stapling it with tacking strips, followed by a reinstallation of the aluminum retension strips with hundreds of small phillips screws at the roof of the van. It was very tricky to get the new tent to fit just right but in the end I am happy with how it looks.. Well, almost.. Read on.

The pictures above show the old tent in the process of being removed and fully removed. The item I'm holding in my hand is a sample of the tacking strips I manufactured from PVC door stop since the originals shattered.

The final picture is what I hoped would be the final product... It looks good, but it's WAY TOO TIGHT at the front!!!!

See the next post for my solution..

Bob's Bug - The Exodus and Bob's TO - DO List

2006-04-22T09:13:00.000-04:00

Saturday, April 22. 3 days after the original due date. I will be towing Bob's bug to Orillia today. It's been a fun experience taking this rough shell to a solid, safe vehicle. I am really surprised that it is actually done. The number of unexpected obstacles has been incredible: auto-stick to manual conversion, lower frame head installation, transmission reverse gear repair, Bob's Honda seats, Bob's refusal to do the wiring, troubles bleeding the brake system, and the list goes on.

The vehicle is being passed to Bob in running, driving condition. All the wiring is now functional, with the exception of the horn and rear window defroster. We may also need a replacement high / low beam relay, but this is rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Here's a list of items Bob should complete, items for safety first, followed by other general items:

SAFETY RELATED:

Repair horn button or install auxillary button. Simply connect one side of the switch to ground, and the other side to the brown wire near the fusebox. The horn and power supply provisions have been provided, per stock. If the original horn button is fixed, simply connect the two wires together near the fusebox - I will show you the details.
Cut and install temporary steel covers over holes into passenger compartment
Install heat ducts from heat exchangers to cabin, or install sheet metal covers over heat duct holes
Install licence plate bulb
Install headlight

NON-SAFETY RELATED:

Install heat lever kits and connect heat from passenger compartment entry to heat channels, including cutting hole into channel for access
Adjust choke, Adjust points, check timing (I'll loan my timing light), and go through 34 PICT 3 idle adjustment procedure to set carburetor
drill, tap, and install front wheel centre caps
remove, drill, tap, and reinstall rear wheel centre caps
install door weather stripping
install drivers window felt and weather stripping

That's all I can think of for now!

Tow Bar Modification

2006-04-22T09:06:00.000-04:00

My VW tow bar was included in the purchase of my 1974 Thing. It was custom made by the previous owner, and is very sturdy. Theoretically it should tow any type 1 Volkswagen with torsion bar front suspension. However, when I towed Bob's Bug home from Quebec I realized that even at stock ride height, the tow bar was exerting force on the front clip from underneath when attached to the tow vehicle. This is because the tow bar was straight, designed for the Thing that rides quite high. Now that Bob's bug is lowered it would put even more force on the front clip and bend the new sheet metal. Traditional VW tow bars have a bend in the bar and the coupler is 6 - 8 inches higher than the connection to the vehicle. My quick fix was to buy a nw coupler ($6.95 on sale at Princess Auto), and some 2.5" square tubing. I set my welder to its highest setting for the .025 wire I run in it, and welded three lengths of tubing and the coupler to the tow bar, giving me a 7.5" higher drawbar than before. To check for strength I pounded on it with a sledge hammer with no ill effects.

Bob's Bug - The Seats

2006-04-22T08:55:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in the last post, this seat installation was something of an afterthought for Bob. Seeing him trying to squeeze into the orginal seats was justification enough for this modification. Rather than drill and bolt the new seats to the original seat tracks in a haphazard fashion, I decided to do the right thing and fabricate new seat mounts, custom sized for the Honda seats, retaining the Honda seats' built-in adjustability. The pictures show me removing the original seat tracks, removing the rear mounts from the seats, and drilling and welding threaded inserts into the new seat mount bars (2 x 2 x .125 wall thickness steel. After my first fit-up I realized the seats would be a shade low. I also had some clearance issues with the brake line and the wiring harness. I decided to cut 30 degree angles on the ends of the new mounts, then weld 2 x 1 steel underneath, to get the correct height. Once this was complete I bolted the seats to the mounts temporarily and tacked them onto the floor. Then I removed the seats and fully welded the new mounts and welded in the holes left by the removal of the original tracks.

Bob's Bug - Overtime!

2006-04-19T21:13:00.000-04:00

Once again, lots of work, not many pictures. Bob and I attended the Wet and Chilly Swap Meet at Johns Bug Shop - www.johnsbugshop.com in Niagara Falls this weekend. It was a successful outing. I made about $125 and got rid of a lot of junk. Bob sold some stuff too.

The original plan was to tow the car to Orillia on Tuesday after work. Bob was going to have it certified and on the road the next day. However, Bob got the great idea of buying a set of 2001 Honda Civic seats at the swap meet, meaning I have to custom fabricate mounts to fit them in the bug. The purchase of these seats represent a significant shift in the customization of the car. Bob will now run the car as a two seater, with a parcel shelf / stereo system in the place of the old seat. Pics will be forthcoming in the next post for the seat install.

In the meantime, here's a list of the items completed and obstacles since the last post:

charging problem fixed with engine in car - I simply cleaned the armature per the Muir book and presto - no more generator light
transmission started leaking fluid everywhere :-(
the source of the leak was the reverse light switch, which must have broken when I installed the wiring. A replacement was found at Hayman motors in Toronto and installed.
seat mounts designed and fabricated (pics to follow), partially installed
all missing switch components were found at the swap meet and installed
wiper arms and wipers were purchased at JBS and installed

Tomorrow I have a dinner date. I'm hoping to finish the seat installation after dinner. This will leave the final wiring hook up and check, hook-up of the heat system, installation of the rear apron tin, and fabrication of sheet metal patches to seal off passenger compartment. Worst case I need to finish the seats. I am taking the car to Orillia on Saturday, at which time Bob can finish the odds and ends, but it is still my goal to take him a fully functional vehicle.

Check back next week. By then I should have seat rail fab and installation pics, final pics of the hand-off of the car, and the start of the new project - getting my Westfalia ready for the camping season!!!

Bob's Bug - The Countdown Continues

2006-04-13T23:24:00.000-04:00

Well, no pictures this time around... I've been working so much on the car I haven't been able to take any pictures. What I can do is list off the tasks that have been accomplished since the last post:

transmission filled, sealed, reinstalled
transmission custom shift coupler reattached and adjusted
clutch cable installed
pedal cluster rebuilt and installed, including master cylinder pushrod, accelerator cable, clutch cable
engine seals installed
engine installed
brakes bled (this was a problem - I wound up making my own pressure bleeder system whereby I could apply 15 psi of air pressure to the master cylinder resevoir, forcing the fluid through the system)
brakes adjusted (will need final adjustment still)
problem with front bearings / spindles discovered, spindles machined down slightly with sandpaper and elbow grease, new inner bearings and races installed
front ride height adjusted
toe-in (alignment) adjusted per the "Idiot Book"
gas tank, fuel lines, fuel filter installed
wiring mess sorted out, fished through car, engine compartment wiring finished, adapted from auto-stick wiring harness (new wires for starter solenoid, back-up lights, etc.)
under-hood wiring partly completed
car started!!!!! I have a video of this - I am looking for somewhere to post it. The look of surprise on my face is priceless!
car driven up and down my street, through all the gears. this was pretty rewarding

Known issues / obstacles:

currently not charging - possible generator / regulator / wiring problem?
wiper arms missing
some switch components missing
heat ducts need to be connected

Well, tomorrow I will put a few hours in on the car, then Saturday I'm off to a VW swap meet. My fingers are crossed I can pick up the necessary parts to get this car safetied and out of the shop next week!

Bob's Bug - Transmission Giving me the Gears!!

2006-04-07T21:37:00.000-04:00

Okay, I knew it was all going too easy. I installed new mounts on the tranny (sold with the car as a working unit), hooked up the new coupling, then (thankfully) tried turning the input shaft to check the operation of each gear.... No matter what, reverse wouldn't work! Reverse was acting as a second neutral. Then, turning the ouput collars backwards somehow started to move the input shaft backwards, a few turns and it came right out in my hand, with a small stud on the end!

So, what do I do? Buy a new tranny? After reviewing a few texts and asking some questions I surmised that the circlip (#34) had somehow worn off the input shaft (#35) allowing the reversing sleeve (#33) to slip back on the shaft. This would disengage the splines between the input shaft extension and the main transmission shaft, allowing the shaft extension to come out in my hand. So, after some encouragement from the forums on www.thesamba.com, I decided to remove the tranny, drain it, and see if my crazy theory could possibly be correct.

As you can see from the pics, I was bang on! The reversing sleeve and circlip were sitting in the bottom of the tranny case once I removed the output flanges, side cover, and differential. I quickly cleaned up the mess, slid the reversing sleeve temporarily in place, and ran through all the gears. Everything worked perfectly. So, it was off to CTC for a new circlip ($0.50) and new fluid ($14).

Tonight I fit everything backup based on the Haynes manual instructions (slide the input shaft in, slip on the circlip, slide on the reversing sleeve, slide it forward, engage the circlip, reassemble).

Now the tranny is sealed back up with RTV sealant, all bolts torqued to spec, refilled with 75-w-90 hypoid oil, and waiting to be reinstalled in the car!!

Bob's Bug - Ceramic Coated Exhaust Installation

2006-04-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

Well, this part is pretty self explanitory... A few pearls of wisdom:

1. Cip1.ca should learn that it would reflect highly on them to include the $9 heat exchanger lever and gasket kits in their $500+ all inclusive exhaust kit!! Luckily we don't need heat right away so we can do without the levers, but I had to run to NAPA for 2 exhaust gaskets - $0.30 from cip1.ca, $5 ea from NAPA. At least they had them.

2. I have an 8mm tap, but no dies. From past experiences I learned to lube and gingerly chase out the threads on the exhaust studs using a fresh nut. The last thing I want is for any corrosion or imperfections on the stud to cause the exhaust nuts to bind and shear off the stud!

3. This car did not come with an engine, and most of my parts engines didn't have heat exchangers. Basically the exhaust kit did not come with the clamp that connects the fresh air pipe on the heat exchanger to the muffler shroud. I will use stainless steel / aluminum plumbing parts that will have a nice complimentary look. I don't know why cip1.ca doesn't include these in the ceramic coated kit as well???

4. I don't think I'll ever buy an exhaust for this sort of application again that ISN'T ceramic coated... This thing rocks!!

Bob's Bug - If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again!

2006-04-06T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hmmm. Somehow Murphy always works his way into these projects, especially when you can most do without his presence. When I first got this car home I realized it was once an AutoStick - you can read about my clutch tube installation in an earlier post. The remainder of the conversion (sourcing a manual tranny, replacing the shift lever and shift rod, converting the engine, etc.) was apparently done before, according to the previous owner, who claimed he knew the car was once an autostick but that it had been driven as a manual car.

Well, the fact that I had to supply a shift lever (none came with the car) should have been an indication that the shift rod hadn't been changed. Once I installed all new mounts on the tranny and installed it (not pictured), I installed the shift rod, shift lever, reverse lock-out plate, new shift bushing, and shift coupler. Then I realized the shift rod would not meet up with the "hockey stick" on the tranny.

So, to get out of this bind I decided to modify the transmission coupler to accomodate the shorter auto-stick shift rod. After two tries, I got it right. Basically I welded a 7/8" OD, 3/16" wall thickness steel tube to the new shift coupler, drilled it out to 5/8" ID, then drilled and tapped an 8mm hole for the special coupler bolt to thread into the "hockey stick". The trick was getting the length and the offset of the 8mm tapped hole right.

Anyway, in the end I found a winning combination and can shift through all the gears.

Bob's Bug - The Beginning of the End

2006-04-04T20:41:00.000-04:00

Well, this past weekend, Bob himself arrived in Oshawa and started assisting me with his car. The weekend was action packed - full of working, spending, visiting, and eating. The only thing we were short on turned out to be pictures... Here's a summary of the work we completed:

-Body lifted, body to pan seal installed, body bolted securely and permanently to pan
-Steering box transferred from old front beam, tie rods installed, new steering dampener and steering coupler installed
-Rear brake backing plates removed, refurbished, reinstalled. Front brake backing plates (previously refurbished by Bob) installed
-Complete brake system overhaul including new master cylinder, new wheel cylinders, new hardware kits, new hard and flexible brake lines and grommets. Existing drums and shoes seem to be in good shape and were reused
-New front wheel bearings packed and installed
-New front windshield installed using new rubber seal (this was effortless!!)
-missing and rotten front fender nut inserts removed, new ones welded in solid
-Front fenders and new fender beading installed
-Rear fenders fully bolted in place
-new EMPI lowered front shocks installed
-new stock rear shocks installed
-seats installed
-wiring harness looked at by Bob and left for me!!!! Uh-oh, wiring is his specialty!!!

There are lots more updates to come in the next few days. This car needs to be saftied and running by the 19th of April. Tasks ahead of me include installing the new ceramic-coated muffler and heat exchanger kit, installing the transmission, modifying the new shift coupling to adapt the shift rod from auto-stick to manual, install and troubleshoot all wiring, bleed the brakes, install gas lines, install the engine and run it, get new tires installed, etc., etc., etc...

Bob's Bug - Front Clip Replacement, Part 2

2006-03-31T17:02:00.000-05:00

These images show the completion of the front clip replacement. Final tack welding, checking for fit of the hood, and final bead welding. Bob will be responsible for grinding the welds flush. Though I didn't take any pictures of it, I temporarily installed the fenders as well to verify their fit on the new front clip. Everything was within spec.

Bob's Bug - Front Clip Replacement, Part 1

2006-03-31T09:10:00.000-05:00

The front clip on this car had suffered from 37 years of dents, dings, and amateur "bondo" bodywork. It was in need of replacement, and a replacement section from Denmark was included with the purchase of the car.

After a copious amount of measuring, I cut the front clip off roughly with a reciprocating saw. I purposely left about an inch or more of extra material for fine tuning. Next I fabricated "plugs" - correctly shaped pieces of metal to slide into the rectangular tube on the car and allow it to mate to the replacement front clip. The size was 1" x 1.25" rectangular tubing, which wasn't readily available. I actually purchased a thin-wall tube 1.25 x 1.25 and cut it with my air shears into a U-channel, making it exactly 1" x 1.25".

Next I mocked the front clip up and did another rough trimming of the existing metal. I checked the measurements against the original, then closed the hood and checked for an even gap around the entire hood. When I was satisfied I marked the exact cut, using the front clip as a guide, removed the front clip, and cut along the line with an air cut-off tool.

Next everything was reassembled, double and triple checked for measurement and fit, then tack-welded in place.

Bob's Bug - Floor Replacement Part 2 - The Installation

2006-03-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

The first two images here show the initial trial fitting of the floors. Surprisingly, everthing fit together without much problem - a bit of a relief since the alignment of the front crossmember could really affect the fitting of the floors. I temporarily bolted the floors to the heater channels in two places on each side. Next I used a large clamp between the tunnel and the seat tracks to pull the floor into position on the tunnel flange. Once aligned I worked my way out from the centre of each floor, rosette welding in each punched hole. In some cases (at the front and back) I chose to run a full bead of weld as well.

The bottom two images show the pans installed. To finish this process each rosette weld can be ground down to resemble the original spot welds. Seam sealer should also be used top and bottom to prevent the ingress of water. Finally, the body should be lifted and the body to pan seal re-installed and the body fully bolted to the pan.

Bob's Bug - Floor Replacement Part 1 - Preparation

2006-03-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

The first step in replacing the floors, like many things, is solid preparation.

In the first picture you can see how the remnants of the original spot welds on the main tunnel were ground down. Since the rear crossmember of the floor was still solid, original German (OG) metal, I decided to leave it and adjust the replacement panels accordingly. The second picture from the top shows one of the rear crossmembers cleaned up, with all traces of the original floor material removed.

The next two pictures show the replacement floor pan halves. The rear crossmembers were still present here as well as the jacking points, both of which were removed for this application.

The final picture shows the floor pan halves fully prepped for installation - rear crossmembers and jackpoints removed, paint removed where necessary for welding, and holes punched along the inner flanges in preparation for rosette welding into the car.

Bob's Bug - Autostick to Manual Conversion Part 2

2006-03-24T14:35:00.000-05:00

The next step was to weld the tube in the rear shifter linkage access panel area. After this I checked all the welds for strength, treated the bare metal inside the tunnel with a rust preventitive paint, then welded the access hatches solid. If Bob chooses he can grind these welds down and the repair will be invisible. The clutch tube is currently sticking into the engine compartment about 15". It will be trimmed to size once the transmission is installed for reference.

Bob's Bug - Autostick to Manual Conversion Part 1

2006-03-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

Shortly after purchasing this car it became apparent it started life as an autostick vehicle. The previous owner(s) completed the majority of the changeover, including installing a manual transmission and pedal cluster. However, their clutch cable tube was makeshift at best - a flexible copper tube left loose inside the tunnel. The most difficult part of converting an early autostick car to a manual transmission is installing the clutch tube inside the tunnel. Proper tools are required and this is frequently a stumbling block. The tube was actually phased in over the years and late autostick cars all had the tube (though it was unused). Since this is a '69 and '68 was the first year for autostick, this car did not come equipped with a tube from the factory. The correct clutch tube is 1/2" thin wall steel tubing. As you can see in the pictures, I followed the instructions from a 1990's VW Trends article found in my personal archive.

The first step was cutting two access holes. I used a 4" bimetal hole saw on a 3/8" drill - the article recommended a 3" hole but I only had a 4" so I used it and I am thankful I did - the extra inch definitely came in handy.

Next I cut the steel tube to the length indicated in the article. Unfortunately it must have been a misprint because it was at least 12" short. I was then forced to weld the tube back together to make it longer. I left it long so it can be trimmed for the proper play in the bowden tube once the transmission is installed. The tube was installed from the engine compartment and slid easily into position.

Next I fabricated a support out of heavy angle iron for use in the centre access hole. You can see how the tube was welded into the existing support member at the front of the pan and to my support member in the middle, all through the 4" holes in the tunnel.

Continued in the next post...

My Current Collection

2006-03-21T22:56:00.000-05:00

A number of people lately have been asking about my VW collection. Here is a snapshot of each of the vintage VW's I currently own:

#1 - 1972 SUPER BEETLE (THE LEMON)
-this is a flat windshield Super Beetle, arguably the most desireable of Super Beetles
-it was purchased as a driver, though I have now done some pretty extensive work to it it will never be perfect
-it is pretty much stock, with the original interior and engine and a crappy paint job
-we drove this car to the East coast and back last year (5000 km or 3000 miles) in one week
-currently the car is off the road getting rust repairs and paint improvements
-this car will be back on the road by May / June
-This was originally a BC car

#2 - 1976 DELUXE CAMPOBILE WESTFALIA (THE LIME)
-this is the latest addition to the stable
-this vehicle represents the ultimate compromise between our (now for sale) camping trailer and my Volkswagen obsession
-we are planning many camping trips this summer
-this vehicle retains its original stock interior. I am currently sourcing a new (used) passenger seat, new pop-top tent and some other odds and ends to freshen the interior so we can use it regularly
-the exterior has just gone through metal patch and paint process
-it is not a show vehicle, but it is solid, looks good, and I'm sure we'll have some great fun with it
-the engine has a rebuilt 2L type IV engine running a centremount Weber 2BBL carb
-other projects in the works for this vehicle are custom front and rear tow hitches (the front one for a bike rack, the rear for towing), a custom audio and dvd video system inside, and ultimately a refacing of the original Westy cabinets.
-This car was purchased new in Toronto.

#3 - 1966 SINGLE CAB TRANSPORTER TYPE II (THE RUSTBUCKET OR SHITTY SPLITTY)
-well, this one is as bad as it looks, but it paid for itself already.
-the whopping $200 purchase price was offset by selling the siezed engine for $100 and the crusty gas heater for $100
-this one needs a full resto starting from the frame to the tops of the rockers
-it is a long term project, but we'd rather work on it than split it up for parts

#4 - 1956 TYPE 1 (THE CROWN JEWEL)
-okay, it doesn't look like much, but this is the only one I would never sell
-this is my dream VW
-it will eventually be restored to original specs with a 36HP engine from my collection of parts
-I am in no hurry to finish this one. I want to make sure every part I put into it is correct.
-when complete this car will be a trailer queen, I doubt we'll take it for more than Sunday drives
-some say I should scrap it and buy a finished one from California, but I can't wait for the thrill of turning the key and driving off in a 50 year old collection of German parts that I have cobbled together. The coolest part? This has always been a Canadian car. I just got the birth certificate from the Wolfsburg museum and this car was delivered to and sold in Vancouver in 1956.

OTHER VW'S I'VE OWNED OVER THE YEARS:
1970's BUG
-I was five. It was my first bug. Actually it was my dad's. The story goes that he bought it for $100, drove it home, took it apart with my brother and I, then sold it for $200 in pieces. We have pictures of me sitting on the hood. I can remember going tobogganing in the upside-down hood from this bug!!!

1979 BRADLEY GT
-Bought on a whim - the name was right. Sold on a whim for too little money.
-a cool kit-car, but severe ergonomic issues and driveability problems
-the real reason for selling - I couldn't practically see spending time and money on something I'd likely never be able to easily get in and out of. Besides, I needed the cash at the time.

1972 EUROPEAN SPEC SUPER BEETLE
-Somebody traded me this running, driving car for a canoe and trailer I had for sale
-it only needed front rotors to certify (front rotors??? yes, European cars came with disc brakes even in '72. even funnier - the Orillia, Ontario Canadian Tire store had a set in stock!!!!! I think they'd been there for many years - a custom order gone bad.)
-after about 250 km the stop leak the PO put in the oil stopped working. I'm sure the oil plume from this engine was a main contributor to the hole in the ozone layer.
-I sold this car for $2000 cash. A good deal for a canoe and trailer. I wish I'd kept it though. If I knew then what I knew now, a set of rebuilt heads at $99 / piece would have fixed the problem.

1974 THING
-see the "SOLD" postings below.

1992 GOLF
-traded a garden tractor that was given to me for this car, the owner though the engine was siezed.
-actually the alternator was siezed. I cut off the alternator belt, put in some fresh fuel, and it started up perfectly. Replaced the alternator and belt with used items for $50, sold the car for $900 a week later

1994 JETTA DIESEL
-my first and only diesel
-a cool car with a rebuilt engine
-not sure how good the rebuild was, engine always ran hot, a/c cut out to prevent overheating
-drove this car to the meeting that got me my first big (and to this day biggest) single purchase order for packaging!!!
-traded it for my 2002 Dakota and got good value for the car. no regrets, except next time go for TDI!!!!

Bob's Bug - Front Driver's Inner Fender Patch

2006-03-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

The next step was to install an inner fender replacement panel. The panel was test-fit in location, marked, then cut to size with an air-shear tool. Next it was finessed back in place and tack-welded in location. The butt welds were then made solid, and the lower flange rosette welded to the heater channel. All welds now need to be ground so the patch is indistinguishable from the original metal.

Bob's Bug - Front Firewall Replacement

2006-03-16T16:44:00.000-05:00

The first step in the front firewall replacement was obviously to remove the old one. I completed this task in the "rip grind and burn" days. Next I had to modify the replacement part that came with the bug as it was designed for a pre - 1968 vehicle. The only difference is a stamped protrusion across the top of the firewall. I used a pair of shears to relieve the tension of the metal, then a hammer and dolly to shape the part to the required shape. I went back over the seams with the shears to remove the excess metal, leaving a perfectly flat piece, and a piece suitable for installation in the bug.

The actual welding in place was fairly straightforward. It was first tacked, then welded in solid. It just needs a finish grinding now.

When the floors are installed and bolted to the heat channels I will lift the front body off the front cross member and install the new body to pan seal.

Bob's Bug - Lower Front Frame Head Installation

2006-03-15T21:59:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last "Bob's Bug" post, but I have been actively working on the car. Here are some pics of the lower frame head panel installation. This one was a little tricky to get in place. Since the upper frame head lip was pretty butchered from the removal of the rotten lower frame head I had to use a hammer and dolly to straighten it first. Then I had to adjust for the fact the front cross-member wasn't original, and line everything up so it fit perfectly. Once I had it tacked in I ran a full bead of weld everywhere! In order to get it pushed up into position I lowered the car onto some strategically placed jackstands to push the panel exactly in to place. All that is left on this particular piece is to rosette weld the inner lip to front cross-member joint (where the floor attaches) and a solid weld across the tunnel at the rear of the piece. I'm holding off on these welds until everything else is buttoned up in this area.

SOLD! - 1974 VW THING

2006-03-06T20:29:00.000-05:00

Up for grabs is this 1974 VW Thing! I purchased this vehicle last year and am forced to sell it now. The car runs and drives and only needs final prep, paint, and possibly a new convertible top ($250 from www.cip1.com) and it will be ready for the summer! Please contact me at 905-720-0738, bschmidt@repco.com or see this car listed in my Ebay listings at: http://search.ebay.ca/_W0QQsassZbradguy2

I purchased this vehicle from a retired autobody shop teacher. This car spent most of its life in his school shop awaiting repair. Most of the bodywork done was completed by him or his students under his instruction. A VHS video documenting the process is included with the sale. Before leaving his job he fabricated new panels for repair of the passenger side, which I completed yesterday. All repairs have been executed to the highest order - all steel with no bondo. In fact, from the back of the car to the front wheel wells is completely bondo free! The front clip has been massaged with bondo over the years and will need some attention, but the steel underneath seems solid and straight.

Lots of parts and high value items are included in this sale. Check out the New Old Stock (NOS) VW front fenders! These alone would sell for $400 each on Ebay! The side windows are rare to find in such good shape as originals. The lower windshield frame was purchased as a used replacement at a cost of $250US! Here's a list of everything included. If you don't see it, ask!!

-MAIN ROLLING BODY - PATCHED, WELDED, SOLID & COMPLETE
-SOLID REAR FENDERS
-NOS FRONT FENDERS
-SOLID FRONT AND REAR BUMPERS
-PERFECT REAR DECKLID
-SOLID FRONT HOOD
-PERFECT RUNNING 1600DP ENGINE WITH ALTERNATOR
-ALL HEAT DUCTS
-NOS FENDER BEADING
-SEAT BELTS
-ALL ODDS AND ENDS TO FINISH!

Please call me at 905-706-0729 (daytime) or 905-720-0738 (evening). Or, email me at bschmidt@repco.com to set up a time to view.

Like I said, I will consider all offers. I can deliver anywhere in Southern Ontario if my gas is covered.

You will not find a more solid VW Thing for sale in Ontario!

Please check out the next 2 posts for more details!

SOLD! - 1974 THING - INTERIOR AND ENGINE

2006-03-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

ENGINE:
The engine is in perfect running condition. It is an AK (1974) 1600DP engine. I will sell with or without the engine since I have many projects where it can be used.

INTERIOR:
Don't be fooled by the picture. During the 20 years in storage an overhead fire extinguisher emptied into the car. There is a fine powder over everything that needs to be washed off. All parts are included for the interior, including the original seats (front and rear), all the dash components, switches, gauges, heat ducting, etc.!

CONVERTIBLE TOP:
There is a complete vinyl top included with the car. It is in acceptable, water-tight condition, but should be replaced soon. The metal frame is solid.

WINDSHIELD:
The windshield is in good shape with no cracks. A used solid replacement lower windshield frame is included.

SIDE WINDOWS:
The original removable side windows are in good shape and are included!

SOLD! - 1974 VW THING - METAL PATCHES

2006-03-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

These are the rocker panel patches - the passenger side was done by me yesterday with metal custom bent by the previous owner. As much original steel was left as possible. All inner rocker and door striker column supports were meticulously rebuilt as well. The drivers side was completely patched by the previous owner. It is currently tacked but will be welded solid in the next day or two. Note that there is no bondo in this area whatsoever. These panels have been patched with the utmost in care. Everything is welded solid and ground so the patch is indistinguishable from the original metal.

All that is required to finish this area is final detail grinding, sanding, a skim coat of filler, and paint!!

Bob's Bug - Front Cross Member Replacement

2006-02-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

These pics detail the preparation and installation of the new crossmember. Note the holes punched with an air-operated punch-flange tool. This facilitated rosette style welds to mimic the factory spot welds. I felt a full bead was also necessary for strength. This area still needs to be ground flat.

Bob's Bug - Front Cross Member Removal

2006-02-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

Here are some shots of the front cross member removal and prep...

Bob's Bug - Front Tunnel Patches Under Cross Member

2006-02-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

There were two significant areas of rust on the tunnel itself under the rotten cross member. As you can see, pieces of 18 gauge cold rolled steel were cut to size, welded, and ground to make an invisible repair.

Bob's Bug - Gas Tank and Front Brake Backing Plate Sand Blasting

2006-02-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

I finally got to try out my 5 Gallon Pot Style Pressure Sandblaster from Princess Auto. Even with the largest ceramic orifice my compressor kept up with it handily! After about 45 minutes and two $10 bags of sandblast abrasive you can see the fruits of my labour. I have forwarded these items to my dad so he can prepare the bare metal and paint the parts.

Bob's Bug - Front Firewall and Inner Fender Panel Removal

2006-02-27T20:55:00.000-05:00

Here you can see the removal of the front driver's side inner fender panel (viewed from inside) and the rotten front firewall.

Bob's Bug - Rip Grind and Burn - Exposing the Carnage

2006-02-27T20:50:00.000-05:00

The next step was to put the air tools and angle grinder to good use and continue eliminating the cancer. Check out the condition of the front crossmember, front firewall, and lower front apron pan (removed)!

Bob's Bug - Floor Removal

2006-02-27T20:34:00.000-05:00

The first order of business on this restoration after inventorying the parts and cleaning shop was to remove the tired floors. Since the addition of a Porter Cable 60 Gallon 7HP 240V compressor to my shop in December, some of the air tools in my shop have taken on a new life; the air chisel has proven itself to be invaluable! The rearmost section of the floor was solid enough to leave it in place. I will cut and flange this later to accept the replacement pans.

Bob's Bug - Introduction

2006-02-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the 1969 Bug I'm restoring for my Dad. I made a trip with my wife to Gatineau QC to pick it up from the previous owner, Sylvain. This was taken moments after we arrived home. We towed it with the good wheels and tires from my '72 SB and my heavy duty towbar. The car has been worked on heavily already and has been perfectly patched from the rear to just in front of the door. First inspection indicates it will need replacement of floors, front lower apron, front chassis cross member, front firewall, and an entire front clip. Oh, and an engine, complete wiring harness, full interior, front windshield, front beam, wheels, tires, etc., etc., etc.

2006-02-10T17:12:00.000-05:00

Hello,

Welcome to Brad's Project Blog. My intention is to keep all of you up to date on my many projects - mainly Volkswagen restoration and home renovation related. I talk alot about my hobbies but until now never had the means to show along with the tell. Hopefully I can go back in time and post some of my past projects as well! So keep checking back!

So who am I? Well, to start I'm the guy grinding on the yellow '72 SB in the top picture. I'm also a proud Canadian guy with alot on the go. I enjoy camping in Ontario's beautiful parks, biking, skiing, renovating, and most of all, restoring and driving air-cooled Volkswagens. We even took the '72 SB for a 5000 km jaunt from our hometown in Oshawa, Ontario to the East Coast of Canada and back through Maine and Vermont last year!

The bottom picture is one I took of my wife Vanessa, and my Weimaraner Ashley, canoeing at Restoule Provincial Park near North Bay.

So now you've met me and the family, so let's get on to the project updates...

Brad.