Artsy Car

I've always liked playing with little towns, roads, houses and the like. So when I saw this street scene recently ON A CAR ROOF, I just had to take a picture. The whole car was decorated with jewels, toys, sayings and other fun stuff.

Here's an overview, but to really appreciate the car you have to get up close.

Lizard and peace signs on one of the mirrors.

A nice saying and some flowers for gardeners.

Love and peace and celebration on the driver's door.

And the best "Day Brightener" on the passenger door. One can't help but be happy after seeing a car like this. I sometimes think I'd like to decorate a car. I think I'd do something like this:

1971 VW Beetle Restoration

The bug is finally done! After hours and hours and hours of work by the Lord of the Manor and a few hours here and there on my part, it is finally done and running like a finely tuned watch.

Whilst the Teens slept in on New Years morning, the Lord of the Manor and I tinkered with the last few nagging issues: brake lights, aligning the steering wheel, spraying on undercoating, and timing. But we totally missed the boat on the timing and it continued to buck and snort the next day so I Googled VW tune up and found this great page. It was wonderful to see that strobe light finally flashing on the correct timing marks and hear the roar {ok, purr} of the newly rebuilt engine.

So little Hidalgo {that's what she named him} is all clean, fresh, and new from his tiny trunk...


to his license plate which has also been restored. Did you know you could carefully scrape those stickers off and reuse them? Just be gentle and stick them back on with spray adhesive or double stick adhesive-on-a-roll.

So keep an eye out for this little yellow bug zipping around Amongst The Oaks and give Teen1 a honk and a wave. She'll be the one grinning from ear to ear.

VW Logo

We needed the Volkswagen logo for the horn button for Teen1's car restoration. I couldn't find a good one online, so I recreated it in Composer (our signmaking software), cut it in metallic silver vinyl, and applied it to the old horn button.

Next the Lord of the Manor will clear coat it and pop it back on. We are getting soooo close to driving this baby home! We are all excited here Amongst The Oaks.

VW Beetle Engine

We put the engine back in the Volkswagen on Sunday. Here's the engine compartment ready for new insulation and the engine, but first we had to reconnect the tail light wires.....

then fuss with the insulation to make it fit properly. The new pieces are basically correct, but sometimes holes must be cut or edges must be trimmed. Around the edges of the opening you can see the metal tabs on the chassis that bend up and/or down to hold the insulation in place.

Next we wheeled the engine up to the back of the car and reintroduced them.

"Hello, car, my name is engine. How do you do?"

"Oh, hello, I remember you. How've you been?"

"Not well at all. I've been in hospital, but I'm much better now. I think I had a heart transplant!"
"Well, I've had some cosmetic procedures myself and I suddenly feel quite young!"

Whilst they chatted, we raised the chassis up high enough to slip the engine under it. We used a forklift with straps around the bumper supports.

Then we wheeled the engine under the car with a floor jack and lowered the car down over it. When it was about 6" off the ground we put jack stands under the frame and moved the forklift out of the way.

Then the Lord of the Manor jockeyed it around whilst I raised the engine with the floor jack and Teen1 took photos. It's all about teamwork, people.

Gradually the engine raised into place. Then suddenly there was cursing! The Lord of the Manor had forgotten that bl*$!ty b{%^ shroud that goes on the front of the engine, but we managed to weasel it in without totally removing the engine.

After more jockeying and raising and jockeying some more, the four bolts that hold it in place were tightened up and it was home again. We also put on the remaining shrouding, reconnected the gas line and accelerator linkage, and installed the air hoses. And then we put the new gasket around the opening, and re-installed the bonnet/hood. I do believe this little bug will be driving next weekend. Stay tuned!

1971 VW Beetle

So do you recognize anything up there? It's Teen1's Volkswagen all taken apart. The Lord of the Manor is doing a restoration project on it. It all started with a little engine work....

Here is the totally rebuilt engine. He took it all the way down to the block, had it machined and a bunch of other technical stuff, then built it back up using the proper parts. Before it had some stuff that wasn't original/correct, but now it's all good.

Then he removed all the fenders, doors and hatches and started repairing and repainting the body.

Teen1 chose the original 1971 Volkswagen yellow. I think it's a good idea to keep it original. added later: It's called Shantung Yellow.

Here it is in the spray booth with primer on the chassis! Yippee! It's getting closer and closer to being done every day.

The Lord of the Manor is even painting the wheel wells and the inside.

We are all getting excited about the bug here Amongst The Oaks. Especially Teen1!

Hidalgo's New Saddle

Teen1 received new seat covers for her car recently so she and the Lord of the Manor installed them over the weekend. They started Saturday afternoon by watching the DVD that came with the kit. Then they took the old seats out and stripped off the old upholstery and ratty horsehair stuffing down to the metal frames. And then they watched the video some more. Then they made a trip to JoAnne's Fabrics for some burlap and foam. They finally got started around 4:30 and got one seat done, but by 4pm Sunday all the seats were done and they look so professional!

They learned about hog rings and horsehair and "massaging" upholstery. They laughed. They scowled. They bled. (Well the Lord of the Manor did.) They bonded. It was a big job, but in the end it was a great daddy/daughter project and a wonderful improvement to the car. Little Hidalgo is looking quite happy here Amongst The Oaks.

New Arrival

Squeals of delight echoed Amongst The Oaks last night when Teen1 got home and found this sitting in the driveway. It was so much fun to see her excitement over the new arrival. I guess this is one of those epic moments for a parent. Kind of like watching them take their first steps, hearing them say "Mama" for the first time, teaching them to tie their shoes, taking them to kindergarten, and watching them master a bike. But this one was special because we did it as a surprise! In fact, when she was riding her bike home from her friend's house, she noticed the bug wasn't where she'd seen it so many times with its "FOR SALE" sign on the windscreen. She told us later her heart did a flip flop and she wondered if we'd bought it, but figured probably not. Needless to say, when she saw the car, she flung her bicycle down and started hopping up and down squealing, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The car needs some work, but the Lord of the Manor knows all about working on Volkswagens. I think it will be a good daddy/daughter project. She wants to paint it sage green, get a good stereo, reupholster the seats, put in a new headliner, and put her school stickers on the back windows. I think we can do that today. I'm sure it will be real cute, and if I'm lucky, maybe she'll let me drive it now and then.

Beep beep!