Camping Battery

I decided to tackle the first part of my quest for power while camping by installing a deep cycle battery/Inverter. I picked up the battery and some connectors and went to work making my own double battery relay (really easy) and installing everything. I also mounted the inverter next to the bed so I can plug in easy and ran a second circuit up to where I will be mounting my Propex in a couple of days. Here it is:




Next up, installing solar panels and a charge controller.

Finally Rolling

More Buggy Additions

The body is on, engine in. Just a few finishing touches and some parts on the way, then I will fire it up!

Some Progress on the Buggy

Here are some updated pics of the buggy, I am getting parts on Tuesday and hope to have it done by next weekend (fingers crossed):

My New Trailer

Here is the new single wheel and the bus, if you want to see more of this and others, go here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=309372

Vintage Weekend Pictures!

About 200 cars showed up on Saturday and another 100 on Sunday. It was awesome!

Vintage Weekend Pictures!

Vintage Weekend Pictures!

Vintage Weekend Pictures

All painted and put together, just need to drop in the motor, brakes and wheels...

The body is done and the wiring is in...

New Pictures of Puffin

Here are a couple of pics of my new dog, Puffin. These are pre-haircut, I will post more up next week

My new 68 Baja project!

A Sunday Cruise

We went for a cruise this sunday and came across a bunch of VWs including this oval.

Misc From Last Month

Last month was very busy so I was not able to post much, but here are a couple pictures of my new bus and the original dealer invoice that came with it. I also threw in a picture of Virgil in the sun...

Andy's New Bay

Andy and I stopped by and picked up a set of wheels from a guy in PT and saw this really cool high-roof.

Her is a video of our road trip yesterday and a picture of the '67 on the road.

New Project

My new project, 74 bus

Finally done!

Finally done!

Here are a few pictures I took today, it is finally done...

More New Parts

I put on my new back rack,

Coco mats,
Mirror,
and Hubcaps.

Bumper

The new bumper came today as well, it looks much better now.

Luggage

I was able to finally get my jack in the car...

And my luggage that I picked up recently. On the right is an old picnic basket.

Trunk Carpet

A bunch of parts came today including my trunk carpet. I spent some time this morning putting it all in.

I cleaned up the wiring and put on the cover, it looks much better now...

I spent some time yesterday figuring out how I was going to mount my stereo. I wanted it out of the way and did not want to cut my dash so this is what I came up with. I put it in the glove box and wired it up. Sounds great!

Andy and I put the engine back into the 67 this weekend but I am waiting for a new fuel pump before I can get her back on the road.

A nice day...

It was a nice day today so I snapped this picture outside our house.

Andy's New Bus

Andy picked up his bus last night. She is not much to look at but was only $2500 and it runs so it is worth it...

He also finished lowering the front and back of the '63 and got it on the road. Here are a couple pics of it...

The fed-ex guy came today

Since my class was canceled today, I came back home to find a few of my parts had been delivered.







I put on the new chrome trim....



And the pinch welt around the popouts...

Interior Finished!

Finally finished! With the exception of a few small parts that I have on order, the interior is done. We put the newly recovered seats in and seat belts. I also put the tray under the dash and the e-brake boot on.

Rubber Mats!

After the carpet was in, we put in the rubber mats and kick panels with my speakers.

Carpet!

After getting off the metal channels that were welded on by the previous owner, Andy and I were able to put down the carpet.

Interior Pictures

I put the dash back together and was able to get the headliner, rear carpet and rear seats done and in the car. Tomorrow I am going to be putting in the carpet and the front seats, hopefully finishing up the interior.

Some Pics of the Exterior

I was in PA for the winter break but was able to get some things put back on the '67 over the last 3 weeks. Here are a couple exterior shots that show what I have done. I need a couple small items to finish it up and a front bumper.

Paint!

It is finally painted! Here are some crappy pics, I need to cut and buff it still but the hard part is done...

I had been looking at these on eBay and after they ended, the guy that bought them posted on the samba with a picture of them in his bug. They fit like a glove! Here is the link to the thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2672170#2672170

Primer on the 67

I spent much of the day prepping the car for primer and decided to get it done tonight. Here is the final product. Now I have to get to wet sanding...

Beautiful '67 on eBay

I found this beautiful zenith blue '67 on eBay. It appears to have many original parts specific to the '67 and supposedly has the original motor. I am partial to the '67s and almost picked this color for mine when I was ordering paint. I am curious to see what it goes for...

Check it out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xlnt-Original-Cond-Low-Miles-CA-Car-MUST-SEE_W0QQitemZ180186064213QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180186064213

Olydubs

I have been spending some time lurking around olydubs forums, posting occasionally. It really seems like a great bunch of people here in the northwest. They are a relatively new group, but seem to be growing strong and I would recommend anyone in the area check it out. You have to sign up to look but it is worth it. http://olydubs.freeforums.org/index.php

Vintage Beetle Luggage

In my never ending quest for rare accessories for my bug, I came across some luggage made for the bugs in the 50s and 60s. Here are a few pictures of these suitcases. I have been looking on eBay for some similar to this and might have found a suitable set for my car. This is similar to what I am looking for: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110201397749&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=001

Beetle Bags

I have been watching these on eBay lately because I was curious how much they would inevitably go for. They were apparently made here in the northwest by Cascade Plastics and sold through VW dealers as an accessory for the Beetle. Would be a great item for my collection, unfortunately I didn't have a spare $750 to spend.

Accessories maybe?

While looking for accessories on e-bay, I ran across this beetle on the samba that has the most accessories I have ever seen on one car. It is a little to busy for my tastes but is a great display of the many accessories that have been offered over the years.

Finding Bugs in the Northwest...

I have spent considerable time searching through every form of classifieds in search of the best deal, the diamond in the rough. I wanted to share some of my best places to look for your next aircooled VW.

First is http://thesamba.com/; their classifieds section contains many good bugs and buses and the forum is wealth of knowledge. You will find many people who are already knowledgeable about these great cars, but it makes it harder to find a great deal.

Second is http://www.craigslist.org/. You are more likely to find people who have less of an idea what treasure they have and how much it is worth. This is where I found my recent $400 car, it is a good place to start. I have found that craigslist around smaller towns such as http://bellingham.craigslist.org/ have less posts but greater deals can be found if you are patient.

The best place to look is locally. Your local classifieds and word of mouth are great places to find a deal. I found my Manx in a backyard of a friend's Grandpa. $1500 later I drove away with a great buggy. If you can find someone who is holding on to a car, it is more likely to be original as well.

Finally, I would stay away from http://www.oldcartrader.com/ if you are looking for a good deal. They generally have higher priced vehicles and very few ads.

Most of all have a good time looking and talking to the people with these cars, they all have great stories. Good hunting...

Andy's Bug Update

His new bug is cursed, we have had problems with the beam, the tie rods, getting it running, pretty much everything. Here is a picture of it still in the garage, waiting for parts. It now has over-rider bumpers and running boards.

The Website!

Well the site is up and running now, I just have a couple finishing touches to put on it but for the most part it is done. Check it out at http://www.aircoolednw.com/, please give me feedback when you can.

Thanks Mungo...

Andy and I decided that we wanted to create a couple hoodride/rat rod bugs, for as little money as possible, to drive around while we are working on our good bugs. Andy found this one and we went to take a look. This '63 had been sitting for 3-4 years in Mungo's (yes that is really his name) yard. We pulled it out and towed it home.

It is surprisingly straight, but is definitely not a looker. So far we have swapped a 1600DP into her and are in the process of putting a 4" narrowed adjustable beam in. I will post more pictures when it is on the road...