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Posts Tagged beetle

The Bug…

Jan 17

Posted by Aleks in Blog | 1 Comment

So the bug lives… it’s been 1 year and 1 day since it burnt. Aaron came down over New Years weekend and helped me get it running again, splice wires, etc. Turned out the whole time it was the immobilizer that was keeping it from running. Now it’s just a matter of putting it back together. I got new AC/Heat control cables put in today, and put half of the dash back together. I’m waiting on the front trim piece, but I’m not sure how I’m going to mount the climate controls in the car. I’m going to have to fabricate something, since the previous mounts burnt off.

Making progress…. I could actually start driving it as soon as this week… just need to get the rest of the trim put back on and get my butt to the tax office & DMV.

Hooray!

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An update!!

Apr 18

Posted by Aleks in Blog | Comments off

It’s hard to believe it’s been 2 months since my last update. I’m not very good at keeping up with this stuff…

So… they totaled the bug, so I bought it back. I’m thinking that was probably a mistake. Just looking at it I feel overwhelmed and depressed.

I bought a 1989 BMW 325i Convertible as my daily driver. It’s in pretty good shape. I’ve fixed a few little things on it so far and it’s performing its task well. The weather for the past couple of weeks has been perfect for driving with the top down.

I’m also working on fixing up the truck. Ken and I redid the ignition system this weekend. He showed me how to take apart the distributor and we put in the points elimination kit. We also installed a new ignition coil, and he showed me how to correct the engine timing. Today I replaced the distributor cap, plugs, and wires, and washed and waxed it. From what I could tell, the ignition coil was ancient, and the timing was a little off. Once we adjusted that, the engine sounded a whole lot better and the little bit I did drive it around the neighborhood seemed to have more power than before. I will drive it more tomorrow after work and see how it does. I’m crossing my fingers…!

Anyway, back to work in the morning… no more fun for me. :P

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Excitement abound….

Jan 23

Posted by Aleks in Blog | 2 Comments

My grandmother passed away on Thursday, the 14th, which coincidentally is James’ birthday. My brother met me here Friday and he drove up to WV for the funeral on Saturday. Saturday was also Jenny’s birthday and James’ official last day of work (retirement).

Jenny couldn’t come with us to WV since she had to work. I called her on Saturday morning on her way to work to wish her a happy birthday, and during the conversation she told me she thought the heater was broken. Immediately I could feel my stomach knotting up… thinking I was going to have a huge repair cost. Then she explained that it was the heater in the car, and that it was the knob to adjust the strength (1,2,3,4,etc.) of the fan. I told her not to worry about it, and that I’d look at it when I got home. It’s a 10 year old car. It’s not the first switch to break, and I wasn’t that worried about it. We hung up and I started getting ready to leave the house.

Jenny calls me back approximately 10 minutes later, “There’s smoke pouring out the dashboard.” I told her to get out of the car and dial 911. She called me back 10 minutes after that, “I can see flames now.” The fire department was on their way, and got there shortly after that. They extinguished the fire.

Since I was in WV, she went ahead and contacted GEICO who sent a tow truck out. They towed it to the house, and Jennifer (our neighbor) came and picked up Jenny. GEICO initially told Jenny that since it was on fire, they were probably going to total it. They did get her a rental car which she was able to pick up on Monday morning. On that paperwork also, they said the car was totaled. Jenny went ahead and emptied out the car, took the license plates off and everything before I got home. They told her that if I wanted to keep the supercharger, I could, I just needed to put the stock parts back on.

I then began weighing my options… do I want to buy the car back and take on the project of fixing it? What kind of fire damage, water damage, etc. might be back there? I don’t know what they were going to offer me for the car, but I honestly didn’t want it. I’d rather have my car fixed. :-P

Anyway, I talked to the adjuster on Friday, and explained the damage. He drove out to the house to inspect the car, and agreed with me that it probably wasn’t totaled. However, without being able to remove the dash and inspect the damage, it was impossible to tell. They went ahead and towed it to a repair shop last night to inspect it further.

I’m crossing my fingers….

( photos)
1 January 1970

Note: To see the pictures in the original Picasa album, click here

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Vacation, Holidays, Dog Bites

Dec 26

Posted by Aleks in Blog | Comments off

It’s that time of year again, and thankfully I’m off of work ALL NEXT WEEK. I have a few things to do this week while I’m off, many of which involve cutting back some of our excess expenses. I’m trying to figure out how we can visit Aaron and Samara in Alaska, but I’m not sure we’ll have the money. :-( This makes me sad.

Things I need to do:

  • Finish wiring up the radio in the truck
  • Get a new phone, drop the iPhone and it’s $30 data plan
  • Cancel Sirius
  • Cancel HD channels on DirecTV
  • Shop around for car and homeowners insurance
  • Order and change O2 sensor in the Beetle – Trouble code wasn’t O2 sensor. It was misfires in 3 cylinders. Ordered a new ignition coil, plugs and wires instead. If those don’t fix it, I’ll change the O2 sensors.
  • Fix windshield wiper fluid in Beetle — doesn’t spray on driver’s side
  • Wire up new Bose speaker
  • Hook up the under-counter radio in the Kitchen

Jenny did get a new job a couple of weeks ago doing home care. She’s really enjoying it, but working 6 days a week. I guess it’s time I actually get the truck fixed to where I feel comfortable driving it more since having only one car kind of sucks.

We went to WV for Christmas. We drove up on Thursday night, and left late last night since Jenny had to work this morning. She got the opportunity to put on a bite suit and take bites from the K9 dogs. As of last night, she had a nice bruise starting on her arm. I think her camera is still in the car, so I’ll post pictures tonight when she gets home.

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