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Love them headlights… Your blowing my mind with this self healing surface coating shit… I have much Empathy for the back bending over pain…
John, I’ve casually followed your back injury journey (I have probably caught a small percentage of what you’ve gone through) . I’ve tried all the usual stuff – opioids to the point of addiction, gabapentin, radio frequency denervation surgeries until muscle atrophy caused further destabilization, and finally the spinal cord stimulator. This is the most relief I’ve had in 15 years and I’ve managed to put off the multi-level fusion a bit longer. The stimulator implant is what convinced me to voluntarily retire from the military.
The latest paint protection films are really astonishing in terms of what they can do! The film is 8 mils thick and very forgiving to apply. You can wrap just about any curve if you work it carefully with a heat gun. I will wrap the front edge of the hood as well, then I’ll ceramic coat over the whole car, film and all. Because this car will not ever be kept outdoors for long periods of time, I anticipate the film lasting at least 10 years with minimal yellowing.
We’ve got a driver! I won the engine and transaxle lottery with this one. I’m definitely happy about that!
I love my buggy! It’s a fun car for sure.
On the to-do list is finish up tail light wiring and get the turn signal switch working.
We’re off to a hotrod show this weekend… It will be the first “public” appearance my buggy has made. Minnesota weather is not cooperating, so I don’t get to do any real test and tune before heading out.
I got the drawthrough turbo running decent just a couple days ago. I used a Chinese GT28 turbo with a 390 CFM Holley and a CB Performance Black Box ignition. There’s very little available for turbo headers at the moment, so I used my baja header with a little adapter pipe to transition to the turbo.
I fought and fought that Holley carburetor. It was flooding just horribly at idle. The second time I tore the carburetor down, I found the previous owner had installed the throttle plates upside down. Man that will really screw up a carburetor.
I suppose I need to get back on the rust repair on the ’60 Beetle now! I’m still searching for some 3″ or 5″ narrowed axles for it. Sway A Way has been out of stock for like 2 years.
So we did the car show thing… This was a muscle car show at a hockey arena in North Dakota. It went as expected – they didn’t really know what to do with me!
I am glad we had other agendas – we picked out new quartz countertops and kitchen cabinets. Bought 3 more apple trees to continue growing the home orchard. The show was as boring as expected and I was reminded why I don’t really do car shows.
Minnesota weather still refuses to cooperate. We got another 6 inches of snow over the weekend. Lots of deer on the move – I’d hate to hit one in the buggy!
Sorry, a moment of non-VW content.
I finally got the green light to move onto a project I’ve waited most of my life for. My great-grandfather’s 1941 Plymouth Special Deluxe business coupe is finally going to be back on the road! This will be a preservation mission, mostly.
This photo is of my great grandfather and great grandmother – George and Agnes. The photo was taken in the yard of the property I now own, fall of 1956. Great grandpa George died 5 years later.
The car was last registered in 1962. The engine gave out that year, and the car was parked.
In the early 1980s, my dad drove a mile down the road to the neighbor’s farm and pulled a good running Chrysler flathead 6 out of an old Massey Harris combine. That engine went into the 41 Plymouth. The next photos were taken shortly after the engine went in. You gotta look closely, but I am the car, standing on the bench seat. My sister is on the passenger side.
The car has been stored right here on our property for the past 61 years. It has come out of its storage a few times since the early 80s, enough to air up the tires, charge the battery, and go up and down the driveway. It was last driven in 1997.
It is now in a climate controlled building for the first time in its 81 year existence. It has been subjected to one respray MANY years ago, but it looks like there’s a lot of original paint intact. So… We’re going to wet sand and buff. For a while!
That’s it for now. The plan is to have it back on the road next spring, so my dad can finally drive it legally (licensed and insured and all that jazz).
I’m excited to get rolling on this one, and a little intimidated.
Thanks John. I’ll try to remember to take some photos here and there. This car is loaded with little gems, and the best part is my dad is around to tell a story about everything I find.
Like this horn. The rubber ball on the end has disintegrated, but my dad says grandpa George always honked this horn when he came into the yard. It has to stay on the car for sure! I have to figure out where exactly he mounted it, if I leave it on the drip rail the door hits it. Maybe it attached to the vent window??
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