No, it wasn't in the beetle...
You'll have to excuse me on this one, but I spent the day towing a trailer to pick up parts. The first trip was out to "the farm", a VW wreckers a few hours away. I left the farm with a trans, a fuel tank and an old seat.
The kids left having run around the biggest aircooled wrecking yard in OZ. There are at least 100 cars there in various states of disrepair. It's exceptional.
It's also a very dangerous place for ideas.
It left me wanting a bay window kombi again... oh well. After leaving a $300 video game behind in a country town during lunch (seriously), my sons and I headed to my brother's place. A VW mecca all of it's own. It was supposed to be my niece's birthday party.
However, one of my nephews is autistic and goes crazy at the sight of a birthday cake. So I took him for a drive in this...
A split kombi I've not really driven a split kombi before for more than a few minutes. After which my brother removed me from the freshly restored bus in fear of my driving style. To be fair, I think he was just nervous about his new (old) car.
Today, I went off downtown to pick up a tyre that was having a slow leak fixed.
How was the bus to drive? Hmmm, if a beetle is like driving a steak knife, then a split bus is like driving a bowl of chocolate mousse. My brother agreed.
I don't say this to be negative, but it's just a totally different experience. It's a forward control truck. The pedals, wheel, shifter and handbrake are all at vastly different angles to a beetle, but as well as that, it's just not that precise. I know later kombis are better than this.
Having returned after the "happy birthday" and candles, it was onto the task of raising my bro's 65 beetle.
I wish I could say we got it sorted before I came home, but no cigar. It's still beyond me why people lower (and mod to lower) cars so low that they bash themselves to pieces.
Sure, low looks cool, but it's just stoopid on a real road.
So, having arrived home my garage looks like "the bargain bizarre engine warehouse". Time to sort out the parts and get an engine case down to my engine builder.
Hopefully this one ISN'T full of corrosion.
The point to all of this is, part of the joy of old cars is reveling in the chase for parts, meeting the characters that supply them and taking in the scenery while you get to them.
Today's drive has been hugely cathartic for me.
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