Bug For Sale

I've finally put the brown Bug up for sale on TheSamba, Craigslist, and RichmondDubs:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=936661
I still wish I didn't have to do it. I had high hopes when I brought the car home in 2006 but I need the space in the garage. And the money from the sale will help towards my other Bug too.

New Cart

When I originally designed and built the cart two years ago for the Bug's body to sit on it was done in such a way that it could roll over top the Bug's pan given the limited space in my garage. Now that I'm planning to sell the brown Bug and free up space I'm looking at redesigning the cart to a far simpler design that sits lower to the ground. After looking at some designs online I think I've settled on something like this. (Link to TheSamba.com forums.) The only changes I'm going to make to it is to lengthen the sides so there's no overhang of the heater channels and also place larger, pneumatic wheels on the bottom to make the cart slightly higher. Those wheels will also allow me to roll it out into the yard if need be. (Since there's no driveway attached to my garage, just grass.)

Spring Cleaning

During the winter when it's too cold to do much I have a tendency to just toss stuff in there everywhere just to get it out of the house or wherever it's coming from. Then come spring I finally go out there, sort everything out, and clean up and organize. Since the weather suddenly turned nice last weekend I've finally been able to get out there in the last few days and do just that. (Which between that and the weather change I'm suffering horrendously from allergies right now.) I can't stand working in clutter and need to have organization. I've shifted a bunch of stuff to the shed and am hoping ultimately after a major clean up in there that I can finally get my riding mower in there too leaving the garage to be Volkswagen only. I especially hate the grass and leaves that the mower tracks into the garage. I'm constantly sweeping to get the stuff out.

The next step now that I've cleaned up is to rebuild the cart the red Bug sits on so I can move it in order to get the brown Bug out once I sell it. As it is right now the way both Bugs are in there it's impossible to get the brown one out without moving the red one first. I'm hoping to have that done over spring break in a few weeks. (A perk of working in education.)

Looking forward into 2010

I've been giving a lot of thought recently to 2010. I've said before that I wanted to make progress on the Bug and then for one reason or another haven't followed through with it. I've come to the realization that part of this lack of progress is due to the lack of work space I have in the garage. To that end I've pretty much made up my mind at this point that the only solution to this (short of having a bigger garage, something that isn't a possibility right now) is to sell the brown autostick Beetle I've had since 2006. When I bought the car it was with the intention of quickly turning it into roadworthy vehicle. But it turned out to be more involved than I anticipated and I've been hesistant to put money into it that would be better spent on my red one. I hate to do it but if it gets my Bug back on the road quicker it's just one of those things I'm going to have to do.

License Plates

I've added a new page to the Everything Else section about my license plate collection.

Snow

A winter storm came through here last night and since then we've accumulated almost nine inches of snow at my house and even more in other areas of Richmond. Every time this happens it makes me very glad that both Bugs are sleeping in the garage and out of the weather. I went out there earlier today to check on them and despite the nastiness outside it was dry and slightly warmer in there. I just wish I had space for my GTI too. Digging it out of the driveway will not be fun tomorrow.

Even at a young age he knows his 'Dubs

My almost four year old son came out with me to the garage this evening when I went to retrieve an extension cord. Upon opening the door he pointed at my Bug at said, "That's daddy's Beetle!"

And one day it shall be his.