Burnt, scarred, bloodied & greasie hands... it a zen thing

change is good

2012-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

There are always changes, it is one of the few constents, semi -ironic
this phrase got me thinking, we are going thru some growth pains at Airkooled Kustoms .
We have added an office that could fit two cars, although we hate to give up the space as the company grows it is needed. This gave us the opportunity to take the old office space and turn it in to an engine assembly room since we have been asked to add motor build and service to our list of offerings.
We have been working with a great machine shop about 2.5 hours south of AK. Its worth the extra miles, these guys have been doing this for 20 yrs .
Crazy Uncle Floyd has been just giddy about getting his own room to build motors
all though I think we should have to padded the walls
First Build up
Sledds T-4
full on 2.0 with some nice goodies
can you say fully balanced and blue printed ? I knew you could …

If you are up for a new mill come by and say hi.
and we have the transmissions to back them up
www.airkooledkustom.com

just sexy

2012-01-21T18:45:00.001-08:00

Source: Uploaded by user via Airkooled on Pinterest

wenter dub zen

2012-01-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

Source: Uploaded by user via Airkooled on Pinterest

Sats Long haul

2011-12-12T05:01:00.000-08:00

Rolling out on a very cold at morn 2 weeks before Christmas ,4:30 am dark , short on sleep, The AKK Krew is going to get it's newest piece of equipment a Debliss paint booth, no more renting a booth, or transporting cars, on site paint booth .It has been a long time coming .
The booth was part of a Collision Shop that fell victim to this last down turn in the biz cycle, Out of the ashes of one comes another.
So 4.5 hrs later we are on site,in Columbus Ga looking at a 27'x15'x12' fully operational semi down draft
lights on and fans running . oooo this is going to be fun.
First up cut elec, sounds easy , just hit the breaker marked ' booth 1 ' ... there is none, This building was built in the 20's, beautiful brick building, or it was at one time, before neglect and time had taken over, I wish I could describe it accuracy , the main offices have a small show room on the corner , big glass windows on to the main street, with art deco touch thru out , then the 'back' office looking on to the service floor well over 10 K worth of space with a mix of old and new equipment lifts frame machines
and some stuff I am not to sure what it is but it is interesting , the upper offices are just as intresting, well over 2K sqft devoted to that, with the 'corner ' office over looking it all. Off to the far end are 2 booths, and one is ours, We just have to remove it and transport it.
Attached to the booth is a make up room , wood/drywall room built on the the tech door . Marc & his lovely bride Dena go at it, a full on tear down , mean while Spook is get the elec/ and air shut down, 00Dub is on the exhaust stack, and Snoop take Thomas and Dan and start on the booth it self.
It took us the better part of 7 hrs to remove a 5 gal bucket of nuts and bolts from the structure and disassemble our paint booth.
Rolling out of Ga after dark, the 4.5 hr trib back wasn't to bad other than the alm latter that showed up in the road in front of Snoop, and the 3 of 4 other drivers that almost took out the front of the Deathstar, ( snoop lifted 2500HD , ) back at the shop way past out bed times, drop the trailers and home all of us go,
Mission accomplished
Tired, and in need of a shower , but with a smile,
It was a good Day

muggiedays of summer

2010-08-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

Been a bit since my last post, as much as I try I just am not writing as much as I'd like. Lack of time is a bitch.
About 3 months ago we lost the RT , It was totaled at a stop light by some yaho not applying he brakes at a stop light, The truck is now 6" shorter.
So the hunt began for a replacement tow rig. As much as I loved that RT , the only thing missing is the 4x4, They made a Darango , and a 4 seater and a short cab but no crewcabs. Guess what I am building
I hunted around for a while and found a 2K dakota with a motor that would not start, It was a 4.7 slt,
dragged it and the wrecked RT up to a buddies shop, They are more of a mech. shop and handle primarily domestic autos and big rigs, After the truck is done with its heart and brain transplant it will come back to Airkooled for paint and body,. Some of the panels are already here being reworked on my very limited off time. If you want to follow the build pics they are here , if not, I have been updating on the twitter account.
Oh the muggie part you ask,
damn near swimming out there

unzenfull day

2010-06-04T04:40:00.000-07:00

This is part of an on going email conversation that I am having with some one who wants to start a company
a bug shop no less
The biz side of things
You need to look at at the hidden cost that need to be factored in to you pricing. You have the paint, abrasives, fillers, thinners, cleaners, cost, ( your cost) do you mark up your cost to the client?, or do they get it for what you buy it for? If thats the case, Do you charge them for the time to order it, and get it? What about the fuel that you pay for when you pick it up?or the time that it takes you? What about the cost of the power that you are using while working on the client car, you pay that... your tools, how do they get payed for? who pays when the compressor goes down. what about the building that you are in, does it need maintaining, who pays for that. both mat and time? Licenses, insurance, how bout the te-shirts and jeans that get ruined , ( thats why we went to dickies work shirts) It all ads up All that stuff is overhead, the cost of doing biz. Then there is your time, what is it worth? What is your knowledge and skills worth to you?How many years/decades of learning do you have under your belt got to figure all that up something to think about.....
Then can you really charge what it should be vrs what the client will pay with out going in to shock If you want to make a living doing this, then this is the price, If you want to do it on the side, or as a hobbyist then you don't need to think about any of this. It doesn't matter what a company does, if it doesn't pay for it self, then its the government.............. i.e. you pay

This got me pondering..
With out the priv sector none of this crap is posable . My job at AirkooledKustoms is to make sure that the company has enough coming in to cover what's going out. Just like every other company, with out that basic job duty the company will not exist...

Now with all that being said
I have to do that part of the job to
do the fun parts

Fillers

2010-06-03T05:23:00.001-07:00

fillers

bondo- while it is a generic term for body fillers, ie plastic epoxies
the actual product 'bondo'tends to have a higher solvent content
while this make it easer to spread, it leads to more shrink, as the solvent
evaporate and the product cures.
If you are going to use plastic fillers then buy a good quality ( we use evercoat rage,and then sparingly )
while body fillers have there place in auto resto, they are usally not used
correctly. If it is applied to thick it shrink and crack as it out gasses and cures.Thin coats of correctly mixed filler is the way ,curing then sanding between coats.
There are dif types( chem makeups) of plastic filler.
talc-
most fillers are talc based,talc being the main solid component
typically use by 90% of the industry for filling small areas and feathering repairs.
alm-
also called metal to metal filled, main solid is alm power typically used in areas of the car that have a higher vibration or shock loads
we use it primarily around doors/trunks and deck lids
kitty hair-
epoxy resin filler with short, fiberglass strands and talc for for its main solids og designed for fiberglass ,it is mostly used to pack it to bad repairs.(we see alot of this.) We use it... to make molds for shaping complex curves out of steel, or on fiber glass
out of those 3 kittyhair is the only one that is NOT hydroscopic .

lead-
to og filler, old skool, not much use today, we still do lead work for some clients, while it is a lost art, it is actually very simple to do.
non lead lead-
same as above but it is a tim based alloy with no lead in it
working temp is slightly lower than true lead
(thanks EPA)

the best way to do a repair, is to do it and not use ANY fillers and metal finish . this is unrealistic for most peeps , their check book, or skill level.
(most people do not have the patience to do this).
the final thickness on filler ( for our shop) can be no more than .075" (1/16"), I want it thiner than that

glazing putty-
talc based, but with much smaller particulate size than standard plastic filler. use primarily for pin holes, ( if you use good fillers correctly you wont have pin holes) and small repairs has a high solvent content -so it will shrink if used incorrectly .
NEVER use one part glazing compound EVER

I still HATE Bondo

highs and lows

2010-05-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

this was written by a guy I know talking about sound and vibrations in cars

Hey guys,

I saw this thread and thought I'd chime in. I'm an acoustician and av designer by profession and it seems there is alot of misunderstanding about how sound energy works in this thread. So, I thought I'd shed some light for you all...

Praises to the OP for actually using an SPL meter, but I think the fundamentals of acoustics are not being acknowledged. There are only four ways to reduce noise level (i.e. make things quieter)
for direct sound in a car cabin, and the term "direct" here is key:

1. Make the source quieter (not many ways to make your engine quieter here aside from a milder muffler). If it's wind noise you're concerned with, then replace all your weatherstripping the right way so that it's water-tight everywhere. From here on out, I'll assume you're talking about engine noise though.
2. Move the source further away from the listener (not practical or advised)
3. Block the Sound from entering the cabin with massive material (i.e. thick metal, not absorptive padding).
4. Reduce any noises caused by engine vibrations by reducing vibration.

(ok, 5 would be to wear noise cancelling headphones).

Notice how I did not mention absorptive padding in this list? This is due to a couple of reasons. Sound waves are made up of different frequencies: high frequencies have short wavelengths that are easy to absorb and low frequencies have long wavelengths that are difficult to absorb. By "easy to absorb," I mean that absorptive padding on the order of 1-6" thick will reduce the level of sound energy (probably above 1-2kHz) from being transferred through the material. By "hard to absorb," I mean that absorptive padding needs to be on the order of 1-10 FEET thick to reduce the sound energy. Because absorptive padding is very inefficient at absorbing low frequencies and low wavelengths diffract around just about anything it comes into contact with, it is not worthwhile or even possible to try to absorb low frequencies with absorptive padding that can fit within the cabin.

So, when you guys add all of this sound deadener and padding to your car, you're effectively only reducing high-frequency energy. This is all well and good, but lower-frequencies are typically the ones that are the most annoying when you drive. As it is, your car is naturally absorbing the higher frequencies from the engine with the stock firewall, rear set, headliner, etc.

If I had to wager a guess, those of you who have added lots of padding have reduced the high frequency noise in your car (i.e. it will sound dead inside with the car off), but you're still getting alot of muffled rumbling from the engine when it runs. This has to do with the ineffeciency of absorptive padding and also what is termed "direct" sound. Direct sound is sound that travels from the sound source to your ears without bouncing off of anything. Direct sound in the case of a car cabin can be considered sound that is reaching your ear once it's in the cabin without bouncing off of seats, glass, headliner etc. If you have a ton of padding and you're still annoyed by loud engine noise, odds are you have a lot of direct noise penetrating the engine bay into the cabin and the absorptive padding in the cabin is not absorbing it very well. I.e. if you're hearing a rumbling make it to your ears in the cabin, the padding within the cabin will only absorb reflections of that sound, not the direct sound. The direct sound is coming through your fire-wall, which is a more crucial point of sound penetration. If your firewall was sufficiently massive to block engine noise, you wouldn't really need much absoprtive padding on the interior of the cabin.

So! Solutions to get rid of low-freq engine noise are few, costly, evasive, and perhaps expensive. I would recommend increasing the mass of the wall between the engine bay and the cabin. For instance, you could buy another firewall and weld it onto the existing one, but even this won't help much until you're about 4 layers thick. Also make air-tight any passages from the engine bay into the car. This includes heater ducts as they penetrate into the cabin.

One thing that is frequently overlooked are the vibrations that cause noise. These are often significant and can be reduced by making sure your engine hangers/vibration isolator mount rubber is fresh, free-floating, and not short-circuiting. This will go a long way to transferring noise-inducing vibration to the frame of the car.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but keep in mind you have a series of explosions happening many times a second within 8 feet of you. Keeping that quiet is no easy task...

So, if I had to recommend a quieter engine, I'd recommend taking the money you'd waste on sound "deadener" and buy a newer BMW, they are quiet.

Scientific enough for you?

zen

2010-05-07T04:26:00.001-07:00

A moment of Zen, Fridays at the shop

got to love being at the church of the wholly dub

Mondays around the shop ,for the greater zen

2010-05-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

Most people hate Mondays. that must suck
Our hours of 'open to the public' are tue through fri 6 am to 6 pm. Mon and Sat are by appt only.
This might seem odd, but it makes since from a operational perspective .Airkooled Kustoms is a restoration
shop. Our core cliental are nut and bolt restorations. That means every nut/bolt and component is eather restored to better than factory or replaced with new, and then detailed. We do do service work, build suspensions as well as build one off kustom trikes , but primarily it ocd restorations . And for that to happen
planning, timing, and part prep is critical.
The four day work week is a good thing for us, on the personal side, 3 days off..... can't beat that, for the staff here it is a bonus day to take care of life in gen, doc appt, kids , yard work, long weekend at the beach, less day in traffic, one less day gas cost.
On the professional side the type of work we do lends itself to a longer day. Before you get in an up roar
the staff is set to 10 hrs per day 4 days a week, and can set there own hrs, with in reason. I , the evil corporate owner, am the only one who puts in insane hrs. most days I am in the shop by 430 am and I try to get out by 5 p.m., at least for dinner. Plus I have 4 acres worth of yard to mow.
Sorry digressing a bit
The longer day provides the craftsmen to lose himself in his work, For Zens sake ,

Mondays provide me with time to get caught up, on projects, paperwork, cleaning the shop, you would not believe just how dirty the shop gets, I know "Its a shop" but DAMNNNNNNN.
anyway
back to pushing the broom

2010-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

being that I run a small biz, certain realties are always present , cost of doing biz and compliance with
local, state, and fed. While I haven't really touched on the subject the feds are getting more .... lets say nosier .
With the passage of min wage last year ( 7.50 per hr). Our cost of op went up, sales didn't, but thats not important, ( yes it is) never mind that the actual cost of employment is not reflected in that min wage, ( add 15 to 40 % of what you make per hr, and that what it cost your employer, go figure ....
I came across an op ed piece that is reality for most of us who are the back bone of this funding of gov parasites.
web site http://tinyurl.com/24qp79n

article by DON BOUDREAUX on APRIL 29, 2010

in PRICES, REALITY IS NOT OPTIONAL, REGULATION, WORK

An Entrepreneur and the Minimum-Wage

by DON BOUDREAUX on APRIL 29, 2010

in PRICES, REALITY IS NOT OPTIONAL, REGULATION, WORK

A.G. (who asks me to use, in this post, only his initials) is a regular reader of Cafe Hayek. He’s 28 years old and is an entrepreneur in Charlotte, North Carolina. His firm employs 25 people, 21 of whom are low-skilled workers. A.G. just sent this memo to his employees:

To All Team Members:
The schedule for next week has been posted. You may notice that hours have been cut back on your schedule. This is across the board, not just you. I don’t want anyone to think they’ve done something wrong to deserve a cut in hours, so I wanted to explain why it’s happening.
There are a couple of reasons for this:
1) May and September are very slow months for our business. Anyone who has worked Sundays recently has seen the drop off in traffic. Now that we’re entering May, that drop off will continue on to other days as well, and it will get worse.
2) The recent increase in the minimum wage to $7.25/hour. Since we’ve opened, I’ve had a lot of people ask why they can’t get more hours, and it’s a great question.
I would LOVE to give everyone all the hours they want, and then some. Our customers would be happier across the board, we could accomplish much more every day, our business would grow, I could hire even more people, and on and on. However, we operate on a tight budget just like any other business, and in order to survive, we have to make money. That means our labor cost (the total amount you are all paid) must stay below a certain percentage of our total sales. If it doesn’t, we go broke and everyone loses their jobs.
Our brilliant Congressmen in Washington, D.C. decided a couple years ago that it would be a good idea to raise the minimum wage by about 40% to $7.25/hour. It just took effect last year. That probably sounds like great news for everyone – more money in everyone’s pockets can only be good, right?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in the real world. If I’m forced to pay everyone 40% more, I can’t afford to schedule as many employees for as many hours, since our sales aren’t going up by 40%. Remember, I can only afford to pay you guys a certain percentage of all the money coming in the door. That means hours get cut, and everyone ends up poorer.
In a perfect world, it should work the opposite way: you should be free to choose how much you think your skills and time are worth (since you know best), and I should be free to pay you whatever that amount is if I want to hire you. Everyone wins in that case. I get as many good employees as I want that I can afford to pay, and you get valuable job training, references, and relationships to carry into the future.
To prove how bad of a deal minimum wage is for you guys as hard-working job-seekers, just look at this way:
I’m not being forced to pay $7.25/hour; YOU are being forced to accept $7.25/hour no matter what, even if you’d be willing to take less in order to get (or keep) a job.
You can thank our elected officials in Raleigh and Washington for sticking you with such a raw deal.
If you have any questions about any of this or want to talk more about it, please feel free to come see me, the door is always open.

(Note: A.G.’s reference to a 40-percent increase in the national minimum-wage seems to refer to that wage’s increase since 2006. The increase since 2008 is 11 percent; the increase since 2007 is 24 percent. But even an arbitrary 11-percent increase is enough to lead to the effects that A.G. describes.)

2010-04-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

nice show this weekend will post pics later,

stop by and say hi

2010-04-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Show season is starting, I suppose it has already started for some, But the first one for us is this weekend. Bap is this weekend, It is put on by the Middle Tenn VW club, and the charity event helping The Ronald McDonald House. Almost all of the car shows are charity events. It is a good excuse to to have a car show.
We are a sponsor again this year, this will be the third year that we have helped out with that show, and we enjoy doing it. While it is good exposure for the company, it takes some effort for us to do it. It is work.
but we enjoy it
see ya there

the napkin contract

2010-04-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

A story nothing more, but it made me chuckle

Thxs Master G

Good read.

I was in my neighborhood restaurant this morning and was seated
behind a group of jubilant individuals celebrating the successful
passing of the recent health care bill. I could not finish my breakfast.
This is what ensued:

They were a diverse group of several races and both sexes. I
heard the young man exclaim, "Isn't Obama like Jesus Christ? I mean,
after all, he is healing the sick." The young woman enthusiastically
proclaimed, "Yeah, and he does it for free. I cannot believe anyone
would think that a free market would work for health care. They are all
crooks and thieves and don't deserve all of that money." Another said,
'The stupid Republicans want us all to starve to death so they can
inherit all of the power. Obama should be made a Saint for what he did
for those of us less fortunate." At this, I had had enough.

I arose from my seat, mustering all the restraint I could find,
and approached their table. "Please excuse me; may I impose upon you for
one moment?" They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation. I stood at
the end of their table, smiled as best I could and began an experiment.

"I would like to give one of you my house. It will cost you no
money and I will pay all of the expenses and taxes for as long as you
live there. Anyone interested?" They looked at each other in
astonishment. "Why would you do something like that?" asked a young man,
"There isn't anything for free in this world." They began to laugh at
me, as they did not realize this man had just made my point. "I am
serious, I will give you my house for free, no money what so ever.
Anyone interested?" In unison, a resounding "Hell Yeah" fills the room.

"Since there are too many of you, I will have to make a choice
as to who receives this money free bargain." I noticed an elderly couple
was paying attention to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the
old man shaking his head in apparent disgust. "I tell you what; I will
give it to the one of you most willing to obey my rules." Again, they
looked at one another, an expression of bewilderment on their faces. The
perky young woman asked, "What are the rules?" I smiled and said, "I
don't know. I have not yet defined them. However, it is a free home that
I offer you." They giggled amongst themselves, the youngest of which
said, "What an old coot. He must be crazy to give away his home. Go take
your meds, old man." I smiled and leaned into the table a bit further.
"I am serious, this is a legitimate offer." They gaped at me for a
moment.

"Hell, I'll take it you old fool. Where are the keys?" boasted
the youngest among them. "Then I presume you accept ALL of my terms
then?" I asked. The elderly couple seemed amused and entertained as they
watched from the privacy of their table. "Oh hell yeah! Where do I sign
up?" I took a napkin and wrote, "I give this man my home, without the
burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the
terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction." I
signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his
signature. "Where are the keys to my new house?" he asked in a mocking
tone of voice. All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table,
pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new
homeowner.

"Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed
by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are
obligated to adhere from this point forward. You may only live in the
house for one hour a day. You will not use anything inside of the home.
You will obey me without question or resistance. I expect complete
loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you. You will accept
my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature. Your
morals and principles shall be as mine. You will vote as I do, think as
I do and do it with blind faith. These are my terms. Here are your
keys." I reached the keys forward and the young man looked at me dumb
founded.

"Are you out of your freaking mind? Who would ever agree to
those ridiculous terms?" the young man appeared irritated. "You did when
you signed this contract before reading it, understanding it and with
the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only after you
committed to the agreement." Was all I said. The elderly man chuckled as
his wife tried to restrain him. I was looking at a now silenced and
bewildered group of people. "You can shove that stupid deal up you're
a** old man, I want no part of it" exclaimed the now infuriated young
man. "You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your
friends; you cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it. I do not
intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared. I am the power you
agreed to. I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave
yourself to. In short, I am your Master." At this, the table of
celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of
the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I
revealed my true intent. "What I did to you is what this administration
and congress did to you with the health care legislation. I easily
suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain. Your
folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn;
that you are entitled to that which you did not earn; that you willingly
allowed someone else to think for you. Your failure to research, study
and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you. You have entered
into a trap from which you cannot flee. Your only chance of freedom is
if your new Master gives it unto you. A freedom that is given can also
be taken away; therefore, it is not freedom." With that, I tore up the
napkin and placed it before the astonished young man. "This is the
nature of your new health care legislation."

I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation
and was surprised by applause. The elderly gentleman, who was clearly
entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, "Thank you Sir,
these kids don't understand Liberty these days." He refused to allow me
to pay my bill as he said, "You earned this one, it is an honor to
pickup the tab." I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant
somewhat humbled, and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.

Use reason, it is the closest you are going to get to Godly
conduct
Clifford A. Wright

2010-04-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

jim rocks

our new booth for this show season

prunes are tastie

2010-03-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

Marc and Dena's , ( really Dena's ) 77 SuperVert is finally out of polish. Color sanding

is a great process , but time consuming , and physically demanding. Just think of it as a

solid two week isometric work out, but with pruney hands and wet feet.

Almost Spring

2010-03-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Man it has been a bit since my last update,

I have found that the shorter format of micro-blog

works well for me, Which means that I need to work on

my long form.

Airkooled is still alive, and running, granted at half throttle

It has been a productive winter, R&D wise, I have gotten

2 beam jigs and built a proto type for a front T-1 beam truss.

I have been driving with it for little over a week. I like it.

Jim has a few new designs for this year, and has been working

AKK.com 3.5 I have seen some of raw pages, and even though

its rough , it is way kool.

2009-12-18T04:06:00.000-08:00

Master Gumby sent this to me, and I thought to good not to share

My apologies if you've seen these before, but a lot were knew to me and had me in stitches. Enjoy!

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*ck was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can re cognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

another one
Have you ever wondered if the bills in your wallet were ever in a stripper's butt crack?
If not, you're wondering now

"mmmmmmm smells like glitter"

Bugs N Brats IV

2009-09-26T02:48:00.000-07:00

Well it is the last sat of Sept. That means that it is time to host our shops show. While it is a pita

it is kool at the same time. I have spent the last week cleaning sorting putting away all the extra

vw parts that just seem to accumulate in the dark corners of the shop. I swear it is like the reproduce faster than rabbits. Which would be kool if they were good parts, oh well.Not only do we clean and sort, but I also try to set up displays of some of our processes , still got to do that. Most people do the mass/thorough clean in the spring, but since the show is always in early fall, we do it then.

Our show is a bit different . We don't do registration, trophies , entry fees or anything like that . It is a cookout, bbq, bring what you got kind of show. I suppose that we will have to change that at some point. but not yet.

See you here

split bus door glass restore part 1

2009-09-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

Split bus front doors windows are a neat piece of engineering . With the shop truck getting

a slow rebuild, part by part, I am taking each subassembly

all the way apart

then fixing anything that need to be fixed , M8 studs in this case . After removing all coatings we now have bare steel,

well that needs to be sealed with an epoxy sealer then paint,

after letting the parts cure assembly begins, in doing these windows I found that the og hard ware was to far gone so I replaced them with stainless hardware .

I sourced replacement rubber/seals/windowfelts from Wolfburgwest . and started putting it together. The first seal is the vent wing scraper

then the vent wing outer seal start in the bottom and work up the wing window

part 2 I will finnish up the assembly and install the windows

fall cleaning

2009-09-18T04:39:00.000-07:00

Well we are almost a week away from Bugs n Brats IV. I have been doing a 'fall cleaning' this week and installing a few pieces of equipment that we have bought and not installed, and uninstall a few old pieces . Cleaning out the misc pieces of VW's that seem to collect and multiply all over the shop and get tucked away in the dark corners of the building. I started in back area of the shop and just worked along each wall and keep going till its all done. As of this morning I have on more wall to go, then the front pad. This process takes about 60 to 70 man hrs for the whole shop. the nice thing is I have to do this anyway, ( for my own sanity) . But with Bugs n Brats IV fast approaching, I have to stage the shop with what we have been working on and what process its in and how we do things. We will be having quite a few guest , clients , potential clients and lots of friends over. I like doing this little show. I would like to get our parts room cleaned up and organized my if I get my office cleaned up that would be kool.

On a personal note, Congrats to My brother and my sister in law , they are going to parents again. I love you guys.

out gas

2009-09-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

ain't she perdy

This is pattywagon, we have been playing with her for almost 2 years, she is at first stage clear, and out gassing, or

curing. She will sit like this for two weeks. After that we will be scuffing her down , or leveling the clear,and shooting

her sec stage clear. then she will sit for a couple of weeks then we start the polish

9-11

2009-09-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

"Least we not forget"

new week, same week

2009-09-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

new week, same week, the title says it all, we are in the middle of Pattywagon's paint.

We are coming down to the home stretch for the shoot, All the masking , degreasing ,and tack raging is done, I am waiting on the paint Co to deliver a can of sealer. In out scuffing and last prep some bare metal spots have been exposed, and need to be sealed before color can go on. With that we are still in the same week as last, in the paint booth.

the devil is in the details

2009-09-03T04:20:00.000-07:00

In a good paint job there are many thing involved to make it look right. Any monkey can pull the trigger and squirt paint. Body work and prep are critical . If it ain't straight underneath the paint

it will look like crap, shinny crap, but still crap . While you can polish a turd, ( thank you myth busters) it is still a turd.

The Human brain is an amazing thing, the way it processes what it sees, and inputs it to the brain , The way that I understand it the eyes only pick up a certain number of things in a mental image and the mind fills in quite a bit of the picture. As a result a few small 'errors' in a car will not be picked up by the human brain, but the more 'errors' there are the more the mind will pick that up, once it reaches a certain level , or crosses a threshold, the part of the mind that does the filling in, says , " something isn't right". It isn't exclusive to cars, I learned this while I was in my last career , real estate .

The threshold is different to every single person. While I have trained my eyes and mind to have a very low error rate. by looking close and slow, using your eyes, as a secondary sense and using the skin of my finger tips as my primary sense.

We, ( 00 dub and I) well spend 16 man hrs , or more, doing this prep work on each of the sections before we shoot. The reason we do it in sections is more to do with not being overwhelmed , or overloaded with the scale of what we are working on, by breaking it down to a manageable level we are able to make a as close to perfect surface as we can.

All we are doing is eliminating the errors . you must be in the moment and in tune, if you rush it or push it, you will miss the devil because he is in the details.

the trailers are loaded........

2009-08-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

One of the best sentences in the english language , at least to a car guy the morning of a trip to a car show. I do love driving my cars but with an aging body and a mini store to set up as a vender, that ain't going to cut it. Jim was first he got his done in a record 1 hr. To his defense He has never used this trailer and never loaded the Red Baron on any trailer, and he was using a come along. The Winkster was next. he was all set , towbar on the thing and away.......during all of this I was trying to get all of my crap together , as well as the shops vending . Now, we could stage all of the shops stuff, but not load it, the single cab is too low to load with out tearing up parts if it is full loaded. so as soon as the shop truck was up and loaded, we was gone.................

It was a good weekend

one more piece of the puzzle

2009-08-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

interior on the cheap part 2 sound deading and carpet

2009-08-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

part 2 on the shop trucks interior, in part 1 I made interior door cards and trim panels on the cheap, less than 100.00 USD. in keeping with that theme , the carpets needed to be done, and while I was there I wanted to deaden the sound, cause this is a huge steel can that I sit in, very noisy , not in a bad way, but it does ware on me. Doing it on the cheap above is the materials I used for this all bought at Lowes 5 rolls of roofing patch ,it is a alum backed polybutal tape that comes in rolls , It in the roofing repairs section of the store 2 rolls of indoor/outdoor carpet, this amount is enough to do the entire cab, (62.5 sqft) contact cement and a chip brush the metal needs to be clean I used mild soapy water and a rag next I wiped down all the surfaces with Alc and a lint free rag measured and applied , I did have a heat gun to help with the rolling It is not a nessary but it does make it easer.

[

I am doing the whole cab so take your time get it looking good it should take about 7 hrs to do this to a single cab next comes carpet I made my 'kit' in 8 pieces . Behind the seat, there are an upper and lower

wheel humps get one each, stopping at the welded seam, one for the center of under seat

and the floor for your feet

there are two more smaller panels that go in tho the tire well on the insides of the wheel arches and one for the 'floot for that area I made each one of the pieces and left about 1/4 inch extra on all edges test fitting as I went next come gluing, I would suggest getting a cheap pressure pot spray gun with the largest tip you can find then spraying all all the surfaces that are being put in place.If not, than using a brush is fine.

now it is just a matter of installing the carpet. I like working from the top down and in sections . Making sure that the glue is dry to the touch start with the center and working your way out pressing comes after it is were you want.

as you work towards the edges you will need to remove the extra, a stiff putty knife helps,just work the edge and cut as you go usins a sharp box cuter

now come the reinstall of shifter

with the seats and shifter installed looks like it should

all in all not bad, day and a half labor, under 150.00 UDS and a very quiet truck

2009-08-01T05:12:00.001-07:00

new panels..... Material List 2 sheets of 1/8 masinite 1 quart contact cement 10 sq. yards of backed exterior vinyl 1 china brush, (cheap) this is what I started with, after I removed the purple fur material that screams 70's All of the interior panels looked like ass. before I threw them in the trash I traced them on to the masinite . after tracing all of the panels and cutting them out, I used an air shear for the cutting and a belt sander for the smoothing , but a jig saw will work just fine lay out the new door cards on the vinyl and cut out leaving a min of 1/2 " extra around all sides coat the face of the panel and the back on the now cut fabric with contact cement, you can use the stuff in the can and spray it, but it is cheaper to to buy the qt can and brush it on. let it dry. If you want to put any designs in the panels now is the time to install them, We went with our logo. after you have that down, coat the top face of your design with contact cement and let dry to the touch,I usually let every thing set up for 30 min. place you material on the card and remove the air bubbles then press the material on to the card. I like using a wallpaper roller. now wrap the edges around the back of the cards and press the edge down, once again using my wall paper seam roller. next I like to compress the cards a vac press is ideal for this, but if you don't have one , stack the cards in pairs in-between two pieces of plywood and set weight on them, and leave them for a min of 12 hrs this is what they look like when them come out of the press after you clean them with IPA notice the inserts I used some scraps of the vinyl for mine, you can use foam but I am doing this on the cheap

nice..............

2009-07-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

buggin in july, 2009. It is our local car club annual charity show, lots of work but well worth it , be that it is in our local area, and it is a decient sized event . The club is a group of vw enthusiast

who come from a wide range of back grounds and careers . Some might remember Just Jim or super beetle Jim . he did the promo vid for the shop. Well he , Dolph and Todd did this little ditty for local media

Nice work Guys

Panel time

2009-07-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Starting on rough metal work on Billbots splittie panel today,

hammer time on 45+ year old metal that some mother f*&ker

has already f ed up,

I swear I spend more time fixing old 'repairs'

Billy is a good dude, who builds an bitchen tranaxle

We are going to be retailing bilbot gear works very shortly

ALL QUIET ON THE MONDAY FRONT

2009-07-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Mondays around the shop are a quiet day, I like that......We are open to the gen public

Tue through Fri 7am to 6 pm. Sat and Mondays are an appt day only, by design. In one of

my earlier careers I worked at a mgf plant as an engineering tech , and some of the Dept.'s

that I worked with had 3 dif shift sch's 3 12 hr days or 4 10 hr days or 5 8hr days , I noticed that the production numbers for the 4 10s were better than the 3 12's and the 5 -8's. So when I started Airkooled Kustoms I kept that in mind. Hence the quiet mondays...

During the last gas price spike some other companies were looking at that option. I don't

what happened with that, but the staff here really liked it, and they like there 3 day weekends

2009-07-10T10:23:00.001-07:00

Max is happy

so am I

2009-07-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

Max's 79 VW T-4 is going home. what rolled in to the shop

and what she is now

boy what a journey

full build

here

doors open

2009-07-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

The Ocomoney is a new set of rules that are not clear to anyone. In small biz it is hard to keep the doors open, but I am doing it as are a bunch of others. We went started survival mode back in Dec and haven't strayed from that yet. I have a bunch of TI planed as well as some capital investments that the shop desperately needs, but all of that is on hold. It drives me nuts. I have R&D for new products , building expansion , elec up grades, painting ect ect ect that I can't do, not sure if the revenue stream is going to be what I want it to be,(It never is), much less what it has to be. I am just grateful that we carry no debt. It does make it a little easier .

rest in peace

2009-06-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

I got word yesterday that an icon of the VW world passed away, Jerry Jess, he has been a fixture in the westcoast scene longer than I have been alive, and I am an old fart. He always had a smile, and a kind word, he will be missed.

Rest in peace my friend

Sweeping the floors in my mind

2009-06-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

"The broom in my hand is an extension of me."

Sounds stupid but it is a valid statement, sweeping the floors is a good way for me to center myself. It gives me time to think about what I want to get done and what has to be done, today. Tomorrow is not here yet. In my last career I was in real-estate , rentals, both com and res, New construction , and development . Mostly running companies day to day . Before that I was building, remodeling, and TI, before that , the trades, I think as those decades as as all one career.

One the First tools that you are handed is a broom, and it must be mastered before you are ever allowed to strap on a tool belt. Yes there is a right and wrong way to sweep. If you can sweep a work zone and then sweep it again and get a pile that is less than 1/10 the volume of you first sweep then you are doing it right.

Anyway..... I learned through out the decades that by sweeping the you can see alot of the finer details of the job and find small errors that can magnify later on done the road if they are not addressed , think of it as quality control on a macro level. While sweeping I would find myself collecting my thought and getting mentally set for the day. One of my friends is retired army. He now works in the defense business, on the civilian side with the troops as his clients. One of the things that he does when ever he come to the shop to work, we have an unpaid intern program here at the shop, is sweep. I have never asked him to do this, he just does it. When I asked him about it he told me "I need to sweep the floors in my mind" I simply nodded and walked away, understanding completely

one more

2009-06-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Breaks are now bleed of all there old fluid, and another new master cyc is installed

Mr Mark is on his way back down here for one more set of tuning.

and since I was asked all pics of all builds are on the projects page at

www.airkooledkustoms.com

one more milestone

2009-06-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

One of our long time restos is nearly complete, a 75/76 vw transporter, Nice ride, We have had our share of issues with this resto. Some time projects will fight every step of the way, and this one has. But one more step is completed. M Harney aka Dr. Dell has made a few trips down from his shop in Nashville to help out with this build, from re-casing the motor, ( new block for a already new motor, with a crack in the case. to building the carbs, to tuning. Today he did the drive test, where he hooks a AFM to the tail pipe and drive the bus around watching the air/fuel mix, and stopping a few times to make small adjustments till he is happy with what he is feeling and what he is seeing on his meter.

As far as stopping..... new master cyc is on its way up from the parts house in huntsville.

the rest of the slogan

2009-06-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

burnt,

from all the hot metal that I know is hot

scarred,

all the old cuts and involuntary blood offerings these car seem to require

bloodied hands,

see above

Its a Zen thing,

means to me, that all the above is ok,

The tools in my hand become extensions of myself, and the parts that are being worked

the same.

Don't fight it, let it flow.

It's a Zen thing

2009-06-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Burnt, scarred,bloodied greasy hands, ......its a zen thing

that statement is more that just a tag line. It is a way of life...

For those that don't understand the concept of zen, it is so simply

harmony .

Look at the water,” he instructed. “It does not slam into the rocks and stop out of frustration, but instead flows around them and continues down the stream. Become like the water and you will understand harmony.” Soon, the student learned to move and flow like the stream

bugs in the garden

2009-06-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

Show with the euro brits this last weekend, had a blast they always throw a good time,

No issues on the way or at the show, but coming home the shift rod coupler worked lose , causing 3ed gear only all the way home. shill had a blast.

Next sat we with be at Huntsville Botanical Garden .the event planer reads

June Buggin' in the Garden - VW Antique Car Show
Saturday, June 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Cruise on into the Garden for the hottest beetles around. Antique air-cooled Volkswagens will be swarming into the Garden for a show-n-shine sponsored by the North Alabama Volkswagen Club. Pick up a judging form in the Linda J. Smith Visitor Center and vote on your favorite Beetle for the Peoples Choice Award. The cars will be parked in the very back of the Garden.
Show is included in Garden admission. Anyone owning a 1980 and older Volkswagen who would like to participate may submit a registration form or call Special Events Coordinator Kay Curry at 430-3572 ext. 241 for further information.

If you are in town, come by and see us .

She live again......

2009-06-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

the Single cab lives and drives yea, now for some fine tuning

put you left foot in.....

2009-05-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday,

by all rights better then wed, the beating of my head on the wall has stopped for now....... After fighting with the bus from hell,

The latest issue has been solved. A small counter weight on the pressure plate , installed during spin balancing, was interfering with the bell housing little work with the grinder,problem solved. Now to get back to the point that we were 3 days ago. Motor needs reinstalling and all the sub components need to be reinstalled.

2 steps forward 1 back

On the shop trunk, nock in the motor,son of a porsh, thanks to Pat,a loaner will be going in next week, seams all of the shop loaner motors are out.... wonder how that happened

"And its only Wed"

2009-05-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Some days be that way, and some weeks all them days are clumped together .

this has been one of them weeks, and its only Wed.

As I fight through today, doing battle with 50 year old auto, I have to remind myself

that I choose this, and am generally happy to do so. Showing up early, saying late,

and in here on weekends. deadlines, paper work, gov regs, cold calls from tele-marketers .

and interruptions in the battle. All of it, I still like it, some not as much.

Kustom work sucks sometimes, work a bit till you reach a bind, figuratively and literally . Then back up and figure out the bind, then the work around, start again till the next bind. Then do it all again. The results are always worth the effort .

Now if you will pardon me I need to go back to beating my head against the wall.

Sweeping the floor

2009-05-19T03:05:00.000-07:00

Some times large projects cause a type of paralysis . Don't matter if is is cars , home improvement , projects at work what ever.....the way I get around this is to break it down in to smaller chunks . That is how we do it around here.

Take it apart, tag it and bag it, clean it ,inspect it,fix it, paint it ,and put it back together. Repeat

Most people take it apart, and put all parts in one place, usually a coffee can, then get overwhelmed or distracted , and lock up, They get stuck,Fear of f ing it up is usually the culprit . It is hard to get out of that frame mind, Even for professionals , even when it is recognize .

Working through it is the only way to move to the next step. and that is the key ...... the next step. make a list , organize your thoughts , sweep the floor and think about it.

2009-05-14T04:04:00.000-07:00

well last sat Jim and I tore apart his super vert. and it is still on the lift, no worries,

I told Jim, you see he is stressing out on it, hope he has fun with that. The shop is a drama free zone, and homie don't play that.Don't get me wrong, we to stress out around here, but only on major shit, and this is minor.So I was all prepped to get the vert back together , Jim had painted all the parts, nuts and bolts, they look good, but there were a few pieces that need to have the old bushings pressed out, and we don't have a press, got to build one, so back down to huntsville

they go to be pressed out. and the car sits on the lift. That is ok, cause I need to buy tires for it so it can go lower, way lower.Insert evil laugh here

Sat at the shop

2009-05-09T04:12:00.000-07:00

Mcpherson strut front end,1303, super, fatchick, you either love 'm or you don't. There is luke warm ,

If you have no clue what I am talking about then I shall explain, if you do have a clue, then skip this next part.

The super beetle was introduced in the states in 1971,starting with the 1302, The Mcpherson strut A fairly well designed piece of engineering . They had been standard on most cars of the time. but in order to put this in the vw design engineers changed the body lines a bit . The 1302 was a bit rounder and wider, the line of the car grew.

in 1973 the 1303 was introduced , the front suspension was fine tuned a bit, the wind screen got wider and had a big curve and it got even rounder . I suppose as we age we get wider and rounder, so why not the vw bug.

Any way........

Just Jim, (mad props, madder skills)is bringing over his daughters 79 fatchick 'vert

for some suspension work. What a surprise.......... we are lowering it. who would have thought it

'chuckle' .

Top Line is a bunch of guys who love the supers, and have figured out how to make better parts for these cars in doing so, the car will handle better tighter and yes lower, lowering a cars CG makes them more stable at todays speeds. When the 1302 and 1303 were new the speed limit was 55, yes 55 and these little cars did just fine at 55, they had a 64 hp motor, 4 speed, with ok breaks.

With todays traffic speeds, we do see more clients wanting to upgrade there breaks, motors,trans,suspension , basically making the bug a modern car. Jim has 4 wheel disk and a 64 hp motor, and he has the "super shimmy". This shimmy is caused by worn out parts, and there are alot of parts under there. We can do this with factory or after-market parts. we are going with the top line kit, all new, all urethane .

got to love it

FORE

2009-05-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

back at it after a strange trip, I have heard that expression before, but never lived it. I have now.

As we grow up and have kids of our own, gasp grandkids now. our family ages with us. perhaps more so. My folks are getting settled in to there life after kids, and I have been going through that as well. My kids are all grow and moved out, making my wife and I empty nesters .This is life, so we live it, good, bad , ugly and pretty , but watching my folks it hit home for me. My step mom has been getting ready for her chemo, and Nana is well Nana, just a bit slower. Then there is Dad..... It was watching him that had the most effect on me he works to much, and loves it, I think

So after watching that for a week, I have redoubled my effort to balance my life between work and home. Not so easy when the walk from my home to my office is a real short sand wedge.

FORE

cells,texts and tweets in the blk hills of sd

2009-04-28T09:31:00.002-07:00

working remotely is always kind of nice, but it does kind of suck, I have most of the files that I need, but not all , iDrive is looking better and better, remote file transfers take a bit, but they are

something I need.

No cell service, spotty wireless for the mac, take a bit to get use to. How on earth did we ever get to the point of 24/7 contact and communication . I kind of like not having that contact with the outside world, but it is weird, blogs, e-mail, tweets, text and cell phones.....all part of everyday life. But not when I am in the middle of the blackhills of South Dakota.

When I go in to town, Custer SD, my cell goes nuts, with texts and msgs. I am not looking forward to that, but it is an necessary evil of modern life.

we take care of ours

2009-04-25T07:49:00.002-07:00

vacations are funny things, I have always needed a day after the trip to recover , and I suppose this one will not be any different in that respect,

This one is a little different,In the fun factor. My paternal grand mother, nana, is getting up there in age, she just turned 96 years old. I know that women don't like there real age divulged , but shes 96 fracken years old. She has been the head of our family since before I was alve, the martaric , the glue.

She has taught me so much over the years, and I am a better pearson because of her,She is definitely on my fav 5 list.

Being that she is nearing the end of her time here, I have to come connect with her . She is my Nana.

Last night I cooked dinner for her,my dad , mamadar, and my step mom, never mind that I had just spent 21 hrs on the road to get here, and was beat tired . Sandy , my very loved step mom,

has been diagnosed with colon cancer, and is in treatment for it. She just did not have the energy to cook and clean up after wards and asked if I would do it. I was honored to help her.

I give her a lot of crap, but always with a smile and love.

Then there is my dad, the man who taught me how to be a good man, husband, father, and son.

the 2 women in his life who matter most to him are needing him to take care of them, tough role for my dad...

Vacations are a good thing, they are a break from the normal stresses of life, this is a hard time for me, this is not a 'fun' vacation. I will enjoy the time I get to spend with both of these very important women , but I am having a hard time seeing both of them like this.

We take care of ours nana said last nite, damn near at the same time I did....funny how that works.

She is a pretty good grandmother , a great grand ma, and a really great great grandmother, all puns intended.

macafacation now complete

2009-04-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

In any business , small or larger, computers play a huge role in the back ground. Information, organization , storage, communication, advertisement all handled by computers . I have been playing and working on computers since the cassette tape drive came out. For those of you that are to young to remember that, now I feel old they look like this . During my decades pecking on a key board I have been in the microsoft world, dealing with the windows line of products was just that ,dealing with windows. I have become pretty good at crashing the os, As windows has matured it has gotten better,( I did like the NT os) and it has gotten harder for me to screw up, but I have been crash os's for a few decades and can still do it. Case in point, My good friend , biz partner, graphic designer, web master, art guru,actor rock band and all around level five.... Master Gumby rebuilt his old G10 tower for the shop to run. Our old server, running NT, and I had a disagreement and the server decide to take his ball and go home. So the Mac came in ...... and I liked it.It was what I had wanted windows to be, it was smooth, intuitive and clean. the g10 stayed in my office for a bit, till the main house server decided to join his network buddy and crash. So being a man who has been married for 20 years, ( as of yesterday) , and wanting to keep it that way, I brought the Mac in to the house so my wife could do her thing on the web, while biggene built us a new MS computer. Mama Dar tried to use the mac, and did not like it. She found it hard to switch back and forth between work and home, two different operating systems , so when the new computer was ready, the mac went back to the shop, and I have been on it full time.The more I use it the more I like it, it has gotten to the point if I want to use the computer I would go out to the office instead of using the MS 'chene .I found it clunky, even though it was new.

Well I also have a lap top, that my brother, MS and Mac God, had refurbished for me that I have been using when I travel . It is an old IBM Think-pad, a great machine in it time, but it was SLOW, and very limited . But it did the job. Well another friend , Greg had an older G-4 note book, running g-10 that had out lived Greg's usefulness , so he rehabbed it for me, and brought it over yesterday. I LOVE IT.

Now Master Gumby has been a mac guy since day one, and had changed jobs a bit back and had to learn the MS OS, not a fun thing he told me Now I understand what he means, it is like talking to a child vrs having conversation with a college grad. Man I love my macs........

B O P 11

2009-04-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

even more pics here

and here

2009-04-20T11:18:00.001-07:00

some pics here

show season is here

2009-04-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

Well the first bug show of the season is done. If you did not get a chance to join us in Chattanooga , you missed a good event. With the arrival of most of the camper peeps on Friday night. the party was on. For those that don't do the camping thing at 2 day shows, you all are missing half of the fun. With being able to walk the swap meet early, and seeing old friend. It is well worth effort, and it is quite a bit cheaper.

I like sitting around the camp fire, and watching the drunken ass hattery, listening, (and telling ) tall tales. It is almost a sure bet that someone ends up clean up the result of to much fun, and this year was no different, but I digress. At the time of asshattery it is always entertaining, even if the end result, ends up in 'clean up isle 6'.

There was lots of nice cars at this show, and some that are not so nice, but they are on the road, and is what I like to see. I always look forward to seeing what people have done over the winter.

As I wrote in a previous post We were one of the sponsors of this show. The charity of this show was Ronald McDonald House. It is a good organization , and worthy of our support .I spoke with some of the club members of the Scenic City volks folks , and I was told that the first day revenue was more than the previous years totals for both days.

363 days to bug a plauza 12

Drop Smoke

2009-04-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

D-day as is departure .......

All the beams are made, the truck is packed, still need to wash and vacuum the purple people eater. and we roll.......at noon. We have 2 cars on trailers , 1 pulled behind an suv, and 5 that are driving.... this should be interesting.

Is the car clean , is there gas in the tank?

2009-04-15T04:57:00.000-07:00

In e-mailing with my first cousin, bob the climber, dude is crazy for climbing, but I write about him at a later date. He let me know that he to has one of these blogthingies , but hasn't updated in a while. So it made me think that I need to do updates, but updates would imply going back and bringing current some of the items that were in the past, being that this is my 5th post, there are not to many things to up date.

Show prep......

Getting ready for a show used to be, is the car clean and is there gas in the tank.......? Then it was need to get the canopy and chairs, and then there is camping shows, all that is there, but as I do this more for the shop and and less for me, them more shuff I have to get ready. there is the displays of beams, weighing any where between 10 lb to 40 lb, there is the canopies ,tables, chairs, flyers, coats, brochures,trike trailers , patches, stickers, and on and on. Part of the night mare is the gathering up of all the shtuff . Being that we out source most of our swagg, to local venders, all that has to be done, and gathered up, payed for,priced and sold.

Don't misconstrue , I still enjoy there shows, the little boy is still inside me, and there are alot of shiny cars going to be in one place, and, I get to hang with my friends,

That is the best part

back to work

Mad Props To Just Jim

2009-04-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about my buddy Super beatle JimJust Jim, or JJ .

he is one talented dude!!! He is a car guy, he owns a 69 camaro ,

lifted stepside 4X4, and a 79 convertable bug. and all are nice, but

that is just his hobby. In real life he is a defense sector graphic artist .

I don't really know what that is , but I do have an idea of what he does

cause of a promo vid he did for the shop.

See we are growing a bit, and are helping to sponsor a few shows

this season. the first one will be Bug a paluza 11 anyway... part of the deal is

the shop gets a vender space, and need draw peeps in, this is in all fact a

temp store for the shop, so After talking with Master Gumby, the other

owner of the shop, we decided to get a dvd made for display of the shop,

a 5 min commercial if you will. Now Jim is a member of the vw club

and hangs out at the shop once in a while, and I was talking about this

in passing about 1 month ago, and he offered to help out and give it a try.

well this is the result .

2009-04-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

We the teaching went well, don't know about the learning........

TJ seem to understand what I was telling him, we shall see.

On to the week,

On Friday we at the shop are heading out to bug a paluza

http://www.bugapaluza.com/ . We are one of the sponsors

this year and have to really get ready.

I have one more beam to build, and got to get mamadar buggy

ready.

Sat

2009-04-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

I have always love sat morning, but no cartoons for me,

at least not this weekend, my granddaughter who is 4

is not here today, and I have a wrench to turn and

a bit of teaching to to.

The client coming in this morning is a good kid, but

kind of quiet. At 17 , he is driving his dads old 63 bug.

a few months ago we dropped his ride, hard.....

at his age it is surprising to see that he drives this car

everyday. It is good to see the next gen of dub heads.....

and being that he is the future of this hobby I have an obligation

to teach him. Today it is just the basics a valve adj and a dizzy/

carb swap.

The valves are something that every dub owner should do . Even

though I own a shop I want all my clients to do their own valve adjustment

by the owner doing this and oil change, they can keep in touch with

what is going on with their car.

And so it begins

2009-04-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Why the hell not, everyone and his brother has a log, come to think about it my brother does as

well.

Since this is the first posting I have not a clue....

I will include whet ever strikes my train of thought.

mostly about classic volkswagens, and the ass hattery that ensues

with own and wrenching on on these cars, and owning a shop.

Burnt, scarred, bloodied & greasie hands... it a zen thing

change is good

just sexy

wenter dub zen

Sats Long haul

muggiedays of summer

unzenfull day

Fillers

highs and lows

zen

Mondays around the shop ,for the greater zen

An Entrepreneur and the Minimum-Wage

stop by and say hi

the napkin contract

prunes are tastie

Almost Spring

another oneHave you ever wondered if the bills in your wallet were ever in a stripper's butt crack?If not, you're wondering now"mmmmmmm smells like glitter"

Bugs N Brats IV

split bus door glass restore part 1

fall cleaning

out gas

9-11

new week, same week

the devil is in the details

the trailers are loaded........

one more piece of the puzzle

interior on the cheap part 2 sound deading and carpet

nice..............

Panel time

ALL QUIET ON THE MONDAY FRONT

doors open

rest in peace

Sweeping the floors in my mind

one more

one more milestone

the rest of the slogan

It's a Zen thing

bugs in the garden

June Buggin' in the Garden - VW Antique Car Show

She live again......

put you left foot in.....

"And its only Wed"

Sweeping the floor

Sat at the shop

FORE

cells,texts and tweets in the blk hills of sd

we take care of ours

macafacation now complete

B O P 11

show season is here

Drop Smoke

Is the car clean , is there gas in the tank?

Mad Props To Just Jim

Sat

And so it begins

another one
Have you ever wondered if the bills in your wallet were ever in a stripper's butt crack?
If not, you're wondering now

"mmmmmmm smells like glitter"