Westie Updates

Last weekend I installed the new rear bumper and fold out tray on the Westfalia. They afre manufactured by Rocky Mountain Westie. I was impressed by the quality of the materials. They are really built to last.

The bumper is modular and installs in five pieces. Pretty easy to install

The swing out tray was a little harder to do. It bolts through the side hatch sopport structure. You have to drill several holes to match a piece on the inside. The inner piece slipped out od my hand once and got jammed down in the channel. It was a difficult thing to get it back in place. Eventually it went together.

The instructions did not include anything on how to install the tray, but it was pretty intuitive. I guess the hardest thing was matching up the latch mechanism, but everything worked out fine.

It took all of Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday.

Wallace Falls

This shot is of the middle falls of Wallace Falls State Park just outside Gold Bar. Unfortunately it didn't come out very clear. I blame the camera.

This is a shot of one of the lower falls.

Another part of the lower falls.

Monk in a stump. It was a beautiful, blue sky, 80 degree day. The hike was a couple of miles. Straight up. The hike is classified as "Moderate". It this was moderate, hard must be straight up. The hike is a couple of miles.

What a wonderful day with my sweetie



The Z

Here's the Z as it sits at the moment.
When I added the ground effects kit so I could get rid of the terrible ghastly ugly bumpers, I had a partial respray done. If you look closely, you can see that the lower portion below the beltline has a faint golden cast to it.
Now I am going to have to have the whole thing redone.
Not everyone would even notice it, but unfortunately, I can.

Just another Wednesday

Yesterday I had four new teeth put in. Everything on that side of my mouth is pretty sore, but not bad enough that I have taken any kind of pain killers. I can't say the same for yesterday. Although I really don't like the stuff, Percocet does a good job of killing the pain enough that I can do other things. As long as they aren't too complicated, because that stuff also kicks my butt.
I got the Westie back from the shop, and it tracks straight and doesn't wander. I also had them put in new H4 headlights while it was there, and they fixed one turn signal that was acting erratic. Now that it is home, I need to put on the new rear bumper and carrier shelf.
The dash is back in the Z and everything seems to work, including a couple of things that never have. Still trying to get the horn to work. Waiting on Seat covers.
This coming weekend is supposed to be beautiful, so I will need to set one day aside to do something with Mrs A. I feel a road trip coming on. The Tulip fields in Mount Vernon sound like a pretty good destination..
Then probably on to Anecortes to the brewery and Rockfish Cafe for Oysters and Porter.
And some place in there there must be a nap.

Car stuff

I received a very surprising call yesterday.
It was from North Westie. They do the work on my 1984 Westfalia  when I choose not to do it myself. I brought it in because the pan was leaking. They had replaced the pan back in October because I put a rock through the old one. The car was also pulling to the right a little bit. I figured it was because I had kinda hit the ditch a little at the same time I put the rock through the pan.
North Westie had replaced the suspension on that same corner of the car last spring. The old suspension was bad, resulting in the right front wheel wobbling.
The bottom line was that there would be no charge, as they considered it warranty work. Gotta love a business that puts their money where their mouth is.
So since there was no charge, I decided to do a couple of things I was delaying to do myself. The headlights in the Westie are pretty sad affairs when it comes to producing illumination. I am replacing the standard setup with halogen H4 lights. And as long as they are at it, One of the driving lights is out so I am haveing them fix it, too.
I have also gotten in the new bumper and rear swing-away carrier for the rear, but that is a job I want to do myself. Since I won't get the Westie back until Monday, that leaves this weekend to throw the interior back in the 280Z. I have finished putting in the new carpet, and am starting to reassemble the heater stuff so that I can reinstall the dash. I don't have to work OT this weekend so I would like to get most of it done before I have to go back to work on Tuesday.
I also ordered new seat covers for the Z and for the HHR, but they won't be in for a couple of weeks.

Westie

Project #3 is our 1984 Westfalia.
It has had a heart transplant, using a 2004 Subaru 2.5 liter fuel injected engine with 175 ponies. I have added a Propex heater, a new refrigerator/freezer. Added a special 110 volt air conditioner that runs off of 110 for when we have shore power. It has sure come in handy a couple of times.
I have a Hondaa super silent 2000 to provide power when we are out in the woods.
new top new windshield new brake system, new wheels and tires.
It is in the shop right now.
Last fall I put a rock through the pan, and replaced the cast aluminum pan with a steel pan with a skid plate welded on the bottom.
It has been leaking a little oil, so I sent it back. It has also been pulling to the right. I suspect that when I put the hole in the pan, I also bent a tie rod.
I just ordered a custom rear bumper with a built in hitch from Rocky Mountain Westie. That and a fold out bumper mounted tray that I want to use to house the generator. When we are out and about with the dogs in the car, it would be nice to be able to run the generator to run the air conditioning while we went to dinner.
The bumper and swing away tray should be in tomorrow. The Westie isn't due out of the shop until next Monday, and I want to put it on myself.
Meanwhile I am halfway through putting the carpets back in the Z.
Did I mention I have to work overtime on Saturday?

Scam

SCAM.SCAM,SCAM,SCAM
SCAM,SCAM,SCAM,SCAM
SCAMITY SCAM!
Apologies to Monty Python (The SPAM Song)

Anything that seems to good to be true, almost always is.
The 1953 Cantwell Puma second chance notification was a phony. I was suspicious from the onset, but approached it from a "What the heck can I loose" attitude. As long as no money changed hands or any commitment was made, why not check it out?
When it got to the point that I wanted to set up a date to personally inspect the vehicle, it became impossible
for me to actually see it. I went into my e-bay account and there is a way you can find out if the second chance offer is legitimate.
According to e-bay, there was no offer.
whotthehell, whotthehell (the song of Mahitabell)