Tuesday, February 9, 2010

FINALLY

Last night we were feeling unusually energetic and FINALLY completed some small projects that were left undone due to the fact that they’d proven themselves to be pains in the ass on the first and second attempts.

First we FINALLY installed the last remaining window on BB. It was a bugger. As you probably don’t remember, all of the other windows were installed several months ago, but we’d cut one of the vent window seals and had to order a new one (for 49 freaking dollars—stupid seals). The final catalyst to success was breaking out the dish soap and pounding really, really, disturbingly hard and angrily on the window. Sweet victory. Ooooohh yeaaahhhhh.


Next, we FINALLY added transmission fluid to both BB and Jasmine. The functionality of BB’s transmission still remains a mystery, but when we pulled the plug last night there didn’t appear to be any huge metal chunks on it or anything so hopefully that’s a good sign. I had totally unfounded hopes that by some miracle, adding fluid to Jasmine’s transmission would help her stay in 4th gear better, but surprisingly (or not)—no dice.

We FINALLY mounted the “Volkswagen” emblem on Jasmine’s rear hatch. I had received this as a Christmas gift and ultimately, it took three attempts, two people, one step stool, two thimbles and a lot of pressure to get the evil little metal retainers to mount.


Last, we FINALLY screwed on BB’s front and rear turn signals and accompanying lenses. Both of these had been attempted shortly after painting the bus but were forfeited due to the absence of screws that fit (yes, I swear we were using the screws that had come out of the holes to begin with). Now that we are more experienced in the fine art of VW repair (basically—if the original screw doesn’t fit, find one that does), this project was relatively simple.




P.S. Last week we FINALLY took the necessary paperwork to the DMV to get BB's title so when she's ready to roll we'll actually be able to drive her. Minor detail.

Friday, February 5, 2010

I spent the entire snowy season this winter driving around without a driver’s side wiper praying for good weather. Now that we’re into (mostly) rainy season, I have a couple of tips to share.


1) Rain-Ex. Our friend Alex shared this with us and wow does it work. The only down-side is that watching the raindrops bead up and run off of the windshield is really mesmerizing. Not sure whether driving in a trance is safer or more dangerous than driving without proper visibility.

2) New wiper blades and wiper arm replacements. Okay, I guess that’s not a tip or a trick so much as it is regular auto maintenance. Our driver’s side wiper arm had submitted its letter of resignation, so we bought a pair of new arms from Wolfsburg West (because they only sell them in pairs) and also bought a pair of new blades as ours weren’t blades as much as they were hard, stubby, broken rubber sorry excuses for anything.


One thing I enjoy about the new blades is that they’ve got the WW logo stamped on them—as you can see (or not see due to the crappy quality of the picture) but that makes me smile during my drive home.

 
Let’s hear it for proper safety precautions!