More work done

Last night I turned the first donut of the season. It felt great. Not something I do all the time but I like knowing I can do it.
It has been a day of fine tuning, fixing and cleaning and sometimes it's the simple and cheap things that work the best. My car has been hesitating off the line, sometimes to a dead stall. This is no good for city driving. Jon, my VW mechanic had addressed it as a bad vacuum line and suggested I change it out. It seems the fiend that owned my engine had also worked on it with his own three hands as well. My vacuum controlled advance has a different nipple size then the one on the carb. So the stock line did not fit the advance. So, in my constant quest to make my car a true daily driver I decided that this was the day to fix it. Thanks to the nice folks at my local O'Reilly Auto Parts Store getting the new piece of hose was free. And no more hesitation.
The carpet in the drivers well has come unglued and the duct tape that was holding it there came off. So it was time for something a bit more permanent. At first I thought of using a sheet metal screw but ended up with a two part adhesive. With some electrical tape to hold it until it bonds. No more carpet flapping around the pedals is a good thing.
On the rear bumper was a sticker proclaiming "Green is good. Seedless." Well after I was told what it meant the sticker had to go. Not that I mind those that flaunt their ganja habit, and it certainly wasn't offensive to me per se, but it's not something I want to advertise. Here in the Garden City what your bumper sticker says relates directly to who you are and how you think. We Missoulians are not afraid to put it on our bumper for the whole world to read. And that one really doesn't fit me. At all. So I scraped it off with a razor blade and replaced with an Alder Gulch Shortline sticker. That's much better.
I've also started a mileage log for Zazu to find out how much gas he actually drinks per mile. Or vice versa. I hope I can still get "An Honest 25 MPG" out of this car 40 years after his making.
At this point all that remains is to vacuum the car and he'll be ready for the weekend. Next week we get the genny turned around so it's being cooled properly, hook up the CB and hopefully a radio.

Snow is wonderful

Winter is making a small appearence here in Western Montana. Rob brought the Lotus to class. His excuse? "I checked the weather today!" No excuse in October. Heck used to be September. Driving home was fun. All the little things that you need to do driving an old car in the cold. Crack the vent windows for more defrost. Check the rear defrost, even if the little green light doesn't go on. Check your brakes. Make sure to get that right headlight looked at. Enjoy the view. With a car like mine it's the little things that make you happy. That the binacle light works. That you have brights. That you're tires have not given up on you. I'm welcoming this weather and look forward to more!

Progress!

I have a working speedometer. See the Woman does not like driving the car and one of the things that may help is having a speedometer. She is coming down for my birthday so I decided it was time to fix it. Thank you Samba! Yesterday I called a buddy over and we removed the speedometer. The I took it apart. I was afraid there was a cracked gear, but there wasn't. In fact there was a brass gear in there meaning someone had already had it apart to fix it. It was just dry as a bone. So I added some grease to it and put it back together and got it back in the car. Today the cable I ordered came in and after much cussing and beating on things, got that in. And low and behold it works. The question is for how long methinks though.
Zazu also has a new motor. The very nice motor seen in previous pictures leaked enough oil I never had to change it. I've taken a few long trips now and it was always fill the oil check the gas. I knew of a slightly more powerful motor up for grabs and I took it. So instead of a 1970 1600cc single port, I now have a 1974 1600 dual port in my car. And it holds oil. So the next major trip is to Idaho for Thanksgiving. In the winter. Oh boy. But I have faith. Lots of faith in my little green bug. And that's part of being in the club.
You just assume that all the hard work and good vibes you get off of your car will hold you through. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. But what fun is a car that's 100 percent reliable because you had nothing to do with it? No I'm sorry. Every trip in an old car is never the same as the last trip. Or to put it another way, "You're only as good as the last trip you took." So bring a sleeping bag and matches, a GPS and a cell phone. Make sure you have plenty of water, an ax and ten quarts of oil. Because you're going on a trip an old car and it doesn't get much better then that!