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Today I'm going to see a guy... about my 'car'.
A.k.a. Bettie: my sweet (but temperamental) baby girl.
My 71 VW Karmann Ghia.
My little obsession who has been sidelined, parked, sitting, languishing, undriven,
Sometimes driving me mad because I thought I'd never drive her again,
Never finish restoring her,
And I would cry at the thought that I needed to sell her...
(Total loss of a representation of freedom, and a thing I really get joy from.)
Silly yes, I know. But I do love my car.
She isn't the first car I've loved, and may not be the last.
But this is not a car relationship about practicality or getting from point A to point B.
It's about time, and thought, and listening closely, and repair, and grease under your fingernails, and busted knuckles...
And somehow you get to know that car better than anyone else on the planet.
All of it's little quirks and bugs, it develops a personality.
When I got sick she was in the shop getting a new wiring harness installed...
(This was approx 2 years ago (few months less) and I was busy in college.)
Unfortunately I picked the wrong guy to do it.
It took him forever(months!), I got really sick with my brain issues while he was working on it, and due to being sick by the time I figured out he had NO CLUE how to wire up a VW I was in no shape to deal with the situation.
He "finished" after way too freaking long... but I was so sick it really didn't make any difference. All I was doing was sleeping, and being sick with brain pressure issues all day, couldn't drive, or walk, or talk...
But once the car was back home (delivered I might add... husband didn't pick it up) it never started right.
I suspect he didn't wire the generator in properly (yes, generator, this is a pre-alternator car) as it is not charging the battery.
I know for a fact he didn't wire in the original DPD dealer installed under dash AC unit my car has.
And I'm sure there may be other glitches... because while the car tries to turn over it only tries to fire on the key RELEASE not the turn. :rolleyes:
I think he missed the jump wire in the column.
Anyway.
The new guy I'm talking to has been highly recommended by several people who have vintage cars and off road trucks who do a lot of modifications.
I'm hopeful.
Antique/vintage cars are often like White Elephants.
You keep them because you love them.
Because it makes you feel good inside to make them better.
Because you feel warm and fuzzy and sigh a little every time you look at them.
Because when you drive down the road with the windows down and the radio on it makes your heart sing...
Not because you will ever see a dime of the money you spend in return when/if you sell it later.
[IMG]http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee173/cori93437/ede8_1.jpg[/IMG]
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I'm so glad to hear that your baby is getting some attention. AC VW's are really SO simple, but that can be really confusing for folks who are used to modern cars and their complications. I had no electrical experience & I could figure out the wiring diagrams. I hope this guy can get her running in good shape. My '74 Bug had a generator also.
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The crappy part of all of this is...
I HAVE serious electrical exp. Like serious.
I could basically rewire an entire helicopter or airplane with a diagram book as thick as a metro yellow pages.
That's what I did in the Air Force.
Guidance and Control Electronics specialist.... more components oriented... but damn me! I had to learn all the wiring too, and could do it all. I could rewire a cannon plug as big as your fist upside down in a compartment the size of a shoe box. *sigh*
There is no way I could have messed up rewiring that car as bad as he did. There are only like 10 wires!
I was just really busy with school, and it was hot ass FL summer coming on, and I decided to pay someone so that it could just be done already.
So FAIL.
And now I'm all weak and bleh.
Can't bend over or anything like that still sometimes without getting wonky.
Muscles are meh. I get weakness... part brain part meds.
Working on that.
But I want my car running... Now.
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At least you can be really clear with the guy about what needs doing and your thoughts on what appears to be wrong. It's probably pretty obvious to him that you know what you're talking about!
No shame in enlisting help.
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The fam and I were on an outing. We were having lunch outside a cafe on a cool day (this is Australia, but I was huddled in my coat) when up revs a chap in an immaculate vintage sports car, top down, and parks right in front of us. Green radiator fluid spurts out on to the road and runs into the gutter. I'm a total noob when it comes to cars, but even I can see that this is not a well machine. I ask husband if perhaps we should tell the driver. Before I can say anything, just as the driver gets to the footpath, a German tourist politely mentions that the car's radiator is in need of attention. The bluff, middle-aged, Wind-in-the-Willows Toad Chap says...
"Yah, it doesn't like hot weather."
And walks off.
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Sexy car...yup, you need to be driving it.
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[QUOTE=badgergirl;1058886]The fam and I were on an outing. We were having lunch outside a cafe on a cool day (this is Australia, but I was huddled in my coat) when up revs a chap in an immaculate vintage sports car, top down, and parks right in front of us. Green radiator fluid spurts out on to the road and runs into the gutter. I'm a total noob when it comes to cars, but even I can see that this is not a well machine. I ask husband if perhaps we should tell the driver. Before I can say anything, just as the driver gets to the footpath, a German tourist politely mentions that the car's radiator is in need of attention. The bluff, middle-aged, Wind-in-the-Willows Toad Chap says...
"Yah, it doesn't like hot weather."
And walks off.[/QUOTE]
OMG... That German fella should have just driven that car off! I betcha HE would have taken proper care of it!
Hello Cori! Happy New Year Only 12 Days Late!
We did something evil on Monday... we dumped an old (car) friend for a new one. Out with the Chevy Venture, in with the new model year Toyota Sienna. My First is literally in tears - she grew up in that Venture. Yeah, we anthropomorphize our automobiles here at Crabbcakes Manor. Well, we do keep them around until upkeep becomes untenable, as in facing second engine replacements and stuff, so at least we aren't those folks who ditch a new car the moment the next model year of something brings a cooler gadget or souped-up trim.
Did I ever tell you that Hubby's pet car is an '89 Chrysler LeBaron, mint condition, everything factory original, bought from an old lady in Boca who kept it in climate-controlled storage? It is the one with the fancy spare wheel cover stuck on the back. Oh, convertible, too, and low mileage. He loves tooling around these hills in summer with it!
P.S. We love that Sienna! I am getting my first taste of Sirius XM radio, and the Elvis channel is a current fave!
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I have a much, much newer VW (2011 TDI wagon with the 6-speed tiptronic--way more fun than any station wagon has a right to be) and am wholeheartedly in love with it, but damn, Cori, that's a beautiful car. I would love for us to be able to have a toy car eventually, but here, they really are a seasonal thing. You wouldn't want to subject something like that to our winters, especially with the sand and salt on the roads. Maybe someday I will have a house with a garage that it can live in to dream away the cold months.
And yeah, Crabbcakes, the satellite radio is nice. I don't use it in the city much because we have a lot of good local radio, but it's lovely to have on road trips when you can end up out in the sticks with nothing but faint country music and farm reports drifting up through a sea of static. Also, I don't know if your new beastie has it, but I can plug an SD card directly into my dashboard and play music from it, and a 32GB SD card will hold an awful lot of good music.
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We installed a CD/mp3 player in my crappy mommyvan. I can just insert a thumbdrive in it to listen to whatever. Even a $10 8G drive holds a lot of music.
Cori- Betti is beautiful! Color me green, someday I'd like to own something like that.
