THE GARAGE

Well, I put this section up because I would like to recognize the help I get with keeping the bug going, and let everyone know what's going on with her. I also want to thank Brian up front for helping me out so much. Thanks.

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12-7-99
I got a new exhaust for the car, so I can put the heater boxes back it. It gets pretty cold here in New York. Well, Brian and I go about removing the tri-mill which proves to be harder than we thought. The nuts are pretty rusted and the studs are 30 years old so you can guess what happens next. We manage to break 5 out of the 8 studs. Shit! We tried getting the studs out by clamping on to the nub that was left with some vice grips but that didn't work. So we decided the only thing to do at this point was take the motor out and bring it to a shop in the morning. Oh yeah, it's 9 PM so nothing is open now. We don't have any other means to get the studs out. So here I am. We should get the motor back in tomorrow.

12-10-99
Well, 2 days have passed and the shop has not gotten to it. So we took it back and tried to do it ourselves. We got a set of backouts and attempted to get the studs out. This proved to be harder that we thought. The studs were so rusted so bad you couldn't do anything. We broke 2 backouts trying to no avail. So, I called my trusted mechanic Kenny and dropped the motor off. It will be done tomorrow, but I wont be able to get it until Sunday. Looks like I will be bumming rides for 2 more days.

12-13-99
Kenny came through again! The motor was ready on Sat. I had no way to get it though. I am picking it up today, in about an hour actually. But, I have to work and Brian is busy so we wont be putting it back in until Mon. One more day of bumming rides.

12-14-99
Well, Brian picked me and the engine up this morning and we went to work. We put the new exhaust on with the heater boxes and then attempted to put the engine back in the car. This proved to be a very hard task. Several attempts at getting it in were fruitless. We had managed to bend one of the studs and the clutch went out of alignment. But, in the end we got it in and she is running great! The glasspack we put on sounds good, and the heater boxes are working as good as they can. Well, Brian picked me and the engine up this morning and we went to work. We put the new exhaust on with the heater boxes and then attempted to put the engine back in the car. This proved to be a very hard task. Several attempts at getting it in were fruitless. We had managed to bend one of the studs and the clutch went out of alignment. But, in the end we got it in and she is running great! The glasspack we put on sounds good, and the heater boxes are working as good as they can.

1-28-00
Well, with winter finally in bloom here in beautiful upstate NY old man winter has pointed his bony old finger and dropped a foot of snow, and made it so bitter cold my starter bit the dust. The poor old thing just couldn't turn the motor anymore. On top of that the clutch had finally met it's maker and the breaks were getting real soft, so I decided it was time to go back to the shop. I turned my car over to Kenny with a box of parts and got it back today running like a champ.