Little Blue Out. Looks like time for an upgrade...

Got the call about Little Blue's engine cacophony. Apparently, that noise is the rods banging away inside the engine. The "death nails" as Joel of Joel & Ron's Harmony Garage called it. They have an extra 1600 engine on hand. And, for $2000, they will put in the 1600 engine and also update the bug to a 12 volt system. We are pondering this option. 

This new expense would bring our total costs on the bug, over 3 years, to $8700ish. About $228/month. And that doesn't take into account a brand new engine in a car that doesn't lose value. Seems to me like the smart choice. Opinions?
 

If it weren't for bad luck... Little Blue and Big Blue are now out of service...

I don't put much stock in luck. But I do notice when "luck" turns bad. Last week, Little Blue barely made it home from Napa. The engine lost power in the top end of the gears, it made a terrible noise that became worse the closer I was to home. By the time I pulled in the driveway, I was sure I had done more damage.


So I started driving Big Blue as a commuter while I figured out how I was going to approach the Little Blue investigation. I wasn't sure what I was was going to do. I wanted to work on the engine myself. Saving money is good, but mainly it's to learn. Little Blue's engine is complete and clean and working on it would be a dream. But, Little Blue is not a hobby. He is my daily driver. I need him to drive the 60 miles round trip to work and back.

Here's the noise in question:



Here, by the way, is a slow motion (no sound) start up:





EP jokingly said that Big Blue wasn't up to the task but I disagreed. Big Blue has only left me stranded 3 times since owning him - less than 1 time a year! - certainly he could make the journey while I took way too long to figure out how to handle the repairs to the problems with Little Blue (which I still don't understand what they are). And Big Blue has a CD player! All the better.

Well, Big Blue lasted less than 2 weeks. Yesterday morning, while coming back from a short trip to our printing place to review some proofs, I noticed Big Blue's steering got worse and worse. If I went slow and straight, it was fine, but any speed (over, say, 35) and any turns, and the steering would flop back and forth as if the front wheels were coming off. I parked it at the office and didn't get a chance to look at it until I was leaving last night. I saw this:

Here's a shot further back from the front:

For those of you who don't know what this piece where the steering meets the bottom beam of the front axle is called, you are not alone. I had to ask PJAlau and Static. I guess it's referred to as a swing lever. I can tell you that I can't drive it. 

I thought back to how I parked at the printer. I was forced to parallel park on an incline. When I came out, someone was very close to my back end. It took me 4-5 back and forward movements, all the while cranking that steering wheel without power assistance. All the while, I was tearing this rusty area apart.

Needless to say, Big Blue didn't move from his resting spot at the office. Now, I am weighing options on both of them. I now have 3 vintage VWs, and none of them are able to go down the highway... The upside is I now have a place to nap at work.


I've never been closer to walking into a Jeep dealership and signing some papers. I was thinking about this as I was back home last night. Considering if our garage is long enough for one of those 4-door jeeps that the top comes off of. I figured it would be close, and hit the button to close the door and then started to head inside the house. 

I made it a few steps before I heard the door bind up on something, try to come back up but get caught again, and then stop. I walked back in to see the garage door had come down on the back end of our 2008 Toyota Camry. I found the key, pulled forward which pulled the car off the now-halfway-closed garage door. And hit the button to bring the door back up. 

With a heavy heart I looked at the damage done by the door. It took paint off the trunk, the back bumper, the emblem was given some freedom from it's snug connection to the car and the taillight was cracked.

If it weren't for bad luck...

Vintage Tuesday - 1960s Vacation (6)

March 1958 - Small Cars Magazine: Volkswagen Club of America

I have recently become fascinated with VW clubs of old. Here's an interesting article on the beginnings of the Volkswagen Club of America. Note the details of Sterling Parks, Jr. Two years after starting the VCA, he would go on to start the Volkswagen Club of Rochester:

From the Static Files... Summer Camping Season is over!

The short history of The Volkswagen Club of Rochester - Part One - 1959 to 1965

Editor's note: I recently came into the possession of 43 newsletters from the late 50s and early 60s from the Volkswagen Club of Rochester. The newsletter's name was "The VW Motorist". Mine were addressed to "John Cole" of 52 Legionarre Drive. From it, I was able to pull details about the club. I share them with you here only to put the club's record out on the internet, and share some details about some early VW nuts.

The Volkswagen Club of Rochester was started in 1957. The first edition of their newsletter, titled The VW Motorist, was printed and mailed in October of 1957. Sterling Parks Jr. (who had helped organize the VW Club of America in 1955!) was the founder of the club and first editor of the newsletter. In 1959, he would be given a lifetime membership.

The purpose, as stated by the club was

To enable VW owners and drivers to obtain all the pleasure, usefulness, efficiency, and economy in the maintenance and operation of their VW's that the manufacturer wants them to have.
To enable VW owners to interchange experiences.
To furnish reliable VW information and advice to owners.
To supply local, national, and international VW news and other automotive news of interest to VW owners.

Membership dues during the clubs early years were $5 a year. It seemed to grow pretty well. In 1959, the club listed 109 members in one of the newsletters. The club enjoyed support from F.A. Motors (who were members and hosted clinics on care for the VW).

In July, 1960, the club became incorporated. They also improved their newsletter format using thicker paper and a better printer.

By 1963, the club moved to street addresses rather than a PO box. The address seemed to be the address of the president each time.

They loaned each other books and offered club badges "at a cost of $1" to mount on your car. Club sweatshirts ($2.25 each) and jackets (around $6 depending on size) were also available to members.

The club was mainly about organizing events. Mainly they focused on rallies (which seemed to be the trend for all car clubs at the time), such as the "Spring Thaw Rally" held in March. Nonetheless, there were also social events. Examples were club excursions (annual trips to Toronto to visit Volkswagen of Canada in May), a visit to Corning Glass Works, annual picnics, economy runs, and, of course, monthly club meetings.

The newsletters are a plethora of information. I enjoyed the other VW clubs mentioned: The Jersey Four Cylendars Club, Detroit VW Club, Heart of Illinios Volkswagen Club, Karmann Ghia Club of America (out of Brooklyn, started in 1963), Volkswagen Club of California (who published their own newsletter called Wagen Tongue), VW club of Pittsburg (who published "Wagen Tales"), Volkswagen Owners Club of Los Angeles (who published flat four), VW Club of Western New York (who published a newsletter called "Wagen Wheels", a Buffalo club (who seemed to be tempted to join the Rochester club) and a Syracuse club. They even swapped emblems in their own version of a cultural exchange with the Volkswagen Club of Natal (Africa).

The club was very structured in a 1960s sort of way, with minutes, notes, procedure, etc. This is the sort of "Parliamentary procedure" that one would expect from such a club in the 50s and 60s.

Presidents:
1959 - David Van Borz
1960 - Bob "Corky" Whitaker
1961 - Arvid Ellsworth
1962 - John Cole
1963 - Philip McNaney
1964 - Albert Capone
1965 - Roger Pearson

So what happened to this club? I followed up with the current club in the area, the Finger Lakes Region VW club. The person I talked to didn't have any info, but will hopefully ask the old timers in the club. If anyone has any info, send it my way! bigbluevw (at) gmail dot com.