The terraphone Pro practise headsets.

And the same on our local supermodels... Alistair couldn't help licking the microphone. :o/

Till next time.

March 11th, 2009.

I've got a few things to show you this time. I've been during some furious fibreglassing in order to try and come up with a sump cover. I know it seems a little crazy to make a sump protector out of fibreglass, but bear this in mind. Most of the WRC cars have composite underbody protection. In the midst of planning the process I headed up to the my local fibreglass supplies shop for some release wax and some acetone (I'd run out). While I was there, I quizzed the guy about kevlar prices. Turns out that kevlar matt is cheaper (and stronger) than carbon fibre (read ricer) matt. I didn't buy any at the time, but it was food for thought. Over the next few days I set to work glassing up the panel using fibreglass matt to get most of the thickness. After procrastinating for some time, I pulled one of our old (house) windows out and used it as a mould. I screwed it to a piece of particle board to support it and added a block under the center of the glass. The result was excellent. By using packing tape on the edges, I as able to put one coat of release wax on the glass and the fibreglass came off very easily with just a little compressed air used to separate it.

Here's the old window, with an extra block under the centre to support the glass.

With the freshly glassed panel in place.

Panel separated from the mould. As you can see, the surface is mirror finish.

The kevlar matt glassed onto the panel.

Wiseman's Ferry and St Albins

In another attempt to get out in the car and do some backroads driving, Eleanor and I headed out to Wiseman's Ferry and St Albins last friday afternoon. The drive out there was quite fun although the demise of the fuel gauge last time makes for some extra worries. I got round this by filling up after each long section of the drive. We crossed the ferry and headed for St Albins (although Eleanor's inital request was to head for Gosford!).

On the ferry.

St Albins.

Webbs Creek Ferry.

February 18th, 2009.

Well, the past week has been a bit dissapointing. After getting ready for last saturday's motorkhana on the skid pan at Eastern Creek Raceway, everything came to a screaming halt at 1am on saturday. A stomach bug had me laid low until the next day. I managed to get out for a quick look in the afternoon, but instead racing I spend the day sleeping for the most part. Below are the sole photos I got of Craig fanging in his Lbug.

Craig in action at Eastern Creek....

What's left of the barrel I used as a mould.

Here is the raw cover inside and out.

February 6th, 2009.

Been up to a bit in the last two weeks. Principally driving Zak. Recently I've been feeling a little depressed about missing weekends and the opportunity to get away. Owning a dunebuggy made the point all the more acute. However, I read a feature on the the founders of www.backroadbus.com in the latest (to Australia) edition of UltraVW magazine. Seems this couple drive their stock as rock splitty dualcab all over the place, exploring and enjoying it. It seemed to me with so much so close to Sydney, maybe I could do the same on a smaller scale so I've headed off on two afternoon trips in the last two weeks. I took Eleanor with me both times.

Glenbrook National Park

Eleanor and I headed up the back way to Springwood via Richmond and Springwood Rd. It was about 38degs in Richmond and I had a headache by the time I got there. I think this was a combination of dehydration (morning bike ride) and the noise of the car. I picked up a drink and some panadol and fixed that fast. Springwood Rd is lots of fun with a hairpin section coming up into Springwood. Unfortunately I got stuck behind a middle aged woman wearing WHITE COTTON GLOVES and talking too much (I could tell from the hand actions she was making). The car was getting a little warm, but seemed to cope fine enough with 10 minutes climbing hills at walking pace. We got out of Springwood...finally, and went down to Glenbrook. To my surprise, the car sat on 89deg most of time. This is pretty good for such hot weather. After about half an hour of tooling around on dirt roads (no serious offroading), we went back to the causeway and took a pick or two. Eleanor was very keen for a swim and I didn't want to overdue it driving on the dirt.

Glenbrook Causeway

When I got back in the car, I noticed the temp was up near 100deg. After a few minutes of investagtion I realised the fan temp switch was not working. We let the car cool for a few minutes and then drove to the car park for Jellybean Pool. I figured that after half an hour or so to cool, it would be fine to drive home without the fans as the car stayed cool as long as it was moving. Jelly Bean Pool is beautiful. The river is low at the mo, but that was good for Eleanor. She could paddle around and had a great time riding on my back in the deep bits. It was all I could do to get to her to come home.

Jelly Bean Pool.

When we got back to the car, it had cooled down a lot. We got a drink on the way out of Glenbrook and headed for the freeway. When we got down the mountain to Emu Plains, the heat hit us again like a truck. It wasn't far off 40deg I reckon. However, Zak didn't get any hotter than 90deg all the way home. Even when we got off the freeway the temp actually went DOWN not up. This was a major plus for me. The radiator setup works very well. The only thing is, with all the heat off the radiator hitting the fuel tank, it can get a bit smelly with the fuel vapor. I'm looking into some way of insulating the tank. The only really negative thing about the trip was the noise inside the car. The inside of the car is uncomfortably noisy even at low revs with just the vinyl roof on. I'm looking into some sort of headset/intercom setup. This is particularly important due to the situation with Eleanor's hearing.

Colo River

I have to say, the car proved itself to be predictable, even with 31 rear tyres with 40psi in them. Scandos were predicatle and easy to achieve, even at low speed. Exit from corners is predominantly a point and shoot affair with minimal oversteer unless you really give it a big hit of throttle. Even then, big oversteer will straighten up if you get off the throttle, no big shakes, just pulls straight. I only used the turning brake on the tightest corners. I love it. Down at the river, we hopped out and got ready for a swim. At this point I noticed the exhaust wasn't as it should have been. The rubber strap in the middle holding up the cat had snapped on the last trip, but I'd forgotten. With all the dirt and corregations one of the rubber handers had torn through. The other one had slipped off.

Thankfully, a few cable ties and some lateral thinking sorted it out. Initially I was kicking myself that hadn't brought wire but then I figured it out. Gotta love cable ties, seems they are more heatproof than I thought. The rubber insulates the plastic from the heat in this case. One other thing I have to fix I guess. They are just a generic VL commodore exhaust hanger so it shouldn't be too bad.

I took this pic more than halfway home. Everything was holding fine. I swear my car is more than half held together by these suckers.

The river carpark.

We met two guys riding the trial bikes in the pic above. Turns out the air was only a little hotter the water. One of them said, "we should have brought tea bags" instead of swimmers. They were off in search of a cooler place to swim up the river. I decided to stay where we were. They were right about the temp of the river. Stepping in the river left me with a sensation I don't want to repeat quickly, think a warm bath on a hot day. That didn't phase Eleanor though. She mucked around in 30deg water and played in the sand. The only cool place I could find was under the bridge on the sunny side.

It was only when I looked at this pic at home that I realised how significant this place is to us.
This is pretty much exactly the place that Liz and I sat on the night we first went out together. Funny how you forget things.

Back to todays story, I got sick of the warm water and finally seperated Eleanor from the river on the promise of an icecream on the way home. So I took a few more pics and got ready to head home. If you look below, you'll see that my codriver was draining my water supply. It was like the tube on the camelback was constantly attached to her mouth. I have to say, this was a good thing. Neither of us got dehydrated.

We headed home stopping once to get some petrol and a drink. Eleanor got some juice and I refilled the Camelback with some more cold water. Refilling it took some doing as Eleanor had literally sucked it dry. It took me ten minutes to get the lid off. Back on the road it occured to me how much nicer the trip had been with earmuffs...even if I look like a turkey.

Your favorite Zak Pilot...who said I can't multi-task?

"I can climb in by myself daddy..really I can!"

One tired codriver.

Eleanor was very tired by the time she got home. A few fishfingers and some tomato dissappeared...with icecream following (I followed through on the promise) and she crashed hard and is sleeping as I write. Hopefully, we can do another trip again soon. Next week is the first motorkhana of the year. Can't wait!

January 24th, 2009.

After the craziness of Christmas and new year, I finally have had some time to work on Zak again. Seem like little things but, I finally fixed the latest leak in the sump. You wouldn�t believe it, but after all that serious TIG welding on the part of Mark, my plumber mate, there was still a pin hole in a weld up on the flange against the bottom of the motor! I guess landing on it eighteen months back really stuffed with the welds. Brian lent me some Wurth Special Silicone gasket. It�s a type of RTV sealant, but you don�t have to disassemble the parts to stop the leak. You just clean up the surface and spread it on a few millimetres thick. The stuff is awesome. The sump no longer leaks at all. At the same time I pulled the passenger side rocker cover off and fixed the gasket there too (second time now) with a more regular style of RTV silicone. I can�t tell you how nice it is to warm the motor up without the smell of oil burning on the exhaust. And no more drips on the garage floor either�I mean I don�t care too much about the floor, but I was so over the oil leaks and the mess they make on the motor.

BTW, Christmas wasn�t so bad. I scored a drill press, an electric jigsaw, a car cover for Zak, and an MP3 player. The MP3 is a real help coz since I got heaps of dust in the CD/radio it�s been eating CDs. I pulled the whole thing to bits, but it's near impossible to get out the insert/eject rollers to clean them. I suspect it wasn't really designed to be servicable and I was thinking of throwing the whole head unit away until a mate gave me a Belkin FM transmitter that he didn�t need. It�s really cool, you just plug it into the MP3 player and tune the radio into the frequency. There are 4 different frequencies to choose from so if one is not so good you can use another one. I used it in Zak today for the first time after using all week last week in our Peugeot while on holidays. So I can cruise listening to all my fave tunes without the worry of carrying/storing CDs or changing them.

I�ve also been get a few tyres sorted on rims. After literally months, I took my freshly powdercoated wide rear rims and had my old road tyres put on them. The tyres measure 10.5x31�R15. I was meaning to have the rims pinstriped to match the other new rims I got in from the US, but it�s all been a bit hard really and the car is far from a show pony. They are all the same colour and almost identical so I figure we�re close enough. So the back road rims were swapped to the front (their original position) and the 31�s went on the back. Zak looks phat (with a �PH� of course). I mean the rally tyres look ok, but with chunky 4WD tyres just inside the guards it looks so much better. The fella at JAX in Blacktown (excellent shop BTW) loaded them up with 40PSI, so they are little hard, but I don�t care too much. He also said the rims were a little buckled on the inside, but not seriously and they balanced up nicely. With all the extra side wall, I�ve also got some ground clearance back thanks very much. I should also say, how much easier is it to put the rims back on with the new wheel studs and a cheap rattle gun ($30, what a bargain, go Supercheap!).

However, the change really come with the new gearbox. I�ve been hanging out to drive Zak ever since I got the brakes bled and the bigger wheel and tyres on all. The other night I took him round the block and was very happy with the brake pedal (thanx to Liz for helping me bleed them again, she�s very good at it). There was lots of air in the lines still, but we got it all out and the car was much, much better under brakes. The pedal still feels a little bit flexy, if you know what I mean, but I think that�s the nature of the pedal set and the floor pan rather than the actual hydraulics. Today I got to drive him a lot further. I went over to my parents place a few suburbs away and ran a few errands with my brother, Andrew. This is what I noticed. The new gearbox coupled with 31�s makes for a three speed with overdrive box in a very literal sense. At 35mph, the car is doing 2500rpm in 3rd or lugging 1500rpm in 4th. Top gear is really only good for about 50mph up. Now this sounds a little painful to begin with until you hit around 60mph. At this point, the motor is sitting on a very comfortable 2500rpm. You can have a conversation and the top gear whine noticeable at lower revs disappears. It was around hot, 36degC today (just under 100degF) and the whole time, between freeway and medium traffic the fans only came on once. Suffice to say I was very impressed. It struck me that the car would be comfortable to drive long distances. I�ve never thought that before. Driving home at sunset with the roof down was the highpoint of the day.

Speaking of Andrew, there has been a lot of discussion recently about Subaru engines and his split screen bus. Andrew had some tyres replaced on the bus and the tyre serviceman told us about a caravelle he�d recently converted to a Subaru for a customer. He urged Andrew to put one in his bus. This was after I�d handed over the keys to Zak and let him take him round the block to demonstrate the effortless torque that the Subaru offers over a twin Kadron�ed 1600. Needless to say, he�s very close to making serious plans. Catriona is not so convinced and is happy to wait until the current motor dies. However, stay tuned, coz once Andrew gets the green light, I have the feeling an EJ22 (or larger) will be taking up residence in the split�s engine bay�and no doubt it will get some aircon as well. Can�t wait.

December 24th, 2008.

Well it's Christmas eve and I'm sitting at home with a filthy sinus infection while Liz is out with the kids at a BBQ having fun. I'm feeling very ripped off. I've had this dreaded cold now for nearly a week and it's stopped me doing everything from fixing the leaking sump to mowing the lawn and collecting the kids new cubby house. I was supposed to do the talk at the midnight service tonight, luckily my boss has covered me for that one. Thanx again Mark W. I'm also a pretty useless husband at the mo and I'm snoring so loud Liz is sleeping on the lounge to try and get a decent night's sleep. Anyway, I'll stop whining and give you some choice pics.

A month or so ago, Simeon was baptised. My Brother, Andrew, and his wife, Catriona are his God parents. The day gave us a good opportunity to take some pics of his bus, "Kitty" next to Zak. His kids are crazy about VWs and his second son thinks Zak is the big red car off the wiggles. You should have seen the expression of glee on his face when I drove him home from the church in Zak. Andrew's bus is a very tidy piece of work. It was restored by Steve Muller at Kombi Rescue and is their main daily driver.

Zak on the left and Kitty on the right, GO vs slow ...when Zak is going anyway. :oD

Kitty is a 1967 Volkswagon tranporter (panelvan). The last of all the split window models produced in Australia during the heyday of VW in the late 60s. Experts argue that the 67' was the high point of splits in terms of technical specs. It featured a 1500 single port engine and swingaxle rear suspension like other 60's buses. Where it gains is the design of the rear cooling ducts, specially designed for Australian conditions. If you look closely you'll notice they are above the waistline of the bus in order to keep the dust out of the engine and help it to cool better. The 67' also features the largest rear window fitted to spilt window buses. While (like oval window beetles), earlier models with smaller rear windows are more in vogue for enthusiasts, the larger rear window fitted to the 67' model was a real step forward in terms of safety and visibility. The proportions of the rear sections of the bus are very remeniscent of the first of the bay window (or lowlight) buses, made from 1968 through 1970.

Restoring the bus was a calculated investment. Andrew and Catriona were expecting their third child and realized that their then transport (a holden/isuzu twin cab 4wd ute) would not do the trick. So the bus was wheeled out of the she and off to Kombi Rescue. There was a brief daliance with a late model diesel Nissan Patrol (not Andrew's idea) which turned out to be an absolute disaster. So they sold the offroad ricer and went totally old school. If the bus was going back on the road they'd use it as their daily driver and have something simple and reliable. I wasn't the only one who thought Andrew was a bit crazy at the time. The money spent on the bus was in the order of the price of a low kilometre family car. It also seemed to me that using a 41 year old car as your main source of transport wasn't a great idea. However, I have to say that for the most part, Kitty has been a lot more reliable than I expected. The pay off is that Andrew and Catriona get to drive their dream car every day and in ten years time it will be worth as much or more than they have invested in it. I wish I could say the same for my late model Peugeot.

The bus was originally bought almost ten years back in excellent condition for it's age, although not registered and in parts. Rust repairs were carried out progressively by Brian Keaghan (brother of famed aussie VW drag racing pioneer, Peter) and then Peter Muhm prior to painting it "Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow" (yes that's right, an RC car colour) with some added matting agent to give it that German WW2, North Africa look. At the same time as getting the body sorted, a set of 11 window side doors were sourced in order to let the kids see out. There are also a fully finished set of panel van doors to go on should they ever want to revert to the industrial look. The interior of the bus is filled with 9 factory seats covered in vinyl and velour. The rear seats consist of a bay window centre seat and rear rock'n'roll seat for sleepovers at VW events. Child harness mounting points abound, which is just as well as Catriona is expecting their FOURTH child as I write this. The stock dash is left unmolested with the stereo headunit hidden in the undertray. The sound system features a rear underseat box filled with two 6x9"s and a couple of 4"s in the front kick panels. Also subtly mounted underdash are a pair of VDO oil temp and oil pressure gauges. Andrew's only compromise to vanity consists of a 5" 11,000rpm monster tach...Yeah right bro, keep dreaming. Safety wise, the bus now also sports modern seatbelts in all seating positions. Chassis wise, the bus features a 68 balljoint beam with early bay discs and a home brewed bay IRS conversion with bay drums with a bay master cylinder and booster. It's tastefully lowered on mercedes steel rims and 60 series road rubber. The driveline consists of a factory, low kilometre, twinport, baywindow 1600 with the following intelligent mods. Full flow oil system with front mounted oil cooler and thermostat, Compufire electronic ignition module (after the points ate themselves), twin 40mm solex carbs (dead ringer for Kadrons), some 4-1 extractors and a high flow muffler for a nice engine note. This is hooked up to a stock 200mm clutch and a 1303/Lbug gearbox with factory 3.88 final drive. The electrics throughout the car are now 12v and powered by a factory alternator. Stock lighting is helped by a set of classic Lucas driving lights foisted from a local muscle car.

On the outside, Kitty has been treated to some subtle mods to help her stand out from the crowd. While the colour of the bus is enough to seperate the bus from most, Andrew commisioned a local pinstriper to add some extra features. These include a design modelled on WW2 German Nth Africa units, hence the tiny palm trees positioned in different places on the bus, in particular the tailights. Speaking of which, the bus features US spec tailight lenses, hence the all red indicator/stoplight lenses (Aust spec are orange with a red stop light).

German 2nd Division North Africa Force

Rommell would be proud.

Overall, I think Kitty is a credit to Andrew and Catriona. If I were some sort of garage purist I might call them chequebook restorers, but what's the point. I'm stoked to see the bus back on the road and being used regularly. It leaks less oil and gets driven more than Zak so I really can't talk. While modified, all the mods on the bus reflect the sorts of sensible upgrades performed by the factory in the development of the bay window. This applies to safety as well as performance items. Most of the parts used are either a straight bolt on or very close to. The only exception to this is as regards the centers mount for the trailing arms and some seatbelts anchor points. However, the best thing about the bus is that it gets driven, and I mean driven regularly. Andrew and Catriona live in a regional centre about three hours from Sydney and the bus is their family transport everywhere they go. The stonechips and bug splatter are marks of honour and honesty on this very street driven bus. Their only other car is a 1968 landrover ute. The splitwindow is used for everything but farm work that Catriona does part time. I won't pretend it's like driving new luxury car, but it's certainly not as crude as the buggy. The twin carbed 1600 is satisfactory for all but the steepest of hills and strongest of headwinds. Let's face it though, anyone driving a splitty is generally not doing it for the highspeed travel.

Me and Andy. What good looking fellas we are eh?! :oP

Keep an eye out for Andrew and Catriona at kombi meets. Future plans for the bus include an engine upgrade (stroker or similar), a period bull bar and a few other goodies. Andrew's in the process of sorting a full length roof rack for longer journeys.

Anyway, back to season's greetings. Hope you all have a great Christmas. Just remember it's not about all the hoopla and fiancial ruin. Christmas is about the birth of the most important man in history. God's son, Jesus.

God bless...and to all a good night. ;o)

Postscript: Andrew and I talked tonight and he uttered some works I never thought I hear leave his mouth, "I've been thinking about putting a subie in a splitty". And then he said, "and if I did that I'd want to air condition it too". SHOCK HORROR. So stay tuned. Turns out the price of strokers wasn't as attractive as he thought. Could me some furious measure going on in the near future...Bring on the baby bonus!!! lol