Cruise to Show & Shine XXVIIII with the Miami V-Dubs

Wednesday, 04/04/2012

Here is a little video I've put together of last Sunday's cruise with the Miami V-Dubs to the 29th Show & Shine Volkswagen Event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On our way up from Miami to the show, which was held at Mills Pond Park in Fort Lauederdale, Florida, we cruised with about 36 classic Volkswagens. It was truly an awesome and exciting experience to see so many bugs, buses, and a couple of the more unusuals, cruise together. We were turning heads, disrupting traffic, and wishing our cars did not break down half way to the show. I will definitely do it again next year, no matter how close I live from the location of the event.

AS41 VW Engine Case Arrived From Brothers Machine Shop

Sunday, 03/18/2012

Yesterday I finally got my used dual-port/dual-relieve AS41 VW engine case delivered back from Brothers Machine Shop in California. I dealt with Renato and his brother, they were great. They did a good job and even took the time to answer all my questions over the phone about what to do with the case.

Softball Game With The Miami V-Dubs

Monday, 03/12/2012

Last Saturday, 10th of March, was the Annual Softball Classic event with the Miami V-Dubs crowd. They call it the "single-most anticipated, ridiculous and looked-forward-to sporting event of the year". So I decided to drive down to Miami in my bug with my beautiful and supporting girlfriend Maryluz, whom I hope doesn't get tired of going to so many VW events :P.

We were not able to stay until the end but did have a great time saying hello to everyone and watching the guys (and girls) hitting, or at least trying to hit the ball. What was hilarious was seeing some of them wearing ladies lingerie, not sure exactly why, but I get the feeling it was some kind of rookie initiation thing... I hope they don't make me do that to join the club!

ClassicVWBugs.com Palm Beach Garderns Gathering With Chris Vallone

Tuesday, 03/06/2012

This past Sunday, March 4th, I drove my '63 ragtop bug up to Palm Beach Gardens Florida to meet Chris Vallone from ClassicVWBugs.com at his first ever VW gathering event here in South Florida. Chris is an awesome dude that has become very popular on Youtube for posting tons of really good VW restoration tips videos. He also runs the Classic VW Bug Shop up in New York where he restores mainly vintage Volkswagen bugs.

Engine Compartment Rubber Seal Install

Monday, 03/05/2012

Yesterday I went to McNab Foreign Car and picked up the engine compartment rear rubber seal for my 63 ragtop bug and installed it myself at home. The old one was all crusted and mostly gone. The rubber seal was just one whole piece and it was pretty easy to install. First I though I would have to slide all of it in through one end of the mounting channel, but ended up just putting it in bottom first into the channel and then with a screw driver I pushed the top in inch by inch all around the length of the seal, which was really easy to do. What I wasn't sure of was how the two flaps of the seal were supposed to go. I decided to put the lower flap under the engine tin and the top flap over the tin, which seemed to me that that's how it's supposed to go. If I'm wrong let me know! :)

Got My Valve Spring Removal Tool

Saturday, 03/03/2012

So I finally got my valve spring removal/mounting tool last week and removed the valve springs and valves from the cylinder heads that came out of the used 1600cc dual port engine that I'm rebuilding for my '63 Ragtop Bug. I haven't decided what to do with the cylinder heads yet. I might just try to sell them and get new ones that have already been cut for larger valves and with smoothed out intake ports for higher performance.

New Door/Window Rubber Seals and Chrome Trim For My Bug!

Saturday, 02/25/2012

So I just finished replacing all the rubber door seals on my '63 ragtop bug. It was a tough job! The left side door, which I did first, took me a lot longer than the right side cause it was my first time doing this. I really struggled with the vent window seals. I had to remove it after installing it like three times cause the vent window was not aligning well with the dividing bar. I did watch some how-to videos before I started working on this to make sure I didn't mess anything up. Everything else went well, I only had one broken screw and it was on the right side vent window catch. I just left it with one screw, I'll fix that when I do a complete body-off restoration on this bug, who know when...

Miami V-Dubs Meetup, February 2012

Sunday, 02/19/2012

Today I drove my '63 ragtop bug down to midtown Miami, had some montaditos and some Jai-Alai brew. After, I met up with the Miami V-Dubs crowd and had an awesome time! Lots of nice VWs. Lots of bugs, buses, and one thing! I will definitely be back next time and maybe even play some softball (initiation =S ) with the guys. I was proud of my bug tonight! it looked really nice amongst the others. It was the only one with a flat-black finish (although it is not finished =). I'm looking forward to the next meet up, hopefully I'll get to see some of the unusuals like the fastbacks, squarebacks, etc... 'Till next time guys!

For more info about Miami V-Dubs visit their Facebook page here.

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