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July 08, 2004
the lure of salvage*
so this evening, feeling calmer about the state of the house (not for any real reason, of course), i decided to steam clean the westy. i gave it a good try but i don't think it did much. checked the coolant and it looked a little low but i realized that i'll need a funnel to get coolant in there-- the refill tank opening is a little bit awkwardly positioned. don't want to be spilling coolant in an area that cats are known to frequent. it was too dark to really check the brake fluid. oil looked good... whatever leaks it may have don't produce much of a drop on the dipstick while it's sitting in the driveway.
creepy lawn guy came by and said hello while i had it all opened up. i can tell he really likes the westy, which is nice. and then he said, "watch out for all the tigers coming out of it!" which just pretty much reaffirms that he's... nuts.
and then, of course, one thing lead to another and... i took it for a drive around the neighborhood. seductive little beast! very low speeds, i never even got going fast enough for the alternator belt to start slipping. or maybe it has miraculously tightened, but i doubt that. boy, that front end really creaks-- i think i've got some kind of an issue up in there somewhere.
the ride and the work (little good though it did do) made me feel a lot better about the westy... it was starting to feel like an abandoned project. now it doesn't. i backed it into the driveway, so i can poke around in the engine compartment without getting harassed by the men in the neighborhood, and without feeling like the whole world is watching.
(*btw, that's a song title quote, and props to anyone who can id it without resorting to google or allmusic)
Posted by lisa at July 08, 2004 09:59 PM | TrackBack
Comments
I just found a nice blacm Nine West handbag that someone was throwing out in my neighborhood. Want it for a utility bag for your Westy?
Also: I went car-shopping on Monday and tried a 2001 Beetle. I also tried a small Volvo wagon, and an Accord 2-dr. The sales guy asked what I thought, and I told him the truth: "I want the front end of the Accord, the back end of the Volvo, and the price tag of the Beetle." He said he'd see what he could do.
Posted by: Phil on July 9, 2004 01:37 AM
seems like there are westys and camper vans all over town all of a sudden (altho obviously i'm just seeing them when they used to just slide by unnoticed)
i googled "lure of salvage" (cos i suck!) to see if my guess (TG) was correct but it was not.
Posted by: georg on July 9, 2004 09:27 AM
phil: Jetta wagon maybe? I think I'll pass on the handbag, the westy has cabinets by the engine compartment which is the logical place for tools and such. the thing has more built-in storage than my house!
Posted by: lisa on July 9, 2004 09:32 AM
Jetta wagon does sound like a likely prospect. Thanks for mentioning it! I'll do more shopping this weekend.
Posted by: Phil on July 9, 2004 10:22 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.