We've been quiet, for a while, and this blog post is just about one-year-to-the-day overdue. This time last year, we were living out our last days, for the foreseeable future, with Penny, parked on the beach in La Ventana. Since then, we've been attempting to assimilate to life off the road, which doesn't inspire the same spark to write as does traveling, kitesurfing and side-of-the-road repairs.
Read MoreIt's not a fiesta until you're towed by a tractor
re·sil·ience
noun
the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
People
After two rather traumatic runaway-breakdowns, Jacqui and I were struggling to find any enthusiasm when word came we could pick up our van again. Even with Marcello putting 150 trouble free miles on Penny, we were simply suffering Vanagon PTSD. Another rental car, another hour drive out to Marcello's and another farewell wave later we we're cruising down the highway with churning stomachs.
Read MoreThe Curse (Aircooled Vanagon to m-TDI swap Part 3)
With seven grease-covered days behind us, Jacqui and I finally paused to proudly observe our completed motor installation. It was late in the day and we were exhausted, which added to our decision to wait until morning to start up the engine. After all, with a conversion of this magnitude, there were bound to be hiccups and I didn’t want discovering them to pollute my night’s sleep.
Little did I know, any start up issues we were about to encounter would pale in comparison to what was lurking in our near future.
Aircooled Vanagon to M-TDI swap Part 2: The Install
This was an enormous, exhausting, exhilarating, adventurous and at times painful project. More than anything it was an absolute blast, and Jacqui and I know the tight deadline we set for ourselves added to the chaos. We arrived at the DIY auto shop with a van full of parts and spent eight days, nine Uber (cab) rides, a dozen runs to part stores, two last minute internet orders and countless task repetitions to complete our swap
Read MoreAircooled Vanagon to M-TDI Swap Part 1: Pre-Swap Prep.
Fall 2014. New cylinder heads on our 2.0L aircooled motor.
Why on earth would we take that perfectly good running air-cooled motor that I recently put brand new cylinder heads on, and throw it out for a completely different power plant? (Side note, it's for sale.)
Well for one, if the PennyWagon was simply a weekend adventure vehicle, I wouldn't; but she's far more than that.
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