What a fun weekend! It started out at 10 am with a mountain unicycle (muni) ride at Soquel Demo Forest. Jason, Aaron, Chris B and I rode up Highland to drop in at the top... [read more]

I needed to replace the seals in the little vent windows and put in a new handle. This involves pulling the glass out out of the vent window channel and riveting on a new handle.... [read more]

General Tips on Restoration Classic VW Bugs – http://www.classicvwbugs.com/restotips.htm – Lots of videos on how to do various restoration items.. This is where I first learned how to install windshield, and he gave a great... [read more]

Well, the project’s batteries are going to be delayed. I checked up on the battery status, and it turns out there was a mishap with the order – Evolve Electrics goes through Alliance Batteries, which... [read more]

I was really nervous about installing the headliner. I heard it was really hard to do, and frequently didn’t come out right or required a second headliner due to the first one getting messed up.... [read more]

I ordered the wrong seal for the hood, but I finally got the new one and stuck it on. The car is looking great! It looks really high in the rear since there is no... [read more]

Note: this post is out of order; I did this quite a while ago, but our internet (Surfnet Wifi) has been down at home. The rear luggage floor, behind the rear seat, was rotten with... [read more]

I finally pulled some pictures of the final painting of the car. No front picture yet, as I haven’t put on the hood (I bought the wrong seal). I’m quite happy with the result. Metallic... [read more]

I basically have two jobs right now; working at Apple by day, and being a car painter at night and on the weekends. I’ve been working really hard to get the primer all sanded smooth... [read more]

Let the painting begin! On Saturday, I went to Santa Cruz Auto Parts and picked out a metallic red and metallic silver that I liked. It took me quite a while, and I hope the... [read more]

The project is slowly moving along! The front part of the bug was a little rusty and had some of the paint gone from a fuel leak. Here it is all sanded and painted with... [read more]

This weekend I learned how to use Bondo for the first time. Lots of grinding, pounding out dents, spreading and sanding. All the fenders are sanded up to 100 grit and all dents/scratches/nicks are taken... [read more]

I got my first EV part! The WarP 9 motor:    It’ll be a while before it sees any action; mainly because the restoration has barley started, and the batteries will take a while to... [read more]

Back in April I bought a Anilam Wizard 411 DRO (Digital Read Out). My old one broke when Jason accidentally moved the X-axis too far (which was totally my fault — I should have checked... [read more]

HDR picture from 3 RAW images. Yosemite, May 9, 2010

The bumper mounts started out slightly rusty and really dirty: I started a bunch of grinding with 60/80 grit sanding discs on the 4 1/2″ angle grinder. I then sanded it with 150 on a... [read more]

While in New Zealand, I broke the handlebar on my KH24. The thin tubing failed due to too much stress on the joint. The braze held up fine, and it broke right above it. While... [read more]

I’m installing disc brakes on the bug, as they will help me stop faster in the event of an emergency. I figured this would be an easy project, but I also ended up getting lowered... [read more]

(Another old post — I’ve been having trouble uploading pictures from home). The best way to see if the batteries will fit is to do some mock ups. I made some crude ones out of... [read more]

This is an older post I never ended up publishing. Basically it is my process of how selection and research — especially with my particular commute and the hills I have to tackle. How much... [read more]

The project is slowly moving along. I’m working on restoring the car and took most exterior stuff off in preparation for body repair and paint. I’m planning on upgrading to disc brakes and lowered spindles... [read more]

How far can I go? That depends on how fast you want to go, and how many hills you hit. Here’s some great info on the diy forums that got me started. I want to... [read more]

After lots of research, I finally decided on a DC motor. I really want to have an AC system, but I have several issues: 1. Cost — it is at least 3k more, possibly a... [read more]

I brought the tandem unicycle with me to Yosemite this past weekend weekend. I was hoping Louise and I would get a chance to ride it, but she was sick all weekend and it started... [read more]

I’m trying to figure out the best motor for my project. I’m now down to considering the EVE AC30 (or AC40) versus the DC WarP 9. The WarP 9 data is all given at 72v... [read more]

HDR picture from 3 RAW images. Yosemite, May 9, 2010

I initially was going to use a DC motor, but now I’m leaning towards AC. This website has a lot of great information on AC vs DC: http://www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/EV_DriveType.html Those are all good points, but I’ll... [read more]

My primary choices for an AC motor Update: I’m now back to considering a DC system, since the affordable AC systems (Azure Dynamics AC24LS and HPEV’s AC50) are underpowered for Highway 17 (5% grade, average).... [read more]

I removed the engine a week or two ago. It wasn’t too hard! I’m still doing a lot of research on what motors and batteries I’m going to buy. Expect a summary at some point... [read more]