Pedal Stop Tearing the Floor Pan!

Fix for big feet in a VW Bug

Weber (and Empi) Progressive Carbs and the VW

We need to have a conversation about progressives. This is a bit of a rant about so many of us VW fans not understanding how center mount carbs work since much of this applies to center mount IDF's and others too. Even stock carbs! Weekend driver cars in warm climates... Those owners are the ones who say progressives are absolutely fine and anybody who has trouble is doing it wrong. In a VW... If you want to drive year round, your carb needs HEAT. The crappy Empi manifolds that most proggys are bolted to are BAD. Not only do they place the carb up over the alt/genny so the linkage is all borked, they don't truly allow the exhaust heat to flow through the manifold. The only manifold that addresses those issues that's currently for sale is the one Aircooled.net is selling. And if you're running aftermarket exhaust, IT DOESN'T MATTER! The aftermarket exhausts don't provide a hot side and cold side like the VW factory did. So the heat just pulses back and forth, pretty much only heating the ends of the heat risers and not the intake. This allows fuel to condense on the cold runners, creating a lean condition. Until you floor it, of course, then all that pooled fuel ends up in your cylinders often causing a big BANG. But getting the manifold heat isn't the only issue. You need heated air into the throat of the carb. Most cars from this era handle this by having a thermostat in the aircleaner that draws air from around the exhaust. It's air heated by the burnt exhaust, usually around the exhaust manifold. A dry paper air filter is an absolute necessity here, as the oil treated gauze most VW aftermarket aircleaners use will just cook the oil. So this becomes difficult to bolt onto our VWs. Then, if you add in the mechanical "009" style carb that so many seem to run, it gets worse. You NEED off throttle advance, and the only way to get that without a computer controlled ignition is with a vacuum can on your distributor. SVDA gets you pretty darn close, including the Pertronix Flame Thrower SVDA. A factory SVDa is better. Still, USE SVDA!!! TL;DR: If you aren't putting enough heat into your carb, and using an 009, your Progressive carb is going to be completely untuneable in anything but nice dry days over 60* or so. It isn't the carb's fault! I've run one on my 1835 for a couple years as a daily driver. I've also had other non-VW cars that had proggys. I know the issues. Poor idle even when warm. Heel-toe'ing the brake and gas. Stumbling when taking off at anything other than full throttle. Stinky exhaust from trying to jet your way out of it. Etc. I've recently decided I don't want to take my Baja to the point where I've done all of the above. Granted, it would have been cheaper than going with dual IDF 40's, but that's the direction I'm taking. Of course, they bring their own problems to the table. Like not having chokes, so cold morning starts will suck. I'm gonna miss that "touch of the key" start I get now on even the coldest mornings. DO your HOMEWORK! Understand what is necessary to make ANY centermount carb work well. If you aren't willing to do that, get duals!

Making LED turn signals flash correctly in a 1968 VW Bug

 

Harbor Freight Aluminum Jack Repair

I made a thing!

Much easier to tune an air cooled VW with an analog tach. So I created one from a steering column mount tachometer.

Making and installing a hard start relay

Prepping and Installing Cylidner Heads on the 1835

Balancing VW Pistons

Baja Bug Video EP-2: Throttle Cable Adjustment

Baja Bug Video EP-1: Oil Leaks

2006-2007 Saab 9-5 Fuse and Relay List

I got tired of trying to find the fuse and relay locations in the manuals, WIS, or online whenever I needed it. I gave up and put it all together onto a single (double-sided) sheet of paper and laminated it. Now it's always in the car.

1968 VW Baja Bug

Over the holidays I picked up a 68 Baja!

Accident, Video, and a new Saab

August 30th of 2016 was a Day of Stupidity

Dual OBDII Devices in One Car

Let's get back to cars!

Last week I installed both an OBDII Bluetooth scanner and an OBDII powered mobile hotspot for my Android head unit!

Temp-Droppings

Well, the dumbass temp has been gone for a couple weeks now. Yet I keep finding temp-droppings, things he screwed up before he left.

For example, the printer toner? He never fucking swapped it! The AP department where this printer is located came by asking when they were getting a new cartridge.

---

"Printer is out of toner."

What are you talking about? The Temp swapped it weeks ago! Remember me arguing with him right in front of your desk?

"Well, I remember that, but the cartridge was never changed."

And you're just now telling me this?

"I figured you would work it out. Can I get a new cartridge now?"

---

So it turns out that the fucking dumbass THREW OUT THE NEW CARTRIDGE!!!!

IT Temp Diaries #21

Just being around this dude is stressing me out. I don't get any work done when he's around because he's constantly interrupting me and talking and asking stupid ass questions. Not that him needing to know something is stupid, but the way he asks... IE: "What does <insert random word here> mean?" No context, not even complete errors. Just the one word that may or may not actually be in an error.

Happily, Friday is his last day. Can't stand him anymore. Not even for the one more week. Bossman agrees. Plus, we've been getting budget pressure, so lots of good reasons to dump him.

IT Temp Diaries #20

I gave him another shot at the batch files he failed at before.

There are two files: A file named "ftpparams" and a batch file that uses ftp -s:ftpparams to call that config to download a file off a server. Simple. The file contents are in a "how-to" document with step-by-step instructions using edit commands on the CLI.

However, he's doing this in a Win8x64 box. No Edit. I didn't say anything...

"I keep getting file not found."
When does that come up?
"When I run this."
What's the entire message?
"File not found."
I seriously doubt that. Wanna try again? Are you *sure* it's when you *run* the file? (I keep giving him outs...)
"File not found."
*sigh* Show me. (Yep. He gets it on the VERY FIRST FUCKING THING IN THE INSTRUCTIONS, long before he gets to RUN the goddamn thing.)
"See?"
Dude. It's telling you that Edit doesn't exist on this machine. What do you think you need to do?
"Google!" He starts <clicky><clicky>
NO! Win 8 doesn't have Edit. So what do you think you should do?
"I can't Google?"
No, goddammit. Think for yourself.
"That's what Google is for."
Dude, you're failing at IT. You need a different text editor.
<clicky><clicky> "There's no Notepad!"
Yes there is.
"No there isn't, look!" He had right-clicked on the desktop and was looking in the New menu. "See! Only Text Document."
*goddamnmotherfuckingidiot* Ok, and if you create a new text document, it opens in Notepad.
"Well, yeah. But Notepad should be here!"
No, it shouldn't.
"It is in every other computer."
I'll give you $5 if you find another computer in this building that shows the word Notepad when you right-click on the desktop. But in the meantime, you need to use Notepad to create the config and batch files. Make sure you save them in the places the instructions say.

So he does everything with Notepad. Note the name of the parameter file. No file extension...

"Hey, it doesn't work. Notepad is broken."
*sigh* What troubleshooting have you done?
"I went through every line of the batch file."
You think that's where the problem is?
"Where else could it be?"
I <clicky><clicky> and use the command line to view the file.
"It looks right to me."
Look closer.
"Still don't see it."
What filename did the instructions say to use for the parameter file?
"Ftpparams.txt."
*sigh* Read it to me.
"...ftpparams. See, it's right!"
You don' t see anything different?
"No, I did it right!"
The instructions do NOT say anything about .TXT.
"But it isn't there!" He points at the Windows Explorer view.
Google how to rename a file in DOS.

15 minutes later...

"It still doesn't work."
I check his work. It's still named the same. I ask him to show me what he did...

ren ftpparms.txt ftpparms.txt

IT Temp Diaries #19

Oh, and that toner... He threw the box away. I went and dug it out so he could recycle the old cartridge (HP toners come with a free ups shipping label).

It took 10 minutes for the guy to figure out how to get the old cartridge into the formed packing inserts. It was fucking hilarious.

IT Temp Diaries #18

This should be safe. Riiiiight....

Install this 64a toner in the LaserJet 4015 printer in Accounts Payable.
"Ok!"
<15 minutes later... Even though the printer is 20 feet away>
"Wow. I've never seen a Troy printer before."
Yeah, they have two printers. One's a MICR for printing checks.
"Yeah. I've never swapped ink on one of those. It's pretty cool to do new stuff."
Wait, you didn't have MICR toner. And you shouldn't have touched the Troy, it's not out of toner.
"Well, I did."
But that's not the toner box I gave you.
"Yes it is!"
No. It isn't.
<we walk over to the printers>
Ok, show me which one you did.
<he opens the Troy>
"See! It says Troy on the toner!"
Dude, I didn't give you that toner. You did this one next to it. See?
"No, I did this one!"
Obviously not.
"Yes I did."
We're done here.

I walked away after that. What's fucked up is he *did* replace the correct toner. But he saw the other printer and somehow transferred his work to the other printer in his head, and fought me on which one he did.