jeremyweber.com

August 27th, 2010 @ 6.18 pm

The second annual vintage aircooled VW show in Frederick at Everedy Square and Shab Row was on August 7th, and of course I had my camera with me. In Baltimore myself and eight other aircooled cars (and Whit in his Rabbit GTI) met up and cruised out together. Once again, it was a great time caravaning in a pack of VW’s. A full set of pictures are in the gallery.

July 29th, 2010 @ 10.02 pm

While we were in Nags Head, NC last week, the Jetta’s alternator decided to slowly die. Luckily we were with family that could drive us around and jump start the car when we needed to drive it, but it was still a frustration, especially because we replaced it just two years ago. At least we were able to drive the car all the way home (with the A/C off in 100 deg heat) without breaking down, and I have a garage of my own to do the work in.

When we returned I ordered a new alternator, and today it arrived. Armed with a tutorial over at VW Vortex, I dove in to replace it, along with a coolant temperature sensor that has also gone bad recently. So far I am half way done, and here is what the Jetta looks like as of right now:

Yes, a simple alternator swap in a Jetta with a VR6 involves removing the front wheels, grille, front bumper cover, headlights, a few other small parts, draining the radiator and swinging the whole front radiator and frame head out of the way. I may have gotten away not draining the radiator, but to replace the coolant sensor meant draining coolant out, so I went ahead and drained it all.

July 16th, 2010 @ 7.41 am

The largest earthquake ever to hit the Baltimore/ Washington region woke residents from their sleep at 5:04am this morning. The Richter Scale could hardly contain it’s enthusiasm, and jumped to a never before seen level of 3.6. Across the region houses trembled and swayed, and everything inside rattled. Eyewitness reports coming in from the region report a total of three juice glasses have been damaged. Two broke when they fell to the floor. The third only has a small chip in the base, and the owner Joe Schmoe reports “it’s not that bad,” and he will continue to use it, always remembering the Great Quake of 2010.
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July 15th, 2010 @ 10.26 pm

I’ve lived within an hour or so of Baltimore my whole life, yet never saw the fireworks downtown before. For the past few years I’ve wanted to, but didn’t want to fight the crowds at the inner harbor. This year one of Beverly’s sorority sisters invited us to a party on their rooftop balcony in Federal Hill. Perfect!

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May 4th, 2010 @ 6.40 pm

Over the past four or five years I’d been meaning to go to the Volksfest show in Campbelltown, PA, but never did. There was always something going on, rain in the forecast, or I simply balked at how far away it is. This year I finally made it. Unlike many of the big shows, this one has no drag racing, so it’s just a bunch of VW’s hanging out in a field and a swap meet.

From my house it is exactly 100 miles each way, and most of that is straight up I-83. I’m a wimp, and so I didn’t even seriously consider taking my VW. Can it even make it that far without falling apart? What about everyone driving 80mph while I put along at 60mph? Isn’t I-83 always under construction in PA? So, yes we went… but we drove the Jetta, and I don’t regret it at all.

At the show I picked up a used steering damper to replace my worn out one (last replaced in the 80’s, or earlier… it was made in West Germany if that tells you anything). I said hi to one of our clubs members, and missed saying hi but did see another couple in the club. Of course I took a bunch of pictures and posted them in the Gallery. As I have read of past show reviews, the food on site was made by the fire hall and is decently edible (ie, cheap backyard burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc.) and is fairly priced. I fed Beverly and myself for about $9, but we did also bring out own soda’s.

Yes, that’s a dead dog or wolf in the back window. What else would you expect from a guy who drives a barndoor bus (ie, pre- March 1955) that is completely rusty but preserved with a clearcoat of paint?

April 19th, 2010 @ 7.49 am

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a company that made all the crazy products you thought of when you start a sentence with “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” Haven’t you always wanted to run around inside giant plastic tubes just like your pet hamster? Or had a Big Wheel (complete with plastic tires of course) that was adult sized to cruise around the neighborhood on? Or a robot to do all your chores (like the dishes, laundry, and cleaning the house)?

Of course this company would have to have a name… and I think the most fitting name would be Wouldn’t It Be Cool If. Of course that’s a bit long to type out every day, so for short they’d go by their acronym, WIBCI. The pronunciation would be Y-Bick-E. Now, wouldn’t it be cool if there were a company that made these crazy ideas we sometimes have?