Finally back on the ground and running!

Well, Today was the big day that Ed got back on his feet and drove under his own power. He has been on Jack stands for the last couple of months while his engine got some fresh seals and a fresh powder coating job. Today he was lowered back to the ground and Dixie and I took him for his first drive. All went well except we plowed the neighborhood streets because the roads have a few inches of snow still on them. He ran OK, but after a little tweaking and adjusting he's running like a top now. Me and Isaac took him to get some fresh gas and get some miles on him. I changed the trans fluid and a seal that had been leaking and put a new pilot bearing/gland nut and a throwout bearing. I use to get a loud howl when it was in reverse and moving and that is now completely gone. I couldn't be happier. Isaac is stoked also. He had about as much fun as I had while we were driving it. Here are some pictures. Isaac is washing the windshield because it was full of bugs from last fall. We also topped Ed off with a tank full of premium. You can afford the best when your tank is so small.

Here we are at Auto Zone returning some tools I had rented to get a neighbors truck fixed so it would pass safety inspection.

Here we are at Pleasant Green Cemetery. That is a regular haunt for us. Isaac and I almost got stuck in the snow here but we put the gas pedal down and got through the deep stuff.

 And here is a comparison picture. Ed is on the left. The bug on the right is a super beetle. Super beetles  have a completely different front suspension. Ed is a standard beetle. I had to get Ed running and out of the garage so I would have room for this other bug. It belongs to a friend of mines daughter.  I am redoing the  front suspension for her. It has the death wobble at speeds above 45. Super beetles are known for this. The front bushings and ball joints and tie rods and pretty much everything else wear out and you get the death wobble. I will post all about the repairs I make to this bug. I don't really like super beetles because of their front suspension. The standard beetle is so much simpler up front. I actually have never worked on a super so it should be interesting.

 Finally Ed is back home and in his spot. He is going to get booted out for a little while while the other one is getting worked on but that should be motivation for me. It is a lot nicer driving a bug in the winter when it sits in the garage at night then when it sits out in the snow and cold all night.

I just realised that I don't have a final picture of Ed's engine after it was in and everything hooked up. I will post some before and after pictures of the engine at a later post.