Inspire Me

Truck returned from the shop this morning with all the 75,000 mile service and a new master cylinder. Future me (the guy with the name on the credit card I used) is now $520 lighter. That guy is going to be so pissed. Anyway, Tiger and I washed and cleaned the vehicles. He’s super scared of drive-thru car washes. I took him out of his seat as we approached the tunnel of scrub, and explained that the truck was taking a bath. He didn’t shake or cry one bit. He kept saying “Truck? Bath? Truck? Bath?” So we wash the vehicles, vacuum and detail them and suddenly rain clouds roll in and *boom*, everything undone. Ah well. It was fun times and S. got to nap for an hour.

We’ve decided to keep the ‘04 Passat for the long haul. The auto industry is in transition and rolling out short-term models with no longevity at the moment. We’d like to wait until more efficient and lasting designs hit the US market before we buy again. We’ll put some money into the Passat next year to ensure it keeps running long & strong. I suggested a few aesthetic mods along with the mechanical stuff. I’d like to tint the windows (for the sake of the kid(s) in the back seat) and I’d really like to replace the scraped up stock 15” wheels with some 18”s when it’s time to replace the tires. I have no clue what direction to go with wheels for modern imports. Perhaps JetGirlArt can point me in the right direction?

Mechanical stuff:

-Front & rear light assemblies

-air intake, cabin filter

-Grease axles

-break pads

-Flush & replace fluids

-belts & hoses

-fuel filter

-battery

Papercraft Volvo 240 Wagon:

“Your papercraft Volvo 240 can be made with either a right-hand or left-hand-drive steering wheel, black or silver trim, automatic or manual transmission and electric or crank windows as well as a slew of wheel options. We can’t exactly say we have the patience to sit down, cut out and assemble a paper box of our own, but we’re in awe of the finished product.

If you have a soft spot for bricks and some time to kill, you can buy the kit from eBay for the low price of $12.90, plus $6.00 for shipping. Sounds like a steal to us. Head over to VolvoHobby.com to check it out for yourself…”

Volvo 240 Wagon

Dream grocery getter/ family wagon #1