A little while since the last update, owing mostly to terrible weather and then an utterly flat battery! The march to 93,359 has been more of a plod but the weekend brought another flurry of activity, and ’64 Java is back in the swing. The 17th of August was a fun day. Turned the ignition key and nothing at all happened, not even a tick on the starter. Bollocks.

So off to find the good people at Halfrod’s to confirm what I already knew – a mighty 1.5v was all the old battery was bothering to turn out. £88 for a new silver Yuasa battery, and off home for the fit!

And that’s where the fun started! The wiring has gotten a bit more complicated since the 911 seats got fitted, and as I was tightening the positive battery connection with a spanner I must have provided a path to earth with the spanner, the frame of the car and my arm! Cue a ton of sparks, a flash, a bang, a slightly bacon-y smell… and a sore hand!

So yeah, that was fun. ****** car!

A Sunday morning trip to Dave’s saw the ’64 put on another show – Dave tried to drive it… got down the road and then got stuck when he couldn’t find reverse. Had to go and rescue him! Then his son, Jamie, wanted a ride in the car. Went well – he’s 17 and really keen on Morris Minors. No accounting for taste there, but nice to see a young kid in to old car. he reminds me of me :).

Then off to the shops to buy a car seat so my 7-year-old son can ride in the Beetle – he never had before. He loved the idea, then he started worrying about how loud it was going to be, he was crying in the driveway… begged me to shut the roof… you name it.

But as soon as we were rolling he loved every minute of it. ‘I thought the car was stupid Dad but I was wrong, it’s really cool!’ – yes son, yes it is. Didn’t have to spank him for that after-all!

Maybe I’ve found someone to pick up the mantle – only another 10 years until he gets his license, and he hasn’t stopped asking when we can go out in it next. Bitten by the bug!