Strolling Amok

Junker or Jewel?

This 1972-1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was found sinking into the ground at a storage facility.

On my last trip to load up the final carton of LP record albums from my storage unit, I went in search of a car that my son had found and “loved the look” of. The Karmann Ghia was a car I had always been ambivalent about, because in the days of my youth, the best thing to do with a Volkswagen seemed to be to tear off the body and replace it with a lightweight fiberglass Meyers Manx dune buggy shell. Now, in hindsight, I can appreciate this model for what it represented.

This Karmann Ghia is one in spirit only, having been seriously cleaned up and rodded with a Porsche Engine. Still, all the original lines are there.

After World War II, Germany was trying to get back on its economic feet and get some of its bombed out factories going again. Volkswagen was pumping out a few Beetles and had contracted with a couple of coach-building firms to hand-build a convertible version. Volkswagen grew a bit concerned over time, because post-war countries such as the U.S. were beginning to look toward better, more elegant products, automotively speaking. Not everyone mind you, but those who began to prosper again first.

Frankly, postwar automobile design in the U.S. was at an all-time low just at a time when Read more…

The Battle Goes Slowly, Sire

This turntable is actually for DJs. I don’t care about the speed matching a bit, but the direct-drive, dust cover and general toughness are handy in a camper.

Feels like things are going slowly, anyway. On the record front, I’m tackling the 78 RPM records first because, song for song, they are the bulkiest and heaviest by far. It takes only about 6 minutes per side to record them, and I’ve managed to go through 3 cartons so far. In general, a carton of 78s takes two very long days to record. Now and then, a record will be in such rough shape that it’s unplayable, or it will be warpy enough that the stylus won’t be able to maintain contact. In the latter case, the thing to do is to kick the turntable speed down to 45 or 33 RPM to keep the needle planted, and then raise the speed back up later, in software. It takes much longer to record, but the needle stays in the groove.

I’m looking from the old section of the park toward the new. The spaces in my area are shorter and narrower. Except for weekends, it’s less crowded, too.

Yesterday, I began an unusual Read more…

What’cha Doin’?

First time I’ve deployed the awning since I got the trailer! The afternoon sun comes in through the doorway and heats up the trailer something fierce, and the awning lowers temps a heap. But it’s something else to monitor during the frequent thunderstorms.

Hey, why no adventurous tales of traveling and wildlife encounters? Clean-up. See, besides pestering the kids, my tasks here in Marengo, Illinois are to record expenses, deal with the IRS, the State of Illinois DMV, my Will, and my storage unit. I must also repair or modify certain things on the trailer for the next go, and of course sweat and stink in the humid summer heat. I’m still living in the trailer of course, and still have the solar panels deployed, since electricity in my part of this campsite is billed at industrial rates. The fridge is running on electricity full-time, in the hope that this will extend the life of the propane-powered section of it, for the road. Other gizmos are on shore power or solar, depending on weather and using a desulphater on each battery pack in turn.

The storage unit is the most imposing activity by far, because my hope is to Read more…