I wrote about the visit to weisswurst on February 10th.
I did not write much of anything about the preceding visit to jivermo in Miami on February 7th and 8th, and the following visit to jivermo again on February 14th and 15th.
Why not? Because Jivermo and I got stuck in a quicksand of diminishing momentum and we kept struggling until we could not go further. Jivermo, I hope you've got some pictures and a follow-up story at the ready.
I had a lovely drive down to Miami. Chloe was running flawlessly and the headliner did not blow any additional cheap threads, thank goodness for staples, huh? I even had this crazy thought that I might like to contribute anew to bending the arc of The Story of Volkswagens On Earth, you know, share the love of these totally fun, reliable, sturdy practical cars that defy Time Itself in their modest and humble way.
I arrived at Jivermo's on Saturday morning, February 7th, ready to execute. We spent the morning touring the depths of human nature at the dining room table, but it looked to be an easy enough two day appointment. The visit was ostensibly to dress up, stick on the transaxle, install, and break in the excitedly anticipated 2 liter long block from Adrian . . .
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Meandered out to the barn around 11:00AM ish:
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2015%2001/02%20FL%2020.jpg)
and I think we first got moving on the intake runners and injectors and even the fan housing . . . if we had only known. Then we straightened up some ignition wires and relocated the distributor drive gear and checked the endplay and installed tins. Sounds straight-forward enough, and it was to have been made easier by that should have been helpful black and yellow parts organizer that was to have promised to help us find all the nuts and bolts and screws and especially the metal dipstick tube.
![Image](http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s620/Jivermo/83852898-7A19-42F6-AC4E-C583B818F5C2_zpszfyxijsp.jpg)
We had breakfast on Sunday at Jivermo's social breakfast spot where I got to meet his business partner and a friend who stopped by to chat it up with us. We were still expecting to button it all up by the end of the day but . . . we had some difficulties. There were parts we needed that we could not rustle up in a timely fashion. We had to order some exhaust gaskets and nuts and bolts and I offered to come back down to Miami a week hence. I wanted to see Jivermo's Westy running! Running! So the Miami visit was actually Pensacola to Miami to Homosassa Springs back to Miami before heading back to Pensacola. Here's a boat I finally caught up with. (this was actually where I performed the 163,000 mile oil change) :
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2015%2001/02%20FL%2016.jpg)
I was OK with that. Chloe (see above) was running flawlessly and I wanted to drive the inner Florida roadways far from the interstate to take in Florida in February . . .
Spring Here At the 27th Parallel!
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Florida is beautiful in its middle, but you do have to pick your roads carefully. On the way to weisswurst's, I got stuck on an interminable four lane street through some garish motel/amusement park hell with rain spattering us all. The jam lasted close to 15 miles. I expected a reward at the end, some hideous car crash with parts strewn all over, but it was just one supremely arrogant passive aggressive "you will wait here until I say you can go" stop light with a short-timed yellow to make the municipality some money. I timed the red at 120 seconds and the yellow at barely 3. Once free of the gaudy faux French Quarter uselessness, the countryside beckoned with pastel blue and hazy clouds and sunshine like some 19th Century Impressionist Timeless Spring Afternoon.
I was on to Miami the second time in.
"Noo, you are not going to catch me in your stupid three-lanes-closed Interstate 95 Southbound Friday Evening Traffic Jam like you did last week, what? you think I'm dumb, or something, hah? I'm from Noo Yawk."
Sitting in a Friday evening traffic jam on three-lanes-closed Interstate 75 Southbound, I had plenty of time to congratulate myself on my wily wiles.
Now THIS Saturday morning, February 14th, Jivermo and I dispensed with our easy relaxed chattery. We had work to do. We buttoned up the exhaust, we installed the new clutch, we mated the transaxle to the engine, we installed the engine and transaxle,
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2015%2001/02%20FL%2021.jpg)
we adjusted the valves, chucked in some oil, cranked for oil pressure, we started the engine . . . Jivermo, take it away:
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2015%2001/02%20FL%2022.jpg)