VW lockdown project (Timaru Herald)
The engine is in the spare room and the body of the 1967 Volkswagen Beetle convertible is in the sleepout as its South Canterbury owner gets stuck into his first ever restoration project during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Pareora-based pest controller Sam Pierce had only been in the job he loves for a month before lockdown and after running out of gib and plaster to upgrade the inside of the house, has turned all his attention towards the disassembled car.
The car restoring rookie has been learning as he goes through watching You Tube and asking others in Facebook car groups.
"It's fun. It's going to cost a fortune, more than if I bought it done."
He purchased the vehicle from his mother about a year ago. She warned him about the rust, but he was unperturbed.
Since then he has been stripping out the rust and replacing the panels when the mood took him.
One problem has been the body is welded to the chassis, instead of being bolted, making it difficult to access the undercarriage.
He has taken out the engine, rewired it and cleaned the fuel tank.
The hardest part of the project so far he said was knowing there were a million things to do and not knowing where to start.
There was no room in the sleepout for the engine so it's in the spare room.
But now he was stuck.
"There's no more I can do. I don't have the tools. I don't know what tools I need, I'll have to Google that too."
He reckons it will look good once its finished which he expects may take about five years.
"If there was no lock down it would still be sitting there."
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️