[867] One Car Garage

I like to write about cars, that much is obvious. I also like to daydream about cars I wish I could own. So here we go again. A list of cars I would love to own if I had the money to buy them. I am basing all prices from Autodeals' website. They are my go-to local website for prices and specs of cars as well as online window shopping used cars. Because that's all I can do, look online.

My categories for my choices will be practicality and fit for the streets of Metro Manila. It should also be capable of going on roads trips, long and short, to visit other places in the Philippines. Finally, it should be available locally through a dealer. I'm listing down brand new cars, not second-hand ones. So here we go again with yet another list.

The attainable one. The Suzuki S-Presso. I could probably be able to afford this car with the price. And I really, really like the way this car is. It is exactly what I like in a car, practical and nice looking. It can seat around four to five people, and you can probably fix the space problem by installing roof rails and a roof basket / cargo carrier. Size is small enough that you won't have problems in parking spaces, ground clearance is tall enough that you won't scratch the bottom on tall humps and you'd probably be safe slowly driving over potholes that you can't avoid.

Less than PhP1 million. As far as I know all models of the Suzuki Ertiga still cost below one million. Decent size, can seat seven people if needed. With five people you have great cargo space. Again, you could probably add roof rails and a roof basket or cargo carrier if you want more storage. I think you just have to have it registered to carry cargo on the roof if they haven't changed the laws here.

Anything over PhP1 million. The Toyota Innova. The price range is so vast you can get some for a little over (or under?) one million to almost two million. So pick your variant, type of fuel, and transmission. The Innova has good ground clearance, is pretty practical, and can seat five to seven people. Again, an excellent practical choice.

So there you have it, my practical car choices. You'll notice I didn't include my personal favorite Honda Jazz in the list. It may also be practical, fun to drive, and nice to look at, but at the end of the day you can only fit five people there. Sure, there are only three of us in the family but I honestly believe the extra seating or storage space is better just in case you have other people riding with you or if you're going on a long road trip.

Out.

[866] Developments

Interesting developments have been happening to me since 2021 started. I don't want to mention anything here, because I've learned to censor myself to what I actually broadcast online.

Biggest change is that I've finally added one more cycle to my HIIT/Tabata workout. I used to do three 5-minute cycles of 20-second exercise and 10-second rest with a 1-minute recovery break. Since I've really slowed down the number of times I've been exercising since around October last year I decided to increase the duration of my exercise. I started last Monday, January 18. I finished my second workout earlier this morning.

I'm really hoping that once the weather slowly starts getting warmer, and the dawn starts getting brighter, that I will be able to exercise more frequently. If I can get back to my Monday to Friday frequency I'll probably be doing MWF with some lifting and TTh as all cardio.

As it stands now what I do is two cycles of cardio. Usually alternating between jumping jacks and a 20-pound kettlebell swing. After those two cycles the next one is usually either (if back day) suitcase deadlift alternating with left and right bent over rows or (for leg days) a combination of a kettlebell goblet squat, calf raises, and forward/backward lunges. I end the workout with (for shoulder days) some shoulder exercises I don't know the names or (for arm days) some bicep/tricep exercises I don't know the names either.

When I started this HIIT/Tabata workout last year my original goal was to lose more weight. I had gone down to 86kg and I wanted to go below 85kg. Since then I've gained weight and I am now hovering between 87kg to 89kg. This doesn't worry me. I am just refining my goals.

I've been here before, when I initially started my weight loss journey. I went down and hovered between 96kg to 99kg for quite a while before I refocused. I went down and hovered between 92kg to 94kg. Took a while before I managed to go down and now I'm hovering (yet again) between 87kg to 89kg. See the pattern?

The important thing I want to focus on now is to get back to exercising. Less for weight loss but more that I get my body moving. I'm already forty years old, I'm not getting younger, and I'm starting to slowly feel Father Time catch up to me. I need to be healthier.

Out.

[865] New Year New Weight

2021 has been here for two weeks already. First thing I need to get in control of more is my weight. I have gained weight and now I am hovering between 88 to 89kg. This is a big warning sign for me because I do not want to go back to 90kg or more.

I need to get my food intake back in control, and hopefully the end of the holidays will help with this. I am also trying to get back to exercising again but the cold early morning temperatures makes it very challenging for me.

I know, excuses excuses. I also know I need to dictate what I should be doing and not letting others tell me what I should be doing. So I will do my best to get good habits back again. Wish me luck.

Out.

[864] 2020

It's Sunday, you know what that means.

2020 is over and a new year has arrived. Looking back at everything that's happened I am thankful I have survived and have learned a lot of things from last year.

It was a very sad year with all the surprise deaths (non pandemic related), and unnecessary deaths that happened. I lost one of my very good friends and mentor, the world lost some amazing people, whether they were athletes, actors, leaders in their fields, young, old, whatever.

There were good things to happen for me personally in 2020. I cannot believe I am writing this but it is true. I cannot ignore the positives and focus on the negatives.

Out.

[863] Bug Build

A few days ago, last December 9, 2020 to be precise, I accompanied my folks to some errands at the bank. It's been a little over a month or so since I last went out, when my daughter had to get anti-rabies shots because her skin had been deeply scratched by our new puppy's teeth. That's another story.

Anyway as I was waiting in the car for my folks to finish I decided to make a list of how I'd build a Beetle. It was a pretty general list, but I listed down in order of priority the stuff I would love to have done on the Beetle. Here is that list, that I've modified yet again.

Get the Beetle itself, preferably a Super Beetle. Why a Super Beetle? It handles and rides better and is supposedly more stable than standard Beetles. There's no "death wobble." While a Super Beetle may not be as collectible as standard, pre-1967 Beetles, I also can't afford those older models. I'm also guessing pretty soon these Super Beetles will also become more collectible as more of them are lost to disrepair.

Engine maintenance. Make sure the engine runs well, doesn't leak oil, is reliable, and is not a fire hazard. I'd also move the fuel filter somewhere safer, based on stuff I've been reading on VW forums.

Front disk brake upgrade. This will always be my first modification. Safety always comes first and upgrading at least the front brakes to disk brakes will improve the stopping power a lot. I'm not talking about just any front brake system either. I'll be using the recommended brake upgrade kits for Super Beetles. I'd read you could use Porsche brake systems for Beetles (here's another link about Porsche brakes on Beetles) but I'm not sure if that is needed for the kind of engine I'm planning, which will most probably be bone stock.

Upgraded wiring harness. I've written about it once, and I'll keep on writing about it. Upgrading the wiring harness to more modern equipment will make it safer and easier to maintain in the long run. Plus if that Beetle still has the original harness the wiring might be old and brittle, or if it's been modified to hell it might not be safe depending on whoever did the wiring.

Rear disk brake upgrade. This isn't as important as the front but would be a welcome upgrade as well.

Upgrade to alternator and 12v battery if needed. I'm not sure if Super Beetles still used generators and 6V batteries but modernizing it would make finding parts for repairs easier.

Body repair, repaint, improvements, and modifications. Make sure the car is rust free and has no dents and dings. Straighten any bends and make sure the chassis is fine. My peg for the colors would be the Salzburg Rally Beetle: silver body, black front and rear decklid. For modifications I would remove the outside chrome trim. Upgrade the doorknobs and the front and rear decklid handles. This is the stage where I would install pop-out windows for the rear passengers. Definitely add heat and noise insulation for the interior, as well as a custom-built rear luggage space.

Install Memminger ABS. Another modern improvement I'd want for safety purposes. I've read on forums about this ABS system being installed, I just need a good mechanic who knows his or her stuff to install this.

Engine rebuild and mods. This is different from making the engine reliable. This is where we overhaul the engine and improve some components to make the engine more reliable and hopefully more powerful. Stuff like an improved crankshaft pulley, oil cooler, and whatever else would be a practical and affordable upgrade for the engine to last longer and maybe improve fuel consumption. Maybe a carburetor or air cleaner upgrade but not dual carbs. Yet.

Customization. This is where the dream goes sort of wild. I'll be "rambling" in the following paragraphs.

New front and rear seats, definitely with headrests. It would be nice if the rear seats were 60/40 fold forward for easier access to the luggage space. Three-point seatbelts for both front seats, as well as two or three seatbelts for the rear seats. Honestly I would like it if a horizontal bar could be safely and securely placed behind the rear seats so I could have three four-point harnesses installed for the rear passengers.

For the interior I would install new dome lights with LED bulbs. If I remember right there were lights above both doors, but I'd rather have the lights moved to the center above the rear view mirror for the driver and front passenger, and maybe another light in the back for the rear passengers and to illuminate the rear luggage space. I would also want to install a racing steering wheel, if not the Momo Prototipo then the Sabelt SW-465.

Aesthetics. I'm a big fan of the stuff Vintage Speed Taiwan is selling. It's pricey but I've read great things about them. I really like any variant of their Black Mamba sport shifters, their roof racks, and their custom door pullers.

New pedals. Honestly I would prefer a racing pedal box since I'm totally daydreaming. If I can't have that then just new pedals.

As for the dashboard, I'd rather remove the padding if it was really ugly and beyond the state of repair. I would install a speedometer/tachometer combo gauge as well as a volt meter, a fuel gauge, an oil pressure gauge, and an oil temp gauge. Standard stuff I think I would need to make sure the Beetle is running well.

The sound system is something I haven't discussed yet, and I'm not really sure what I want. I was thinking of getting those Bluetooth rechargeable speakers and just having a custom made attachment on somewhere for it, but the quality and volume might not be good. So I'd like to have a decent basic sound system set up with (gasp!) a decent 1-DIN modern stereo system with Bluetooth and auxiliary USB. I may be a fan of those retro looking modern stereo systems but they're just too expensive. Maybe a smallish subwoofer to be placed in the rear luggage area as well as some decent mid-range speakers.

Exterior mods. I'm talking about rims. I still have a thing for RS Watanabe style rims, but I'm also starting to grow fond of the Fuchs Porsche rims for the Beetle. Additional front fog lamps mounted on the bumper, and a rear LED chase light bar to act as not only the third brake light, but additional turn and reverse lights. A Thule roof rack with their roof basket (I know I wrote I was a fan of the Vintage Speed Taiwan roof rack but the it's either that or Thule). Headlight eyebrows.

Yeah this blog is pretty long already. Basically made a link dump for this. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to at least achieve my dream of owning a classic Beetle. We shall see.

Out.