Its been a productive but slow going couple of days. We got britney from the paint shop and then it was time for the tint! That was set back number one. The rear window had been previously tinted and the rear defroster ruined. :(. And the big bummer is that we can’t find another window to replace it. So no defrost for us. Not much worry in Africa, but a bummer in colder climate.

While the tint was being done, me and a buddy took the front bumper to accesorize it. We wanted to add a “bullbar” or grill guard. It’s a bar that comes up to protect from a branches hitting the front of the lights. It alo provides loops for the van to be towed or pulled. Those went on with no problems and look awesome. Picked the van up post tint.g and it was a scorching drive home in 95 degree weather with no AC and the windows up (tint needs a few days to dry before rolling windows down!).

Once home it was on to installing a hitch on the front of the car to hold our heavy duty jack (60″ Hi-Lift Jack). And here were set backs 2 and 3. First up, the bolt attaching the bumper to van stripped in the van. And then the holes we drilled through the top of the bumper into the van body and then out the other side of the bumper didn’t line up perfectly for the hitch install. So we have to battle that too. We called it a night at 12:30AM.

Today it was back to work. No shops are open today (to loan a bigger drill bit for finalienable hitch bolts), so it was on to installing the new headlight system. This is known as the “South African Grill” because its the style of grill on vanagon in South Africa. The kit we purchased didnt come with any instructions. So it was time to hit the forums and search. It was slow but steady going, and then hit the next setback; the brackets that hold the headlights in this new setup were bent…sigh… And that’s when i just slowed down and smiled. This is what it’s going to be like on 36. I wont have shops waiting for me to pull up and fix my problems. Parts will be hard to come by and i will have to figure it out. So thats what i did. I took my rubber mallet and massaged the metal to shape, putting it on and off the car 5 times. And finally it sat perfect. A set-back? No way! I just learned how 30 year old metal moves, and the intricate details of my headlight system.

Typical, I tend to like precision; calculated paths to destinations; but i am fast learning to slow it down. We have an ambitious timeline to be ready and high personal expectations of awesomeness 🙂 But it’s clear… I have so much to learn.

So random musings aside, still have headlights work to do! Took a lunch break and cut my hand, and was off to the ER…

Today was a good day