malgré tout (Despite Everything)

I just dropped $1100 on the carrier bar, flywheel, transmission adapter, and throttle valve reverser from Rocky Mountain Westy. They are still in 'limited Beta' on their solution, which is hung up on going production flushing bugs out of what is going to be big jump forward for underbelly radiator solutions. So the carrier bar and throttle reverser I'm getting are from the initial production run. Same jigs, so no worries there, but it is a little scary to realize that there is no tucking your tail between your legs and scurrying away. I now have serious skin in the game, and will not be allowed by TPTB to back out now.

I completely understand this attitude. I've failed and failed to come through on lots of things. I DNF more than anyone has any right to. I'm going to finish this because it is, in my mind, my own personal salvation that lets me look at myself in the mirror in the morning. It is proof that I can finish. So at the same time that I am moving this forward, I'm also going back and killing the DNF records off for things that I've flaked on. It will probably take me all year to move the Bus forward, clean up DNFs behind me, and do new items like refurbishment on my daughter's bedroom and repaint of the front rooms of our house. And anything else that falls off the Christmas tree in the mean-time.

At the same time that I made the Rocky Mountain Westy order, I also ordered the jegster radiator and fan solution from JEGS. It arrived this week. I had pursued it because getting a straight answer on what fan shroud fits which VW A1,A2,A3 radiator is like pulling teeth. I'm convinced that the boners who play with these all the time are vague on it, which is pretty sad, come to think.

The Jegster arrived and a opened the box *carefully* since I wanted to retain my option to return it.

I'm glad I did. In theory, there is nothing wrong with the shroud for the kind of race-track life it would lead. But I would not consider it 'elegantly' put together, and is seriously not optimized for this application, e.g. completely terrible airflow in a less than optimal physical environment. I need every trick I can get if this is going to work out. This solution is an expensive HACK. So its going back.

The other matter that has garnered attention today is the oh so very LIMITED amount of space there is in the engine compartment. for 'ancillaries.' From the bottom deck to top deck and generally from side to side the space is 13.5"H x 32"W x 24" D. I'm attempting to think of ways to reuse as many Subaru parts from the original pull to support the need to put the ancillaries in that space. I'd like to use the factory intake with the resonator on it, just rotated 180* so it will line up with the relocated throttle valve. Maybe suspended from the ceiling?