Herbie in Manila

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Herbie’s Crash at EDSA/Santolan on September 8, 2007

September 10, 2007

Herbie lost his brakes and smashed his left fender on some MMDA Railings and slightly hit a Honda CRV last Saturday, September 8, 2007 at around 3:00PM.

I was on my way to Emmy's Maryknoll Batch 82 Alumni Homecoming, briskly driving on EDSA without traffic. Herbie's stereo wasn't working but I couldn't get VST's song out of my head. Aaa…awitin mo.

The plan was to get Herbie washed and a haircut and shave for myself before heading on to Maryknoll.

The drive was uneventful. Herbie was slipping the gaps between cars and the recently adjusted brakes were working as good as ever. I coasted just after the Santolan exit, planning to make a right to head towards Blue Ridge.

And then it happened, as I stepped on the brakes, the pedals hit the floorboard. surprised, I pumped the pedal to get the juices flowing. Still nothing! I was about to hit a Honda CRV dead on so I yanked on the hand brake hard! It slowed me down but I knew that I was still going to hit the Honda.

With a heavy heart, I swerved hard right, sacrificing Herbie. I hit that sidewalk pretty hard but my momentum still was enough to propel Herbie to just kiss the rear fender and bumper of the CRV. After the bump, I got out of Herbie to check on the owner to see if they were OK. The lady was surprised but otherwise alright. Some scratches on the CRV was about it. Nothing really major, not too bad. Really, I didn't hit the Honda that hard.

Herbie was NOT as lucky. The major damage was to the passenger side fender that sported a fresh gash from the pink MMDA fence. The headlight was crumpled BUT the glass didn't break. The drivers side fender also sported a long dent but was otherwise solid. Surprisingly, the front bumper survived relatively unharmed. Some pink paint transfered to it but with some buffing out, I think it will be good. This was little consolation when I saw the passenger side whitewall insert torn halfway off. sigh.

After an hour waiting for the inspectors to arrive and getting our paperwork together, Herbie was towed to Jon Portos shop for diagnosis. Preliminary first-aid included removing both fenders off. Guess what? The brakes worked !?!

I left Herbie in Jon's capable hands while I went to the Maryknoll reunion. A couple of beers numbed the sadness and the genuine concern by our friends made the evening enjoyable I must say.

Not to worry boys and girls, Herbie has been through worse before and we vow to bring him back BETTER than before.

more pictures here

Posted by manilaghia at 7:39 am | permalink | View this entry

Volkswagens Dynoed (Sort Off) at Autotechnika

September 2, 2007

Autotechnika at 32nd Street at the Fort invited all Volkswagen enthusiasts to a VW Eyeball, yesterday, September 1, 2007. To promote their automotive services, the Volkswagens were invited to tour the excellent facilities normally associated with expensive European machinery. Normal clientelle for Autotechnika are the new model Benzes, Bimmers, Audis, Jags, Porsches, and Coopers. Many expensive Japanese cars are also very welcome like Lexus, Nissan, Mitsubishis, Hondas, and Toyotas. Rumors persist that several Ferraris and Lambos are regularly serviced here but I was unfortunate not to see one there that day.

The highlight of the shop is the dynamometer that measures the precise horsepower output of a particular car. There is no "guesstimation" as the computers will provide racers with a complete and accurate horsepower readout and power curve. This is particularly useful for racers who tune their cars. The readouts provide accurate information on the mdifications done. While Volkswagens are not generally perceived to be high-performance machines, a lot of VW fans here modify their Bugs with rare and expensive parts usually reserved for the quarter mile drags in SoCal.

Naturally, VW performance guys here in the Philippines were interested in having their rides dynoed. One of the first to arrive was Dino (Empiboy) Morales who volunteered his white Cal looker to the task. Soon after, more VW racers, like Carlos (Flat4) Castañeda and Chris Palma (cpalma) and performance guys like Jap Javier arrived.

Spirits were high with expectations as this might be the first time Volkswagens were dynoed in the Philippines. As luck would have it, the dyno session was not to be! The quirky Volkswagens were not meant to be dynoed with this particular type of dynamometer. The rear axles were a lot longer and the hub used to connect to the brake drums could not fit flush. DANG!! That was a real disappointment to everyone there, especially to Dino.

Chris wanted one last try. Chris' Bug featured a modified Type 3 brake job that had the brake drum lips shaved off. It provided just enough clearance to fit the dyno hubs. Hmmmm… Worth the effort?? The dyno hubs fit flush and the technicians attached the dyno machines to Chris' VW. Now were rockin!

As luck would have it, another problem dashed our hopes once again. While the hubs fit flush, the quirky VW swing axles made it difficult to level the rear suspension. I would think that mechanics who regularly work with the air-cooled VW would have figured it out but the guys at Autotechnika are more accustomed to late model Euro cars than vintage Volks that they were very unfamiliar with the rear axles.That prevented any safe dyno sessions to take place. I think we had around 5 technicians and the owner fidgeting the setup for about 2 hours before finally giving up.

However, we still had some fun at Autotechnika. Many thanks to Gen Vitasa, our gracious host for touring the VW guys around the facilities. I'm sure that a lot more VW guys will start bringing their rides to this fantastic garage soon.

The VWCP held its Formal Meeting for September at Autotechnika for a refreshing change of venue. A slight drizzle probably made the drive a little difficult for some members to attend but the meeting was well attended anyways. Lastly, I am also glad that Autotecnika and the VWCP has made some arrangements to partner in future events. STAY TUNED!!

Posted by manilaghia at 7:41 am | permalink | View this entry

Herbie Furniture

August 24, 2007

I found a couple of pictures of Herbie-inspired furniture that might be real cool to own.

From woynowski.com is a contemporary Herbie sofa in L-87 Pearlweiss with early red, white, and blue stripes. The corners are decorated with late model Beetle fenders, complete with headlights and turn signals.

The fenders are accented with late model half bumpers . The stripes run complete to the back with excellent results. I would have preferred it if they included some Beetle rims and hubcaps and some decent tires, but I am not complaining. i wonder if the lights work?

If you have a bigger space, this next Herbie-inspired table for four is more interesting. Reminiscent of the car-sofa in some 50's themed cafe (featured in the Quentin Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction, starring John Travolta and Uma Thurman), this uses an actual late-model Beetle as the basis for this cool breakfast nook. I sure would want to have one for myself.