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Reply to "A(nother) Bridge Too Far"

I know pretty well who I am, and who I'm not. Mitch (of course) has my particular psychosis pretty well pegged, from his observation regarding what I advise and what I do, to his realization that I enjoy working on this car almost as much as I enjoy driving it (and maybe more). I love the VW Type 1 because it can be almost any one thing a man chooses, but not several things at once. Both Mitch and Jim Ignacio are very good at just choosing a configuration with the broadest bandwidth, and accepting the limitations. They then (wisely) adapt themselves to accept what they have.

Although I see the great value in the "zen" of that, I'm just not that guy. I'll never be able to fully leave well enough alone, and I'm OK with that. I'm happy in my own skin.

I do like to build. But even more, I like to solve problems (whether actual or perceived). This makes me a lousy leader, or a fantastic one, depending on the situation. I'm a fixer of things, and always default to the belief that there is nearly always a way to bring the mountain to Muhammad, if one applies enough effort. Sometimes this belief works greatly to my advantage, sometimes it does not-- but while most people find dead-ends to be frustrating defeats, I just look at them as one more solution for a problem other than the one I'm trying to solve at the moment. Even outright failure is just one more answer ("let's not do that again").

The air-cooled flat 4 is one of the most modular mechanical devices ever conceived and manufactured. It can be configured to be anything from a 1200 cc pea-shooter to a 3L, turbocharged drag motor-- all with the same basic architecture. What it isn't is super-flexible at being several things at once. For me, the white whale has been in choosing which set of limitations will best fit the particular application. What do I want this car to be? What am I willing to give up to get it there? Once the parameters are identified, then taking the thing to it's logical conclusion is just a matter of applying time and money.

I've never been displeased with any iteration of this car, but my expectations of it have evolved and crystallized to bring me to a moment where I took a couple of steps back so that I could head down a road that was slightly (but significantly) different. So far, I like it a lot.

I believe the engine we are building will be the icing on the cake. I can tell you this, before diving into the details-- I have enjoyed the process immensely, and my enjoyment of it is firmly rooted in finding somebody as inquisitive, detail oriented, and honest as I hope to be.

I cannot recommend @Vintage Volks highly enough.  

Last edited by Stan Galat
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