the aussie trimmer
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my busWell I finally bit the bullet and bought a Kombi for myself, it has a great history.
Delivered Australian Armed Forces (AIF) and was picked up after its tour of duty by Cadbury Schweppes for a WAVE promotion,
the pervious owner returned it back to it original army colours.
Now I am going to finish off the finer points including a new interior and get everything working as it should.
Kev.
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Piratekombi
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Aaah yes, I remember this one, it was off gumtree - another member was considering it, and I remember suggesting it looked ex-military.... They are usually in excellent condition.
Great score! 
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the aussie trimmer
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Yes when they gave up on it I saw it in the paper and decided to have a look. It was rough on the inside but the body and motor was in good condition. As you said the armed forces did look after their vehicles, all the inside floors have been red leaded to protect the floors and the under carriage is great. My only concern is it’s too dam high and I will have to have it lowered.
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Brookie
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Military vehicles for Australian Services had different paint specs including rust treatment and primers.
They always seem have less 'rust' or other problems than standard.
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Diddlie
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Looks good, is there a standard height kombis should be, I think Klaus is a bit of the lofty  side
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Piratekombi
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I like lofty! I sometimes wish Woger was even higher...
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Mustard Man
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ha, maybe they all need to be pimped up, so they can be raised and lowered when needed, and even bounce!!!
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Piratekombi
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When I first heard about "adjusters", I assumed they could be easily raised or lowered (eg when going from bitumen to off-road)... it would be great to be able to lower the kombi when highway driving or on a windy day, and then raise it again when you get to the camping site.
I am not sure about bouncing though - it would make the beer in the fridge fizz too much!
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Diddlie
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It's the wind on the freeway that freaks me 
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OberonViking
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That looks like standard height to me, same as my bus
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Mustard Man
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Good point about the beer.....foolish of me not to consider that!
As to the wind.......scares me too, bridges can me a serious hazard!
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WAY2COOL
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great looking bus, Kev.
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the aussie trimmer
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I put a level from the rear wheel arch to the front and its way out, 610mm at the rear and 770mm at the front, from floor to top of wheel arch. So it’s the front I want to bring down.
All I want is it to be level so my wife can get into it, and not have to have climbing gear or block and tackle to climb up into the cab. I even thought I might have to make stairs and keep them in the back for when she came out with me.
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Piratekombi
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Maybe you need a roo bar?  Or a heavy passenger?
It would be easier/cheaper to raise the back than lower the front... which would look (from the pix) pretty "standard".
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the aussie trimmer
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My busWith a little help from my friends front end Dave (66split) and new tyres from John Fowler at Wheels World Osborne Park. I have been able to reduce the hight of my van enough, so now my wife can also get some enjoyment out of Kombi travel too.
See, new Old style plates make the world of difference to the overall visual picture, None of those modern Blue plates to detract from look of the Bus.
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Brookie
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That's great Kev- now it is a family bus
Warren
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The K Factor
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| the aussie trimmer wrote: | I put a level from the rear wheel arch to the front and its way out, 610mm at the rear and 770mm at the front, from floor to top of wheel arch. So it’s the front I want to bring down.
All I want is it to be level so my wife can get into it, and not have to have climbing gear or block and tackle to climb up into the cab. I even thought I might have to make stairs and keep them in the back for when she came out with me. |
Hi Kevin, Mine is an ex-Army one too. The height difference between the front and the rear is also noticeable on mine. One day I'll get around to sorting it out. At one stage I thought of reverting back to the green and white too but that will be a big budget job. Mine's got rust in just about every panel, although mostly minor except the front nose and under rear left window. This must be due to poor preparation prior to the re-paint as the floor and underside is really good. I agree with your statement about the number plates. I recently had mine re-issued and did it in the black on white instead of the black on yellow. Much better.
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the aussie trimmer
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Its amazing how that feeling comes rushing back when you sit in a VW, it’s like no other feeling and yes I can feel you all nodding with agreement. It’s true, when you acquire the VW bug (excuse the pun) it never leaves you and one day it will lead you back to owning one again.
It’s not a mid life crisis, that’s a Harley motor bike, a sleek convertible or a young blond filly, a VW is not going to be cheaper but you will live happier longer. I had a 20 year separation from owning a VW, but that feeling never left me.
You can go off and own and drive a lot of other cars but when you get behind the wheel of a true German marque it just feels right. Ok they may not have ABS, stability control, air bags or a big V8 and you can’t hear anyone on your hands free Blue ant because of the internal noise, but you wouldn’t trade that Volkswagen feeling for anything and to be able to share and introduce that feeling with your family is priceless.
Try not to force the cars into the 21st century by hanging unattractive tags on them it's part of that dream.
Good luck with your bus K Factor, keep it as true to original as you can, but also it has to cater to your special needs.
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Diddlie
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I think I saw you on the freeway last week, if nor you then a clone.
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the aussie trimmer
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| Diddlie wrote: | | I think I saw you on the freeway last week, if nor you then a clone. |
I’m always going here and there up and down the freeway on a quest to get things done, sorry I didn’t see you, I didn’t notice any Kombi’s on the road last week or this Monday. You can always tell mine, I drive with the driving lights on all the time.
Last week would have been Monday that’s my day to do errands, I had to check out a foundry in O’Connor, I’m making year specific sun visors and hardware parts for the 57-59 Karmann Ghia and need to cast some of the parts.
I went there again yesterday their factory is about 200 metres from the fire and the smoke had a real bite to it. The police came and told them to close down and send their workers home, because the smoke was so toxic.
We have a new Yellow and White camper that hovers around the Wanneroo area looks like a recently done up Kombi, we exchanged the traditional Kombi wave. Well I did, she was waving frantically as if there was a bee in the cab. There is also another camper on the same street as the foundry in O’Connor, boy these things are becoming a common sighting where ever you go.
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66split
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looking good there kev. all that kombi talk just reminded me. when i picked your bus up i stopped at the shops just down the road from you and an allmost identical green bay with a cream roof drove through the car park! also i didnt see the driving lamps come on in the shop window, cheers, dave.
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the aussie trimmer
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Yeah I noticed they weren’t working after you dropped it back and had to do some testing to find the problem, but all’s good now just a faulty connection. Also I had gear selector problems with first and second and had to adjust the selector rod, it was out a few millimetres but that’s Ok now too. It’s amazing how well the van rides now, holds the road better and with the new tyres it has a softer ride. Thanks for all your help mate.
If anyone wants my other set of tyres you can have them for free, they are all in good condition.
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