The Kombi Krazy story began many many decades ago …….
Lisa’s story (Dad’s racing beetle):
I remember as a young girl seeing my dad do laps around the Oran Park and Amaroo race tracks in his zippy 1970’s VW Beetle. It was only one of five Beetles in Australia with a 1300cc engine boasting a top of speed of 130miles. Dad raced against V8s in the super sedan class which meant he’d be the first to the corner but the last out of it. He’d put sandbags in the front boot to balance the weight across the car and I even recall a race when my friend and I sat under the dash on the passenger’s side whilst dad did time trials at Catalina Park, Katoomba (which he apparently won that day). Several years later the beetle was mysteriously stolen (we assume just for the engine). Dad kept racing in Formula Vs for a while before a racing accident and a few more close calls saw him hang up his racing boots.
Christian’s story (My first car):
When I was 18 years old I bought my first car. It was a shiny white 1971 VW Beetle Bug with mags and twin exhausts (thanks Mr Penrose). My father wasn’t too thrilled with my desire to happily part with $5000 for an ‘old’ car let alone the fact I did not know how to drive a manual car back then. Not before long the beetle became a part of me taking me to places far and wide with a backpack and guitar. (And yes it was a chick magnet and there was plenty of room in the back seat !!!) It was my daily drive for several years later until I moved to Sydney and sold the car.
Lisa and Christian’s story (the Balmain bus):
We both had office jobs in Sydney. Like any two young adventurous single adults, we each choose to leave the safety of our families and moved to Balmain. Lisa (from Penrith) and Christian (from Wollongong) had a chance meeting on a bus (not a Kombi bus but the Route 442 bus) on their way home from work. We met again a few more times when Lisa happened to be speaking with a close co-worker (who also grew up in Wollongong) about a guy she met called Christian. By sheer co-incidence her co-worker did infact know the same Christian as his mother had taught her in primary school !!!! Was this just a co-incidence or fate ? Who knows but please read on !!!
Several years later, and happily married with a 3yr old daughter, I convinced my heavily pregnant wife (thanks honey !!) to buy a 1972 VW Beetle. It was cheap with some work to do but it was a start. About 2wks after purchasing it, I was driving down the M4 when I lost power and came to a halt. I looked back and to my horror the engine was on fire. (Note: I was not insured !! ) To cut a long story short…it was towed back home and sat in the garage for a several weeks. I was devastated at the loss and my wife had never seen me so down like this before. After many discussions and sleepness nights we made the decision to restore it to its former glory. After 13mths of patient restoration which including a full re-spray, new engine and re-upholstery (c/o Customs Bugs & Buses, Penrith), “BUGSY” as he became known was re-born !!!
We took BUGSY and the family for his first road test to the VW Nationals at Fairfield. Lisa left spell bounded and fell in love with the newer Beetle version. Not before long Lisa bought a 2000 Model Beetle. With its modern comforts of air conditioning, power steering and automatic transmission, her new purchase looked smart next to BUGSY. A great mix of old and new sat proudly in our driveway.
With two growing children and Christian playing in band, it soon became clear we needed a bigger car. So we sold both Beetles and became the owner of “BLUEY“, a 1978 Bay Window Kombi. He was a 7-seater microbus with automatic transmission with plenty of room for the kids, band equipment and even grandma !!! Ironically, we both met each other on a bus and here we were in another bus with two rugrats (Tahlia and Jake) in tow.
We took BLUEY to the Old Bar Beach Festival and proudly displayed him amongst other amazingly restored Kombis. Lisa however became rather jealous and we looked around for another Kombi to give BLUEY some company. And so “CHLOE“, a 1977 Bay Window Kombi joined the family. She was rough around the edges, the usual rust but had a good ‘heart’ (ie engine) and plenty of hippie-loving character. (Thanks to Cosi & Jay for parting with their baby)
But like many other Krazy VW owners, we added “BJ” (Bluey Junior), a 1966 VW Beetle (1600 Delux) to the VW Family. We bought him ’sight unseen’ with my wife and daughter flying up to Cairns to pick it up and we organised to bring it down to Sydney on the back of a truck. Okay so the battery run flat, the exhaust needed replacing and the wipers didn’t work but it too was a welcome addition to our VW family.
After a year or so, Christian’s dream of owning that elusive ’splitscreen’ Kombi before his 40th finally came to reality with a phone call to a seller in outback NSW. Much to the surprise of many non-VW observers, we sold BJ and CHLOE to fund the purchase of “WINNIE“, an ‘unregistered’ 11-window 1967 splitscreen Kombi. And so the restoration begun (Watch this space)
As you can see, our VW journey from its humble beginnings those many years ago goes someway in explaining why we are so Krazy about VWs and why we chose to share our VW passion !!!!
Thanks for taking the time to read our VW journey.
Cheers Lisa & Christian (and the two rugrats Tahlia and Jake)
Remember to love, laugh and dream