‘Passion wagon’ is part of surfing lingo
MANY surfers were probably conceived in the Kombis that are iconic to the sport – or that’s what was heard at the recent launch of the Volkswagen SA Surfing Open to be staged in Durban in June.
While veteran Durban surfer Andy Ward says there’s no reason to doubt this, he says taking one of these old “passion wagons” through the traffic offers more currency than driving a Porsche.
“There’s more chance of a Porsche driver looking at a Kombi than there is of me looking at a Porsche.”
Ward waxed lyrical about the freedom surfers have always enjoyed in their Kombis, “sleeping at the break” when the urge came to try out waves in remote and distant places.
“Turn the key and I can be off to Cape Town,” he said, explaining how the L-shaped lounge suite in the back of his Kombi folds into a double bed.
He bought his vehicle, a 1974 T2 Bay Kombi, six years ago and installed a VW Golf engine.
Ward said that by driving “Betsyboo”, as he has named his vehicle, he has become part of a Kombi community. “There’s an instant connection.
“You mostly find that guys with Kombis are surfers, ex-surfers or adventurers. It’s part of such an amazing lifestyle,” said the 49-year-old surfboard designer.
“There’s something about the ocean that makes you feel connected to your Kombi. Everybody has a story to tell about theirs.”
Ward says his Kombi is useful not only for surfing but for music festivals.
“Lots of the guys in the Kombi club are musicians so I end up following them around.”
On the maintenance front, Richard Perrett, an artisan who is a member of the club, has Kombis queued up for maintenance and repair work at his business in Glenwood. He said rust was the biggest problem Durban Kombi owners had to deal with. “Also, they’re old cars so there’s always something that needs to be done.”
But where there’s a will, there’s a way, not only with Kombis but also with the old Volkswagen Beetles.
Back in 1971, Volkswagen South Africa and Wheels magazine held a competition to find the oldest Beetle in South Africa.
Exposed
That led to finding and displaying “Jan” the Beetle, built in 1949, until his condition deteriorated so badly that he could no longer be decently exposed.
“That changed when Jan the Beetle was brought to the attention of another very special Jan at Volkswagen, namely Jan Schiedek-Jacht, the head of product engineering at VWSA,” the German car manufacturer said in a recent press release.
A team under SchiedekJacht, who is a classic car enthusiast, donated their spare time to restoring Jan and seven months later the car was in pristine condition.
“It was decided by the team that Jan would be restored to his original condition and colour. As many original components as possible were repaired and restored, and only where required were new components sourced from special dealers in South Africa, Germany and the US.”
Jan is now the jewel of the AutoPavilion vehicle collection in Uitenhage.
“Thanks to his split rear windshield, Jan is the most desired little Beetle by collectors and enthusiasts alike,” the company said.
“Jan proved that he is still fit for a jolly weekend drive after covering over 600km to the George Motor Show early in February. This was his first drive after full restoration, exactly 67 years, four months and 10 days after he was built.”