Sublimely Marley

THE Volkswagen Kombi, long associated with hippies and surfer dudes, has become one of the most desirable examples of classic automotive property.

This week’s column features Marley, a 1961 T2 11-window VW Kombi owned by Johan Venter, a 53-year-old automotive entrepreneur. Venter, from Leisure Bay on the South Coast, has a penchant for classic car restoration and collects die cast model cars.

His Kombi’s 1 600 twin-port engine was re-machined to fit 1940cc Forced Marley pistons and barrels.

It has new performance cylinder heads with 40mm stainless steel valves, performance valve springs and guide, twin Solex carburetors, an upgraded electronic ignition system, retrofitted external oil sump and cooler and a stainless steel branch exhaust system.

The suspension was upgraded with a set of customised front adjusters, as was the rack and pinion steering system, while the brakes were converted to disk. The rear suspension was kept standard. A set of 15-inch American Racing Torq Thrust mag wheels were mated to a premium tetrad of Bridgestone 185/50/15 rubbers.

The interior features an old-school Banjo steering wheel, while the Camper conversion includes a rock ’n’ roll bed and customised VW refrigerator, while the exterior has front and rear Safari windows, pop-out side windows, a stainless steel roof rack and aluminium deluxe trim.

The sound system boasts a retro radio linked to two Audiobank amplifiers and JBL front and rear speakers with a 12-inch Pioneer subwoofer.