Chapter Three
When we
went to live in Bairnsdale in 1984, it wasn't long before we decided a 4-wheel
drive vehicle was surplus to requirements and sold the Landcruiser, to be
replaced by a Holden Kingswood ex-taxi with front bench seat. This lasted a couple of months before we
could no longer stand it. It wallowed
on the road, causing car sickness, there wasn't really room for six people, and
the front bench was worn out and sagging.
When we saw an ex-Army khaki green VW Microbus in a local car yard, we
couldn't swap the Holden quick enough.
(After the deal, the salesman made a show of being incensed that we
hadn't told him the Holden was an ex-taxi!
Incompetence on his part, I thought, and as if he would have told
us!). The Microbus had seating for
eight, full headlining and wall lining, and heating to the rear. It was a 1973 model, same as our new one in
1973, but would have been a bit more expensive than the Kombi. It had obviously been well maintained by the
Army.
There was
plenty of room for the kids to spread out and to carry our gear. We went camping at Easter time in 1985 to Mt
Buffalo and made plenty of trips to Sale and back.
By this
time we had two boats, the larger being a 16' Hartley trailer-sailer with full
cabin. We used the VW to tow it to the
Gippsland lakes, sometimes to Paynesville, sometimes Metung. On one such trip, we were almost home when
the motor went bang and emitted a cloud of blue smoke. We were forced to limp home in low gear
still towing the boat. This resulted in
an engine overhaul - from memory, the engine overheated and a welsh plug
melted, putting oil where it shouldn't have been.
However,
as the result of having a "new" motor, we decided to make a trip to
the Territory. When we left Areyonga at
the end of 1983, we agreed to return by road when sealing of the Stuart
Highway was completed, possibly in 1988.
But having a nice touring wagon like the Microbus, with an overhauled
motor, was too much of a temptation.
We spent a
few weeks on the trip and went as far north as Ti Tree to stay with Mick and
Karen. The bitumen road was completed
north of the NT border, while in South
Australia, Kingoonya and Tarcoola had been bypassed (the upgraded road went
through Glendambo) and the new road was being formed up south of Coober
Pedy. We all enjoyed the trip and the
Microbus took the corrugations in its stride.
At around
the same time, I'd seen an old VW Beetle for sale outside a house in Bairnsdale
for about a hundred dollars, and couldn't resist buying it for a hobby. This was to become our 1964 Black
Beetle. The car was in running order,
and registered for use, but was in need of some TLC.
By
watching used-car ads, I bought another
complete car from a farmer at Mt Taylor for about $60 and a third without a
motor from Lakes Entrance for $40. What
this meant was that for a total of $200, I had no need to buy any new spare
parts. The bonnet hinges of the
original car were rusted enough to cause problems opening and closing it, so I
was able to replace it completely with one from the other cars. I stripped the body off the Mt Taylor car
and stored the detachable panels, lights, glass and other parts behind the shed
as spare parts. The rolling floor pan,
in going order, complete with front seats, went to school friends of Jac and
Daniel to use as a "bush basher" on their farm.
I had
three sets of brake shoes, drums, cylinders and lines, and was able to set up
the car with the best of these. When it
became necessary, I swapped the clutch in the Black Beetle. It was a simple matter to undo the engine
mount bolts, put blocks under the motor and then jack the car up until it was
free of the motor, which could then be slid out from under the car. This meant the clutch was accessible with
all the transmission components still in place.
I learnt a
lot about VWs by playing with the Black Beetle. Everything from windscreen wiper motor to king pins were
cleaned, overhauled or replaced. I came
to appreciate what a great design Ferdinand Porsche and his team had come up
with, and how simple most things were.
There were the odd annoyances, like the necessity to have one arm and
spanner under the car and another arm and spanner in the engine compartment to
remove the starter motor - not possible so lateral thinking was required!
I bought a
paint spray gun, pulled the body apart, stripped off all the bright work and
lights, masked the glass, and sprayed on undercoats and gloss black. The only modification I made from the
original car was to eliminated the chrome strips along the waist on each side
of the body. The fittings were wrecked
by rust and most of the rubber grommets missing. From the inside of the body I superglued patches of plastic over
the holes and then bogged them from the outside to leave a smooth finish. If I did it again I would restore the strips
properly, but it did look good!
We kept
the Black Beetle for quite a few years.
Many times, all six of us crammed into it for short trips around town,
sometimes with one child in the luggage compartment behind the back seat, and
with a guitar case on the laps of those in the back seat!
We still
had the car when we moved to Wiseleigh in 1994, and for some time Doortje used
it to commute to work in Bairnsdale.
Often on weekends we went off exploring the back roads around the
district, especially the dirt tracks and fire trails up in the hills behind
Bruthen.
It grieves
me to have to report that after we came back from the NT trip in 1985, my neck
was so sore from the trip that I was convinced I could no longer drive the
Microbus. It was common practice in the
1970s to travel non-stop from Alice Springs to Papunya, about three hours of
concentration on corrugations, washaways, or bulldust and sand. By the end of the trip, my neck would be
stiff and tense. I now know that the
damage was ongoing and permanent and that at least some of this must have been
due to the "cab-over" design of the Kombi, with the driver sitting
directly over the front wheels and subject to every bump and jolt. Leaning over the steering wheel which was
slightly more horizontally "bus-like" than a normal sedan, probably
didn't help either.
I know
this partly because we got rid of the Kombi in 1986 and bought a Chrysler Valiant
station wagon, which was much gentler on the body. We had it for twelve years and made many long trips without the
same detriment to my neck.
My regret
now is that I didn't take proper evasive action during those years which would
have enabled us to keep the Microbus without the suffering. In all respects except the driving position,
(and even that gave great visibility) it was a superior versatile vehicle,
capable of carrying loads on any terrain and covering large lumps of country.
As it was,
we gave the Microbus away (along with the Hartley boat) to a group in Melbourne
who looked after disadvantaged youth and were able to put it to good use.
When
Doortje and I moved back to the NT in 1998 we sold the Black Beetle to someone
in Melbourne, along with a trailer load of spare parts, including doors and panels
and a gearbox. I can't remember how
much they paid us, but not much. I only
hope it's still going. Thus the VW story comes to an end.
In total,
I've owned or part-owned, nine Volkswagens - five Beetles, three vans and a
type 3. It would be great to get to
double figures.
I wonder what
I could do to achieve that? Here's a
short list, probably in order of desirability:
1. 1964 Karmann Ghia
All the same mechanicals as the 1964 Beetle but very nice body.
2. 1985
"Type 3" Kombi camper, 3-speed auto
As I write, this vehicle is for sale for $13,000, and this model is fast becoming a collector's item as earlier models become rarer.
3. 2010 Golf Wagon, TDI with DSG gearbox
Low mileage versions are about $25,000, very desirable, but hard to justify replacing the Honda! End of dreaming!
