Car of the Month:1975 VW Kombi, Westfalia Camper (IK6)

Car of the Month: 1975 VW Kombi, Westfalia Camper (IK6) - Bitten by the Bug by Peter Lockie

In 1971 I was lucky enough to be able to purchase my first car, it was a 1963 VW Beetle, and it cost $750.00

I was 16 then, and a friend of my father’s said to me, “I hope you’re not going to become one of those one-eyed VW nuts” I had no idea what he meant but looking back on the intervening time, there have not been many days when an air-cooled VW has not been within reach, so I supposed I must have become a Beetle nut. My wife, Rosemary, has not had a day in her life where she couldn’t touch an aircooled VW, with her father been involved with the marque since its arrival in New Zealand in the 1950s

I have owned a variety of VWs, and my favorites would be the “68 – 70 Type 1. The first of the beetles with 12 volts electrics.

VW’s Models are divided into different types

The type 1 or 1st generation is the original air-cooled beetle which, although it went through a massive evolutionary process, was in production from 1938 until 2003, with 21,529,464 produced The type 2 or 2nd generation is the Kombi. The type 2 also went through an evolutionary process, with the most notable being the change in body shape in 1967 from the split front screen to the one-piece front screen. 1968 also saw the introduction of the Type 4 engine to the Kombi

The air-cooled types go through to Type 3 and 4 (The Variant), which saw the production of the 411/412 and the reconfiguration of the standard upright VW powerplant, to the flatter Type 4 engine, which allowed for more luggage room in the rear of the 411.

1974 412 Wagon

Type 4 Engine

Type 1 Engine The type 4 engine was also used in the VW Porsche 914 My current driver is a 1975 VW Kombi, Westfalia Camper (IK6), which I bought in Dunedin in 2005. At the time, I also had a 1970 VW 1500, and I thought the Kombi would be a great addition to the fleet On looking through papers that I have, it was handed to its first owner on February 25th, 1975 in Hanover Germany, had its 1000km service in Amsterdam and from then until 1976 spent its time between Germany and Switzerland, before arriving in London late 1976. I have no doubt the 20,000 odd kms clocked up until 1978, were throughout UK and Europe. It was, however, regularly serviced by J. McHale Autos, an Audi dealer in London NW 10

I am unsure of how the car came to New Zealand, but it clocked up 8000kms between its last service in the UK and its first service in NZ in 1978, and I would like to say it was driven a lot of the way; however, this remains unconfirmed.

The car was first registered in New Zealand on February 25th , 1978, and from then has had a va-

riety of owners up and down the country. The last documented owner was in 1986 in Waipu, Northland. Sadly, confidentiality blocks have restricted my accessing information from then until I became guardian in 2005 at the VW Nationals in Dunedin.

Although over the years, there have been various conversions of the Kombi van into campers, the Westfalia is the closest to a factory camper to be found. The vans were sent from the VW works in Wolfsburg, Germany, to the Westfalia factory in Rheda-Wiedenbruck, approximately 150km from Wolfsburg, VW’s home base. Here the vans were converted to a varying array of layouts. Adaptations began in 1950 with the split window Kombi and carried on until 2003. These vans, especially the early ones, have over time become very collectable and can fetch extremely high prices. Ours is designated according to the build plate as a Westfalia Campmobile P26 5. 00012. Which means it is a standard camper with a pop-top and a gas/electric refrigerator, and I assume 12th in the series. It originally had an 1800cc Type 4 motor, now a 2 Liter type 4 and a 3-speed automatic gearbox We have augmented the minimal space in the van with a drive-away awning which gives us a valuable second room. Over the years, we have travelled all over the country, mainly to VW conventions and Bulli’s (Gathering of vans), although the three-speed gearbox has given it an intense dislike for hills. On one outing, while travelling up the Ngauranga Gorge in Wellington, it suffered a catastrophic engine failure when a valve seat flipped, allowing the piston to hit an open valve...The result can be seen on the next page.

So time for a new engine and its conversion to 2 liters. Its condition today remains good with several episodes of a tidy up of the body and re-upholstery over the years. We enjoy daily outings but sadly, as we get older, we both find we enjoy our own bed more, and sadly we have stopped using it as the camper it was designed to be.

One of our more memorable and enjoyable encounters.

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SATURDAY 11 JUNE 2022

Start and finish rally at Waikato VCC Clubrooms, Maclean St Cambridge

Rally Plotted by: Wayne Hayward & Brent Terrill

The venue for the Rally start is at the VCC Waikato Branch Clubrooms, Maclean Street Cambridge. Saturday night venue is at is at ‘oneforty’ Bar and Eatery, 140 Whatawhata Rd, Dinsdale, Hamilton

ACCOMMODATION

There is a great variety of accommodation in Hamilton East or Hamilton. Please make your own accommodation arrangements, and book early.

ENTRIES CLOSE WEDNESDAY 31st May 2022 LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLY AT THE ORGANISER’S DISCRETION. NO REFUND OF FEES WILL BE MADE AFTER ENTRIES CLOSE UNLESS THERE ARE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.

The Veteran & Vintage Car Club (Waikato) Inc. looks forward to receiving your entry and to being your host for this weekend. We hope that you have a safe and enjoyable time with us All correspondence and entries to: Jillian Hayton

26 Te Awa Lane Tamahere RD3 Hamilton 3283 Phone: 07 856 7238 027 4230 608 Email: vccrally@gmail.com

YOUR COPY

Driver ……………….. Navigator………..……... Vehicle ………………….

Class of Vehicle

Veteran Vintage PV PWV Post 60 Post 80

Slow Speed Fast Speed Touring

Fees Paid

Entry Fee @ $35.00 $………… Additional breakfast …. @ $10.00 ea. $.............. Plaque @ $13.50 $………... Sat. Lunch ….. @ $10.00 ea. $………... Saturday Dinner……. @ $40.00 ea. $.............. Total Paid $………...

Date Sent …………..… GST No. 55-366-462

Online payment to the Waikato V&VCC bank account; Westpac 03-1568-0015832-03

Name of Entrant....................................................………………………….. Address of Entrant ............................................………………………….. ..................................................................................Post Code…………… Email Address ……………………………………………………………….. Contact Phone No.............................................…………………………...… Name of Driver ....................................................………………………….. Name of Navigator ...........................................…………………………… Make, Model & Year of Vehicle ......................................................…. VCC Branch & Membership No..............................

Indicate Class of Vehicle

Veteran Vintage PV PWV Post 60 Post 80

Slow Speed (15mph) Fast Speed (23mph) Touring

Fees Enclosed

Entry Fee (including breakfast and afternoon tea for Driver and Navigator) $ 35.00

Additional breakfast …...persons @ $10 each Plaque @ $13.50 Saturday Lunch.. ...... persons @ $10.00 each

(Tea and coffee supplied at lunch break)

Saturday Night Dinner..….. persons @ $40.00 each $ ...…… Total $ ..........

Send entry to: Rally Secretary:

Jillian Hayton 26 Te Awa Lane Tamahere RD3 Hamilton 3283 Phone: 07 856 7238 027 4230 608 Email: vccrally@gmail.com

FEES: Please pay online into the Waikato V&VCC bank account:

Westpac 03-1568-0015832-03

REGULATIONS

1 The event is open only to financial members of the VCC of NZ. 2 At least one member of the crew of each vehicle must be a financial member of the VCC of NZ. Members may be asked for their membership card. 3 The event will be run in accordance with VCC of NZ rally rules. No computerised or electronic aids are to be used.

CLASSES

The event will be open to all categories of the vehicles catered for by the VCCNZ. A minimum of three entries are required to constitute a class. If insufficient entries are received for any one class, those entries which are received will be allocated to the next suitable class

TEAMS TROPHY

The Waikato Double Fifty Teams Trophy shall be competed for annually at the 50/50 Rally. Any Branch of the VCC of NZ may enter one team and a team shall consist of three vehicles from any competitive class - i.e. Veteran, Vintage, PV, PWV, P60, P80 Motorcycle or Commercial. The aggregate points of all three vehicles shall determine the winning team. The team members’ names must be with the Rally Organiser before the start of the Rally and cannot be substituted after commencement of the event.

PROGRAMME

SATURDAY 11th June

8.00am Parts shed open - Branch Clubrooms, Maclean Street, Cambridge Rally Packs available to collect.

9.00am Breakfast and cuppa served to all entrants

10.00am First car away

12-1pm Lunch stop at country school hall

3-4pm Cars return to Clubrooms for afternoon tea

5.30pm Meet at ‘oneforty’ Bar and Eatery, 140 Whatawhata Road Dinsdale Road, Hamilton. Refreshments available to be purchased (NO BYO).

6.30pm Buffet dinner followed by prizegiving

THE ALL NEW BOOK FOR CLASSIC CAR ENTHUSIASTS CLASSIC JAGUARS IN NEW ZEALAND

SATURDAY 11 JUNE 2022

Start and finish rally at Waikato VCC Clubrooms, Maclean St Cambridge DETAILED PROFILES OF 40 KIWI CLASSIC JAGUARS Each with descriptive text including owners experiences and specifications. Rally Plotted by: Wayne Hayward & Brent Terrill Beautifully printed full page professional colour photography.

Foreword by Ian Callum CBE Design Director for Jaguar Cars 1999-2019

CLASSIC JAGUARS IN NEW ZEALAND

By Richard Waugh Photography Cameron Leggett ISBN: 978-0-473-58250-0 Publishing date: late November 2021 Format: 245 x 290mm, 316 pages, 485 photographs, 64,000-word text, casebound with dust jacket.

Special features include extensive Jaguar history, racing Jaguars in New Zealand, directory of Jaguar car clubs, toy/model Jaguars, Jaguar bibliography, and the fine work of many NZ classic Jaguar specialists.

LAUNCH SPECIAL PRICE OF $65

($79.99 RRP) + $10 POSTAGE ($14 RURAL)

Jaguar cars are iconic – renowned for their style, performance, excellent value and sporting reputation. Global impact came after World War II with the XK120 & Mark VII and the famed Le Mans wins. From Jaguar’s factory in Coventry, England, the farthest export market was New Zealand.

Published for the 100th anniversary of Jaguar’s origins in 2022, this new book tells the marque’s fascinating story with many informative New Zealand features.

A wide range of classic saloons and sports cars are profiled from the early 1930s to the late 1990s, many of which became household names such as the Mark 2, E-Type and XJ6. The owners share experiences of their cherished Jaguars. Each car is superbly photographed to show their elegance in appealing detail and clearly demonstrate why classic Jaguars are acclaimed in New Zealand and around the world.

HOW TO ORDER (available late Nov 2021) Email to: kctbooksales@gmail.com Provide your name and postal mailing address (include if rural delivery, number of books ordered, and date Payment made to the bank account – see below). Bank payment to: KCT book Sales 12 3089 0270739 01 It is essential your bank payment references your surname and email order date. Also include $10 postage/packaging per book order or $14 for rural delivery. Email for postage price for multiple book orders. Thank you.

Parts department hours are better than ever: 7.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday 8.00am to 1.00pm Saturday Parts and Services offer a comprehensive parts and service solution for your car, van, ute, truck, trailer, caravan, fifth-wheeler or campervan. We’re all about smart servicing – that means getting the parts that you need, and servicing your vehicle to your satisfaction every time.

Still at; 1 Miro Street, Taupo Web; partsandservices.co.nz Phone; 07 378 2673

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