It was likely a combination, or perhaps a kombi-nation, of these three things that set the Kombi on a path to becoming the global automotive icon it is today. It was so successful that production continued in various forms right up until 1975. In today’s world where manufacturers run models
for an average of six years before re-tooling, a 25-year production run is almost incomprehensible. That run was no doubt in part due to the vehicle’s popularity which ramped up throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The hippy movement was closely aligned with the Kombi thanks to their easy to work on design, low
cost, and people-carrying capability. So aligned were the Kombi and the peace, love, and freedom movement, that the vehicles became a symbol of the time. That symbolism continues today where it’s not uncommon to see a peace sign, flowers, or other similar iconography on Kombis around the

globe. Even Volkswagen New Zealand are in on the act, coming up with the concept of highlighting the Kombi’s carefree roots to help market the recently released successor, the VW IDBuzz.

The IDBuzz has all the hallmarks of the Kombi, including a unique design, great engineering, a focus on working to suit any lifestyle choice, and of course great marketing to match. The IDBuzz is also VW’s first foray into an all-electric van, and while it’s far from VW’s first electric vehicle, it may soon become their most popular.

KIWI KOMBI

To coincide with the local launch of the IDBuzz, Volkswagen New Zealand decided to play on the Kombi’s long and successful history by creating a unique Kombi of its own. The plan was to craft a vehicle that embodied the spirit of the original vehicles but with a modern twist to show how far the company has come, and to encourage fellow VW owners to do the same. The big twist – pun intended – is an electric motor powerplant, and VW would open-source the method of the steps required.

In VW’s words: “From the moment it was born, the Kombi has been a symbol of hope for a better world. Now, 65 years later, leaving the world

a better place for future generations is more important than ever. That’s why Volkswagen is making a shift to a more sustainable future by starting our journey into electric vehicles. And what better way to hit the road on our journey than by bringing back an icon from the past, so it can lead us into the future.”

For this epic transformation, they enlisted the help of one of the country’s foremost restoration shops, which also happens to be the business that has likely converted more classics to electric power than any other, Wellington’s

The Surgery. Business owner John Stevenson-Galvin states that there was no plan for the business to become classic EV specialists; the business simply evolved with the times and in the direction customers wanted.

Of course, the advantage for the customers, VW NZ included, is that The Surgery can take care of full builds like this in house, rather than just the engine side or the panel restoration aspects of car building/ restoration. With a deadline of just 12 months away, the build was a big ask, but John and the team at The Surgery are no strangers to pressure, and thankfully their years of experience and robust processes helped to make the seemingly impossible, possible.

RARE OPPORTUNITY

The 1960 Kombi they started with is remarkably rare, being just one of 500 made with both a split screen and a sliding door, which adds weight to the story that it started life as an ambulance. In the years since being on duty the vehicle has changed hands a few times, as well as the subject of a left-hand drive to right-hand drive standard dash configuration except for the battery level indicator conversion.

Of course, the conversion wasn’t up to the standard required by VW NZ nor the standard that would be let out of The Surgery’s doors. The starting point for the build was stripping it down to a shell before rolling it next door to Metal Immersions to be dipped. This exposed the usual rust expected in a vehicle of this age, as well as a few unexpected repairs from days gone by.

Masters at their trade, repairing this sort of stuff is bread and butter work for The Surgery’s team, and having worked on countless Kombis before, they knew exactly what was required. While this was being undertaken, a comprehensive parts list was being put together, much of which was sourced through VW specialist parts supplier The Metric Nut.

“There’s a huge culture and aftermarket parts network for these things now, but there’s also a lot of poor-quality parts out there,” says John.

“From our own experience, and through working with The Metric Nut, we know exactly what works and what doesn’t.”

Getting things to production car build standards is one of the things that sets businesses like The Surgery apart from most home builds, and for a car that will be driven by countless people – many with no old car experience – that was even more important in this instance.

Helping with that drivability is a narrowed front end that has been rebuilt with all new bushes seals and bearings, while the old drum brakes have been replaced with a Metric Nut disc brake conversion setup. One requirement of the electric powertrain conversion was an aftermarket electric brake booster to compensate for the electric motor’s absence of vacuum. Of course, the big talking point

is the EV conversion, and while that too aids with drivability, that wasn’t the main driver. Having converted a number of other VWs to EVs, the team knew what components were required, the main one being a Net Gain HyPer 9 motor that produces 112kW peak power and 235Nm. That’s plenty of performance in a lightweight Kombi and, thanks to the torque being the same from zero RPM, the van is easy to drive.

With that torque, there’s no need for the gearbox but, as John pointed out, keeping it also makes sense as the engine installation is simplified.

It also allows for reverse to still be used without the addition of any complex electronic controllers. To enable this, the shifter mechanism of the box has been modified to lock out all gears besides third and reverse and, handily, the original speedo drive is still in place to twist the speedometer.

RECHARGING AND RECYCLING

Throughout the build, VW NZ was keen to reuse what wasn’t broken, both the original components of the vehicle, and whatever else they had available, which in this case were batteries. Rather than purchase new batteries, they used a number of 1.6kWh/108AH battery modules traditionally found in the company’s e-Golf models. Eight of these are in the position of the standard fuel tank, while eight more sit beneath the centre of the vehicle between the chassis rails. Although there’s no official measurement on the vehicle’s range, John estimates it to be between 150 to 200km, which is more than most classics will generally travel between stops.

As the build came together the team enlisted the services of Kerry’s Upholstery for the soft furnishings. That included trimming the custom L-shaped rear seating arrangement that had been fabricated in-house along with the original but refurbished front seats. The remainder of the interior looks as if the car just rolled off the production line in 1960, which was all part of the plan. The exterior is pure Kombi too; the hippy-inspired artwork adorning the sides of it is a clever mix of retro-modernism, complete with plenty of subtle details hinting at what lies within.

The engine bay also looks like it could have been created at the factory, such is the attention to
detail. It includes a custom plate to seal off the electric motor from the undercarriage. It’s details such as this that elevate the build far beyond what an off-the-shelf conversion kit could offer. John has well-earned scepticism about conversions sold as bolt-in. In reality, they have only a fraction of the components required, and none of the expertise. If you’re thinking that performing an EV conversion is a great way to save money, he cautions you’ll be very mistaken.

The cheapest way into an EV is to buy a production vehicle, but a conversion such as this is a great way to get another classic back on the road and have some fun in the process. Don’t get sucked into all the misinformation about batteries killing the world or bursting into flames all the time and you’ll have every bit as much fun as the drivers of combustion engined vehicles, if not more. Instant torque and zero maintenance are just two of the selling points for a vehicle that costs next to nothing to run, and produces no harmful emissions in the process.

VW NZ successfully unveiled the Kombi, celebrating both its revered history and continued relevance
on their stand at National Fieldays earlier this year, where it was met with much applause. Understandably the certification process for a conversion like this is thorough, but that’s nothing that the team haven’t been through before, and there’s never any question about The Surgery’s workmanship.

Driving the car is every bit as much fun as it looks promise. No wide-gated offset gears to grind through, no carbs to tune or points to change, just jump in, push the start button, and go. Just like the original marketing when the Kombi was launched in 1960, this rolling publicity stunt has been a huge hit, showcasing the vehicle’s versatility to a whole new generation of fans. Except this time around, it’s not about flower power, but battery power.

Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon visited the VW factory on Wednesday, 23 April 1947, when it was still controlled by the British Occupational Forces under the command of Major Ivan Hirst, a British Army officer and engineer assigned to rebuild Volkswagen after the war. Pon wanted to talk about importing Volkswagens into the Netherlands, but it was a special day because he did something else. He took out his notebook and drew an oblong transport vehicle. It was basically no more than a soapbox on wheels, with the cab in front, and in the back, the engine.

How his conversation ended, nobody knows. But one thing is for sure, in 1947 his idea was revolutionary. It was brilliantly simple a large cargo space in a small area. According to Pon’s calculations, the vehicle would weigh in at just 750 kilos and be capable of carrying cargo in excess of 750 kilos as well. He based his design on the Plattenwagen, a primitive vehicle which looks like a pushbike with a moped engine, designed by the Volkswagen engineers for internal factory transportation at the Volkswagen plant. Like the Plattenwagen, his design had to be built on the chassis of a Beetle.

SPLITTY
The first generation of Volkswagen buses, the Type 2 — often referred to as split-window buses, the split-screen,microbus, or the ‘Splitty’ — were built between 1949 and 1967. This second vehicle line introduced by Volkswagen, after the iconic Beetle, is generally considered to be the forerunner of modern van. Split-screen vans came in many guises, as a panel, kombi, standard, deluxe, ambulance, fire truck, single and double cab, walk-through, and double door versions, during an 18-year production period. Split-screen models are recognisable for the sweeping V-line front and a large VW emblem. They also boasted generous interior space, about 4.8 cubic metres, which made them ideal for tradespeople and for carrying passengers.

The engine was courtesy of the Beetle, but the Splitty boasted unitary construction supported by a ladder frame. It consisted of two longitudinal parallel girders or beams upon which the suspension, engine, and transmission are mounted, instead of on the central frame platform. The payload was roughly 750kg, and the torsional rigidity inherent in the design ensures that the handling, although not brilliant, is adequate, which explains their usefulness as transporters. The engine had a cubic capacity of just over 1100cc, with an output of 18kW at 3300rpm.

Five decades on, this old-school icon from the 1960s — the era of the Beatles, Woodstock, love, peace, and all things free — built its own sub-culture associated with road trips, surfing, safaris, and endless summer. Given those associations with youth and innocence, the hippiemobile, hippie bus, hippie van, call it what you will, is as popular as ever, whether you actually experienced that kind of carefree VW- powered wandering back then or not. This friendly and fun-loving van with its bubbly engine note bustles its way into everyone’s affections with as much personality as a floppy family dog.

While the second-generation models are almost as revered, the original Splitties are now rare and highly prized collector’s items all over the globe. Whatever nickname you give it, the Kombi reigns supreme over its segment and has set itself into history for good.

KOMBINED HOLIDAYS
We recently caught up with VW enthusiast Steve Fejos, son of Hungarian parents who arrived in New Zealand as refugees after the ’56 uprising. Being European, Steve was naturally attracted to European cars, especially the more affordable VWs. “We must have owned at least 20 Kombis and Beetles over the years,” says Steve. “My father was a handyman and was always doing things buying, selling, and doing work and repairs at his property, so the Kombi was the ideal workhorse he needed.” As a young boy, under 10 years of age, Steve always liked to tag along with his father. Kombis in the 1960s and 1970s were usually rust buckets, but that didn’t deter his father from buying one every year and spending the winter months ‘doing it up’. “My father’s method of restoration usually included a few tin sheets, plenty of body filler, and a quick coat of paint, done in the driveway, ready for the family Christmas adventure to Taupo, Rotorua, and Auckland, departing every year on Boxing Day,” says Steve.

These definitely were far more basic than salubrious campers with all modcons you see travelling the country today. Many had nothing more than mattress tightly squeezed onto a home-built base as the family explored various camp sites around the North Island. Upon their return home, the Kombi was sold, and each year the process began again. “I have incredibly fond memories of working with my dad. We learnt everything about Kombis and the motors. We could pull out a motor in 30 minutes as teenagers, plus we naturally had all the gear and specialised tools, not that there was much needed,” says Steve.

THE ONE
Steve has dreamt of owning his own classic Kombi, but for many years it was never the right time or not the right van. Steve instantly knew he’d found the right Kombi when he discovered this much-loved example in Gisborne. It had been owned by the same couple for almost 40 years. They also had an album full of lasting memories of many years of camping holidays with their kids. The Kombi also came with an added bonus, which clinched the deal for Steve. It was not only the last German-assembled, right-hand drive, split-window built-in 1967, but it was also a rare factory ‘walk through’. These models had a single passenger and driver seat, allowing you to walk through to the rear.

With the deal done, Steve was excited to pick up his new pride and joy the following morning. “As I hit the motorway, it blew a spark plug — it had de-threaded. I had never seen or heard of that happening before. I limped the van to Thorndon. I had to have it trucked home to Johnsonville — to be greeted with applause by my neighbours and friends,” says Steve.

Steve would like to say a special thanks to the team at The Surgery, including Maurice Lindsay, the mechanic responsible for the engine work, and Lance Parker of Rotary Motor Trimmers who made six attempts at fitting the ceiling until it was perfect. He also imported the material for the seat cushions from Australia to have it as close to the original cushions as possible and replaced with the piping, etc, to have the absolute original look.

SURGICAL PROCEDURE
The first call Steve made was to renowned restoration specialist John Galvin at The Surgery. “I was so pleased we have such expertise based here in Wellington,” says Steve. Within a couple of weeks, it was another trip on the back of a tow truck to The Surgery for an analysis. “With the expertise on hand from the team at The Surgery we made some very logical decisions to ensure we had a reliable vehicle. We ended up fitting a complete new 1500cc motor built to original specifications.” This wasn’t exactly spoiling its originality, as the original motor had been changed out 25 years ago. The only upgrade was electronic ignition and a stainless steel exhaust. The gearbox had a whine, so that too was completely rebuilt to original specifications. While the running gear was out, the petrol tank was also removed, flushed, and repainted in original colours, and the motor housing area was sandblasted and repainted. Everything mechanical was restored and reconditioned. The original kingpins that were also replaced, and a reconditioned steering box fitted.

“Where possible, everything has been kept original and the temptation to modernise resisted. We even still have the drum brakes, which work absolutely fine,” says Steve. He had wanted to repaint the Kombi red and white, but a work progressed he realised this was perhaps the most original Kombi still running and thought a colour change back to its original Velvet Green and Pearl White scheme was more appropriate. All the brightwork was refurbished, plus a few modern chrome accessories were ordered and fitted. “The van has always been registered and has retained the original black plates, which to me added value and originality,” says Steve.

The van retains the original badges, cabinets, and hinges, and it even has the original clothes hangers for the wardrobe, which are held in place with the original wooden dowels. Steve repaired and restored the cabinetry (during lockdown). The ceiling has been relined in new, original-style VW material, and the upholstery fabric for
the seats was imported from Australia. “We have endeavoured to add some modern luxuries to the camping
experience, including a drive-in tent with fully closable sides — we do have the original awning but prefer the much larger option — and our camping table comes complete with our Nespresso machine. The original gas stove still works and is intact and even came with the original refillable gas bottle,” says Steve.

Now as a grandparent — and as a tribute to his late father — Steve and his wife Denise are now sharing that same camping experience with their grandkids for a Kombined experience.

Chris was born in the UK and immigrated to New Zealand when he was four years old. He grew up in the small rural town of Otaki where he attended the local school, and went on to study at Victoria University in Wellington, graduating with both MSc (Hons) and BCA degrees.

Chris spent the early part of his working career in the banking industry before he started operating the Museum Hotel (formerly the Michael Fowler Hotel) as a result of a bet with the Secretary of the Internal Affairs Department. He was also the driving force behind an extraordinary engineering feat – this involved saving the hotel from de- molition to make way for Te Papa in 1993 by, quite literally, moving the entire hotel across the road on railway tracks; it is the largest building in New Zealand to be relocated. This rescue mission led to Chris being named Wellingtonian of the Year in 1993 and, in 2006, he completed a $29 million nine-storey expansion of the hotel to a mix of hotel rooms and apartments.

It is located in the heart of Wellington – New Zealand’s arts and culture capital – and Chris Parkin’s creative influence is felt throughout the luxurious Museum Art Hotel. The hotel houses an extensive, private collection of contemporary New Zealand art – over 80 pieces – collected by Chris over the past 17 years.

Chris commissioned New Zealand artist, Lynne Sandri, to create a Museum Hotel Art Guide cataloguing the art. Guests may use the guide and take their own leisurely tour of the diverse art works on display throughout the hotel.

In February 2010 Prime Minister John Key launched The Long Gallery – an external gallery display area exhibiting changing contemporary New Zealand art work.

The hotel also offers a highly personalised service that includes beautifully furnished suites featuring sumptuous, yet modern décor, characterised by attention to detail and an intimate feel.
For those wanting to indulge in the very best fine-dining experience in Wellington, Hippopotamus – the hotel’s award-winning in-house restaurant – features authentic French-style cuisine by Laurent Loudeac. Chris established the French-themed and Versace-inspired Hippopotamus Restaurant in 2007, and it has since grown to be the most successful hotel restaurant in New Zealand, with the major- ity of its business coming from outside the hotel.

The hotel is on Yahoo’s list of the world’s top 10 hotels.

When Chris is not busy running the hotel, or travelling far off the beaten track (usually on a motorbike – a recent trip saw him heading out in the northwest frontier provinces
of Pakistan, in Taleban territory, on his way through the Karakorum mountain range to China and eventually Tibet; a journey of 6000km), he is consistently serving the arts community through sponsorship assistance to many organ- isations, including a $100,000 donation to the Wellington Sculpture Trust, and for the past 11 years he has been sponsoring the top student at Toi Whakaari/New Zealand Drama School.

A Wellington City Councillor for nine years before retir- ing in 2004, Chris has also been involved in Wellington’s art and cultural scene for many years, and the Museum Art Hotel is a significant sponsor of visual arts, film making, theatre, music and dance, as well as having sponsored a number of motorcycle racers over the years. Currently he is chairman of the New Zealand Affordable Arts Trust (which runs the New Zealand Art Show for emerging artists each year), chairman of Wellington Venues Ltd (which operates all the large Council venues, including TSB Arena), chair- man of Te Whaia Services (which operates the schools of dance and drama) and is a director of Te Papa and trustee of the Hannah Playhouse (Downstage). Chris is also a lead- ing proponent of a new convention centre for Wellington, as well as a national art gallery, both of which would add significantly to Wellington’s growth prospects, and was recently awarded a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday honours list.

You’re probably wondering by now how on earth Chris has time to enjoy his classic cars and motorcycles. To be honest, even Chris admits he doesn’t get to spend nearly as much time as he’d like behind the wheel of his Aston Martin DB7, BMW 535M (as featured elsewhere in this issue) or this stunning VW Beetle, which is used primarily as a promotional vehicle for the hotel.

The VW Beetle wasn’t actually planned as such, the idea only materializing when Chris decided to employ a sales and marketing person. After offering the position to the successful candidate, the subject of a company car came
up. Although a company vehicle wasn’t initially being offered with the position, not wanting to start a new working relationship on a bad note, Chris suggested that he’d sort something out, but made it quite clear that the car had to be something distinctive and representative of the hotel. After consulting a friend, the idea of a beautifully restored VW Beetle was considered. It all sounded too easy, they reckoned it would take about three months to complete and wouldn’t cost more than $20,000 – less than a good used car.

Unfortunately, the person contracted to build the Beetle turned out to be not as competent as they’d hoped, and Chris was forced to retrieve the basic car and all the bits and pieces which went with it – everything was loaded onto a trailer and taken to the team at The Surgery.

With a design brief to rebuild the Beetle as a combination of custom and retro styling with an artistic edge, The Surgery began work on the worn-out 1972 1302 Super Beetle, quite a rare semi-automatic model. The initial idea was that another company in Wellington would project manage the work while The Surgery was contracted to carry out bodywork and painting. However, as things turned out, The Surgery ended up completing all the work, including the project management.

The first task was to completely disassemble the Beetle, starting with the interior, dash, engine, transmission, glass, and chrome until it was just an empty shell. The bare shell was then acid dipped and sand-blasted back to bare steel.

Old battle scars and rust meant cutting out damaged sections from all four guards, floor pan, heater ducts, doors and quarter panels, these being replaced with fresh panels. To give a lowered appearance without turning the Beetle

into a hot rod was a difficult ask for The Surgery’s skilled team. They eventually opted for a retro look by cutting the complete roof off from the bottom of the screen pillars and waistline of the doors. Fifty millimetres was then removed from the pillars to lower the roof-line and a complete roof from a 1960 Beetle was then fitted. This model of Beetle was chosen because of the higher ‘crown’ in the roof panel and lower roof gutter line, thus enabling The Surgery to give the VW a ‘chopped’ roof look without sacrificing interior head-room. The Beetle’s glass was then either remade or cut down to suit the new opening sizes and shapes.

The end result makes you give the Beetle a double take – is it modified or not? It certainly looks different.

With all the panel work prepared and ready for paint – and with handmade period-style bumpers fabricated and installed – the next thing to consider was paint colour. The Museum Art Hotel’s official colours are black and gold,
so PPG two-pack high gloss/high solid jet black paint
was chosen. A retro-twist was added with the addition of hand-painted gold lace-work inserts on the car’s flanks, while specially-designed gold wheels completed the overall theme.

Mechanically, the Beetle wasn’t in the best shape so the engine was fully reconditioned with a few performance enhancements, including an electronic ignition system. Final detailing of the engine bay included gold-plating some items, whilst all the exhaust components were replaced with new parts, all of which were HPC ceramic coated.

The ‘bling’ needed to stop, so the Beetle’s brakes were upgraded to four-wheel discs and a completely new suspension set-up was installed and lowered using factory conversion kits.

The next item on the agenda was the electrical system – including the fitting of a new wiring loom with additional extra features including remote central locking, up-rated performance headlamps, interior LED lighting, remote interior UV lighting (for use at night when parked) and engine bay LED lighting.

The final task was to contrast the interior with the rest of the car, so it was treated to a complete re-trim in white leather with gold trim (set off by ultraviolet lighting at night), gold embroidery on the interior panels with the Museum Art Hotel logo, black carpets with gold edging, gold plated interior fittings, a gold chain link steering wheel and a custom sound system to complete the picture.

Two days before Christmas, three years ago, the car was delivered to the Museum Art Hotel unbeknownst to Chris. It was the night of the annual Museum Art Hotel Christ- mas party, and when Chris entered the hotel, there was
the Beetle in all its glory. Today, his only regret is that the Beetle should get out and about much more than it does – and, of course, he’d like to be driving it himself.

Nevertheless, the end result is a vehicle that attracts attention wherever it goes – it’s a genuine ‘one of a kind’, much like the Museum Art Hotel.