Community
28 August, 2024
Dad’s legendary Kombi still a hit with car lovers across North Qld
The 1977 Volkswagen proved popular at the Mount Isa Motor Show.
Lindsay Bishop gives his father, Andy, all the credit for the classic 1977 Volkswagen T2 that was a crowd favourite at the Mount Isa Motor Show on Sunday.
Andy was a former Mount Isa miner who retired to the coast more than 30 years ago, found a rusted Kombi van sitting abandoned in a farmer’s paddock and spent the next decade fulfilling a life-long dream of restoring the vehicle.
The roof had to be torn off and completely reconstructed, the motor was upgraded to an 1800cc engine and the interior was re-fitted to include a rear seat that slides to a mattress, shelving, a kitchen sink and lots of storage space – making it able and ready for long trips on the road.
In a sentimental touch, his father had strewn a woollen blanket knitted by his mother across the rear seat, which Lindsay also had on display at Buchanan Park.
Andy’s original driving gloves also sat among the vehicle shelves.
Lindsay said the white and dark navy paint job on the exterior had been completed prior to the North Queensland Cowboys even joining the NRL, but once the team was in the competition it became a fitting tribute for a vehicle that Andy mostly travelled along the highways north and west of Townsville.
The Kombi now includes a few Cowboys stickers on the side windows.
When his father passed away five years ago, Lindsay purchased the vehicle from the estate.
He has taken it to the Quamby rodeo in the past and plans to make an appearance at the Boulia Camel Races in the future.
“When I first drove it along the Flinders Highway there were people in cars and motorbikes honking their horns and giving me the ‘hang ten’ hand sign – it was turning heads. People really seem to like seeing it out and about,” he told North West Weekly.
The original vehicle might be among the last manufactured at the Nissan plant at Clayton in Victoria as the 1977 model were the final batch through an Australian production line.
The leftover parts from the plant closure – which would fetch significant prices today – were simply tossed at the Dandenong rubbish tip on the outskirts of Melbourne.
All VW models were wholly imported afterwards.
The Kombinationskraftwagen, translated in German as ‘combination motor vehicle’, better known as the Kombi, were first released in post-World War II Germany in 1950 and were initially intended as a delivery and transport vehicle.
Kombis were designed as ice cream vans, ambulances, and were even used as taxis in Brazil.
However, it was during the 1960s days of “flower power” that the Kombi became better known as a tourist vehicle.
The vintage of the style and its adaptability as a living space has seen its resurgence again with the modern rise of the “van life” social media movement.
Lindsay said young people were keenly interested in his vehicle on Sunday.
“There has been a good reaction during the day – people coming over and wanting to look at the interior because they are interested in what it would be like to camp in one of these,” he said.
About 30 cars lined the shed at Buchanan Park, with Holden Torana and Monaro street machines featuring prominently, however a 1926 Ford Roadster street rod, owned by Mount Isa Motorsports and Recreation Association president Brett Peterson, tucked away in the corner also impressed crowds.
Many of the vehicles stopped in Mount Isa on route to the Red Centre Nats in Alice Springs.