The pace of work
on the Kombi slowed somewhat after it left NE Powder Coaters. It is now
in its third home.
The first new home
saw the wiring loom completed and work started on fitting the tail
lights, windows
and new seals. The right hand window went on very well - everything
fitted well. The left hand door was not to prove so easy: the windows
and seals were fitted to the frame and the frame fitted to the door,
however the door would not close. A close inspection revealed that the
frame had a considerable warp in it, obviously the result of some
earlier front end damage to the kombi. We always knew that the front
end had received a whack, with some earlier repairs being of a lower
standard than what shoudl have been expected, but hadn't realised that
the force must have transmitted through to the window frame.
A quick call to
Ian Poynter at Unique Fabrication was all that was needed. Ian offered
to straighten the frame for us. A couple of weeks later and there we
were again - nice true frame, with glass intact and a door that closed
with a reassuring thud (against those new seals). With all the window
glas fitted, the car was now at "lock up" stage and we organised for it
to be picked up by Adam DeBiasi of DeBiasi Auto Repairs for a stint in
their garage.
Adam & Peter
volunteered their time to work over the kombi's brakes. Whilst there
they took the opportunity to do a bit of work on the front end as well.
Moving a kombi out of a shed always introduces an element of risk: in
this case the risk that the empty space so created would not be
available on its return. At least it was gazumped by other Volkswagens .
So once the Deb's
had worked their magic on the car, it was off to its second home. Once
again the loyal crew of kombi workers grouped together when they could
for a Saturday afternoon session of "build and beer". Before long the
kombi had a new exhaust, a battery had been installed and all was ready
for firing. The motor for the car had also been donated by the
DeBiasi's a couple of years earlier. While at NE Powder Coaters all the
tin ware had been spruced up and all the alloy items polished. So she
really looked a treat. Fuel lines were connected, the carbie filled
with fuel, the battery charged and we crossed our fingers. Imagine our
joy, when we turned the key and she fired into life without any
hesitation.
Before we knew it,
another year had passed and we were making ready for VolksFest 2006.
This year would be different: for the first time ever the bus was
driven onto its trailer - no need for winching. Once again all the club
flags, banners etc were loaded into the van and the the load towed down
to Gelenelg. Even though VolksFest 2006 was an extremely successfuly
day in all regards, our impressions of the day were largely shaped by
our joy at seeing the Club Kombi driven off the trailer and on to the
strip. Rob G could'nt suppress his glee as he drove it on to the grass
and did a victory lap, prior to the car being parked in a prime
location near the Club Tent.
A 6:00 am start,
working all day to set up the ground, man the stalls, then once
absolutely knackered, pack it all up again, could be a recipe for
disaster. Not so for the VEC. A great band of helpers meant that the
whole day ran smoothly and the hard work was shared out by many keen
hands. To top off an excellent day, members of our sister club, the VW
Club of SA, stayed to help clean up and joined us for a well earned
beer. The final task for the day was towing the van home. But once
again, the joy of being able to drive her off the trailer made it all
seem worthwhile and that much easier.
