Bittersweet

It is with sadness that I have to report that Maisie is no longer with us. She has been sold to a local girl who is a member of the Kombi Club. The reason?......I am expecting our 4th child! As Maisie only had 5 seats she had to go. In her place on the drive sits a HUGE Toyota Landcruiser. It has air con (the real deal not just a 'wind down the window' job, 8 seats and runs on LPG or petrol. We only bought it last night and already today I have seen what seems like loads of kombis on the road! Instead of the cheerful waves I used to get, I now get glared at. Still it is nice feeling safe and not creaking my way around Rockingham.

So, Maisie's Makeover will now be renamed Bob's makeover (he now has the hole in the floorpan welded and brakelines are being done this weekend) I guess hubby will do the write ups in future as I have lots of shopping to do!

Bye for now

Lou

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a great Chistmas & New Year - it was our first here and we loved it!

Work on Maisie has been steady, over the holidays we have taken her for her first service since we bought her as she had a vacuum leak. That fixed, we noticed that the battery wasn't charging when being driven and after a couple of days scratching our heads found the problem which turned out to be an accidentally disconnected wire. So now she is running better than ever and is a total pleasure to drive.

Also during the last few weeks, we have re-sprayed the dash in satin black (the mark in the pic under the stereo is a fingerprint) and also the doorcards have been covered. The window winder is missing from the drivers side as it doesn't work. I orderes a new window lift channel from the Bus Stop but we discovered the whole mechanism needs replacing ;o( We also ordered rubber bungs and clips for the door panels, window seals and scrapers for the passenger side and a new seat belt for the back seat. At least now, all the kids are safely strapped in. The cost are starting to mount up now but she will be well worth the effort - the more we do now, the less hassle there will be in the future. Oh, and I nicked the hubcaps off of Bob as he is still not on the road and Maisie needed them more!!!

Heres to a very happy '08 and hope to meet some of you on the road sometime!

Requested Update!!

For the mystery person who requested an update.....The seat is finally finished, it was a little more difficult than we thought but the end result is pretty good. We followed the instructions from Kombi Club but made the seat wider - 3 kids who want to be as far away from each other as poss!



The base is made from 18mm ply, the rock and roll mechanisms are the originals although we will probably replace them for shiny new ones at some point and the foams and material are new. The kick board under the seat is good ole mdf. We still need to get a 3rd seatbelt as there were only 2 originally but again these will all be replaced as they are a bit tired. I did all the upholstering myself - I used to make bras for M&S in the UK so figured I could do the job!! The material is actually more orange than the pics show but it was dark when I took them. All in all we are very happy and Tom said he didn't swear too much!!



The other pic is to show that my nice stereo is now in place as well as the new door card that I did! Some of the holes to fix it needed a little persuading to line up......(a good talking to and bigger drill bit!) What I would like to do is cover the door cards and all other panels in an unbacked carpet type stuff - if anyone knows where I can get some in WA, please let me know.


I suppose the next thing to sort out is the floor but it will be a while as T desperately wants to work on Bob who is not in action due to broken brake lines....

Work on the new rock and roll seat/bed has finally started, the old one had already been removed so we are using it in part as a template. The old one was only a 2 seater but as we have 3 kids needed it to be longer. We are using measurements and instructions from the Kombi Club's website as a few others have done and they are all pleased will the end results. As well as all the timber (18mm ply) and fixings, we have had to buy a few tools, but I won't be adding them to the running total as they are not exclusively for the bus.

On another note, when we bought Bob we were told that the driver's side window was dodgy, if it was wound down it would need 2 people to get it back up......very strangly, on Friday, Maisie developed exactly the same fault in the same window.....spooky! Tom found a temporary solution - he has put some bits of wood under the windows to keep them shut. Only thing is, when he took the door card off of Maisie, we found there was quite a bit of rust a the bottom :o( might be looking for a replacement door soon.....

The New Arrival!!

Tom sold his bike, so.....meet Bob....he is a '74 Beetle (as if ya couldn't tell!) , believe it or not he is the same colour - Kalahari Tan as Maisie, except that he appears to have been out in the sun for far too long! There are some rust issues, mostly the floorpan on the driver's side and under the wheel arch of the front passenger side. Tom is keen to try his hand at welding (and painting for that matter) though it is a very small space to squeeze into! We are gonna be very busy over the next few months!!

Toodyay Meet!!

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last posted......we have been so busy - but not on Maisie :( She has had some bits done, new fuel lines, spark plugs etc all in preperation for her first trip out to Toodyay. This event was organised by Kombi Konnection but involved a few other clubs. We had a fantastic day out, met many new people ( there were 19 buses in all) and best of all, Maisie did the trip without disaster - we were so proud! Pics and more details about the event can be seen on the KK website, but I have put up my fave pic from the day.....

Not much will be happening in the near future as we have birthdays and crimbo coming up...eeek! Hubby has put his Yamaha xjr1300 up for sale and hopes to get a beetle and fix both it and Maisie up. Fingers and everything else crossed that it sells!!

Right: As someone called it, the 'OrangeClub'

At last! Something has gone back on Maisie instead of being ripped off! As the pics show, the bumpers and bull bar have been resprayed and are back in place. She looks so much better now. The spare wheel cover was bought from an English eBay store called 'Modern World Covers'. It cost £28 (about $64) including postage. They do loads of different colours and are really good quality.

Maisie's insides have been completely removed - amazing how few screws were holding it all in place! We have decided to make the seat the whole width of the van and maybe put a buddy seat behind the passenger seat - we will have to check the complience rules about this.... When the floor was taken up, I was horrified to see a load of bubbling under the paintwork around every joint untill hubby informed me (after stabbing furiously with a screwdriver) that it was all tar and that the van is SOLID and has NO rust in the floor at all - YAY!! All that was needed was a wire brushing and cleaning. As for the outside, I am going to save all my pennies and get a proper paint job done along with having any remaing rust cut out and fixed, beans on toast for the next few months!!

Left: Maisie's new face!

*!!^%$**?!

A perfectly good weekend wasted - sadly, myself, hubby and all of our brood are far too sick with the dreaded D & V virus. All we managed to do is some stripping of the bumpers and bull bar......:o(

Aaahhhh... you guys.......!

Yesterday and today we have registered with Kombi Club and Kombi Konnection forums and I have to say, within 24 hours we have had loads of replies, everyone is sooo friendly! We can't wait for the meet in November - providing we have got the much needed tires by then - one in particular is looking beyond bald!

Please feel free to write comments on this blog, if anyone knows of good parts places we would be really grateful. This arvo there will be more bus love goin' on - hubby is on a half day.......

Bus Love!

'Bus Love' is the term hubby uses for working on Maisie. Sweet. All the rust has now been cut out, sanded, filled and primed, sanded, filled and primed a further 3 times, hubby has done an amazing job - I can't even see where the holes were! I've always accused him of being anal but now I'm glad he is! The rear bumper has been stripped and has had a coat of primer - already it's looking a million times better. Bunnings has done a roaring trade with us today, as we had to get a sander, sanding blocks, primer, paint and various fixings. With all the extra bits and bobs we have bought, Maisie is now becoming a mobile shed!

Work on Maisie will be limited to weekends now as hubby has to work.....hopefully with the evenings getting lighter some of the smaller jobs can be done then.

Above: Maisie looking like swiss cheese and the repair job.

So It Begins...

I have finally fulfilled a lifelong dream.....Last Monday, the 24 September '07, I bought a bright orange '74 VW Kombi. I have been scouring the papers and the internet (and IGA noticeboards!) for the last 6 months and in that time, there has hardly been any kombis avaliable. I spotted this one on a car sales website and hubby and I drove up to Perth last Sunday to look at her. The owner had had her for 10 years but felt he was getting to long in the tooth to maintain her. He was asking $7000 but I'm English and can haggle!! So after much grovelling to the bank we drove back to Perth on Monday clutching a cheque in our sweaty palms.

Hubby drove her home as I was too much of a coward, the weather was really bad - heavy rain and wind and it was dark and rush hour She did the journey happily although hubby was freezing by the time we got back thanks to window vents and no heating!

Over this last week, Maisie (as named by my 11 year old son) has undergone serious scrutiny. We have come up with a whole host of things that need doing and over the coming weeks, months and maybe even years (though I hope not!). I will be posting on this blog to let the world see how she and us are getting on. I will also have a page of running costs - as much for me as for anyone else who is restoring one of these beautiful vans and wants an idea of what it involves.

Since yesterday, hubby has been removing bits from Maisie, there was a unit that housed the fridge and 2 ring cooker - now gone although the cooker will be listed on ebay. The fridge we were told doesn't work well so I guess it'll be dumped. The wardrobe that was behind the driver's seat is out but will be kept as a template. Today, after having to buy an imperial socket set, the bumpers and bull bar are off to be stripped and repainted white.

Above: Maisie undergoing opthalmic surgery!