1976 ‘Martini Olive’ Aussie Dormobile Kombi

[mcdonaldneal]

I think I have ticked off most of the small winter maintenance jobs I wanted to do. We are going away in a couple of weeks, so I wanted to get Olive roadworthy before we leave her.
Jobs included:
Wiper motor rebuild and lube
Washer switch replacement from parts bus
Wiring behind dash tidied and repaired
MPH speedo and tacho fitted
Radio/cassette wired in and period speaker fitted
Heater ducting repaired, boots replaced and cables lubed
Leather steering wheel cover fitted (this was loose on the hard, thin steering wheel but fits a treat on the bigger, padded wheel I got from the parts bus)
Loose glovebox strap repaired
Indicator lenses replaced from parts bus
Rock and roll bed fitted back in

All looking pretty good!

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I’ve found another job to occupy me: recommissioning the Dometic 3-way fridge.
It has never (for us) worked with gas. When I did connect up a gas bottle there was an almighty stink and I discovered the gas line is disconnected from the fridge, but couldn’t see the end of the pipe.
The 12v input had a household mains cable attached to it but nothing on the end. When we were in Aus I wired on a cigarette lighter plug and ran it off the 12v socket at the dash. We had to disconnect manually every time we stopped and the plug melted after 11 weeks on the road!
On the plus side, the fridge did work on 240v. Yay!

I have found the fridge relay in the engine compartment, with no trigger wire and partially connected: to earth and a wire that disappeared into a bodywork channel along the side of the van.
I manhandled the fridge out of its slot and discovered two interesting things:
The hot wire and an earth cable that must have been the original 12v supply, cut and lying behind the fridge. Hopefully I can splice in enough cable to function.
Also, there is a steel braided gas line with a tapered thread end that will attach to the gas inlet. Unfortunately it looks very elderly and twisted, but hopefully I can get a replacement and maybe get it running on gas again. Our experience with our other Dormobile suggests gas power is effective and efficient when it works. We’ll see! I might have to post on an Aussie VW forum to find out their gas connector standards.
So, a work in progress!

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

With some struggle, I have dropped the water tank to access the gas line for the fridge and removed the flexible hose. I’m not planning to use the fridge on gas but I think I will replace the hose for completeness before the fridge goes back in. The end of the hose was full of rusty crap, so I’m not surprised it was disconnected! There is an adapter to connect the BSP fitting of the hose to the flare of the hard gas line.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

After some struggling with the fridge I have got it connected to gas now. I’m unlikely to use it, but I thought it was better to connect up while the fridge was out. You can see the twisted mess that was the old braided hose!
I also sorted the 12v supply, so that the fridge can operate when the engine is running. These evaporative fridges take about 8amps of 12v, so it’s not a good idea to run it without the alternator!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I also wanted to check the gas supply of the stove, which uses a separate cylinder. It runs off direct high pressure LPG from a Primus cylinder. The cylinder connection seems to be Australia specific and the valve connects via a BSP fitting to high pressure hose. I’m not sure what the connection is called that connects to the stove itself, with the knurled collar, so I have asked on an Aussie FB forum (the Kombi club). I think it might be called a companion fitting, but I’m not sure!
The stove works fine, the hose is about 8 years old and looks in good condition, so I think I will leave it.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I have a genuine Australian stone screen which used to be fitted on our Orange Kombi and I plan to fit it to Olive. The screens were a popular accessory on campers in Aus in the 70s and 80s for over landing on the outback roads.
I wanted to get a feel for how the screens were mounted and angled and so I posted on the Australian Kombi Club FB page and it generated a few pictures (which are otherwise surprisingly hard to find online!) The first pics are our own Kombi…
They’re actually pretty similar in style and mounting and ideally would tilt upward to give better visibility (otherwise it’s like driving and armoured car!)

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

‘Olive’ did previously have the attachment brackets, fixed with aluminium rivets, but both had fallen off and the rivet holes seemed to be in the wrong place. I cleaned and filled the holes with JB Weld.
I worked out which way up the screen goes and test fitted to get the screen level and to make sure it would retract upwards.
Then I nervously drilled new holes and tapped for M4 machine screws, which gives a really solid attachment. The screen looks good I think, and hinges upward to give a clearer view ahead! The whole thing, including the brackets is easily removable and I’m happy with the look, which fits with the ‘original survivor’ vibe Olive has going on!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Another pic for comparison from the Kombi club. This is different as it flips up higher but has to rest on the roo bar bracket when down.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[jackthepom]

Ive recently aquired a 76 tintop in Martini olive, I wonder how far apart they are off the production line

[mcdonaldneal]

[jackthepom]

[mcdonaldneal]

Cool! Nice looking Kombi!
I don’t know the significance of the two numbers. The right hand one is the VIN, 23- for the base vehicle (Kombi) and the third digit for the year 6=1976. The rest are in sequence according to production.
The other number on the plate must be to do with them being a CKD (complete knock down) kit, so assembled from parts and painted in Clayton, VIC. Maybe they assign a different number there, I’m not sure.
I’ll post another reply if I find out anything more! Thanks for the pics.
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

We have had a great summer of weather so far here in Scotland. We are making the most of it and taking Olive to various classic car and VW gatherings.
One local one is an all day scenic drive, with a car show at the end. I wanted to take Olive and the Karmann Ghia and so we enlisted Shona’s brother to drive Olive for the day and had a happy jaunt around the countryside, finishing at the stately home of ‘His Grace the Earl of Hamilton’ (no less!), Lennoxlove House.
The good news was that the Ghia and Olive won ‘Best in Class’ and the unexpected surprise was that Olive won ‘Best in Show’ which was amazing! Everyone had been very interested to hear the stories of her previous owner, the Australian road trip and the restoration to a preserved ‘patinated’ original state.
Delighted!
(Now we have the trophy in our kitchen again for the year-the Ghia won it two years ago, very proud of them both).

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

But, Olive’s not just a show car, she has to work for her living too! Last weekend there was a huge event ‘The Scottish Transport Extravaganza’ at Glamis Castle. It’s a longish drive (4 1/2hrs each way) and the weather was hot (for us!), high 20sC/80+ American. I wished I had fitted the oil temperature dipstick, as it was mostly motorway driving, but Olive behaved perfectly, sitting at 60mph or so.
We had the cat with us, so the modern VW California had all the cooling measures to keep the inside comfortable: reflective tarpaulin on the side, light coloured roof topper, side awning and fans going inside for the whole weekend!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Some pics from the show field…
There are over 2000 entries, but only a minority of VWs and very few campers. Olive generated lots of interest with her Australian Rego plates and I had set up the camper interior for people to see. The stone guard on the windscreen generated lots of comments (and guesses as to what it was for!) I have a couple of laminated info cards on the front that I noticed quite a few folk stop to read.
I think Bay window campers are just the right age now to trigger a massive nostalgia hit for a lot of people!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!