15 Window type is now a very rare beast.
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Rare 15-window Kombi's restoration from South African orphanage van to Australian wedding 'love bus'
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/ ... s/10845448
The vintage Volkswagen Kombi holds a special place in the heart of many Australians.
Once loved by hippies, surfers and backpackers, the iconic vehicle often sparks happy memories and takes people back to a simpler, more carefree time.
One Kombi lover is Mitchell Montgomery, a surfer himself, who lives near the beach in the New South Wales mid north coastal town of Port Macquarie.
"Everyone has a story about a Kombi or a VW Beetle, they all have had a road trip or some experience, sometimes nefarious experiences, sometimes not," Mr Montgomery said with a laugh.
I think it just brings people back to those simpler times, memories they had in the past.
"Of course they've always been associated with the beach culture and surfing. That's part of the appeal to me being a surfer too, it fits in with my lifestyle."
World search for rare 15-window Kombi
Some years back Mr Montgomery made it his mission to track down a rare, deluxe 15-window split-screen Kombi microbus that was in good enough condition to restore.
They were a top-of-the-range Kombi back in the day, and not as many of them were released as other models.
It proved to be a difficult task and one that led Mr Montgomery overseas.
"I'd been looking in Australia for some time and found it difficult to find one that was in good enough shape to restore," he said.
"So, through searching on the internet I found one in Johannesburg, in South Africa, and when I found it I knew straight away I should do my best to get it here.
"We had to get permits and jump through all the hoops, including steam cleaning at both ends of the trip.
"It took a seven-week journey across from South Africa in a shipping container and arrived safe and sound."
Kombi used as South African orphanage bus
It turned out the 1960 model Kombi, named 'Magnolia', had an interesting and special history.
"It had been used in a Johannesburg children's home. It was an orphanage bus, which was used to transport the kids to and from events, to swimming, and any other activities I guess in that time," Mr Mitchell said.
- The Kombi was previously used by a South African Orphanage and was painted with flowers and the handprints of the children.(Supplied: Mitchell Montgomery
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The bus was retired from its work at the orphanage in 2010 and was ready for some TLC.
It took Mr Montgomery seven years to fully restore the Kombi, during which time everything was replaced with new parts sourced from far and wide.
"It wasn't hard to start, it was hard to finish — it was a labour of love" he said.
"Once I had it all apart then I lost some impetus.
"Then one Christmas my daughter gave me a jigsaw puzzle of a Kombi and I was putting it together over several pieces a night and it sort of came to me, that the Kombi was the same. I needed to look at it as a thousand little jobs instead of one big job.
"It did take seven years, but it wasn't a full-time effort, it was as a hobby.
"I pretty much had my hand on every single aspect of the Kombi and, when I didn't know something, I looked for advice.
"It has very panoramic views and the safari windows on the front, so you can open them up. You need sunglasses on the highway for sure — it's like riding a motorbike without a helmet, wind in the hair."
The Love Bus
Mr Montgomery said once he had fully restored the Kombi, he was inspired by its special history to share it with others.
Now, instead of school kids sitting on the old, bouncy bench seats, it's often brides and grooms and their wedding parties, hearts uniting in the rumbling old bus, with its distinctive VW sound.
"The Kombi's history inspired me in a way — I didn't actually restore it to start off doing weddings for people," Mr Montgomery said.
"It just seemed a good way to share the bus and continue that joy it had brought to others."
Mr Montgomery also has two other Kombis in his 'Love Bus' fleet, and they are used for weddings and other special occasions.
"Doing the weddings in the bus, it's just such a happy time for people, and it's just so much fun, and that's what Kombis are — they're fun."
"We get weddings with people in thongs, brides in thongs, having a swim after the ceremony, sort of anything goes and the Kombi is the perfect vehicle for that."
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