VW Kombi.comWell, it’s been a while since I updated the Kombi blog, but there’s not been a huge amount happening. Well, not anything obvious, at least. There haven’t been any shows to attend since the last aborted botch of a show (which turned out to be a handful of people down Boscombe pier, not that it was anyone’s fault). But the VW show season is starting to pick up. This weekend is Volksworld, and I’m hoping to attend if I can, but already have something else planned that weekend. Whenever the next show is, I can at least roll up in a little more comfort than previously, and here’s why - I have a heater!
Going anywhere in the van before always had a down side, and that was the cold. Cold toes, cold nose, cold hands - anything that either wasn’t wrapped up or was facing a jet of cold air turned to ice. It made any journey uncomfortable, and replacing the existing heater - or rather non-existent heateing parts - of the van was not really an option. You see, the placement of the engine right at the back and the length of the tubing from the rear of the van to the front of the vehicle doesn’t make for great (guaranteed) heating in these old vans. And the other thing to bear in mind is that it only works when the engine is running. So, I have got myself an Eberspacher D1LC diesel heater. Imagine a jet engine scaled down and you are getting close. This little baby should keep the van toasty warm in future, regardless of whether the engine is running. Now I just need to get the darn thing plummed in and wired up!
Ethel (for that is her name, dear forgetful or first-time readers) has had a couple of cosmetic changes of note in the last couple of months. Firstly, the roo bars came off, and with it the spare tyre (please don’t let me run over any nails!). It was immediately clear how much that extra steel over the front affected steering; without the roo bars I noticed a marked improvement in handling. I just gotta make sure that I don’t hit any ‘roos now. I also removed the silly little fold-down step at the side and some other metallic ‘cruft’ underneath the van that did little but add to the weight and fuel consumption. Little changes all add up.
In February, Ethel got some new curtains that my sister made. These have all been fitted to the ridiculously small curtain tracking that has probably been there for the whole of the van’s life. They’re looking good, although when closed up there are a few little gaps of light that creep in (need to get big sis to add a touch more material for absolute privacy, methinks!).
Finally, over the last couple of days Ethel got a new smile. Well, a white bumper, at least (looks a bit like a smile to me!), front and back. The bumpers were a bit scratched up and I’ve seen how easily these things can rot out without a bit of care. The problem with Ethel, though, is that her colour is an Aussie one that can’t easily be matched here in the UK, so I couldn’t guarantee an exact match for the bumper, hence I opted for white. It will makes sense in the long run as any further dings and scratches will be easy to cover up and, if I’m honest, they help to balance out the van as a whole (the white pop-top and air scoops).
Ethel’s new ‘pearly-whites’
So, that’s Ethel’s recent work. We took her out this weekend to the Cotswolds, and you can see her new flash of white in these pictures. I don’t think that there’ll be any other major changes in the immediate future, but who knows what little goodies I might pick up at one of the shows this year? So tempting …
Note: All my van pictures will, at some point, also make it onto my Flickr site.
