My 1974 Kombi Camper
Our First Family Kombi
Growing up in Australia in the late 60s and 70s, the VW Kombi was part of the scenery. It wasn’t iconic back then — it was simply a vehicle that was everywhere. And because VWs were made locally at the Clayton factory in Victoria, everyone knew someone who had one.
They were ideal to turn into campervans, tradies used them as workhorses, and young people turned old ones into rolling homes as they explored the country.
The VW Kombi was simple, tough, and endlessly adaptable. With its even weight distribution, high ground clearance and the engine over the rear wheels, they were perfect vehicles for navigating Australia’s many dirt roads.
Ever practical, my dad bought a shiny new Kombi in 1970 to serve as our family car.
To School In a Kombi
My first experience riding in a Kombi was in 1963. A few days a week, someone’s mother picked up kids from the railway station and drove us to school in a red PMG Kombi van. It was her husband’s work vehicle.
There were no seats in the back. Inside were racks of tools, cables and new plastic telephones.
We sat among used cables and Bakelite telephones on the floor of the Kombi each morning for the few miles to school.
VW Kombis were assembled at the Claton factory in Melbourne along with Datsuns and Nissans.
“It’s like a tardis on wheels that travels to the 70s every time I drive it!”
Chris Edwards
When dad bought a Kombi to serve as our family car, his parents thought he was crazy and wasted no time telling him so. My grandfather had an FC Holden sedan and expected dad to get a ‘normal family car’.
Photo: The day we visited my grandparents in dad’s brand new Kombi. Grandma bought a cake for morning tea.
Our 1970 Kombi Had Seatbelts in the Front
Our 1970 Aussie‑built VW Kombi had red seatbelts on the front seats, but like many families of the era, we didn’t use them until it became the law that you had to wear seatbelts if your car was fitted with them – which for us in NSW, was November 1971. But there were no seatbelts in the back.
Ours was an eight‑seater Kombi, though dad removed the middle seats not long after he bought it so he could carry more stuff to and from the farm. My sister and I sat on the floor, and on long trips we sat on a foam mattress. When we took friends anywhere, everyone piled in and usually sat on the floor in the back.
Victoria was the first place in the world to mandate the wearing of seatbelts on 22 December 1970, and New South Wales followed in November 1971.
By 1 January 1972, every Australian state and territory required seatbelts to be worn in all seating positions where belts were fitted. That usually meant just the front seats. It was one of the fastest and most effective road‑safety reforms in Australia’s history, and in the first year, reduced the NSW road toll by 25%.
Sweden became the second country in the world to mandate the wearing of seatbelts in 1975-76.
Above: Our 1st Kombi and our new 1975 Subaru 4WD.
Built For Dirt Roads & Hard Work
This is the road I first drove on when I got my L plates. This creek frequently blocked the road after heavy rain.
I remember taking this photo. Dad asked to get out and take a photo then walk across the creek to check the depth before we crossed, then he drove over and I got back in. In those days many country roads were dirt and the VW suspension easily ate up the bumps.
I don’t know how many kilometres we did in the blue Kombi but it hauled a lot with its little 1500cc beetle motor. As a 1-tonne commercial vehicle, it was often fully laden and even towed a caravan as well. It wasn’t fast, but we definitely gave it a workout. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine the little 1500cc doing so much work!
Unfortunately, Dad rolled it at around 2am when he fell asleep while driving on a windy section of the Great Western Highway near Wallerawang in 1976. That led to getting our second Kombi, the all-powerful 2-litre 1976 model.
Dad’s Second Kombi: 1976
After our first Kombi was written off, dad went out and replaced it with a new one. This was an imported German Microbus. Going from a 1.5 litre to the new 2-litre model with a taller top gear gave it the ability to easily cruise at 110kph with a full load. As soon as he drove it home, he took the centre seats out.
I borrowed it quite a lot. Every time I moved, I used it to carry my worldly belongings. You could lay a full-size fridge across the car on the floor with a centimetre to spare.
When I say it worked, it really worked hard. The white Plymouth I bought in Queensland as source of spare parts for my black Plymouth, my first car. I hired a car trailer and drove to Queensland and towed it home – a distance of over 1,000kms each way. (Photo above was taken in Bathurst NSW). The Plymouth weighed 2 tons, plus the weight of the trailer and the parts loaded into the Kombi.
In 1984, I used the Kombi again to tow my black Plymouth from the farm, north of Bathurst, to Parramatta. It pulled this load up and over Mt Victoria in 2nd gear. In those days, you could achieve remarkable things with a 2-litre air-cooled Kombi if no one told you it wasn’t possible.
The ’76 Kombi did over 350,000 kms before dad drove it into the back of a parked truck in thick fog.
Friends Visit For The Weekend
Above: That is me about to pass the baton to my teammate Terry in the Sydney to Lithgow Relay, 1975. Kombis were common on the roads; this photo of me running was nearly ruined by a passing Kombi!
Background: I remember friends camping at our place for the weekend in the late 70s – but until I saw this photo, I didn’t remember how many had Kombi campers! Dad’s Kombi is behind the trees on the right.
My First Kombi
This one came into my life by chance. Dad and I went to an Australian Defence Industry (ADI) auction because he wanted to bid on a few things. There were two 1977 Australian-made Kombis, but no one offered a bid on either of them.
After the auction, we went up to the auctioneer and asked if there was a reserve on this Kombi. The auctioneer said, “Make an offer”, Dad said, “A couple of hundred bucks.” The auctioneer picked up his gavel and thumped it down, saying, “Sold for $200, but you have to take the other one too!”
So it was that I bought two ‘77 model ex-army Kombis for $200. The other one was a rolling shell with no windows or motor; they had welded the doors shut. It had obviously been rolled onto its side and used in training exercises. It made a great chook shed – but I did get good brakes off it.
My trusty ex-army Kombi was by far the most cost-effective and practical vehicle I ever owned. I added the bullbar and put a rock-n-roll bed in the back. I also added ‘new’ wheels and a leather Recaro driving seat from a wrecker.
Amazingly, for a $200 purchase, it gave me no trouble. I did over 500,000 kms with only routine services and maintenance before it started noticeably burning oil and needed an engine rebuild. Unfortunately, this happened when I was very short of funds. Coincidentally, a bloke offered me $4,000 for it, so I sold it.
A year later, you couldn’t buy a VW Kombi for less than $15,000. And certainly not a straight, rust-free one. Regretted the sale ever since!
Photos above: My ex-army Kombi as it looked for most of the time I drove it. My kids on a road trip in the back seat. Later, when my daughter was in high school, she was in a band. I’d load their instruments into the Kombi to take them to gigs. ‘The band’ asked if they could paint it as a band’s Kombi. I said, “Sure!”; so they had a Kombi painting party.
My Second Kombi
I missed my old ex-army Kombi so much that I eventually bought another one. This time, a 1974 camper.
It’s only1800cc but that is a lot more power than the old 1500 had! One thing I like about the Swagman camper conversion is that the entire interior fit-out is molded fibreglass rather than chipboard like all the other camper conversions of the time. That means it is lighter and doesn’t swell up or fall apart when it gets wet.
This time, I didn’t let kids loose with the spray cans; I did the design work myself. I use this Kombi just for fun and as a promotional vehicle for the Aussie Peace Walk International Walking Festival.
Give me a wave if you see me on the road.
Pictured above: What it looked like when I bought it. The fibreglass interior with rock-n-roll bed in seat position and how it looks today.
Like to Learn to Drive With Chris?
If you are looking for driving lessons in Canberra, I specialise in manual driving instruction with Revolution Driver Training for learners in Central Canberra, Belconnen and Gungahlin.
