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Meet Hazel Armstrong

Our 1964 Volkswagen Kombi, located in Pottsville on the beautiful North Coast of New South Wales. Hazel has been part of our family since 2001, when we picked her up as a wreck needing a ground up restoration. 3 years of blood, sweat and tears put her back on the road in the Netherlands and since then we enjoyed some amazing trips across Europe. In September 2020, she finally arrived in Australia to rejoin our family of six!

Hazel has been the vehicle of choice for many unforgettable wedding, formal and event; she even featured as the backdrop for a global advertising campaign! Our family run business operates a chauffeured limousine service anywhere near Byron Bay, Tweed, the Gold Coast and Hinterlands, ensuring you can move between locations in style. Get in touch to discuss your unique request and we'll make sure we tailor it to your every need. 

Annemarie & Quentin

Kombi Hire

Hazel was restored with the plan to have a reliable camper van to our own liking, it never occurred to us that people would actually like to hire our kombi until we received Luke and Lindsey’s request to use Hazel for their wedding.

Depending on availability, Hazel can be used for*:

  • Advertising
  • Events
  • Formals
  • Photoshoots
  • Weddings
  • Television and Movies

Options include:

  • Standard layout with folding seat in back (4 passengers)
  • With middle seat (7 passengers) 
  • With or without full length roof rack

*Hire is inclusive of a driver.

Just came across your site while looking up restoration tips for a splitty, amazing job you guys have carried out! You have a mint example of how a VW should look and be used. Best of luck in the future with her. Regards Ciaran

During a random browse of 'Marktplaats' in 2001, I stumbled across this split screen van in the city of Leeuwarden in the Northern province of Friesland, the Netherlands. As a respected (and only) member of the self founded “Save the Splitty” foundation, I assigned myself to lead this provincial boundary crossing rescue: on 20 October 2001 we set off on a 500 km trip, crossing the Netherlands from South to North and back.

When we arrived in Leeuwarden, it appeared the situation was worse than we additionally thought: not only was there significant damage to the side panel, there was also a big chunk missing from the front! After assessing the chances of survival for this extreme case, we agreed on the ransom money and pushed her onto the trailer; which turned out not to be that easy without a winch!

Second challenge was to figure out how we were going to keep the van from rolling off the trailer with the absence of functioning handbrakes; some tie down straps needed to be purchased! Unfortunately, the Friesian language barrier caused us to visit a multitude of hardware stores trying to find some decent tie downs. Eventually we ended up with four tow straps: lost in translation… It did the job though and we could finally start the journey back home.

Further investigation showed that Hazel Armstrong is an original Dutch Volkswagen split screen van. Sold in 1964 by the Texelse Autocentrale (name of car dealer) at the island of Texel (North-West coast of the Netherlands). The first owner, Mr. De Wit, used the van at his farm until he sold it as a wreck after the accident that damaged the left side of the van. The van was shipped back to the mainland, where it was sold again, and again, and again, without anyone ever really starting the project, making me the second registered owner!

RESTORATION PAGES

3 years of fully documented restoration pages for your inspiration or discouragement... 

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