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Post by madgirl on Aug 24, 2008 18:47:36 GMT 10
I have been the happy owner of a late 1940s plywood van for about a year now (can't remember the makers' name exactly but Morris & something of Glen Huntley Victoria). Unfortunately it's sitting in a field in Euroa Victoria (after a comfortable life in a shed till then) and is rapidly deteriorating. I have tried twice to get Trewins to bring it up to Sydney for restoration (its ultimate home will be east Lake Macquarie) but they are really jumpy these days about old piles of sticks called vintage vans ... The exterior needs a lot of work but internally she is a beauty, pretty much completely intact. I can't bear to watch her rot any more, and I can't bear to sell her, and I can't bear having another look at Coledale this year without having done something about my van. But as a busy architect with two small children, I'm not going to have the time to restore it myself for about 30yrs, and while I have lots of good tradesmen (and know a lot of good mechanics) it seems like madness to get something rebuilt by someone with no idea what they're doing. From reading this site over the last year, it looks to me like there are a few of you out there with a wealth of experience, considerable skill, and a whole lot of passion. Surely your wives would love you to work on someone else's van for a few months rather than blowing your super fund on your own? I am happy to pay fair labour rates and material costs, and indeed even if someone could get it out of its field and into a workshop and sort out the chassis and the shell I can do the rest if you've another project beckoning I know a lot of you will feel that I'm cheating by asking this, that part of being a serious vintage vanner is losing at least one digit and one spouse in a restoration, but I'd love some help here Any suggestions welcome Thanks, Genevieve         |
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Post by rfw on Aug 24, 2008 19:03:23 GMT 10
Did i see Reddo put his hand up for the job? Hi & welcome to the forum Genevieve. Well looks like it`s all there including the radio,speaker & wind-out windows too. Pretty sure some one here will be able to help out in some form or other. Too darn unique to wreck. It`s a keeper.cheers
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 24, 2008 19:45:16 GMT 10
Hi Genevieve, Good to hear from you again. The name you are looking for regarding your van is Lewis & Matthews. Unfortunately we don't know much more about your van than when we first heard about it. See here. However, it is certainly well worth preserving and restoring because it is the only van around of its brand that we know about - at least as far as I am aware. I don't think you have to feel bad about getting someone else to help you do the work required on the van. Not all of us have the time or the skills, and I know of a few V V'ers who have paid to have some or all of the work done on their behalf. You don't have to lose a digit or a spouse (or be deranged ;D ;D ;D) to be a true V V'er, but you need to be aware that it will probably cost you more to fix your van if you are paying for both labour and materials. We look forward to hearing more about your project. As rfw said, I reckon it's definitely a keeper. Don Ricardo |
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Post by trodler on Aug 24, 2008 20:06:01 GMT 10
Hi Madgirl.
Sent you a Personal message
Trodler.
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Post by cobber on Aug 24, 2008 20:49:32 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 26, 2008 23:55:14 GMT 10
Hi Genevieve and Cobber, An excellent piece of detective work on Cobber's part to connect Lewis & Matthews and 'Glen' caravans. Well done Cobber. As you've suggested, I'll do some work to connect and/or combine the two threads in the Down History Lane section. Another piece of the jigsaw in place with your caravan Genevieve.  Don Ricardo |
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Post by madgirl on Aug 28, 2008 23:48:18 GMT 10
Thanks gentlemen, your collective research and enthusiasm has spurred me on in the quest. Still struggling to find a trailer wide enough to move it (1.95m overall axle) but sheer bloody-mindedness must prevail eventually
Will keep you posted
Best, Genevieve
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Post by Franklin1 on Aug 29, 2008 23:19:58 GMT 10
Hi Genevieve, when you say 1.95m overall axle, do you mean outside tyre wall to tyre wall, or do you mean outside stub axle to stub axle? If the distance from tyre outside to the other tyre outside is less than 1.92 then the trailers from Kennards should suit. You will need to take a couple of "railway sleepers" (pine sleepers 200x100mm) to put under the wheels in the trailer to lift the axles up above the trailer sides. This worked for me when I bought my second van home, although my problem wasn't the stub axles, it was the door step sticking out beyond the line of the van wall. I travelled 750kms with the van raised up on the sleepers without any probs (although the wind ripped some of the rotting ply veneer on the door off, somewhere on the Hume highway  ). Here's a pic of when I set off for home...  Our local Kennards have two types of car trailers. One with a winch and higher sides, and the one I hired above with lower sides and no winch. Luckily I picked this van up from Wagga RAAF Base so there were plenty of guys available to manhandle it onto the trailer... ;D ;D cheers, Al. |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 30, 2008 23:32:25 GMT 10
For those of you who are interested, following Cobber's discovery of the connection between Glen Caravans and Lewis & Matthews, I have combined the threads in the Down History Lane section, as per Cobber's suggestion. It has involved a bit of editing and rearrangement of the material on those threads to make the info flow. Thanks to everyone who posted info - I trust you are OK with the end result.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 7, 2016 17:10:16 GMT 10
Hi all, This thread began in 2008 when Madgirl was seeking someone to assist her to restore her Lewis & Matthews Glen caravan. It's fantastic to see a great article on the restoration of the Glen in the June/July 2016 edition of Time to Roam magazine (available in hard copy by mail or from various venues, and online). The van looks superb, and was restored on Madgirl's behalf over an eighteen month period by forum member Vantoura. Wonderful to see a quite rare example of Australia's caravanning history brought back to life and being used. Don Ricardo |
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Post by Roehm3108 on Jun 8, 2016 8:20:03 GMT 10
A nice job done by vantoura, Don. But it still doesn't beat finding an intact original! The only downside is that the owner won't sell!!! I tried again last October.  |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 8, 2016 11:57:20 GMT 10
Agreed Roehm!
I gather from the Time to Roam article that the frame and outside cladding from Madgirl's van were pretty much cactus, so it was quite an extensive rebuild. I think there's a thread on it on Vantoura's OTP website, and possible also an article in a Vintage Caravan Magazine.
I think you also saw another Glen somewhere (unless it's the same one in your most recent post above?). There were some photos on the Glen thread in the DHL section, but they have disappeared. Are you able to reinstate them for the sake of posterity?
Don Ricardo
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