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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2007 19:48:21 GMT 10
Hi Guys Well as most of you that read the "Wood-o -matic bondwood radar" thread will be aware i have just come into possession of a small ply van which mreasures 3.3 metres from coupling to rear of van. The actual body of the van is 2.7 metres long and is therefore very light and will make an ideal 3rd member of the Reddo fleet. It will slot in between "Matilda" the 11'6 van and the 'Splinter hilton " teardrop. As i have ran out of Carport space i had to make a decision wether to leave the van out in the yard under a tarp of try and get it into the shed of invention for restoration. After much huffing and puffing today i managed to tuck it into bed... high and dry... Heres a few shots of Mildred ..."Limboing" under the roller door. "How low can you go... limbo lower now" I borrowed the brothers "Shed skates " and took the wheels off the van then lowered it down onto the skates. with a 3" dropped axle the bottom of the brake drum is flush with the bottom of the axle so the skates wherent much use under the axle. It still sat at the same hieght it did with the wheels on. So i packed some blocks of wood between the skates and the chassi and managed to lower the van to a poiint where the axle u bolts where virtually touching the concrete. Still missed out on fitting under the 2200mm opening by about 20mm. Next step was to remove the hatch lid which finally hgave me just enough clearance to get the van through the door. I think i can... i think i can.... By this stage the u bolt threads where just kissing the concrete. Any "Fatter" and i would have been in real stride. Finally managed to manouver her into a comfy corner..... time to go and have a few of those beers that the big red amd white sign is advertising. Now that the van is in the shed i can jack it up and remove all the running gear for an overhaul. with that out from underneath it will be a lot easier to roll the van back out the door when i start sanding her down. Seeing as though it has a timber chassis i am considering tech screwing 4 shopping trolley wheels to the four corner extremes of the chassis. The shed floor is smooth and i am fortunate enough to have a concrete driveway so i can spin the van around on the 4 castor wheels on the spot. Hmmm might sit inside and get the boys to give it a spin ;D. i reckon it would be a real buzz sitting inside a vintage van after 1/2 a dozen beers and getting spun around like a spinning top in the one spot.... wooo hooo. ..... stop, stop i am getting dizzy... i wanna get off. If it gets too hot outside i can roll it back inside. the shed is always around 10 degrees cooler than outside ;. Hope to get a bit more fair dinkum with stripping things out and make some sort of noticeable progress between now and Chrissy. Wish me luck Will post more pix as i go. See yas. Reddo
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Post by sportsman 1 on Nov 18, 2007 21:03:17 GMT 10
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Post by tinnie on Nov 26, 2007 22:40:39 GMT 10
Great find Reddo & even better perserverernce getting Mildred into the shed. Just remember - don't put too many coats of paint on the roof ;D ;D - unless you paint her outdoors. Am looking forward to watchin' & readin' the progress. Cheers, Gristy
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jrod
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Franki Alli & The 4 Seasons!
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Post by jrod on Dec 4, 2007 21:03:28 GMT 10
Hey Reddo,
Nice find!! Im starting to get the itch now for another van.. And seeing you post photo's as you go with this one im sure is going to talk myself back into something im trying to talk myself out of!! If that makes sense!
Good luck with it, and i hope you remember how you got Mildred in the shed unlike the time i got a couch in a room and when it came time to get it out i couldn;t remember for the life of me how i got it in ;D
Cheers, J-Rod
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2007 20:44:35 GMT 10
Hi Roadhogs Its been raining around here for a few weeks and with that comes a reprieve from "Domestic duties"... No mowing , snipping or ....... whatever. In other words good "shed weather" So with the mower stashed away. I have turned my attention to the 4th love of my life...... Trish Matilda The splinter hilton ( Refer cobber ... FAKE TD ;D) MILDRED The shed has about 6" of lead based paint :oon the floor and the benches have a fine dusting about 1/2" thick of 4 different colours. I have tried a few different techniques for evicting at least 50 years worth of painters handywork. Everything from 1/3 sheet vibrator, Sanding disc in drill ( disaster .. see picture of door before i repaired and painted it) Belt sander, Propane and paint stripper. Conclusion Best way to go if you have a steady hand is Belt sander with 40 grit paper to rip things down close to raw timber. Then 1/3rd sheet sander with 40 grit to get most of the rest of the undercoat off, and feather out any spots where ya have gone in a bit heavy handed. Bear in mind you are dealing with 50 year old 3 ply and it doesnt take much to take "Divette" out of one of those layers of ply. Once i had it back to raw timber... aaaah there's those words ""RAW TIMBER""" ( i am getting a hard on just typing it ;D ;D ;D ;D) i sanded it over again with 120 to smooth the narley bits out. I dragged it out in bright sunlight today and that highlighted all the nooks and crannys. Decision time. ???car bog or builders bog. I discovered the other week there was a bit of rot in the front right corner so i replaced a section on the side and scraped out the rot in the front. Made a repair sect for the side and "Liquid nailed " and real nailed the section in. I used car bog to tidy up the rest of that corner. AS JBJ will confirm it is good stuff to shape and work with and it seems to hang on ok .. even on timber. I used biulders bog to fill any shallow spots i had gone a bit hard on or where suffering from what i call " minor surface rot / grainney, horizontal splits etc. Geez Reddo.. This just aint you... Y dontcha just shut up and show em whats doin... Ok suspension out. Aint gunna stuff about this time witha $40 home sand blaster. Give the whole thing to the pros and tell em i want it back covered in grey zinc phos primer. A full grown naked "Mildred... not a stitch of paint on. minor repair front corner. Bitta builders bog up front Ooo waaa ... put your pants on Mildred... your bum is hanging out!!! EEEEKKKK ::)this is what happens when ya use a blow torch ta burn the paint off. The "Norman Gunstan cotton wool patches" on the door is Builders bog filling the divets where i went too hard with the belt sander on very flexible door skin . I bunged a stack of the muck on the old Mildred tismorning. Then i waz snookered for a few hours .. so i went to the pub to steady my painting hand ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Note the Dark tan finish i achieved with the " LPG flame thrower". Heat works well but some lead based paint gets very sooty before it curls up and surrenders to the spatchella. Leaves behind a fine coat of carbon crap. Note to self......Practice somewhere else on the van with "The weapons of mass distruction"rather than the side that everyone one tends to notice the most... i.e: left side. 30 degrees Today and i am out with the oil based pink primer, 4" brush and roller... None of that new fangle poofy spray gun stuff around here mate..... ITS A GIRL. . ITS SUPPOSED TO WEAR PINK. End of the day. Walk around and pick the crap out of the hills and hollows.. say to self.... "Who am i trying to please here..." Answerr is obvious.. head to fridge . Knock the lid off a long neck.... and another..... and another... Geez it aint too bad now . Push it back in the shed before ya sobber up stupid. Mt Gambier .... well perhaps .. just maybe...... Hey Trish wheres the bottle opener Reddo... full time site comedian... part time van restorer
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Post by cobber on Dec 16, 2007 7:21:37 GMT 10
NOW ya building up brownie points Reddo.... “Mildred” at Mount Gambia, or are you just teasing me, as usual Removing paint with a sanding disk can be, usually is, a disaster, but it’s good to get advice on the best way to go from somebody who has tried all of the ways. Getting a pro to sandblast the suspension is a good idea too.... try and seal the gap between the brake drum and the backing plate if you can otherwise they fill the brake drum with very fine sand that just makes more work for you... getting it cleaned out. That rim cylinder lock in your door .... what brand is it ? I’m on the look out for an “ETAS” brand (don’t ask me why ) With a bit of luck “Mildred” will deservedly become the THIRD love of your life, the fake vintage TD can take a step back Buy yourself a long neck son.... you’ve earned it. Cobber
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Post by kingy on Dec 16, 2007 7:48:17 GMT 10
HI Reddo, Mildred's look'in the goods, love these tiny vans, still ceases to amaze me how whole familys would holiday in them back in the old days. It will be a great size for any long trips re. fuel etc. - sorta in between a teardrop and your regular sized van. Whats the eventual colour to be ?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2007 8:42:14 GMT 10
Hi Cobber Dunno what the lock is. I hope to tale all the brake shoes, cylinders etc off before itake the rest to the blasters. Just need to put a good thick wrap of masking tape on the spinles/ stub axles to protect them from the grit blast. The van is light enough to run no brakes. but if i put a straight trailer axle under it . The van will sit up 3" higher. Can counter that with lowering blocks or smaller wheels. Better to stick with the original dropped axle and reco the brake cylinders, shoes and bearings. Still chasing austin A30 wheels or morris 1100 (13"??) wheels. I thgink ford laser may be the same PCD?? Hi Kingy Gunna break from the traditional Reddo fleet colours this time. Thinking grey up to the waste. Dark maroon flash and antique ivory /off white top half and roof. Not totally unlike your new van. Looks like i will be using the white ute as a towcar ( FC van is living on the central coast now) for a while so had to consider using a bit of white on the van White roof will also help keep things a touch cooler inside . If i buy a grey or dark maroon car in the future, i will have the colours covered as well . meanwhile i will have to soak another 4 litres of primer into the wood to get a good seal on the timber. Then a coat of undercoat and then 2 top coats. I am lucky the sides are straight and solid with no bowing etc. Makes prepping for painting so much easier 14 weeks today to monday 17th march at MT Gambier... 3 months sounds a lot shorter doesnt it. so much to do... seriously dont think mildred will be meandering on down there. Need to make a decision about 4 weeks prior to MT G then concentrate on prepping whatever van i take and do a bit of work on the towcar as well. I suppose a lot of us will be thinking the same thing about now... Its closing in fast. Reddo
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Post by kingy on Dec 17, 2007 12:11:07 GMT 10
Hey Reddo, you sold the panno , must be for a good reason I would've thought that the ideal vehicle for going away in. Waddiya got up ya sleeve - Kingy
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2007 7:01:35 GMT 10
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2008 21:21:46 GMT 10
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tonyh
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"Dolly" 1967 Riviera
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Post by tonyh on Jan 6, 2008 23:20:47 GMT 10
Hey Reddo, Cyclops nothin' - - porthole looks great - like it should have been there in the first place - lookin' good - well you know ;)for an old piece of wood - ;D ;D ;D Cheers, TonyH
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2008 10:10:40 GMT 10
Yo Progress is slow but methodical Springs and axle blasted and primed for $50......Bargain. Painted the bits and pieces. Bearings and brakes cleaned of any sand grit and washed clean of at least 1 kg of grease inside each brake drum and around baking plates. The bearing caps have grease nipples or "bearing buddies" as they are sometime refered to. It all too easy to keep pumping grease into these things and have it blow the seal at the back of the hub. makes a mess and reduces the effectiveness of the brakes. Have also discovered that a pair of 17" wire 4 stud wheels( was told they are willys??) i have down the back shed are the same stud pattern as the old Austin 14" rims. Mildred might end up with wire wheels like the "Splinter Hilton TD" All frame work and timber panels inside van had been coated with enamel over acrylic paint. some people say this is coshure and wont give you trouble. It was flaking off in large pieces. I had to scrap off what was loose, then apply paint stripper, scrape off again and finally sand the entire insides with 40 grit sand paper to get a reasonable surface to prime. At this point i have removed the hatch, hatch fly screen, three windows, three fly screens, fly screen door and entry door. These had no sign of primer under the one coat of water based paint so the lot ( except the door which had been primed properly )where sanded back to raw timber and primed. A real pain in the bum fiddly job trying not to run the sandpaper on the brass gauze wire. I could have gone one step further and removed all the timber 1/2 round moulds, tacks and gauze but.. .. i am too slack. Fortunately the 3 windows have all just been rebuilt and 1 needs to have the glass reglazed back in the frame. i bought a tub of linseed oil putty for $5.00, never had a go at glazing a window before . should be fun... not. Next job will be to remove all the cupboard doors which are currently a wild shade of green , strip off knobs and hinges and sand them ready for undercoat. while they are off i will reline all cupboards and draws with lino. There is some classic old patterns in the cupboards but no 2 bits are tyhe same.. all olds offcuts. I called at Bunnings the other day with a few colours in the back of my mind for the interior/ exterior. Once you stand in front of the myriad of colour cards all previous thoughts and concepts go out the window. I walked away bewildered ... but with around 20 colour cards in all shades from Black to white. Gunna have to learn how to use "photoshop" on the 'puter and have a play with colour combos...... Might engage an interior decorator...... yeah right... as if.. let someone like that loose in there and the whole thing will end up staying "Gay Pink" Ok Kaybee.. no smart arse remarks Nuff said See yas Reddo
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2008 7:42:21 GMT 10
If there is one thing i have learned from vintage van rebiulds its never give a van a girls name. We all know how long it takes a woman to decide what she is gunna wear when its time to go out ... No matter weather ya going to Maccas or the Lord Mayors Ball or both his balls they always seem to procrastinate over what to wear.. . Will it be the pink flowing dress, or something in red.. maybe a nice little short number...... Yeah guys i am sure you have all experienced it... Well i did again yesterday. It was a beaut sunny autumn day and I told Mildred it was time to "Come out of the shed" and slip into her new outfit... ..... well folks it was like telling her she had 2 minutes to get ready. She went into a flap. "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god... I have to do my hair, put on my lippy.... what shoes am i going to wear" .. In the end i just grabbed her by the coupling and dragged her screaming out into the driveway in her underwear. Short time later the bro arrived and we sanded her down again. masked off a few curves with masking tape and set about "dressing " her.. I have decided to go with the usual Reddotel fleet pastel green and cream. We got the first coat on her by around lunch time. It will take a few days to harden so we plan on giving her a second coat on Monday and maybe get a few pin stripes on her in the not too distant future. I spent the arvo inside the van painting the walls and part of the ceiling. I pulled up about 3.30 as i wanted the gloss enamel to dry off before the cold night air flattened it. Heres 2 pix. not the best shots ... but it shows progress is being made. Note the chimney is in and sealed. There is masking tape between the two colours that why the lines look wobbly/ furry. once the tape is off we will pinstrip it in dark green. There is a clunker bike run on today. If Trish wants to go, i'll go. If she isnt keen i will be head down arse up all day again today with a paint brush on the inside. Koala ken gave me 2 good 17" coker tyres when we where at Munmorah. I will hold off fitting them to the spoked wheels until i get the axle back under it and see how much room i have in the wheel arches. If they fit ok i will get em blasted and paint them dark green with a cream pinstripe around the rim. If they dont fit i will run the original morris major 14" rims in dark green with hub caps. Plenty to do before October.. havent even touched the Chev yet. Reddo
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tonyh
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"Dolly" 1967 Riviera
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Post by tonyh on May 25, 2008 8:58:57 GMT 10
Looking good Reddo, ;D A bit mean pullin' your new girl out in her undies but what happened to her red lippy Cheers, tonyh
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2008 19:07:07 GMT 10
Ok Kiddies Just to show i dont spend all my time planning evil deeds to commit on Fobbergrossers i have spent the past cuppla weegends slopping colours on What use to be called "Mildred"....... ... .... Yup shes had a name change... More about that later..... Many thanks to elder Bro Jeff for pitching in and giving a hand with rolling and cutting in around the outside of the van. I tend to get a roll on and try and bite off more than a days work. he has steered me along and "applied the handbrake" when he deemed necessary. For a bloke in his mid 60s he still has a steady hand with the brush. A lot can be achieved with masking tape and modern day stickers but when ya workin with 50+ year old timber sometimes there is nothing but paint that will hang on to the grainy old surface. Here's where we are at by lunch time today. yeah, yeah... i know it looks a lot like "Matilda ' but she is only 9 ft long as opposed to 12ft and i did say i was going with the reddotel fleet colours. Back is a bit bland at the moment but i will wait till the tail lights, number plate etc are on the back and then decide what i will paint on there... "Stone the crows.. Its The Reddos" is still top of the list. The door and side window are only sitting in place.. still got a lot of "hinge polishing" to do before they are fixed on properly. Bit hard to make out the new name cause of the camera flash.... Yup... "Rosie"....... Why Rosie... I figure with red, yellow, pale green, dark green and pale blue ... its got all the colours of an Eastern Rosella. ;D Bro has taken home a lump of aluminium sign .. i have rough drawn a picture of a "Rosie" similar to the Arnotts Rosella holding a biscuit... only difference will be the Rosie will be holding a "Tooheys New" long neck in its left claw ready to "skull " it.... ;D My sorta girl... a bird that can hold her liquor It will fit on the van just below the Rosie sign. All the previous vans have had Roos on them and the Jeffs great handiwork with brush and paint is lost when the van is sold. At least this way i can unscrew the painting and use it on another van if i ever decide to sell "Rosie MK1" Cupboard doors are all done. they are only sitting in place for the photos. i will give em a few weeks to harden before i hinge em and fit the knobs and latches so they dont stick shut. The cupboard above the gas cooker has a tin tray for a door. Gunna use a magnet to keep it shut as it wont be holding anything that is likely to fly out while we are travelling. This cupboard will house a Radio/Cd .....although it could be used as a plate warmer cupboard while cooking because the chimney passes through the middle of it. I have jerked 12v and 240volt all around the van and there will be one vertically mounted power point just near the door as per original ;D. The rest are mounted Horizontally facing down from the panel above the table and under the back wall cabinet above the bed. That way you dont see them when you look in through the door windows at the walls. Jug and toaster leads wont be laying around on benchtops etc.... no clutter. Red plastic sink is a bit shabby at the moment and i am trying to get in contact with a person that has a staino van sink in last weeks trading post. if i cant catch up with them i will probably persavere and keep cleaning the red plastic jobby. Off to a bike rally next weekend . hope to get a bit more done in the next few weeks... Painting fiddly bits sure burns up a day in the shed... thank god 90% of that is over and done with... Reddo
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Jun 1, 2008 20:34:15 GMT 10
looking good reddo.
is she coming to coledale?
geoff 'n jude
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Post by willyn on Jun 1, 2008 21:03:36 GMT 10
Ccooool~~!!!!!!!!!!!! arsome absolutely arsome reddo and Bro In the words of someone a long time ago I AM LOVING IT!!!! Will stream Rosie Rosie give me your answer do ;D
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tonyh
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"Dolly" 1967 Riviera
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Post by tonyh on Jun 1, 2008 21:34:10 GMT 10
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Post by tinnie on Jun 1, 2008 21:58:23 GMT 10
Great job Reddo. Truly an example of your dedication to vintage vans. Any knockers should pull their heads in and have a long hard look in the mirror mate. Can't wait to see Rosie with her dancin' boots on and hopefully see her for real at Coledale? Cheers, Gristy PS You bugga, ya make me feel like a slacka for havin' dun nuthin whilst you have achieved all that!! ;D
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Post by kingy on Jun 2, 2008 4:10:03 GMT 10
looks great Reddo , can see why you stick with the fleet colours as they work so well on all your vans. Reckon if you did a late model van in those colours it would make it look vintage ;D Van has great lines also, and the fact it has no rear window adds to it's good looks as well as makes for an unusual feature I'll show ya mine, if you show me yours - At Coledale ;D Kingy
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2008 7:30:28 GMT 10
Thanks dudes Going one week better than Coledale... ;D.... It will be on the starting grid at Nambucca Heads White Albatross Caravan Park for the 2008 east coast "Adventure before Dementia"Tour. I challange the Kingys to do the same... Jeeez i hate making promises like that...... now ive GOT TO finish it by then. I got a really good original annexe with the van, all thats missing is the poles, ropes and pegs. I have a stack of poles. Ropes and pegs are easily made. It will be the first van i have used that has a full annexe. Everything else has just an annexe roof. The Autotent that i have for a TD doesnt marry up real neat to anything and looks like it has been through world war 2. Got a heap of hinges to buff up and i still have to clean up 3 window stays , get them zinc annealed and work out how to fit them in the right spots. The old Rosie never had window stays. Just 3 sticks about the length of a rule to hold the windows open.. not good on windy days. If i cant fit a 240v fridge in the bottom half of the wardrobe i will have to fabricate an ice chest. The old ice chest has been removed... Why do people do this??There is vertually no scrap metal value in flat galvanised sheeting , yet i have found 1/2dozen vans with there iceboxs missing ....It was in the front right corner of the kitchen area. Problem is it had a curved back in it to suit the shape of the front of the van. Gunna have to rekindle my sheetmetal workers skills. Fun and games ........restoring old vans can test your patience. The big plus is once ya finish the bodywork you havent got to move on to oily dirty engine, gearbox and drivetrain rebuilds....Just brakes, coupling , wheels and chassis ( Rosies chassis is timber ) Yep vintage vanning is a pleasant hobby ;D Reddo
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Post by cobber on Jun 2, 2008 9:56:39 GMT 10
Not bad 'arold...... not bad , Shame about the ice box, I don't know why people pull 'em out, last blocks of ice I had in “Driftwood” and “Ol' 36” lasted near on four days . How about you get the Bro to paint a lead-light window on the back so I can get an idea how it looks, might commission him to put one on Ol' 36 if it looks good......... might P.S. Don't worry about those young blokes givin' ya a rough time 'cause ya older than them..... old is good Cobber.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 2, 2008 23:42:54 GMT 10
Hi Reddo, I'm away at a conference, so I only got to catch up on the work you've been doing tonight. Nice work! Rosie is looking great - another beautiful job from the House of Red-do-make-a-striking-interior. Like the name as well. It really suits the van. PS Don't worry about the hinges - I really like the hingeless look - nice clean lines. If you need to, just use a bit of blutack to keep things in place. (Let me know if you need any more helpful suggestions like that one. I've got dozens of them. ;D ;D ;D) Don Ricardo
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Post by 1954homemade on Jun 3, 2008 12:21:12 GMT 10
Hi Reddo,
Great work!! Rosie has come up looking all "Rosie" !!! ;D
Regards Di
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