Curtis - The Franklin Freeway

G'day Dave and Sue, and welcome to the forum! ;D ;D

February must be the month that vintage Franklin caravans come out of the woodwork. You are the third new member in the last week or so who's come with a Franklin for "Show and Tell". It's either a feast or a famine, ay!?

There are some basic requirements before we can accept you into the exclusive Franklin section of this forum...

1. Can you tell me what the chassis number is that's welded on the front drawbar just near the jockey wheel clamp?

2. Can you spell the word F..R..A..N..K..L..I..N ?

That's about it, Dave and Sue. Get those two things right, and you're IN!! ;D ;D ;D

Any chance you could have a go at Photobucket and post some pictures of the van as it is now? There's a few threads around that will explain it to you, but perhaps the one that might make it easier is this one, (and particularly Reply #4): POSTING PHOTOS

Great to have you with us! ;D

cheers,
Al.

Dave, you're IN to the inner sanctum! ;D ;D Membership No. 2168-6 has been allocated to you!

It's that second question that usually separates the true-blue Franklin members from the others. We've had a couple of Viscount owners who tried to sneak their way into the exclusive section, but when they spelled out 'Frankfurterlin' and 'Frankalinga', we were on to them pretty quickly.

For chassis number 2168-6, I'd be estimating that was made during October 1966.

It's impossible to say how many of the Franklin Freeways are likely to still be around. I wouldn't even know where to go to find any info on how many of the different Franklin models were made each year. One of the other members who joined in the last week has a Freeway with chassis number 1661-6, and another member has a Freeway numbered 1515-7.

Funnily enough, we don't have anyone with a 1968 Franklin yet, of any sort. There's more of the mid-1960s Franklins showing up than the later 1960s models. Can't explain why that is so.

Anyway, you're off and running now, so good luck with the tidy-up you've got to do, and feel free to ask any questions if you need to. Plenty of people here only too happy to help you out.

cheers,
Al.

Looks like a good purchase there Sue and Dave! And you've got a Morris too, so you're ok with us!

Andrew and Liz

hello Sue & Dave.

Let me be the first one to say - that bit of woodrot---nothing.
Have lotsa fun in the repair work.
( i used a ply from Bunnings-pretty cheap there- but it was sort of prepainted and i had to sand all the prepaint off so i could paint my own colour)
It also bent fairly well without cracking .

cheers
Phil.
p.s. love the franklin.

Hi Dave, some very, very clever repair work done there! ;D The coating of paint will give it a "lifetime guarantee"!!

Before you put the internal panelling on, have a little think about whether you can do something with the 12V wiring. It is 'typical' of the manufacturers to run the earth lead to the first light only, and then rely on the aluminium cladding to provide the earth for the rest of the van tail/clearance lights. If that's the case with your van, you might like to see if there is an opportunity to run a dedicated earth lead to both your clearance lights, while you've got the cavity exposed.

I presume you've already bought the plywood to reskin the inside. You only need ordinary 3mm ply with one decent face on it for bending and painting. No need for any of the marine or exterior grades.

The van's starting to shape up nicely! Keep us posted on progress.

cheers,
Al.

Hi All,

I have been reading through some of the restoration posts on the forum and I find them all very inspiring, so I thought it high time I posted an update of my own.

Even though we have not posted for a while we have been slowly working away on the wood rot in our little Freeway.

I have completed the front framing and fitted new 3mm ply to the walls and new Masonite to the front.



There is a new sill under the window and I am very pleased with the strength in the front of the van now.

Next it was time to pull the rear of the van apart. I took the old beds out as there is a plan for new couches that convert to a bed...



The off came the paneling to reveal the rot......



Note the lack of pillar next to the window.......

Anyway to the repairs. New corners made from 2 layers of 15mm exterior ply screwed together to get the 30mm wall thickness. New studs and a new window pillar.





New window sill in the rear as well.



And now there is something holding up the roof!!

So now I am up to renewing the wiring for the rear lights and we will also add some 12 volt wiring for the sealed batteries. Then paneling and we can start on the roof repairs.... Just a small area, but my experience so far is that small areas on the surface often mean big problems below.....



Will keep you posted. Off to find new Perspex corner windows tomorrow.

Regards
Dave

Hi All,

The idea of getting to the Vintage Van Nats next time has inspired me to get back in and continue the work on little Curtis.

Thankfully the problem in the roof was mostly confined to the ply ceiling and so with a little love, a small amount of wood filler and a piece of ply we now have the area ready for some paint. ;D ;D ;D





Also I have finally finished repairs to the frame at the rear of the van along with new wiring for the tail lights and some insulation for those cold nights and hot days!!



After reading through ATOG's restoration and obvious love for fiberglass, I thought I should at least include some somewhere, even in our aluminium clad van.
A previous owner had drilled 3 holes in the back of the van in random positions - who knows why, so a small patch on the back to support the metal filler on the outside.



Then on with the paneling....





Looks like progress to me and Mrs. Curtis is well pleased with it. ;D ;D ;D

Some of the electrics have even gone in.



A couple of sealed lead acid batteries to run the 12 volt lights. There is a total of 50 Ah there so should run for a bit without having to be plugged into anything. ;D ;D ;D

Anyway, now on to some new framing for the beds. The plan is to be a bit different to the original with a couch that turns into a double bed at night rather than 2 single beds.

Well that is the update for now. Hope all those who did make the Nats this year had a great time, and we hope to be at them next time.

Regards
Dave

I can't believe that it has been more than a month since I updated this post, still at least there is some progress to show so here goes.

Now that the frame has all been repaired it is was time to get into building the new sitting area. This will be a couch by day and a queen size bed by night.





The height of the seats was set by the port-a-poty. It was a bit of a balance as I am 6'3" tall and still need to fit under the cuboard when I sit down.... ;D ;D ;D



Nice big opening lids.....



And there you have it.

So once this was done - off I goes to Munich for a conference and a bit of butched Airstream spotting ;D ;D ;D... But when I come back - golly has Mrs Curtis been busy!! All the inside is painted and looking fantastic!!





Hey Olfarts - there are the lights you sent me - they are perfect!! Thanks so much!!




So today - in an effort to catch up to Mrs Curtis' great work, I assembeld the dining area - now she has a bit more to paint ;D ;D ;D



A while back I bought a buffing wheel for my bench grinder and gave the original hinges and handles a once over, followed by a coat of "Incralac" Not too bad at all I'd say - amd much cheaper than replacing them all!!





They have gone from gold to chrome - lucky they were chromed under what ever the gold coating was!!

Still more to do - lots more. So until next time happy V Vanning!!

Dave and Sue.

G'day Curtis
good work you are doing there, very satisfying stuff isn't it I have taken note of the buffing & then coating with Incralac on the chrome hardware , there is a special book I write all that info in for my own 'Technical info' reference.
You're nearly there, well done
ST

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. after being bogged down for a while with the frame rebuild it is great to be progressing the project more visually now.

The windows are the next task on the list -I have finally tracked down all of the seals I need and will start to re-fit them next week end. Fire Fighter - what was the sealant you used for the perspex windows on your??

The lights are just perfect actually - we are so pleased to be able to keep them original!!

Gordon - the porta potty should be outside when in use (or used) the cupboard is just for transit. I had considered lead lining for the cupboard, but I was concerned about the weight of the lead that far behind the wheels... ;D ;D ;D

Dave

Well yet another month has gone by...... Where do they go??

Anyway I have been working away on Curtis and so I though I would take a few snaps and post them for those who are interested in the progress of our little Freeway.

So here is the list of things we have done since I last updated.

• All the window have new seals and non broken glass and re-fitted to the van.
  
• Corner windows fitted (see Firefighter I did do it)
  
• Tail lights and clearance lights fitted.
  
• 240 volt wiring completed with safety switch and new power points.
  
• 12 volt wiring complete - new kitchen light
  
• Chassis wire brushed and painted with killrust - nasty job that one - lying on the stone driveway!! (Mrs C kept calling me a dirty old man - not in a good way me thinks......)
  
• Bottom of floor painted with bitumen paint. (As above)
  
• Hatch sanded and painted. Fitted with new weather seal and latches.
  
• Mrs Curtis has made the first layer of curtains and a roller blind at each end.
  
• Fridge sanded back sprayed, sanded again and re-sprayed and a new seal fitted.
  
• New clock and mirror doors fitted
  

Here are the photos:



















We have booked our first trip in the September school holidays so not much time to get him finished now!!

Dave and Sue

Curtis,
Thanks for taking the time to post the photos. Great work! I really like the small touches like the speakers and the polished hinges...keep the pics coming as they might just motivate me to do something.

HALPS