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Post by andrew on Mar 25, 2006 21:38:27 GMT 10
G’day All, First time using photo bucket – hope it works! These are the pictures of my new teardrop (small story in technical stuff re: insulation in teardrops). If someone can pin a date on it, that would be great.  Some interesting things to look at are the two different pressed patterns on the aluminium;  the wheels (does anyone know what these belong to?);  and the door is one the drivers side (could this be an imported American teardrop?). The large back flap opens up to reveal the kitchen and a smaller flap at the bottom opens downwards. Funnily enough, it is lined on the inside. It also has a spare wheel underneath the back. Will give more details when we get it home and cleaned up. We are pretty stoked with it; it should keep me out of trouble for a while! I will post pics of new caravan that we will be picking up this weekend soon. Bye all, Andrew |
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Post by poptart on Mar 26, 2006 16:17:01 GMT 10
Andrew, It was not unusual to have an inside lining in early TD's. I have an article from 1947 that describes building a TD with an inside lining. As most of the plans came from USA, it's no gaurantee that yours is an import, just a lack of forethought from the builder--Maybe. Also the suicide opening of the door also leads me to believe that the original builder was laking.
Just my thoughts
Cheers
Paul
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Post by humpty2 on Mar 26, 2006 17:59:12 GMT 10
Wheels look like 35 or 36 GM (Chev ,Olds etc)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2006 18:21:39 GMT 10
Hi
Certainly different and... good luck with the resto.
Wheels might be englsh ford prefect or anglia.
Cheers
Reddo
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Post by andrew on Apr 9, 2006 9:50:26 GMT 10
G'day all,
I've got the little blighter home and in the back yard and of course it was only a small job when I looked at it in situ, but when I got it home...
We contemplated going down to 14" wheels because we had the bits to do it for free, but just before we were about to start I rang a mate who asked what was happening and I told him and what we were going to do with the wheels. HE WENT OFF!! Said while I was at I may as well paint the ally to really stuff it up. Yep that was the clincher. 16" wheels here we come.
We are getting new springs. Have to make some new shackles like the old dog bone ones and have tracked down some suitable wheels. 600/16 is very hard to find according to many tyre joints and one said if I could up it to 650/16 I could have an endless supply. With 5" gap around the wheel to the mudguard there should be no problem.
Have stripped the wheels in a caustic bath and treated them with exit rust and as I was steel wire brushing down the last one for treatment, guess what I found?
JBJ and kaybee should be interested in this and maybe supply a bit more info.
Two stampings near the vaulve.
One in the middle of the wheel that says in a circle " KFLSEY HAYES" and on the inside of that circle " made in USA "
Up on the rim was stamped " 16x400" and under that a " 6 " a bit of space and then " 35 "
I am taking this to be the sixth month 1935.
Just on the body. A few dings, a bit of ally rust and I have to reconfigure the inside as it is 6' inside and thats how long I am.
Shall put up some pix soon.
Bye all Andrew
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Post by trodler on Apr 9, 2006 18:19:40 GMT 10
Hi Andrew.
Just checking out the photos of your teardrop.
Ive just got a couple of questions. Does the aluminium cladding look original or has it been built using ply and then clad in aluminium later on at some time?
The aluminium cladding was really only started to be used in the 60 s.
Does the draw bar look original,as most of the early ones used a round tube draw bar.
If you have a look on ebay under trailer guards,there is occasionally a guy in Queensland that makes very nice steel guards that look extreemly good on a teardrop.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Trodler.
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Post by poptart on Apr 10, 2006 9:15:18 GMT 10
Andrew, Contact Reiner at aussieteardrops.com he has some very nice retro gaurds that you may be interested in.
Cheers
Paul
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Post by will and Lyn on Apr 10, 2006 9:37:28 GMT 10
 ;D  Hi Guys I hope he does better than me on those guards I contacted Aussie Teardrops on three occassions two years ago for some Retro Guards and Im still waiting for a reply if you get some let me know Will
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Post by will and Lyn on Apr 10, 2006 9:50:04 GMT 10
Hi Andrew I found my 53 Ali teardrop in similiar condition after ten years in the open go for its mate its worth all the effort  best of luck Will Welcome to the teardrop club |
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Post by andrew on Apr 17, 2006 15:00:47 GMT 10
G’day all, Famous words “ from little things , big things grow.” Would not be telling anyone any thing new. Well the teardrop has nearly turned into a full bawl. As most would know, before I can do this I have to do that. Before I do that, this has to happen and so on….. I have so far in the job that won’t take long and should be right for easter, taken out the internal walls, removed the back wall because the inside was too small for me, cut out the floor boards at the back with rot back to a floor frame member. Just in full contemplation mode. The ally has a bit of low down rust ( can’t for the life of me remember its proper name) and some dings and dints. To keep the original sheets of ally we are thinking about covering the affected areas with flat ally sheet and making a feature of it with cool design shapes. You know how people are sticking on those bullet holes on to glass and body parts of cars ? Well we don’t need to as over the years and not that long ago, some-one has been taking pot shots with an air rifle at the old girl so they won’t be getting covered up. Kaybee, here are some photos of the wheels. I didn’t mind the look of the light truck tyres and we are also running them on our Franklin.    Troddler, the ally is original. It has no ply under it. The frame is all 1”x1”x1/8” angle painted with red oxide including the bends and is mounted on a 2” gal angle frame. Who ever made it went to a lot of trouble to do the job but finished the inside rather poorly. The inside lining is masonite.      The draw bar is original and is bolted through the chassie as you might see in the photo and is welded as well   At the moment, the guards are staying because of originality, but they may be strengthened a bit. Thanks for the welcome Will. Bye all. Andrew |
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Post by andrew on May 23, 2006 16:52:58 GMT 10
G'day every-one,
Been awhile since I've been on dew to a change of shift. 3:30 am to 12:00pm. Leaves a lot of time for the teardrop but I have to go to bed earlier and night time was when I would visit the site, not in the day when there is things to do.
Ah, where does it all start? Yes my love. I've found this beaut little teardrop. How bad a nick? Just a bit of a clean and a tidy up and we'll head off for Easter in it. Yes that's how it started. Sound similar?
Well I now have a 1" angle iron frame and a gal. angle chassis. No 16" wheels but 13" ones. The short story is that who ever built the drop had bits and pieces and joined then together. When I tried to do the right thing, you know, wheel studs instead of welded coarse thread bolt, I found that wheels didn't suit the hubs ( no centre spigot for the wheel, just the bolts) the hubs were drilled free hand to suit the wheels and were not the true pitch circle diameter for the wheels. Answer ! make new hubs to suit ! No. Swap axel and put on the 13" wheels and axel that I have and that are in good nick.
So no 16" wheels. Oh did I mention that I am taking the ally with the dints and bullet holes that I can't get out off and am recladding it in masionite. No? Oh well. Please, please oh brothers and sisters of the ancient van colt, hold it not against me for I have done something that could look good when it is finished.
Yes that is what we are doing and we are going to have two doors instead of one and if I can wangle it , we will have port hole windows. A most desirable thing on this site.
So that is what is going on. Good or bad. Right or wrong. I hope I will recieve your forgiveness.
Regards all. Andrew
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Post by darrylkerrigan on May 23, 2006 20:10:48 GMT 10
There would be a hub to suit those wheels matey, if you wanted to use them
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Post by humpty2 on May 24, 2006 19:08:46 GMT 10
Dunno if any one I.D.ed the wheels before but they are ex 35/36 Buick, Oldsmobile..or maybe Chrysler products from the same years.
Regards Humpty (ex 35 Olds owner)
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Jim
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Post by Jim on May 25, 2006 12:28:20 GMT 10
Hi Andrew
On your 16” wheels, measure centre to centre on adjoining stud holes..
If it’s 67 mm the wheels will fit on Ford hubs
If it’s 71mm they will fit on HQ Holden hubs
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Post by andrew on Jun 2, 2006 17:02:07 GMT 10
Thanks guys,
after much consideration and thinking about staying original, I am going to go with the 13's.
Was given another van that was really only go for wrecking ( did "Ever the Optimist " say that ), but I have got alot of stuff off it to use on the teardrop and the Dunkeld ( as we now call the bondwood van). We now have an ice chest for the Dunkeld and we think we might put the water tank under the TD and will look at using the sink and the table on it as well. Must be very cunning with small places, Grasshopper.
Hope I have not sinned too much Master.
Regards all
Andrew
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Post by andrew on Sept 8, 2006 23:15:54 GMT 10
G’day all, This is my update. Stripped to chassis, cut out all rust and welded in new angle iron. Here are shots of the corrosion.   Ended up having to fair the middle and weld in a bit each side to make it look sweet. Wrecked a van to get bits and pieces. Most important were 4 jack but got handles, hinges, Windows and the likes.  Have primed all the frame with etch primer. Bonza stuff. Have used 15mm F11 flooring Ply for floor. Beaut stuff.  Haven’t done the old bucket for ages. Bit stressful. Regards all Andrew |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2006 17:37:51 GMT 10
Hi Andy
That corrosion looks like electrolysis. Aluminium rivetted to steel will react like that. Bit like dropping and old 2 cent piece in an alloy boat. If ya dont find it and toss it out it will end up reacting against the alloy.
It must be the season for Td restos and construction. Salavaging goodies off old vans is always a good alternative to trying to track down hard to get hinges etc. Most of the bits ( Including some of the timber) i am using on my TD effort are from a wrecked alloy over ply van. I have a spare window . ice chest etc.
You are going throuh what i consider is the "Easy" stage at the moment. I think Kaybee and Vee dub nut will agree that the rear end/ kitchen and bootlid take up more time than the rest of the project put together.
As Mr Neargi once said........
"Have patience Andrew son.......wax on... wax off.... breath in .... breath out"
Your doing well mate... Dont give a rats what anyone else thinks or says... Its your baby!!!!
Reddo
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Post by andrew on Sept 11, 2006 17:09:15 GMT 10
G'day reddo,
Thanks for the encouragement. I had fairly well staggnated and hadn't been on line for a while and then I saw what you, veedubnut and kaybee have been upto and it was back out to the shed, stout in hand and into it.
The advise you gave about simple cupboards, we think, will go along way.
Thanks again.
Regards Andrew
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Post by andrew on Jan 20, 2009 21:30:10 GMT 10
G’day all, Been awhile since I have worked on the old teardrop of joy but the time has Now come.If you read “project #614 you will get all the history about our Move to Castlemaine and what was going to be doing. ( if some one could Put a link thing on that it would be appreciated. Thanks) Well, I have built the carport and done the retaining wall on the low side, 9 meters long,800mm high and about 900mm at the base tapering up to the top all dry stone laid and it took me about 12 hours to do, but not in one go and it is as solid as. The rocks don’t rock. Just after Christmas we bought another 12meters of rock to do the front staircase And the rest of the retaining walls. In the photo you can see the stairs to the right. They are about 12’ long at the base.  The van in the back is a Franklin Regent 12’x7’ 4 berth. Also in the 6 months I have taken up the noble trade ( part time, but I am being taught By an old master) of Blacksmithing. It is a bit like a long apprenticeship, which is really Great. I have turned my small shed into the Smithy. Now why the sudden rush of blood to the head after so long? Well,,, some friends got married last weekend and have gone off to Tassie tenting it For their honeymoon. I was in Tassie back in ’74 when I was 5 and our friends parents Said it would be a good time in the next 2 year to take the kids there since they are 9 and 7. A quick thought was if I finished the teardrop, we could do it in that as we also have A tent too. Jacqui reckoned this was a good idea. The other thing that lead to this happening was New years night. The kids said they wanted to stay up to see the new year in, so no worries, we stay home. What did we do? We listened to Roald Dahls’ ‘ Danny, the champion of the world’ and I played with the Lego. By the time that 12 o’clock hit, the 2 girls were asleep, Angus Was awake and I had built a teardrop caravan with opening doors and tail gate. Jacqui picked it up a few days ago and said,” you really should start on the teardrop again.”  Sunday and I have cleaned up the shed and levelled the van so I can make a start. Been collecting bits and pieces off the forum to get some good ideas and how to Go about others. Here is how it is now.  Regards Andrew |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 20, 2009 21:36:57 GMT 10
Hi Andrew, I presume the lego model is a prototype for your proposed colour scheme? Very fetching it is to.  Good to see that the teardrop is on the move again (so as to speak). The link to your Project #614 van you asked for is: vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/i....ead=1466&page=1Don Ricardo |
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Post by andrew on Jan 20, 2009 21:52:48 GMT 10
Thank you Don R,
Very quick.
The other thing that I forgot to say ( as he now puts his head in the noose) is that I
would like to have it done for COLEDALE this year.
Shall keep you up to date with progress shot along the way.
regards Andrew
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Post by minicamper on Jan 21, 2009 6:17:49 GMT 10
Hey Andrew,
I know you said you were going to stick with the 13's but if you do change your mind, there's a place not far from me that i have praised before on here. They can make you an axle and or hubs, drilled to suit any wheel you want, with or without brakes AND very reasonable prices too.
At the end of the day, i guess the van wheel size needs to also match the tow car to some degree to help keep things level.
Keep chipping away at it, you'll get there..
Oh and Don R, that link is a dud and i couldn't work out where it was wrong...
Cheers
Chris
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Post by cobber on Jan 21, 2009 8:50:40 GMT 10
G'day Andrew, I'm pleased to see you have found an excuse to get motivated on the TD... traveling Tasmania with the kids in the TD would be a win, win, win situation. I see you've put some effort in around the place.... that should get you a few brownie points The link to your first post on the subject brought back a few memories for me...it's at vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=photo&action=display&thread=1466Cobber. |
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Post by andrew on Jan 21, 2009 20:33:41 GMT 10
G'day Cobber,
thanks for the link. Yes the place has changed since you saw it.
Regards Andrew
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Post by andrew on Feb 3, 2009 21:12:01 GMT 10
G’day all, Just finished putting timber around the edge of the steel frame to Make it easier to nail the lining to. I am using 3.2mm masonite On all the inside lining, 5.5mm tempered masonite on the roof And 7mm ply for the external walls. Haven’t done too much work because of the heat. All last week Was over 40 degrees. Here is a pic of the progress.  Regards Andrew |
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