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Post by kaybee on Jan 16, 2012 20:05:06 GMT 10
Hi, some folks may have noticed an Ad for an old van posted here last Sunday, as soon as Kris spotted it she sent off a PM to the vendor, Blake....and waited.....( not very patiently I might add ).....and by the time she got an answer, we (Dale and I) had left sunny Croydon for a quick run up and back to Batemans Bay to pick up a new cab and panels for Dale's old C20 Chevy ( it had given up it's life in the last old caravan recovery effort.....there's a story there , but it'll keep for another time ).....we'd seen this Chevy truck on Reddo's last tour when all of us "tourists" invaded Buggsy's house for lunch and when he mentioned the Chevy was up for grabs ,Dale put his hand up for it. Getting off track a bit here ,but it gives you something to read ;D....so....since we were away travelling to BB and back ,Kris arranged to meet the vendor at the empty house to view the van , which she did and made an offer......and sat back again to await the decision...... We got back from BB on Wednesday arvo and changed cars and we all went back down to Ringwood armed with torches to better check out the van. Seems it had been walled in to one of the old outside sheds on the property some time around '76.....and forgotten ! The old house was due for demolition and the van and a few other odds and ends were all that was left before the dozers moved in . As always when you're offered something neat , a quick yes or no never seems to happen and in this case there was another interested party still to view ,so back to the waiting game again .....later next arvo we got the phone call we were waiting for and off down to Ringwood again in a pair of pickup trucks to do the deed (why 2?.....stick around and you'll see ......with a little bit of demolition on our part the wall got out of the way, swapped the wheels for a couple borrowed off our Tandem and it was out in the daylight for the first time in a good long while..... .....a fair bit of excess shrubbery up the top of the drive , the whole block was heavily overgrown ....first time out for a while.... ...you might notice Kris's pickup has a fair load in the back, the Ford was the same,well loaded before the van went on the back.....why?....'coz we hit the jackpot!.....everything that was left in the house ,or under it ,or in any of the sheds ( 6 of them ) was ours if we wanted it......and there was a fair heap of stuff left which made it's way into both of the trucks ....even a pile of new slot headed screws! ;D.....but we'll get to that bit..... ....anyway , off we wobbled trailing dust and debris...... ...amazingly ,all the lights worked as soon as it was plugged in, even had the right trailer plug ;D .....it tows well but the springs seem kind of soft ,judging by this shot of it leaning into the corner at about 10 mph ....back in Croydon now ...it's a pretty cool shape , and it's in very good solid condition too ....and the dirt comes off!....revealing nice white paint ( I thought it was gray before .....paint on the front is the worst area,but it's only flaky paint ,the grain in the ply is still nice and closed up, so a simple rub back and repaint is all that will be needed to put it back into service. The drawbar will get a strip and paint too and the hydraulics will be replaced with new .....pulled the wheels off and found it has all new brakes and drums......reckon they might have been used once before it was put away in hibernation.... and there's a nice Dymwood tow coupling and a funny old jockey wheel for Cobber to ponder over ;D ( it's got an icebox too,but I forgot to take a pic)....soon Cobber ....panel in the door slides down to reveal the flyscreen....a bit like an old tram .....more dirt off it...looks much better! ....so what we're going to do now is put our 10 footer up for sale and keep this new to us 12 footer..... ....PM us if you're interested.... ....so here's some of the treasures we found.... .... slot head screws,offset hinges,bakelite light fittings ,bakelite ended vacuum cleaner ,a bit of fishing gear inlc. a neat Alvey reel.... the box in front of the fan is full of hinges and latches too ...Bakelite bedside light claimed by Kylie..... ;D ....more stuff still to be unpacked..... ....nifty electric cooker , Reddo likes our electrical gear so this should inspire him no end ;D ;D ....seemed a pity to leave the house nameplates to the 'dozers....... ...and then there was this.... ....no idea what it is exactly ,so if you know....can you tell us? ;D ( not the frog ,we know what that is thanks ;D) ...it's some kind of self propelled object , engine is stuck but I'll have a go at freeing it up soon ....the antique Lightburn mixer was buried down the back of one of the sheds, a couple of tons of furniture in the way....but we got it out!.... ......put some fuel in it and it stared up on the 3rd tug on the rope!....runs sweetly too. Probably not used for 30 odd years..... .....we had a ball ,thanks to Blake and his Mum Andrea for their generosity and friendliness on the day , cheers, Col,Kris,Dale and Kylie....the Kaybee clan ;D
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Post by DC3Td on Jan 16, 2012 20:28:12 GMT 10
Hi Kaybee. Great pics & story. You struck gold by the looks of things. As for the "no idea what it is exactly" - looks like it was a tiller converted to use as electric (petrol) eel? gordon
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Post by barkpaint on Jan 16, 2012 21:49:15 GMT 10
Never mind the beautiful van, all the amazing things, including fishing basket, a lovely nic nac for any camper as a prop or to be used. That machine, early edge trimmer? But best of all, even excluding the bakelite fittings and lights..... slot head screws, slot head screws, slot head screws.....happy dance..... p.s. these things bring back many happy memories of my childhood, expecially electrical appliances, as dad was an electrical repairman.
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Post by humpyboy on Jan 16, 2012 22:06:10 GMT 10
Yet another nice find plus extras
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Post by professorq29 on Jan 16, 2012 22:38:26 GMT 10
That "thing" reminds me of "The Good Life". Tom towed a cart behind his rotavator with his veggies in it. Now it probably does the same thing with something slotting into the plate at the back. Professorq29
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Post by Roehm3108 on Jan 17, 2012 6:50:37 GMT 10
You're lucky it wasn't a Don, kaybees, cos DonRicardo would have sniffed it in the wind years ago. Suspected when the thread came onto the for sale section that this could be one of those great finds. Congratulations, looks even better than anyone could have imagined. By the time you guys have finished with it it will be a real showpiece. Hmmm - slothead screws Why would you need them That van isn't going to need any of them, so pm me and I will happily take them off your hands ;D ;D Ray
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Post by cobber on Jan 17, 2012 7:13:41 GMT 10
G'day Kaybees, Another nice pickup, you've got more nice pickups than you can poke a stick at..... and I'm not just talking about the four wheel ones either The “Hawthorn” looks like a very nice pickup....must be if it's got you thinking about selling the 10 footer. And what about that “Rol-Jean” project ...that was a nice pickup that you haven't been keeping us informed about ..... Thanks for taking pictures of the tow coupling and the jockey wheel and the slotheaded screws....... you know what I like...... who would have thought there would be another jockey wheel like this one.... I like those two tow balls too...are they 1 7/8'' Ice box.....ice box Those two plugs? Going into the front of the van... are they electrical or gas? Anyway....... nice van, in good hands Cobber.
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Post by kaybee on Jan 17, 2012 7:28:26 GMT 10
G'day Cobber ,the towballs are 2 1/4".....there's another tin somewhere with a couple more sitting in oil, so if you need one just sing out. The 2 plugs on the front are for the vans external lighting,they join to a 5 pin Utilux plug. That Coronet we saved had the same setup too , must date from before the Utilux plugs were common ,so folks used household 3 pin electrical plugs.
Nothing to report on the Rol-Jean lantern van , it's tucked away safely until I get the time to start on it.....I keep getting sidetracked on other projects ;D.....
I'll get a few good shots of the inside and especially the ice chest once Kris has finished the cleanup....it's looking good without the dirt! ;D
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Post by chippydave01 on Jan 17, 2012 7:40:42 GMT 10
Hi Col and Kris, Great photos and a great story.Good luck to you guys. Cheers Dave
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Post by dosse on Jan 17, 2012 8:44:18 GMT 10
G'day Col & Kris Love the story and photo"s van looks great.....it will come up sweet once you have both done your magic on it. You said that Kris waited ( not very patiently ) well i find that difficult to believe good on you both. Regards dosse.
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HAD708
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by HAD708 on Jan 17, 2012 8:45:25 GMT 10
Congratulations on the Hawthorn Kaybee's and i think it was better you guys got it as i was the other interested party and it is great you got it and all the other paraphanalia. Good luck and i look forward to the other updates! Brett
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 9:03:33 GMT 10
whata find you guys have an uncanny ability to sniff out these treasures .............its condition is unbelievable Great work guys, ........tis a shame the 10 footer has to move on being your first V V, but I'm sure it'll find a good home Mark
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Post by barkpaint on Jan 17, 2012 15:36:57 GMT 10
Hi kaybee, is there anywhere on this site I could have a look at your 12ftr.? Ta, Heather
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Post by kaybee on Jan 17, 2012 15:46:25 GMT 10
Hi Barkpaint ,if you mean the little yellow van that we're going to sell,it's a 10 footer. I don't think there's any one place where there's pics, there's some spread around in various places from the tours we've been on with it. If you can wait a few days I'll get some new pics and put them up with a proper description and price , thanks, Colin.
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Post by kaybee on Jan 17, 2012 15:51:10 GMT 10
You're lucky it wasn't a Don, kaybees, cos DonRicardo would have sniffed it in the wind years ago. Ray Ha..... ....we know where there's a nice original Don hiding away and not for sale....yet.......betcha D.R. doesn't know of that one....only just up the road from here too....
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Post by Roehm3108 on Jan 17, 2012 16:03:21 GMT 10
KB says "Ha..... ....we know where there's a nice original Don hiding away and not for sale....yet.......betcha D.R. doesn't know of that one....only just up the road from here too.... " Shhhhhhhh, he might hear you
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Post by greedy53 on Jan 17, 2012 16:15:46 GMT 10
that motorised thing reminds me of an old van mover i used at one time in my life the one i used had a ball on the front but it had a clutch
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Post by kaybee on Jan 17, 2012 16:33:22 GMT 10
that motorised thing reminds me of an old van mover i used at one time in my life the one i used had a ball on the front but it had a clutch Hiya, we were wondering if was something like that too ,it does have a centrifugal clutch on the shaft from the engine to the drive unit. What is a bit hard to figure out is the slotted plate has the handlebars (or whatever you like to call 'em ) directly above ,so you'd be sitting on whatever you were trailing....if that makes sense ;D. We'll try to get the little clunker going and see what it does.....cheers,Col.
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Post by kaybee on Jan 17, 2012 16:36:35 GMT 10
KB says "Ha..... ....we know where there's a nice original Don hiding away and not for sale....yet.......betcha D.R. doesn't know of that one....only just up the road from here too.... " Shhhhhhhh, he might hear you ...the D.R. is always listening ;D.....perhaps we can make it a bit of a challenge?......place might be called Warburton.....just up from here a bit.....shouldn't take him long to travel all the streets and find it.....not! ;D
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Post by Cruz on Jan 17, 2012 16:46:30 GMT 10
Hi Guys, great pickup Will gve more room for The Boss. Not long till Cowra. Cruz
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Post by kaybee on Jan 17, 2012 17:06:33 GMT 10
Hi Guys, great pickup Will gve more room for The Boss. Not long till Cowra. Cruz ....yeah,like he needs a lot of space ;D......did you get your grille we left up there at Buggsy's? Sorry we couldn't stick around for Tues. night to catch up , but we had to get back from B.B. as soon as we could and we weren't sure how the loaded trailer would travel with all that Chevy truck stuff and the 350 on it......it actually travelled great and we were back by Wed. lunchtime, just in time to go caravan hunting ;D. Tell Buggsy we've already done the body swap and the truck is back on the road again , we got started on it as soon as we'd got the caravan back and all the treasures unloaded......Dale is pretty happy with his new blue pickup
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Post by Franklin1 on Jan 17, 2012 21:09:03 GMT 10
G'day Col, Like many have said before me...great find! It's almost like a time capsule had been dug up and a Hawthorn caravan found inside it. I was kinda hoping I was going to get the January Monthly Medal for Junk Scrounging, with my recent finds, but you've come right over the top of me with all that other stuff you scored, and are racing away to the finish line. Damn you! On a more serious note...the Long & Smith confectionery tin in one of your photos caught my eye, and my interest. I did a bit of snooping on the internet, and I reckon you should empty the bolts out of the tin and give it a good "clean and polish". Seems they started way back in 1896 at that Fitzroy address. In October 1900, the Fitzroy "City Press" ran this advertising article... They must have become a fairly noteworthy business in the following years, because 17 years later (May 1917) the Adelaide "Advertiser" thought it was newsworthy to mention a robbery at their premises... One assumes that lolly deliveries were set back a day or two, ay?! ---------------------------------------------- Then there is this info that somebody's posted about their family history... "Long, George A nephew of James Long (1830) was George Long. George's business interests as partner in Long and Smith are listed as 'manufacturing confectioners', and by 1917 an additional office was opened at 70 High Street, Bendigo, further increasing operations. Alf Smith attended to the books and despatch of goods, until his death in 1917. His earlier locations, according to Postal Directories, may have been 78, 80 and 129 Napier Street, and also at 19 Main Street, Ballarat. For a time George carried on the business which had now moved to larger premises in Young Street, Fitzroy. He then joined an amalgamation with the famous A W Allen and also Miller Bros, the Amazon Confectionery Company, Clarke-Luke Pty Ltd, National Candy Company and Tuckett Obinson Pty Ltd. The new Melbourne-based conglomerate commenced operations on September 1, 1917, with G W Long, joining the foundation board of eight members. The first factory was in Kensington, followed by the Riverside Avenue plant overlooking the Yarra River." [sourced from this website ] ------------------------------------------------------- So it seems that in late 1917, the company known as Long & Smith ceased to exist, and became part of a larger group which I guess evolved to become the Allens confectionery group we know today. All of which means that the confectionery tin in your hands appears to date from 1917 or earlier. ...AND somebody's been using it to store some old bolts!! cheers, Al.
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Post by barkpaint on Jan 17, 2012 21:51:26 GMT 10
Hi kaybee, would love to see some inside pics, no hurry. You had me confused for a minute, I am married to a Colin..... ? Cheers, Heather
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 17, 2012 21:55:01 GMT 10
G'day Kaybees, What a great van! Well worth the looong trip to pick it up...hope you took your thermos and picnic lunch. ;D ;D ;D I was going to say that it will scrub up well, but it is evident from the pics that it already has! The shape is very interesting and different to any of the other Hawthorns we've seen so far on the forum. Although it has the portholes and rectangular wheel arches that KB3's Hawthorn had, it looks more like a Victorian/NSW style van than a South Australian van like KB3's. So the question is: I wonder where Hawthorn sourced this one? There's no doubt about it - Les Gough left us with a whole lot more puzzles than answers about Hawthorn vans. Leaving all that aside - it's a fantastic van. I can understand why you've decided to keep it! Don Ricardo
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Post by smiles on Jan 17, 2012 22:18:03 GMT 10
Congratulations on a fantastic find! Love the lino! Love the curtains! Love the original vinyl seatcovers with yellow buttons! Gorgeous van, you can see by those dovetailed drawers that it's a quality item. Wow, so many original, unmessed up features! The yellow, black & grey are definitely your colours.
So are you going to use those slot-headed screws to attach the White Lodge sign onto the van? very presidential or even prime ministerial or even both!
smiles
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