Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2005 9:35:02 GMT 10
Whilst recently in Victoria, I had the pleasure of meeting Doug & Vicky from Gembrook. They have three very intersting caravanning projects, two of which are complete, and one in progress.
Their enthusiasm for their projects is second to none, and Doug is a very skilled woodworker, as the following stories & pics show.
They are a lovely couple, but unfortunately, like many of us, they have a problem, they keep finding old caravans to restore, then of course they have to find a suitable tow car ......this problem however is very fortunate for the world of vintage vans, coz two vans and a lonely teardrop destined for the scrapheap, have been saved & lovingly restored by Doug & Vicky.
Doug takes up the story from here:
The Don was spotted by my wife during a Sunday drive. As soon as we saw the leadlight windows we knew exactly what it was, a 1930's "Don model 120", 12' 10" in length, but only a 3 berth.
Its resting place was under massive pine trees. It was in very poor condition, the back window had fallen on the inside (luckily) and landed on the double bed. The bed was still made up, so only one piece of the window was broken. My wife had done a leadlight course several years earlier and was able to handle that job.
Everything on the inside was still intact, the ice chest and all the cupboards still had their fittings. The old mattress was still in the van (yuk) filled with horsehair and covered in green herringbone wool fabric with ticking underneath.
Luckily the baked enamel badge was still on the back of the van, Don being the brand name after the designer.
So, yet another restoration job was underway. The two upper sheets of ply were left & the rest was removed, replacing roof sheets, lower side walls back & front & replacing lots of rotten timber along the way. Rewiring was done, the axles & hubs had to be replaced, so it was decided to put brakes on it.Then it was the daunting task of doing the inside. Every nook, cranny & crack was completely scrubbed & scrubbed & scrubbed clean. Then came the painting, even doing under the shelves (for our own peace of mind).
Curtains were made of the same design they originally came out with, then new lino was laid on the table the same as which was on it, then we added all the trinkets of that era and even acquired the two burner "Coleman" stove which is also what they came out with.
The job was done, well almost. The search was on for a car to tow it, having found the perfect car a 1956 two tone grey FE Holden Special perfect for the Don as its original colour was grey. Now the job is done.
Doug's third project:
They say once you've got the bug you can't stop, how true! Sitting on my digger doing my job one day, I looked up and in the distance thinking "is that what I think it is?" So, off I go (the job had to wait!) through market gardens till I reached it, and to my surprise a 9' timber caravan. After very little bargaining it was off to my local garage again for their tilt tray truck (they have as much fun as we do picking up all these old vans).
This little beauty was able to fit into my shed. Another major restoration job underway.
While pulling off outside wall sheets, I noticed a stamp on the timber frame "Trail". We believe a veteran van builder by the name of Ted Palmer designed these vans in the early 60's for the popular Mini cars. This explains the the front & rear large aluminium windows for easy vision for the driver.
Having just started this project, we have only a few photos but will keep you posted as the project progresses.
Sportsman Caravanette
This 1940's Sportsman Caravanette was purchased from a caravan yard, after them using it for many years for their advertising.
Again we gave our local garage the privelage of towing it back home with their tilt tray truck.
Being covered in galvanised metal, we thought it would have helped preserve it. After removing the outside metal, to our shock there were no doors, the back part had rot in it as well as the front, and the underneath timbers were also rotten. So, the challenge was on.
Finally, we replaced the underneath timbers, the roof & the wall sheets and I made the two side doors ( thanks to Ralph for letting me take a pattern off his) and also the rear kitchenette door. All the rewiring was done.
The job was complete after several months of hard thirsty work (with a little help from the next door neighbour with the restoration work, & the drinking).
When we took the photos back to the place where we purchased the van, one of the guys went out to his storeroom & returned with the original cast sportsman badges that were originally on it & wanted nothing for them, we couldn't believe our luck !!
We painted it to go with our two tone blue FJ Holden Special Sedan.
We have slept in it several times & its a real talking point at our club runs & displays.
Doug
Their enthusiasm for their projects is second to none, and Doug is a very skilled woodworker, as the following stories & pics show.
They are a lovely couple, but unfortunately, like many of us, they have a problem, they keep finding old caravans to restore, then of course they have to find a suitable tow car ......this problem however is very fortunate for the world of vintage vans, coz two vans and a lonely teardrop destined for the scrapheap, have been saved & lovingly restored by Doug & Vicky.
Doug takes up the story from here:
The Don was spotted by my wife during a Sunday drive. As soon as we saw the leadlight windows we knew exactly what it was, a 1930's "Don model 120", 12' 10" in length, but only a 3 berth.
Its resting place was under massive pine trees. It was in very poor condition, the back window had fallen on the inside (luckily) and landed on the double bed. The bed was still made up, so only one piece of the window was broken. My wife had done a leadlight course several years earlier and was able to handle that job.
Everything on the inside was still intact, the ice chest and all the cupboards still had their fittings. The old mattress was still in the van (yuk) filled with horsehair and covered in green herringbone wool fabric with ticking underneath.
Luckily the baked enamel badge was still on the back of the van, Don being the brand name after the designer.
So, yet another restoration job was underway. The two upper sheets of ply were left & the rest was removed, replacing roof sheets, lower side walls back & front & replacing lots of rotten timber along the way. Rewiring was done, the axles & hubs had to be replaced, so it was decided to put brakes on it.Then it was the daunting task of doing the inside. Every nook, cranny & crack was completely scrubbed & scrubbed & scrubbed clean. Then came the painting, even doing under the shelves (for our own peace of mind).
Curtains were made of the same design they originally came out with, then new lino was laid on the table the same as which was on it, then we added all the trinkets of that era and even acquired the two burner "Coleman" stove which is also what they came out with.
The job was done, well almost. The search was on for a car to tow it, having found the perfect car a 1956 two tone grey FE Holden Special perfect for the Don as its original colour was grey. Now the job is done.
Doug's third project:
They say once you've got the bug you can't stop, how true! Sitting on my digger doing my job one day, I looked up and in the distance thinking "is that what I think it is?" So, off I go (the job had to wait!) through market gardens till I reached it, and to my surprise a 9' timber caravan. After very little bargaining it was off to my local garage again for their tilt tray truck (they have as much fun as we do picking up all these old vans).
This little beauty was able to fit into my shed. Another major restoration job underway.
While pulling off outside wall sheets, I noticed a stamp on the timber frame "Trail". We believe a veteran van builder by the name of Ted Palmer designed these vans in the early 60's for the popular Mini cars. This explains the the front & rear large aluminium windows for easy vision for the driver.
Having just started this project, we have only a few photos but will keep you posted as the project progresses.
Sportsman Caravanette
This 1940's Sportsman Caravanette was purchased from a caravan yard, after them using it for many years for their advertising.
Again we gave our local garage the privelage of towing it back home with their tilt tray truck.
Being covered in galvanised metal, we thought it would have helped preserve it. After removing the outside metal, to our shock there were no doors, the back part had rot in it as well as the front, and the underneath timbers were also rotten. So, the challenge was on.
Finally, we replaced the underneath timbers, the roof & the wall sheets and I made the two side doors ( thanks to Ralph for letting me take a pattern off his) and also the rear kitchenette door. All the rewiring was done.
The job was complete after several months of hard thirsty work (with a little help from the next door neighbour with the restoration work, & the drinking).
When we took the photos back to the place where we purchased the van, one of the guys went out to his storeroom & returned with the original cast sportsman badges that were originally on it & wanted nothing for them, we couldn't believe our luck !!
We painted it to go with our two tone blue FJ Holden Special Sedan.
We have slept in it several times & its a real talking point at our club runs & displays.
Doug
