LOOK WHAT I FOUND

[kingy]

.
. Can anyone out there shed any light on what I have here.
I'm yet to get in touch with the owner who's apparantly in Germany, but I'm told the vans got to go because of ext's to the house,so here's hoping it ends up in my shed. Hope someone can help.
Cheers Kingy

[retrovan]

Hi Kingy,

Interesting looking van!! Is it painted ply or alloy? Love the rounded roof and back.

Good Luck
Tim

[kingy]

Hi Jim,
She's all ply from what i can see, i did"nt stay long (just long enough to take pics) as i said owners are o.s.
Looks like its been there for a bloody long time as they have built a verandah around and over it which would be 20-30 yrs old. I'll speak to the guy who put me on to it shortly and try to get in touch with the owner before its destroyed. Fingers crossed.

Kingy

[veedubnut]

Hello Kingy,

I think what you have found is probably the holy grail of Australian vintage caravanning! That has got to be early circa 1940's.

What a van! Looks worse then what it probably is with all its peeling paint.

Goodluck with your quest. Hope the owner is willing to sell.

Cheers

Greg

[Scoot]

Have just checked my little book of caravans, Its a tudor style horsefloat volkswagon combivan. MAde by round brothers inc. It was produced in the factory by reject elves from santas workshop for the sole purpose of giving the fairies and their unicorns somewhere to sleep while delivering tooth money to little children, But it and restore it so that the kids will get their 20 cents

[kingy]

Hi all,

No sleep last night, going back today to slip a note under owners door for when she gets back(old mans dead, not in van i hope.)
JBJ I noticed the rear curved area is made up of wedge shaped segments , so it's not actually a smooth curve.

I'll jump the fence and have a closer look and take more pics.

The owners back in around a fortnight it's going to seem like an eternity

Stay tuned, Kingy

[Deleted]

Hi kingy

This van deserves to be saved and restored. My first thoughts when i seen it was the same as Scoots. a cross between a horse float and a VW Kombi ( great minds think alike.... simple minds never differ eh)
draw bar looks flimsy??
My guess is anything from 1935 to around the late 40's
whatever it is... it is unique.

I suggest that once you have secured the sale / giveaway of the van you do the removal . dont trust the builder to get it out in undamaged condition. take plenty of Acro jacks and support the verandah before removing any columns or piers . It looks like it is on a slope that would require a block and tackle attached to the van to ease it out from under the house. Oh and dont forget to unplug that extension lead. being as old as it is you could end up frying yourself....
Have a good long think about the best way to tackle the removal before you start . Would hate to see it take off down the hill into someones swimming pool or something.

Another plan would be demolish the verandah then move the van. depends how big the alterations and extensions are gunna be?? Might have to crane it out over the roof of the house onto the road... dont laugh , it could be an option???

i suppose with 2 weeks to wait you will have plenty of time to come up with a strategy.

SAVE THIS VAN AT ALL COSTS. We will all be following your escapades and cheering you on.

Reddo

[escapepod]

We can see why you're excited, Kingy.
This one is "an absolute must have" for a VC enthusiast.
I wonder if you will learn any history with its acquisition?

[kingy]

Hi Reddo,
Regarding removing the van it may come out
backwards up the driveway, it'll be a big job whichever way it goes. I can assure you if i'm lucky enough to get it i'll find a way to extract it. I have an excavator so i may be able to strike a deal regarding her extentions ,(footings etc) could also carve a path for the van!!

Rang Norm today and added our name to Coledale list, should grab them there chairs for sale and take but i bet someone soon grabbed em' ;D ;D

Kingy

[kingy]

Hi all,
Well Thursday was both a sad and happy day, sad because i received a call from a guy named John who told me that he was the new owner of the van,who by his good fortune basically saw it first and had to have it , as i did.
Anyway the good news is that it now lives close by and has gone to a good home.
I'll be going to Johns shortly and i'll find out what we can about it and it's history,camera in hand. Maybe John will join in on the forum?
Oh well , back to me bondy,


p.s. as you mentioned Reddo it was craned out .

a sad Kingy,

[cobber]

I feel for you Kingy...I was going to suggest to you at the beginning that you should just steal it while the owner was away.
Keep an eye on the new owner Kingy, he might give up on it, if not it would be good to see him on the forum so the rest of us don't loose sight of it.
Cobber.

[kingy]

Thanks Cobber, I'll at least be able concerntrate on one van at a time now, John's wife actually came across my story and photos and they could'nt believe their eyes knowing someone else had taken photos of their van , it must have been quite a shock for them.
I'll get back with photos shortly, unless John takes over from here , i hope to meet him on the weekend.

Kingy

[Deleted]

Hi Kingy

Bad luck mate . But as you say at least it was saved from the renovators hammer and it sounds like "John" will do the right thing and restore it back to its former glory. Cant wait to get a peek inside. Could find the old grandad in there .

Keep us posted ... and John if you are reading this you lucky duck , how about introducing yourself and gives a tour of your van.

Good to hear ya booked in to Coledale Kingy. Will catch up and have a beer ( probably a box full) with ya there


P.S Beer always tastes good no matter what sort of camping chair you sit on. ;D

Reddo

[JD]

Hello all, good to make contact, I’m John, the bloke that now owns the van that Kingy was after. Yes I was in shock when I saw the photo’s from Kingy on this site. I had so much organising to do in removing this caravan and on top of this I was discovering how others viewed the caravan’s uniqueness through this forum.
So this is how things happened.
I made a comment to the neighbour about how unique and old this caravan was and what a great restoration project it would make. I was told I was the first person who had expressed an interest in recovering or salvaging it. The caravan had been sitting under this house for the past 36 years and was known to have been there a further 5 years. I have not f/up earlier history given on previous owners prior to this time. I was asked to remove this caravan at any cost just to get rid of it as it was considered to be an eye sore to the owners and their neighbours. The owner’s believed the only possible way to get rid of it was to dissect it and then take it to the tip. This was due to the impossibility of removal because it was located under the home that had decking built around it on a steep slope with no access to the road. I was asked if I was interested in the job of removal.
The owner rejected the idea of partial demolition of deck to extract the caravan. With no other access available craning the caravan was the only option. Having consulted with a crane operator I was advised it would be a tricky job due to the power wires, trees, slope etc. All agreed to give it a go and it worked without any damage to the caravan, deck or home. I cleaned up the site and thanked all who were really excited that the caravan was gone and that it would be saved to be restored.
I have the 12 rocks found on the mattress and outside that the little boy next door threw through the perspex back window and at the rear section of the van (on a positive note probably the only damage sustained in the last 50 years). Thankfully justice was served and I’m told he got two hidings, one for doing it and another for not owning up to it.
Hoping to get involved and share pics and find out more about this caravan by taking on board your ideas and inputs. They would be greatly appreciated given the fact that there is so little information about this caravan. Personally I have not been able to find a caravan that remotely even resembles this one.
I might add that the roof is curved by slates covered by painted canvas and the uniqueness of the design resembles early air craft construction methods. Good news, despite the van sitting within site of the ocean with its deteriorated appearance the van is in remarkably good condition with hardly any timber rot to be found. And get this, all the wheel nuts unbolted easily and the wheels still spin nicely over the old drum brakes. It has a full leaf spring suspension set up above the curved axel. The full metal chasse is in good condition with surface rust only and the front dolly wheel wound up with ease. We have yet to find any name or numbers on the van except for a brand name on the rubber tyre on the jockey wheel (Kenwort) and on the jockey wheel housing assembly (Dymwood) Regards John

[kingy]

Hi all,

Met up with John and his wife Leonne today (drinks beer to, good bloke) the VERY proud owners of the van i was after, and i can assure you all ,it is in good hands as they have the best intentions for its future.
After a few beers ,laughs, and a second look over the van as i was leaving it was a good feeling knowing it went where it did, we're going to keep in touch

I have taken these shots of the suspention and rims (with 3 sprung clips for hubcaps) on their behalf in the hope to est. approx age.I would have guessed around late 30's early 40's ford with that transverse spring setup. I reckon Jailbar will know this one, any idea's

Cheers Kingy

[JD]

Hi Jailbarjuice
Those second hand Radial tyres were just put on last Thurday to make it mobile. The old tyres on it were Dunlops made in Australia.

John

[kingy]

Hi Kaybee,
That's the brightest i can get this pic (i only took the two) hope it helps.
Don't take any notice of the grease\dust cap it appeared to be a converted can. John will have to let you know about the plate, i did'nt take that much notice







[

[JD]

Hi All,
Axil assembly comprises of a full front end including drum brakes with no shock absorbers or stablilizers at all. Complete front full suspension mounted on a full chassis. The tie rod ends have both been bolted to the centre of the axil to stop any steering movement.
Yes Col, the Van does rock and roll side ways easily and the axil spring combo does take up a hugh amount of floor space under the bed area.
We are working towards getting some great pics of the van being lifted out by the 20 ton crane. There will be clear pics of the axil assembly and also inside shots of the van etc that will answer lots of your questions.
No ID marks to be found yet. Thanks to all for your points of view. I think I’m hooked on these old vans now. Cheers John

[imrightjack]

Hi all, John here, your newest member known as imrightjack. Here are the pics.

[imrightjack]

[imrightjack]

[imrightjack]

[imrightjack]

[imrightjack]

[imrightjack]