Newbie with a 1968 Olympic Debonair

[69ISH]

Hi all,
Just joined and just purchased a 19??  Olympic Debonair fibreglass van. 1st van and I am sure I have lots to learn. My name is Rodney live on the Gold Coast and am mid 40s. My username is the Rego number on my price and joy a 69 Mustang which I intend to use to tow the van most of the time.
 My van I think is in very good condition, everything works, no rust, no rot, it is wearing most of its original paint (has had a couple touch ups here and there) interior appears to be all original and the stove/grill is like it has never been used, no water damage, and since I towed it home on Saturday (250klms) it has been through 2 storms including a hail storm yesterday and not 1 drop off water inside the van. 
My first plans are to fit a set of 14x7 Magnum 500 wheels  which is what is commonly fitted to 69 Mustangs then I would like to pull up the 2 single beds and cupboard and then fit a Queen sized bed going across the van. I would be happy to leave the modifications to that and I know I am going to regret that considering the interior looks  like it is only a year or 2 old and not 40+years old. The wife on the other hand wants a purple black and gold color scheme so it looks like I will be changing more than I want to.

 According to the plate riveted to the draw bar it is manufactured in 1972 but according to the registration it is made in 1968 and the van has apparently never been unregistered can someone please help me date this
Some piccies below and will add more when I take some more
Cheers Rodney




http:// i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt300/littlered69stang/Olympic%20Debonair/20131125_120451_zps065caf99.jpg[/IMG][/URL]







picture layout modified by conti to restore normal page size

[69ISH]

After finding information on the "trip down memory lane"section I have worked out it is a 1968 but can someone please explain to me why it is engraved as a 1972 on that plate that is riveted to the draw bar.
Cheers Rodney

[bigkel]

Those ID plates were not invented in 1972 , that has been added much later when someone registered the van and just took a guess at its age . that logo in the top right hand corner could be a clue , that plate could be only 15 years old , of you can find out when that logo was first used you will have some idea of when the plate was put on there .
When my sunliner was registered in Qld 5 years ago i did not need to have one of those plates !
cheers Kel.

[atouchofglass]

That looks like a nice neat van.
Great score, someone cared for this piece of Australian history.


Atog

[bobandjacqui]

G'day Rodney and welcome,

If you have a look under the A frame fairly close to where the rivited plate is you may find the original chassis number welded there, that is if that's the original drawbar. If the numbers are still under there let us know and the guru (boblor) will be able to give you the year the van was made.

Cheers Bob and Jacqui

[dan]

g'day, I'm guessing the 'vin' number(1390) on the compliance plate is the number under the drawbar. That makes it 68 I think. Mine is 1398, pretty sure it's a 68
Cheers

[69ISH]

Thanks for the replies guys, the Vin No its the same as the No that is welded to the underside of the drawbar so going off what boblor had posted in the thread trip down memory lane in the Olympic thread it should be a1968 maybe even early 1969 but with the Rego starting 1968iwould learn towards 1968.
I have sent boblor a pm for his register.
Being new to caravans I know I have a lot to learn and just can't understand why there is a discrepancy between theplate and the registration n if the van has never been unregistered.

[69ISH]

Would anybody know what stud pattern they used on these I am hoping they are 4 1/2"PCD being a ford pattern

[dan]

G'day Rodney, yes they are a ford stud pattern.

[69ISH]

Thanks Dan,
Your van and my van must have only been built days apart.
On another note after some Google searches that logo on the plate riveted to my drawbar is commonly known as the Beattie burger and was not used until 2000 so that plate can not be to old.

[dan]

Yeah, yours has had a much easier life the by the look of it! That plate would have been just slapped on to satisfy the transport dep for a re-register id say, I had to do the same thing when I rego'd an old boat, just made up a number for it to keep them happy.
Is your van a riviera?

[dan]

Reason I ask is, although I am by no means knowledgable on the subject I was under the impression debonairs were a smaller van than the riviera?

[69ISH]

Nov 27, 2013 22:03:03 GMT 10 dan said:

Reason I ask is, although I am by no means knowledgable on the subject I was under the impression debonairs were a smaller van than the riviera?

Mine is a Debonair (14') as far as I know it still has its decals on it yet they are showing there age.
I will have to pull a tape measure of tonight and measure it as otherwise I don't know how to tell the ddifferences between the 2, I could no tell by eye the difference between 14' and 16' unless they were side by side

[LinPet]

hi Rodney , our Olympic was built on 24 dec 1969 , ch fg1922 , it still has the gas paper in side the wardrobe , hope to see you on a run soon , the van looks very nice

[69ISH]

I was hoping to get out to Canungra and have a looksy but we were booked in for a long weekend at Yamba and we were going to drive back but according to one of my other friends who went out there said it was fairly boggy out there and the 2 daughters said they had hail at home so we decided not to come back for a look.
A couple of photos of my stang at Yamba covered in bugs and dirt from all the rain we drove through to get there. A bit of wildlife photography as well, the wife speed it when she was out on the phone and nearly had a heart attack, she was watching everywhere each time she came out of the cabin from then on

???SORRY GUYS HAVING DRAMAS WITH PHOTOBUCKET






The wildlife as mentioned if you look at the first photo below you can see it halfway across the grass in the foreground of the mustang










Thank you both Don Ricardo and Conti,
as you can see the problem is resolved maybe there needs to be a sticky about the issue I had in the photo section.
Cheers Rodney

[Deleted]

hi rodney

pm sent re pics.

conti

[Don Ricardo]

Ditto!

Don Ricardo

[69ISH]

Finally gotten around to taking some interior photos.
Cheers Rodney

[69ISH]

Hi all,
I pulled up the lino today just in the entry as the floor felt different to the rest of the floor (Solid but spongy) This is what I found underneath you can see in the first photo that the lino isnt original to the van and I presume the carpet in the van is not either.
I have a couple of questions if any body could help me.
1. Are the lino tiles original???
2. Is the ply section something that someone has made up because there was a problem in that area or is that how they did it.
Cheers Rodney

[dan]

G'day Rodney, I'd say someone has replaced it to fix a bit of rot. It's best to fibreglass a new bit in as those two supports are bearing on a section of the sub floor that's not designed to be load bearing.

[69ISH]

Dec 3, 2013 17:19:19 GMT 10 dan said:

G'day Rodney, I'd say someone has replaced it to fix a bit of rot. It's best to fibreglass a new bit in as those two supports are bearing on a section of the sub floor that's not designed to be load bearing.

Thanks Dan, by the way your van looks like it is coming along nicely.

[boblor]

Hi Rodney
Almost all Olympic Riviera's and Debonair's fail at the entery door, too larger span for the plywood flooring, and it de-laminated due to continual live loading (stepping on it ).
Yours has been replaced at some time. The floor tiles are original.
I do not have my register with me as I nwrite this but from the chassis no. quoted more likely a late 1967 or early 1968, I will confirm down the track.
Cheers boblor

[atouchofglass]

The doors on most Olympics have a problem and over time they leak onto the floor.

If you fibreglass and screw an edge to both sides of the entry way it will also help support it.
Just doing the stays underneath won't be enough.

Alternatively you could fibreglass more supports into the shell under the floor where the ply sits.
Remove the two little stays in your photo and use the glassed in supports instead.

If you just rely on those two supports and the two sides it will remain spongy and eventually cause problems with the underneath shell.

I prefer to make things overly strong, that way they last forever.

If the above is confusing let us know and I'll try and do a diagram.

Oh and welcome to the fibreglass fraternity. ;D

Cheers
Atog

[69ISH]

I was thinking of bolting/glueing/screwing 2 off 25 x 25 duragal steel box sections going from the ply floor under the dining chair across to the closet so as to spread the load over a wider section then fitting a new ply section then seal it all in resin.
If someone else has another suggestion please feel free to let me know.

[atouchofglass]

To make the repair real easy.
Get some green foam from any fibreglasser or Nuplex (supplies fibreglassers).
www.nuplexcomposites.com/australia/?q=node/38

Like I used in my outer shell


It is a hard foam that you cut to shape.
It can be shaped with a knife and coarse sandpaper, or even a grinder if you are in a hurry and wear protective clothing/mask/goggles.

Shape it to fill the gap between the underbody and the floor.
Resin coat it, wait till that dries then fit it into that gap and glass it in place.
Making sure it is bonded to the sides especially, not just the bottom.
That way the whole area becomes a support.

Then resin coat the ply you intend fitting as the floor.
When that has gone off (dried), resin it to the green foam that is already bonded to the van.

This will be a strong and effective solution, not relying on screws or the underside of the cupboard and lounge.
That way you could strip both the cupboard and lounge out if ever needed without worrying about weakening your floor.

Atog