1950’s Replica Tear Drop Caravan

[raym]

Raym - 1950’s Replica Tear Drop Caravan

This is my 1950’s Replica Tear Drop Caravan, built from scratch. Work starting in August 2005 – completed 2nd March 2006. Time taken to construct van was 388 hours plus approximately 20 hours to set out and design,100 hours ordering, picking up and sourcing materials. All construction is as close as possible to the 1950s. Slot headed screws have been used. The laminate was sourced from a demolition site, as were the cupboard handles. You can buy reproduction hardware from the Edwardian era, but not from the 50s and 60s. An icebox is installed and a kerosene stove purchased from Bendigo swap meet for $15.00. The only concession I made was to install electric brakes and a 50mm coupling, as I tow the van with my stock 1957 FE Holden Utility, this enables me to stop much better in the modern traffic.


Set out on MDF sheet and blocks fixed ready for making the frame



Laminating up the bows for the frame



Frame being made in jig from 32 x 19 Australian Oak



One frame complete



Side frame completed, clad with 3mm plywood and undercoated



I had the chassis manufactured from 50 x 50 x 3 galv angle



Lay 12mm ply floor on the chassis and covered it with vinyl



Sides erected on the chassis



32 x 19 rails installed to take linings



Internal ply lining installed



Commencement of cupboard construction.



Cupboards nearing completion



Installing the ice boxes lining



Internal cupboards complete



Rear hatch frame complete



Fitting and hanging of rear hatch frame



Cladding rear hatch



Fitting lock mechanism to rear hatch



Fitting and hanging doors



Check fitting mudguards



Insulation and external cladding



External cladding completed and Aro tape installed to water proof all joints




All undercoated



Final coat spray paint



All masked up and spray painting the band or sash on the side




Final fitting out near completion




Sign writing and pin-stripping completed




All complete and bed made



Kitchen complete and accessories added



On display with my FE Holden Ute at Power Of the Past, Mt Barker South Australia
On 4th of March 2006

[Deleted]

Hi raym

Congratulations on a top TD van. obviuosly you where working to a plan of some sort???. everything has just fell into place so qiuckly.
most of us on the forum have set out to biuld/ restore our teardrops without knowing exactly what we want ,or expect when completed.

You have done very well to complete your van in such a short time. must have been a lot of research goin on before you picked up the tools .

Hope to see you at Mt Gambier in 2008 for the vint van nationals. i guess you will be there anyway for the fe/fc nats.

Reddo ... in Newcastle with half baked TD and EK ute for a tow car

[Deleted]

Oh bye the way.
I guess you would have figured out by now that a spirit level is a complete waste of time when building a caravan. No such thing as a perfectley level floor ...... Not like constructing a house ...or did you go to the extremes of leveling the floor of the TD in your shed before commencing wall construction

Large set squares tell the truth no matter where you are constructing your van. .

more patience than me old mate.

top stuff

[firefighter]

HI Ray
the T D looks great, good to see you chased up second hand fittings, I spoke to you at the bendigo swap when you called at my site and I think you said your dad made broadway vans & I noticed you called yours broadway
geoff ;D

[raym]

Reddo,
You are quite right, a roofing square is an essential item when building a caravan. However, a level can be used as a convienent straight edge. All this aside, when building a caravan you should ensure the floor is flat and does not have a wind (twist) in it. All corners of the chassis should be adequately supported. You can see in some of my photos I had jack stands under the chassis. Raym

[scootman]

Thats a truly beautiful job you did there . You obviously have the skills to do it with no problems at all. Great job!

Scoot

Ps can I have your hub caps?

[warb]

looks great, howdoes rego etc work? .. do you need paperwork simmilar to a car? can you start with a regod box trailer and keep the same rego after building?..

[cobber]

G'day raym,

You obviously are a well organized person, you built your replica in about the same time it took me to restore my ol' 36, I hope you lined up all the slots in those screws in the same direction .
The photo presentation of the job is a work of art also.

Did you base the design of your van on any particular vintage TD ?

From time to time a "Sportsman" TD appears on eBay waiting for somebody to rescue and restore it...not sure what price they ask for it....around $4000 I think (somebody correct me if that's not right) and a propert sold for $2020 last August, both in "good condition".

Based on the all up cost of your reproduction do you think they would be fair prices for a restoration project ?

Cobber.

[dosse]

G'Day raym

It is very obvious to to me that you are a talented man, great job on the tear drop
and a good choice on the tow car.We also have FC ute as our tow car.
Regards David.
dosse

[raym]

Hi Firefighter
I do remember talking to you at Bendigo swap meet. Yes, my father did build Broadway Caravans in SA from 1949 to 1960. I am writing a brief history of the Broadway Caravan and will put it on the forum whin it is complete. I use to help him and would go down to his factory every chance I could, practically every Saturday. I have just purchased a 12 foot van he built in 1958? more about that later. How about some photos of your TD.
Raym

[raym]

Hi Kaybee
The TD is excelant to sleep in as the bed is almost queen size, 5 inch foam Elite Bedding. We have used it 5 times so far - 3 nights at Power of the Past Mt. Barker, 2 nights at Stansbury Wooden Boat Festival, 2 nights at Morgan, 2 nights at Loxton for the Riverland Rally and 2 nights at Murray Bridge for an engine rally. We will certainly be in Mt. Gambier at Easter 2008 and a TD corner sounds goods.
Raym

[raym]

Hi Scotsman,
No - You can not have my hub caps. Just thinking about vin plates, if you are still having problems you could post it to me and I will stamp it and post it back to you. To contact phone [phone]
Raym

[raym]

Hi Warb,
I went to Transport SA Registration Dept., filled in a form just name & address, vehicle type and weight (a guess) and they gave me a vin number (no charge, believe it or not). Then filled in a normal application to register a vehicle, took both to the cashier, paid for 12 months reg and a number plate and left. I bought the vin plate when I purchased my axel springs etc. I then stamped the vin plate and put it on the chassis. All done - no problems. They gave me a set of papers about 12mm thick on the requirements for gas and electrical installations and positions and requirements for all road lights, tail stop clearances and turning lights. This was quite useful. Rego papers in SA are marked trailer or caravan so you can not swap one to another. I actually registers the van in December before it was finished as I made a slight mistake and put the wheels too far back. Just before I clad the outside I took it back to the guy that made the chassis and got him to move the springs 3" forward. Cost me 2 slabs of beer.
Raym

[raym]

Hi Cobber,
Sometimes a restoration can take longer than a job from scratch. I am far from an organised person, although I did have a slight advantage as my father was a professional caravan builder and I always enjoyed helping him, in addition I am a carpenter & joiner. It goes with out saying the slots in slot-headed screws always go along the grain of the timber and along the length of any peice of hardware.
I have a Keith Winsor book "Plans For Austalian Caravans". In it is a tailer for two (TD) plan. I used the 2" graph he has,. to get the shape but I did not like this so I re did the graph to 48mm length and 56mm height, this made it slightly shorter and slightly highter. The rest I just designed myself to suit myself. Could have made the stove recess bigger. The stove fits in by just 5mm but I did not get the stove until the cubpoards were completed.
I have kept the costs of my van and am afraid to add it up. The prices you quote seam fair, if not too much work is required to restore them
RayM

[raym]

Hi Dosse,
Thanks for the comments. My FE has only done 41,000 miles and is very original even some of the paint, and I still have the original torno cover, although I do not use it as it is a bit fragile.
RayM

[raym]

Hi Royce
There is a space below the pull out table and on the left for storage. If you note in the second to last photo two small brown canvas stools, (these are now blue canvas), these and the lead for the power etc are stored in this area.
RayM

[veedubnut]

G'day Ray,

What a fantastic looking Teardrop. Looks to be a good size too mine is a little on the small... ummm ok confined side ;D

Great work and photos. Good to see another Teardrop on the road!

Cheers

Greg

[rodericksmith]

I can't obtain a link to the specific message, just to the page  containing it.
For two photos of this teardrop at a rally, go to vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/18619/assorted-caravans-roderick-smiths-album?page=2
Roderick