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Post by Franklin1 on Jan 23, 2010 21:43:05 GMT 10
Hi DonR, some very good quality building work done there! To be able to match the brickwork in as good as that, shows you chose a good builder. I presume you are going to instal some sophisticated temperature and humidity control equipment in the new garage? Something like they would do for Grange Hermitage?? Don't forget to get a couple of rubber bumpers for the brick pillars at the front of the garage. Need to make sure ain't nothin' gonna scratch the Don! Hope you enjoy the new addition. cheers, Al.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 23, 2010 22:24:39 GMT 10
Hi Al, Yes, we're very happy with the end result. The builder demolished the original side wall of the garage and then cleaned the bricks so that he could re-use them to match everything up on the front and back walls. The colourbond roofing on the front matched so well that it's almost impossible to tell where the old roof finishes and the new section starts. Good suggestion you've made about the sophisticated temperature and humidity control equipment - I must check it out... Don Ricardo
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Post by dosse on Jan 24, 2010 6:50:25 GMT 10
G'day Richard Good to see the DON has a new home and great idea about the drive through :)When I come and visit can I order a bacon and egg muffin and a hash-brown to go . Regards dosse.
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Post by cobber on Jan 24, 2010 7:20:36 GMT 10
Half your luck Don R..... I would die for a drive through residence for my vintage 'vans You will put carpet on the floor won't you It looks as though there has been a bit of touch up work done on [glow=red,2,300]The Don[/glow] as well ? ...what has that involved ? Cobber.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 24, 2010 22:22:58 GMT 10
Hi Cobber,
The aluminium enamel paint on the roof doesn't last as long as the 'ordinary' enamel paint elsewhere on the van. If I get four years out of it I'm pretty happy. (Shades of the discussion on the forum over the last few days about different types of paints, eh?). The roof was due for a repaint last year, and that has been exacerbated by the less than totally satisfactory shelter for the van over the last few months. Having the concrete floor and apron of the garage now means that I have a stable base for a ladder, so I was able to repaint the roof after Christmas, just before going away.
After sanding the roof down, I undercoated the areas where the paint had cracked and/or peeled, and then gave the whole roof two coats of Dulux Silvasheen aluminium enamel. My understanding is that Don used Silvasheen (or its predecessor) because the aluminium paint acted as an insulation agent.
You have to be careful with your brushstrokes with the Silvasheen because it consists of a paint base with aluminium particles suspended in it. There isn't as much room to change stroke direction, etc, as there is with ordinary enamel. It is important to use full length brush strokes from edge to edge and ensure that all the strokes run in the same direction. But if you follow that procedure it gives a great looking finish.
The result from repainting is not as good as if I had sanded back to bare wood, but as you know that is a task that is not easily accomplished on a Don because of the incredibly resilient cover provided by the original paintwork. I guess I will need to do it at some stage...
The paintwork on the external walls is also due to be re-done - I normally get five or six years out of that. On top of that, I have decided to take the plunge and do some of the internal paintwork as well. The latter hasn't been touched since new. I also have to replace the ply on the hatch because it has begun to delaminate. I am hoping that Son No. 3, who is a carpenter, will be able to do the job for me using the original framework. The plan is to accomplish all of this before Mildura! We'll see how we go...
Don Ricardo
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Post by persephone on Apr 20, 2010 20:01:47 GMT 10
What a great family tradition. I love the washbasin! Wonderful old van - thanks for sharing.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 20, 2010 21:46:54 GMT 10
Very kind, Persephone. Thank you.
As you can tell from the thread, the Don is almost a member of the family. My wife sometimes says she thinks that if I had to choose between her and the Don, the caravan would win! I can assure you that's not true - she would always win, hands down - but I just hope I am never in the position where I have to choose... ;D ;D ;D
Don Ricardo
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Post by colsailingcars on May 7, 2010 21:05:41 GMT 10
great story and pics i was under the impression that HQ and commodore rims had slightly different stud patterns - they may seem to fit but the small difference is enough to stress the studs over time and cause failures it would be worth checking with someone who knows more than me regards col
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 21, 2010 16:37:29 GMT 10
G'day all, Without making too big a deal of it, today - 21 June 2010 - has a bit of significance for this V V'er for two reasons. The first reason is that it is 55 years to the day since this photo of our Don caravan was taken at the Apex River Beach Holiday Park at Mildura: I've posted the photo before, but I thought given the anniversary it was worth posting again. The photo shows me with my mother and father, and my aunt (on the right). As some of you will have twigged, the Apex park at Mildura was the venue for the recent 2010 V V Nationals...so, here is a pic of the same caravan at the same caravan park taken 54 years 10 months and 22 days after the first photo. Don't think they're the same trees, but then again I can't say for certain! One of the most memorable parts of our holiday to Mildura in 1955 was that while we were there, we left the van at the caravan park and went for a 5-day cruise down the Murray River and return on the paddlesteamer PS Coonawarra. (Source: G Painter, In the Wake of the Coonawarra, 1970)For a small boy, sleeping in a cabin on one of the upper decks, having dinner at the Captain's table one night (as did all the passengers), and watching the river glide by as the Captain expertly negotiated sand banks and snags, etc, was an experience never to be forgotten. The Coonawarra looks every bit a paddlesteamer from the late 18th century. However, what I didn't realise until returning to Mildura for the Nationals this year (and buying a second hand copy of Gwen Painter's book on the vessel) was that the Coonawarra was only built and launched in October 1950, less than five years before our voyage. She was operated by the tourist operators Murray Valley Coaches Limited. While we were in Mildura for the Nationals I was excited to see the Coonawarra once again, moored by the bank of the river: Very sadly she is not currently in use. She has been up for sale for the last two years, but seeing her there brought floods of memories back to me. The second reason this day has a bit of significance for me is that this happens to be my 2,000th post. When I joined the forum in 2007 I could never have imagined that I would have posted so many entries! Again, I don't want to make a big deal of this particular event, but I would like to take the opportunity to thank Mark T for establishing the forum and maintaining it. By doing that he has provided a way in which we have all been able to indulge our strange passion. I would also like to thank all those people who have responded to my posts and have become my friends through the forum. My involvement in the V V movement has been (and continues to be) a very pleasurable and satisfying activity for me, but it is only that because of the relationships which have developed and are fostered via the forum. Thank you to you all. And last but certainly not least, I want to thank Dona Ricardo who encouraged me to make my first post (the first post on this thread, as it happens) after I had only been a silently lurking visitor to the forum for three years. I would also like to thank her for her patience and forbearance for all the hours (probably far too many ) I have spent with my back to her while I silently stare at the screen trying to decipher some faded writing on the side of a caravan, or trying to solve one of those infernal V V mysteries. Enough! I'll end this post with a couple of pics from the trip back home after the Mildura Nationals. First a photo of two Art Deco beauties. The Don parked in front of the picture theatre in Charlton: Our Don 140 and Raymar's Don 120 parked together in Wedderburn: Don Ricardo
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Post by kingy on Jun 21, 2010 16:59:28 GMT 10
Great story and pictures Don Ricardo.............When do you pick up the Coonawarra ;D ;D Kingy
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Post by Surf Tragic on Jun 21, 2010 19:30:19 GMT 10
That is beaut stuff to read Don Ricardo, enjoyed the photos of the Dons very much, makes me want to go caravanning, Vintage caravanning that is The paddlesteamers are a work of art, (we did a short tour on one at Echuca), the memories of a 5 day trip like you did has stayed fresh by the sound of it Cheers, ST
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Post by humpyboy on Jun 21, 2010 20:41:20 GMT 10
Well Mr Ricardo, congrats on all counts, it's just a shame you weren't able to take a cruise, makes me wish I had my Don finished, imagine three of them parked in the street in Wedderburn, then we could go round the corner to my sister in-law for afternoon tea P.S. Only a gazillion more posts and I've caught up to you ;D
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jul 10, 2010 23:33:15 GMT 10
Hi all, Earlier this year Dona Ricardo and I took the Don away for a couple of weeks holiday at Tuross Head, one of our very favourite spots on the south coast of NSW and not far from Cruz and Kingy country. I took a lot of photos with the intention of posting them on our return. However, there's been a lot happening on the forum and (for us) off the forum since then and I haven't had a chance to do it. It's all a bit after the fact, but I thought I might still post them just to remind everyone that summer and warm, sunny weather is on its way back once we've passed the winter solstice. "What was that about summer and warm, sunny weather?", I hear you say. Believe it or not the above photo was taken in the middle of summer in East Gippsland, somewhere between Orbost and Cann River. Those of you who live in northern NSW, Queensland, and WA may laugh, but we Victorians are quite attached to our weather! ;D ;D ;D By the time we reached Tuross, the weather had improved and we were able to set up camp and enjoy some real sunshine in our corner of the caravan park: On our first trip to Tuross (a few years ago now), we had an enthusiastic knock on our door from someone wanting to know if the Don was for sale. It wasn't, but our visitor was Earlee. Speaking of Earlee, we haven't heard from him on the forum for a while. Anybody know how he is? From our camping site, and from the road above, we are able to look across the place where Lake Tuross (out of sight on the right) meets the ocean (on the left). When we were there this year the entrance was closed by sand. On the far side of the sand you can see the Beachcomber Holiday Park at Blackfellows Point - a very pretty camping ground, but without power. No good for us, but maybe not a bad place for the East Coast Tour to head for one year, Reddo. (Just trying to get his attention! ;D ;D ;D) A few weeks after our holiday, there was a huge amount of rain on the south coast which led to a lot of flooding around the shores of Lake Tuross. As a result, the shire used excavators to open a channel between the lake and the sea. Very sadly, during our time at Tuross we had to make a quick dash back to Melbourne to arrange for our little dog Sophie to be put down - home one day, back the next. In some ways it was easier to head off back to Tuross afterwards than be at home where the silence resulting from her absence would have been almost overwhelming. Here is a pic of Sophie on a previous holiday in the van: While we were at Tuross, we did a fair bit of touring, including a cruise up the Clyde River from Bateman's Bay to Nelligen. Dona Ricardo in the streets of Nelligen looking down towards the Clyde and the jetty: The cruise took us under the bridge across the Clyde at Bateman's Bay. The bridge has a lifting span to allow boats to sail underneath it: The bridge is not the only way across the river for vehicles. Upstream, vehicles can cross over a ford at the aptly named 'Shallow Crossing', which is also a popular swimming spot. One place we like to visit when we are at Tuross, is the little heritage town of Central Tilba under the shadow of Mount Dromedary. Apart from being the home of the Tilba cheese factory, almost all the houses and shops are now occupied by cafes and handcraft shops, so a visit to the town takes a few hours if you enjoy poking around such places. Finally, a few shots taken on our way home. On the Princes Highway with Lake Tuross in the background: All Saints Anglican Church, Bodalla: St Edmund's Catholic Church, Bodalla - an interesting feature of this church is that its walls are entirely clad with wooden shingles: Lunch beside Quarantine Bay, south of Eden: Camped at the pretty little caravan park beside the Tambo River at Bruthen on our last night: Can't wait to do it all again! Don Ricardo
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Post by Jennison on Jul 11, 2010 8:05:34 GMT 10
I spent the first 40 yrs of my life during school and annual holiday time fishing, swimming and boating on the blackfellas/spud point and tuross waterways. It would indeed be a great spot for a VV tour to stop over at. Top mex restuarant at Bodalla to boot jennison
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Post by DC3Td on Jul 11, 2010 8:47:33 GMT 10
Great pics & memories eh Don. And the 49 Don seems to have taken it well also. Although is one tail light not working? (reply 66) Cheers gordon
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Post by Surf Tragic on Jul 11, 2010 12:09:03 GMT 10
Hi Don Ricardo The Don looks immaculate & it is amazing the use you get out of it. I noticed the electicity inlet you have fitted to the van is the same as the one I just fitted to the 120, Mark said he has some NOS original ones, mine was missing. Sorry to hear about Sophie, she had a bit to say to us when we were there. We are sitting in the middle of your featured trip right now, will have to go & check out that old building below Eden now Great photos thanks. ST
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 22, 2011 15:59:35 GMT 10
Hi all, We're just a few days back from our annual sojourn with the caravan to the south coast of NSW, so I thought I'd share a few pics. First off, the Don parked in Bega with its Christmas present - a new tow car. The Don reckons that the car is reasonably obedient for a pup, stops before crossing major intersections, etc. However, it does say that the car is still pulling fairly strongly on the leash : You'll note how the style of the caravan and car complement each other - 1930's Art Deco in artistic tension with Noughties Ford Kinetic styling, leadlight windows highlighted by the juxtaposition with the automotive shatterproof glass, the curve of the car's sheet metal subtly echoing the timber roof of the van...no? I'm not convincing you? I couldn't convince Kaybee either - he's already told me off about the choice of car and pointed out that our NEW car should have been an OLD car! ;D ;D ;D When we arrived at our chosen spot at Tuross Head, we discovered that the landscape - or rather seascape - had changed rather dramatically in twelve months. The floods on the south coast of NSW in February last year had necessitated in the council having to open up the channel between Lake Tuross and the sea. The change in the currents, and no doubt the volume of water rushing out to sea, resulted in significant changes to the beaches, etc. Compare our view this year: with what we could see last year (same direction but from higher up): Last year we were able to walk across the sand from Tuross to the Beachcomber Holiday Park at Blackfellows Point for a Devonshire tea. There was no way we could have done that this year. The changes we saw illustrated the power of water, and brought home to us in a very minor way the horror and destruction that the floods were causing in Queensland while we were away. The weather was overcast and drizzly for a fair bit of our time away. This is the mist over Lake Tuross one fair summer's day: But we are not complaining in the least because the bit of rain and drizzle we experienced was absolutely nothing, nothing at all, compared to what others were having to deal with. In fact it provided us with an excuse to relax, and just sit and read: Just on the edge of our site was a bottle brush in flower, which was a great attraction for the lorikeets: During our time away, it was exciting to catch up with Cruz and to have the opportunity to check out some of her treasures: A few days later we also caught up with Jennison and his wife, Phillipa, and attended a meeting of the Eurobodalla Vintage Caravan Network which was held at the Hog's Breath Cafe in Batemans Bay: From the left are : Jennison, Phillipa, and Eurobodalla locals, Pam and Buggsy. From the left: me, Cruz, and another Eurobodalla local, Alan. And again altogether, including Dona Ricardo on the left. It was a great night out, and even some of the spouses who are less affected by the V V bug than the rest of us found a lot of things in common and are looking forward to the next get together. Unfortunately the 'King' of the Eurobodalla Vintage Caravan Network and his gracious consort, Mez, couldn't be there. Something about visiting their dominions in the West. Pretty poor excuse if you ask me... Next time Kingy and Mez? When it came time to go home, Dona Ricardo and I decided to take the train: Nah...only kidding! ;D ;D ;D The pic is of a cafe in Cobargo (near Bega) which incorporates a Sydney train carriage, where we had breakfast on the way back to Victoria. Sometimes these places are a bit down at heel, but this one was pretty upmarket with the baristas (the sheilas making the coffee) all done up in smart uniforms, etc. The mist at dawn at the Bruthen caravan park, looking over the local footy ground, on our last day: Home again, and looking forward to the next time: Funnily enough, wherever we went while we were away we had a sense that Reddo's spirit was there with us, particularly when we stopped for a cup of coffee. Can't quite explain it really... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Don Ricardo
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Post by cobber on Jan 22, 2011 18:01:11 GMT 10
G'day Don R, Tuross looks like a good spot to spend a few lazy days.... we must give it a go. And that Ford you bought.... I'm not jealous you understand but ... it looks like it's got no tyres , must be a bumpy ride aye? Thanks for the pictures Cobber.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2011 21:09:42 GMT 10
Hiya Don Ricardo.. Sometimes the best weeks/ weekends away are the unplanned / .. just drop the V.Van on the towball and go aye mate. I am sure that Tuross will be on the .. "Must visit""..list for this years East Coast Spring Tour I have several of your co-horts shown in the gathering of the south coasters on my "scouts for the south " list. The two photos of the river entrance.. Never under estimate the powr of nature mate.. things can change in the blink of an eye. All too obiviuos now with what has happened to our QLD mates. Thanks heaps for the photos.. I am a dedicated bird lover and the shots of the little Rainbow Lorikeets topping up on nectar while hanging upside down are sweet.. even though they set their alarm clock for 5.00am Cheers mate Reddo and Trish
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Post by sutcac on Jan 22, 2011 21:29:21 GMT 10
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2011 17:42:34 GMT 10
Great holiday you had there Richard ......ta for sharing the pics BUT ......you've really gotta do something about that tow car ;D so ......what's your address I've loaded the art deco Chev onto the back of the truck, and am headed to Melbourne ......... to provide that beautiful old Don caravan of yours with an appropiate tow car ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Mark
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Post by humpyboy on Jan 23, 2011 17:58:29 GMT 10
So Mark by the picture can we assume that SUZU is back up and running?
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Post by Surf Tragic on Jan 24, 2011 7:44:06 GMT 10
G'day Don Ricardo I like the new car, the lines are certainly more in keeping with the Don than the last one. It's a real pity we missed you on the coast , we must have been leaving after our 7 1/2 month stay as you were passing through Surf Tragic
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 24, 2011 22:19:23 GMT 10
Thanks all for the comments re the photos of our latest outing, and thanks Mark for offering the Chev. I'll put the kettle on for a cuppa for when you arrive... ;D ;D ;D And that Ford you bought.... it looks like it's got no tyres , must be a bumpy ride aye? Yeah, Cobber - the tyres were an extra cost option so I told them they could keep them. If it was good enough for my grandmother to travel in a Cobb & Co coach with iron tyres, it's good enough for me... ;D ;D ;D Actually the wheel/tyre combo on the car rides better than I thought they would. I'm pretty pleased with it. Looks slightly out of place with the 14's on the van though, eh? Just out of interest I sat down the other day and worked out that our new vehicle is the Don's ninth regular tow car. The list is as follows: 1. 1946 Buick - 1949 to 1958 2. 1958 Dodge Royal - 1958 to 1961 3. 1961 Humber Super Snipe - 1961 to 1973 4. 1973 Volvo 164E - 1973 to 1982 5. 1980 VC Commodore - 1982 to 1987 6. 1987 VL Commodore wagon - 1987 to 1995 7. 1989 Toyota Cressida - 1995 to 2001 8. 2001 VX Commodore - 2001 to 2010 9. 2010 FG Falcon - 2010 + There's a bit of diversity in the list - at least up until no 5! ;D ;D ;D Nos 1 to 3 belonged to my father. My mother inherited no 3 from my father when he died, and then bought the first of her couple of Volvos. Nos 5 to 9 have belonged to Dona Ricardo and me - much more pedestrian, so to speak. Pretty amazing to think that's the complete list, except for my uncle's Customline which was used when he borrowed the van for a trip to the Flinders Ranges with his family in the early 60's, and our faithful little Fergie tractor which we used to put the van in and out of the shed on the farm. Regrettably I only have pics of nos 1, 5, 6, 8 and 9 actually coupled up with the van. As always, the ordinary events of life sometimes miss the camera lens. Don Ricardo
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Post by kingy on Jan 25, 2011 8:44:19 GMT 10
Looks an another good trip to Tuross was had again Don Ricardo.............how many does that make now Sorry we could'nt get there, still some unfinished business in the west ;D It's allways a good thing if you can catch up with any members when getting out in our vans, a high light of any trip Kingy & Mez
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