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Post by handyandy on Sept 25, 2014 18:58:34 GMT 10
Further to my interest in restoring/rebuilding or (new) building a retro van for my family and I, I am very interested in the early folding vans. Does anyone have plans for these vans? Starlines, Prestige Furnitire (Fugly), Propert, Tagalong etc., etc.
I'm pretty handy mechanically and electrically as I have a trade as an electrical/mechanical fitter, have restored several motorcycles and an early F100 and can fix most things I put my mind to. Further, in the past I have worked at a few fibreglassing businesses and even ran one of my own fibreglassing business for a couple of years before selling it as a going concern.
I would very much appreciate being pointed in the right direction for some of these plans.
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Post by Roehm3108 on Sept 26, 2014 14:08:40 GMT 10
I reckon any plans would be as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth. I have spoken to the fellow who claims to have the Propert plans and he intends them for an eventual museum, so I would say your chances of getting them are zilch. Best I can suggest is finding a willing Propert owner, taking the shells apart (not difficult to do) and making a template of the sides, then measuring the trailer (front is slightly wider than the rear) and going from there. The trick is in the manufacture and placement of the folding arms. They have to be exactly the same as on the original. There would be no problem in copying a Propert these days, as the patent on the folding arms has expired.
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Post by Rattles on Sept 26, 2014 16:54:06 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 28, 2014 17:04:19 GMT 10
G'day Handyandy, There some plans for caravans in various Keith Winser publications from the 40's through to the 60's, for example his annual caravan and touring manuals, and the "Plans for Australian Caravans" booklets. There are more details of about these publications in the 'Keith Winser Caravanning Publications' section of the forum which you'll find by clicking here. There were also some books of plans written by John D Porter, and some others published by the Australian Home Beautiful, in the 30's and 40's. However, I've checked through the copies I have of some of these publications (by no means anywhere near all of them!), and the only one that has a set of plans for a fold up van as such is the 1948/49 edition of Winser's caravan and camping manual which includes the following:  (Source: K Winser, Caravan and Camping in Australia, Book No 2, 1948/49, page 79) I should add that these plans are not very detailed, so it's just as well you're a 'handyandy', because you would need to be able to interpret them a bit. That being said, I'm happy to copy them and email them to you if you're interested. If you are interested in plans for a teardrop style caravanette, there are heaps of those around, in addition to those referred to by Rattles. But I don't think that's the type of van you're interested in... Apart from that, as Roehm3108 has suggested, it may be a case of finding someone with a folding van along the lines you're interested in and seeing if they would be happy for you to get some measurements. There have been a number of folding vans shown on the forum, apart from the ones you've mentioned. I can point to some of them if you would like me to. One of the most interesting (in terms of restoration and presentation) was one which belongs to a friend of forum member Retro1, which I saw at the Mt Gambier Vintage Caravan Nationals in 2008. It had been home built in 1948, and was along the lines of a modern 'Eco-tourer' fold up van. Unfortunately, I can't find any pics of it on the forum, nor can I find my own!  Don Ricardo |
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Post by handyandy on Sept 29, 2014 13:14:39 GMT 10
Thank you for your guidance. I am currently drawing plans to develop plugs, then molds, then components to build a retro style trailer for my wife, Cate's, business that, with further additional fit out, will be a retro style fibreglass caravan for my family's enjoyment.
Just going the wife's business route initially so the development is tax deductable.
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Post by scootman on Sept 29, 2014 14:51:13 GMT 10
/was about to post but I see don Ricardo beat me to it.
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