Post by jrod on Jul 28, 2007 18:49:48 GMT 10
Hi Guys/Girls,
Just thought i would share with you some pics of my Franklin restoration. It started in November last year, and was 99% finished in time for Easter. It is still 99% finished thanks to me being in Sydney and the Van being in Melb! Anywho, hopefully I find the time to apply the finishing touches in time for the ECST which will be my first VV run.
$500 and we were away. It had sat under a tree for the last 5 years.. The lady i got it from purchased it from the original owners. After it’s first clean, it was obvious the original owners always had it under cover.
The front dinette had the table missing, but original seats.. (that stunk like you wouldn't believe!) Also, the lining under the windows had rotted, I wasn’t sure where to start with it so D&I Caravans in Thomastown got the nod and replaced the timber with a period looking finish.
This crappy shelf was an addition by the second owners. So their daughter could watch TV in bed when she stayed with them (They only had a 1 bedroom house which is why they bought the van)
They had also pulled out the original single beds and centre chest of drawers to fit a double bed. Both the bed and shelf damaged the walls. Im no carpenter, but i dont understand how someone could do such a rough job.. Clueless or not..
This is the new timber lining that was fitted.
The kitchen as it was. The Hallstrom fridge still works well! Havent tried the stove yet as it still has a 1969 Gas Bottle on the front of the drawbar which will have to make way for a new one for obvious reasons! ;D
The outside came up as is with its first wash. Just wirebrushed and repainted the drawbar. The van also got a new drop axle with electric brakes. Thanks to RayM who advised i could still have Electric brakes with 13”rims and rubber as many Caravan joints didn’t even know.. Which is a bit of a worry. A guy also came and moulded on a white wall strip which finsished the outside off and matches the towcar.
With a bit of persistence, Vicroads gave us the nod to keep the original plates. A local signwriter copied the original Franklin decals pretty well so they were replaced also. If anyone is after some, just let me know and I will PM you the details. He kept the artwork in lieu of any further requests and they were cheap as chips, so to speak. Believe it or not, only the centre stop lamp globe needed replacing. After wiring up a new plug, all the lights worked! Testimony to that ‘they don’t make em like they used to”!
The new dinette. I made the table myself but may get a new one made as it isn’t perfect. The entire inside of the van was repainted, and a new floor was laid too which freshens it right up, but still looks like what you would expect the original interior to be like. New flywire was added and roller blinds.
The DIY double bed was removed (it took me 3 hours to dismantle the damn thing that was screwed, glued and nailed together), and made way for a new club lounge. I really wanted the van to be spacious which can be tricky when you only have around 14ft to play with, so I decided on a rear club lounge rather than a fixed bed. It means the van is a good place to be if the weather turns bad, and it folds down into a massive bed with plenty of storage underneath! The cushions were probably the most expensive part of the van. Even more so than the blinds. I always wondered how Clark Rubber stayed in business, now I know why..!
A guy trimmed them in ivory vinyl with orange piping which looks great.. I thinkso anyway! Period looking, but not too retro. It also matches the stripes on the outside of the van which were repainted in the original colour. A late 60's VW orange was the best match according to the panel beater!
Not much to say here other than i hope i dont spend too much time here! ;D
The van & car. Gets plenty of looks and thumbs up which is nice given the work that went into it, and the HT pulls it along at 60mph pretty damn good! Which is scary given how out the speedo is. Pretty dam good along the flat I should say.. Oh, and without a head wind!
And another. I don’t have any close ups of the hatch, but this really is the last thing I need to fiddle with. It is fixed down, however I modified a wardrobe door track up for it so it could operate like a sunroof. You can possibly see the tracks in this shot. They petrude a little which looks strange, so im still tossing up wether I will persist but I like the idea of having a moon roof.
The end result, the van in use! Plenty of frustration paid off! Overall it was great fun but it is using it that I am really looking forward to! Would I do another one?? With some improved carpentry skills possibly!
Cheers, J-Rod
Just thought i would share with you some pics of my Franklin restoration. It started in November last year, and was 99% finished in time for Easter. It is still 99% finished thanks to me being in Sydney and the Van being in Melb! Anywho, hopefully I find the time to apply the finishing touches in time for the ECST which will be my first VV run.
$500 and we were away. It had sat under a tree for the last 5 years.. The lady i got it from purchased it from the original owners. After it’s first clean, it was obvious the original owners always had it under cover.
The front dinette had the table missing, but original seats.. (that stunk like you wouldn't believe!) Also, the lining under the windows had rotted, I wasn’t sure where to start with it so D&I Caravans in Thomastown got the nod and replaced the timber with a period looking finish.
This crappy shelf was an addition by the second owners. So their daughter could watch TV in bed when she stayed with them (They only had a 1 bedroom house which is why they bought the van)
They had also pulled out the original single beds and centre chest of drawers to fit a double bed. Both the bed and shelf damaged the walls. Im no carpenter, but i dont understand how someone could do such a rough job.. Clueless or not..
This is the new timber lining that was fitted.
The kitchen as it was. The Hallstrom fridge still works well! Havent tried the stove yet as it still has a 1969 Gas Bottle on the front of the drawbar which will have to make way for a new one for obvious reasons! ;D
The outside came up as is with its first wash. Just wirebrushed and repainted the drawbar. The van also got a new drop axle with electric brakes. Thanks to RayM who advised i could still have Electric brakes with 13”rims and rubber as many Caravan joints didn’t even know.. Which is a bit of a worry. A guy also came and moulded on a white wall strip which finsished the outside off and matches the towcar.
With a bit of persistence, Vicroads gave us the nod to keep the original plates. A local signwriter copied the original Franklin decals pretty well so they were replaced also. If anyone is after some, just let me know and I will PM you the details. He kept the artwork in lieu of any further requests and they were cheap as chips, so to speak. Believe it or not, only the centre stop lamp globe needed replacing. After wiring up a new plug, all the lights worked! Testimony to that ‘they don’t make em like they used to”!
The new dinette. I made the table myself but may get a new one made as it isn’t perfect. The entire inside of the van was repainted, and a new floor was laid too which freshens it right up, but still looks like what you would expect the original interior to be like. New flywire was added and roller blinds.
The DIY double bed was removed (it took me 3 hours to dismantle the damn thing that was screwed, glued and nailed together), and made way for a new club lounge. I really wanted the van to be spacious which can be tricky when you only have around 14ft to play with, so I decided on a rear club lounge rather than a fixed bed. It means the van is a good place to be if the weather turns bad, and it folds down into a massive bed with plenty of storage underneath! The cushions were probably the most expensive part of the van. Even more so than the blinds. I always wondered how Clark Rubber stayed in business, now I know why..!
A guy trimmed them in ivory vinyl with orange piping which looks great.. I thinkso anyway! Period looking, but not too retro. It also matches the stripes on the outside of the van which were repainted in the original colour. A late 60's VW orange was the best match according to the panel beater!Not much to say here other than i hope i dont spend too much time here! ;D
The van & car. Gets plenty of looks and thumbs up which is nice given the work that went into it, and the HT pulls it along at 60mph pretty damn good! Which is scary given how out the speedo is. Pretty dam good along the flat I should say.. Oh, and without a head wind!
And another. I don’t have any close ups of the hatch, but this really is the last thing I need to fiddle with. It is fixed down, however I modified a wardrobe door track up for it so it could operate like a sunroof. You can possibly see the tracks in this shot. They petrude a little which looks strange, so im still tossing up wether I will persist but I like the idea of having a moon roof.
The end result, the van in use! Plenty of frustration paid off! Overall it was great fun but it is using it that I am really looking forward to! Would I do another one?? With some improved carpentry skills possibly!
Cheers, J-Rod
;D
