Is a 1960's era Franklin caravan worth a restore?

[adele]

There is a 14ft 1960's era Franklin caravan for sale in my area.  It needs a lot of work.  Is it considered a classic caravan worthy of a restore?  or should I hold out.  My ideal van was a match for my husbands 1960 FB Holden.  I really wanted to stay early 1960's van but a lot more rounded in shape.  The Franklin I believe is a later 60's model but till I can see it tomorrow night I wont really know for sure.  Does anyone have any good advice or hints as this will be our first delve into the world of caravans.  We do have a contact in Perth WA who we are going to call tomorrow, a friend of a friend, and I notice he is a member of these forums.  I am very keen to look into vans as I have been restoring some furniture over the last few years and also live in a heritage house so all things old interest us.  I see there are some amazing deals over east and have seriously thought that the trip to buy over there could be worth it, has anyone got any experience with this?  there seems to be more bang for your buck over east, here they all think we work in the mines... Thanks in advance

[Koala]

Hi Adele, to work out the date of manufacture of your van you need to look for a number welded on the draw bar, the last digit should tell you the year i.e 271-8 would be a 1968 model build number 271. As far as whether the van is a good candidate to restore depends a lot on you and your skills (or your sense of adventure )
The main worry is water damage, if your Franklin has the wrap around windows at each corner it is almost a certainty that there will be water damage in the corners and the window sill may be rotted out. This damage is time consuming to repair but it can be done. Also check the chassis for rot.
I suggest that you do a bit of searching on this site as there is a vast amount of information on Franklin vans..........if you look at my thread `Freda the Franklin Freeway' you will see what I needed to do to my 69 model.

Good luck with it and make sure that you post some photos.

Koala

[adele]

Thanks so much for your advice, I will let you know what we find out and hopefully post some pics tonight..

[adele]

OMG!!! I was lucky not to fall through the floor or have a wall or the roof fall on my head... It was pretty bad! I am back to square one. So if anyone knows someone who has a caravan for sale, preferably around the same age as my husbands FB Holden (1960) I would appreciate it. I am going to keep looking but very very grateful for the people who have talked to us on the phone and have given advise on these forums. It could have been disastrous.

[adele]

OK found a 68 Baravan to go and have a look at. Looks better, but of course dearer. Will post more later..

[akeepsake]

Hi Adele. Much better to pay more and get a decent van . All depends on how handy you are or if your like a lot of other chaps on here , retired and nothing to do but completely disassemble and reassemble them! Take your time and you'll find the right van eventually!
BTW your not that famous singer are you??
Cheers Andrew

[adele]

lol not quite famous but I assure you if I sing you will remember it... I am going over to take a heap of photos to post on the boards now. We are quite handy and are very very keen to do it mostly ourselves but there are possibly repairs that might be beyond our expertise or would not result in a finish that would be anything close to acceptable if we do it. I am totally in love though already - she has a colour scheme (most important part!) and I am gonna rip out the absolutely abominable lino asap. I will post pics when I get home!

Thanks guys

[willow5075]

SOunds like you have found "the one" then?

[bert66]

It sounds like congrats are in order - any van is worth restoration - you just have to be able to commit the time - if you have the time the reault will always be spectacular - as long as you have a good eye for water damage and structural issues, - the color scheme is easy to change - otherwise dont fall into the trap of choosing the van - she has to chose you!
But you will know that you have been chosen.
Hopefully she has chosen you
Good luck.