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Post by misslulu on Jun 17, 2015 21:59:21 GMT 10
Hi all, we just thought we would take a moment to introduce ourselves. Our names are Adam and Melissa Gauci. We have 3 young children and live on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. A little over a year ago Melissa came up with the idea of restoring a vintage van. I did initially hesitate, but because of our love of everything 50's and 60's the idea quickly gained momentum. We soon purchased our 14ft 1966 Franklin, which at this stage was anything but suitable to take a family out camping. Over a period of about 10 months we stripped it completely and rebuilt it to suit our needs at home in our garage. We have since taken "Miss Lulu" on 3 trips and just absolutely love it. We hope you like the van as much as we do. And we hope to get to know many of you now that we are members of this great site ( We apologise to those of you who like their vans kept very original but in order to fit 5 of us in a 14ft van, things needed to be changed!)  Miss Lulus first trip to Phillip Island  Our second trip to Walkerville   Its basic but we tried to keep to a retro theme  Our comfy double bed  The childrens accomodation |
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Post by DC3Td on Jun 17, 2015 22:28:10 GMT 10
Gday & welcome MissLulu. Very very nice.I see you have some pet flamingos too.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 17, 2015 22:34:30 GMT 10
G'day Misslulu (Melissa and Adam),
Great to see the photos of your van. You've done a great job on the refurbishment/re-build. I'm impressed with the triple bunks. Not often you see that.
Good to read that you are getting out and enjoying the van. There are various Vintage Caravan outings advertised on the forum from time to time, including the Vintage Caravan Nationals which next year will be held in South West Rocks, NSW. I'm sure other forum members will be pleased to meet you and your van if you are interested in attending.
Don Ricardo
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Post by King Fisher on Jun 18, 2015 11:56:55 GMT 10
Hi guys and welcome to the forum.
You have done a great renovation of your van, as you say it's not original but I think you have kept the character of it perfectly and most important is that it works for you and you are out there enjoying it. I love the modern retro fridge, sure looks the part. Looking forward to seeing you at some vv events some time and having a look at your van.
the King Fishers
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Post by shesgotthelook on Jun 18, 2015 12:15:41 GMT 10
What a great idea with the bunks & a comfy bed for you too! Sure beats towing 2 vans everywhere which is what I do to accommodate 4 children  |
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Post by misslulu on Jun 18, 2015 19:18:52 GMT 10
Thank you all for your wonderful comments. We are really looking forward to attending some vv events in the future. It must be so, so cool to be away with other vintage vans!...Alll our friends own new jaycos and its just not the same...I suppose we cant all have good taste....ha ha (sorry to be a bit cheeky)
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M&M
New Member
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Post by M&M on Jun 22, 2015 18:30:42 GMT 10
Wow what a beauty
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kimbo
Full Member
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Post by kimbo on Jun 22, 2015 19:44:47 GMT 10
Hi misslulu
Your van looks great so much fun ahead and I agree the new vans just don't come close
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Post by lewis0765 on Oct 3, 2015 0:31:10 GMT 10
Wow .......... great ...... beautiful...
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Post by david357 on Nov 22, 2015 22:26:04 GMT 10
Nice look, Great efforts MissLulu .
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Post by misslulu on Nov 19, 2016 21:18:38 GMT 10
Hi all, its been a while since we have been online. I guess we have been out enjoying "Miss Lulu!" We have been on so many trips in the old girl since we first got her registered and its been absolutely fantastic  On a recent trip to Bright VIC. Even our newly acquired puppy "Einstein" loves being away in Miss Lulu. The sad thing is that all good things come to an end. We are going to say goodbye to our beloved van and put her up for sale in the next week.  However as a farewell to her she will be at a show n shine at a rock n roll festival this sunday in our home town of Rosebud The reason for this though is because we bought a new project!!! Our new love will be in the form of a 15ft Hillandale Panther (Boy, its hard to find much info on these vans! Struggling to even work out a build year) Its another big project that will involve many late nights, Loads of strong coffees, and plenty of Elvis Presley records playing in the garage. Will try to post pics of the vans progress over the next few weeks. As they say...watch this space!    |
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Post by Gidget on Nov 20, 2016 18:47:39 GMT 10
Hi Adam and Melissa. You've done a great job on your van. It will be hard to see her go but wow your new project is going to keep you busy! We'll also be at Rosebud Rockfest (Site 78) this weekend and hopefully will see you there. As fate would have it I am also selling my van - a 1965 Viscount because I have just bought a 1959 Hilandale! Talk about parallel lives! I wasn't planning on a new project but when you find "the one" you have to grab it!
Cheers,
Lisa & Rob
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Post by misslulu on Nov 20, 2016 22:01:38 GMT 10
Thanks Lisa and Rob. Those similarities are a little bit freaky.... Hopefuly we get to meet you on the weekend, it promises to be a good event. I'd love to know a bit about your hilandale project
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Post by Gidget on Nov 23, 2016 8:42:02 GMT 10
We'll be arriving saturday morning now. Coincidentally you can see photos of my new van on the Hilandale Caravan history thread in the Down History Lane section. It's the 14'6" with bondwood sides that was advertised on eBay in 2011. It came up for sale on Gumtree recently so I grabbed it  Crossing fingers for no rain this weekend... |
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Post by frankiecaravelle on Nov 23, 2016 10:11:58 GMT 10
So inspiring to see this - I've just been trying to work out ways to put bunks into our 1966 Franklin and now I can see what they might look like. Yours look fantastic! Can't wait to see the new van.
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However as a farewell to her she will be at a show n shine at a rock n roll festival this sunday in our home town of Rosebud
Crossing fingers for no rain this weekend...