My new vintage van !!

[Deleted]

Hi All,

I am fairly new to the forums and thought I would introduce myself. My name is Andrew, I live in Adelaide and I am 25 years old, I love all old things and have recently purchased a vintage caravan for the princly sum of $450. I was hoping someone on here could identify what it is as I havn't a clue as this is my first ever caravan and I can't seem to find any badges or anything on it yet.

I have not picked it up (16th of this month) and when I do we have a full resto planned for her. I am going to do it up to look original with alot of old cool stuff that I have already started to collect. I will take more photos when I get her at my dads place of the inside, underneath etc, which may help the cause. She is made out of aluminium and has survived quite well considering she has been left in a paddock for 20 + years. I think she will look quite good behind my FB Holden.

Hope you enjoy the pics !

Oh while I am at it do think it's a huge problem that I can't stand up straight in it ? The missus is fine but I hit my head on the roof.
I guess people were alot smaller back then ;D

[Deleted]

welcome aboard Andrew ......its great to see young people getting into the vv hobby, and appreciating old things ......


My 23yo son thinks his old man is a fool playing with vintage caravans, but HE doesn't know what fun HE"S missing out on ;D ;D

The caravan you've found is a rippa, and will match the FB perfectly ....

The FB looks great .....luv it .....looks pretty stock ....just the way they should be

Goodluck with the project, and keep us up to date with progress pics

Mark

[Deleted]

Hmmmm, 54 people viewed and only 1 person responded. Not very good odds .

Thanks Mark T I think your 23 year old soon is a fool !!! ;D
But it's just one of those things you either have or you don't, I have always loved old stuff and probably always will. It would be a boring world if we were all the same !

The fb is a little gem, and is very stock. I plan to keep it that way and add some period accesories to it like venitians, external sunvisor scratch plates etc.

Plan to post more pics as things happen. The ones I have posted are ones that my Dad took to show me, he took them then printed them out. I then scanned it and posted it up so I apolagise for the poor quality.

C' mon people don't be shy ! start posting...... Surely someone on here can identify this little beauty or at least point me in the right direction.

[Suzann and Matt (Schultzy)]

Hi andrew...

My hubby likes very old things.. that is why he married me....

He is into vintage Bikes, Cars, Military Vehicles, Airplane's, Vans and of course me.

He is just about to turn 35, so he is a bit older then you. We have 2 grandkids (my side of course)

Suzann

[cobber]

Andrew,

Don't feel put out over the fact that you have not had
as many responses to your post as you might have expected..........
we all get ignored on here from time to time

The first response you got came from the top
dog... the bloke who started this forum.... owns
this forum... the grand poobah.... consider yourself
privileged, I agree with his sentiments..... It's good to
have a young bloke on board.

With your 'van we need more clues, a clear
photo of the “A” frame, a photo of the near side of the 'van, some
inside shots to determine if it has an ice box or
fridge, what sort of cooker it has, all these things help
to date it.

Chances are it is a home made job, although from what
I can see at the moment I don't think so, right now I'm
guessing early to mid 60s, depending what's inside.

Hang in there, more photos = more informed opinions.

Cobber.

[harriet]

HI /hariet hear good see another v v being saved .my owners live on yorke peninsular send a emal to [e-mail] might be able to help in some way just finished doing up a roadmaster13ft6 .

[Deleted]

G'Day Andy

Welcome to the wacky world of vintage caravaning.

Dont spit the dum if people view your post and dont reply.
The problem is most of us simply cant give you the answers to your question. I can assure you if someone knew the ancestory of your van they will jump right in and tell you. I currently own 4 vans. Only one has a brand name on it. One is a replica i built and the other two from the early to mid fiftys have no sign of a brand or builders name on them. I use to ly awake at night and wander about them but have got over it. I have had at least 4 or 5 other vans that looked like they had been professionally built and did not have a name on them.
It was common across the industry back in the 40s and 50s not to splurge the manufacturers name across them, or fit fancy badges etc Only the more expensive and well marketed vans where blessed with such finery.. A lot of people turned thier hand to carpentry and cabinet making after the second world war and where what i call "quiet achievers." No bells and whistles .. just good craftsmen that found a niche industry ( caravan sales )that blossomed in the years directly after the war and they made good money punching out van frames in "Shell only" you fit out or " complete and ready to go" vans.
My advise is Just be happy you have found a van thats is in reasonable condition that you can enjoy restoring and most of all USING when its finished. Your FB will be a great towcar. Keep the photos of your progress coming.

I had a chuckle when i read your comment..
". It would be a boring world if we were all the same !"
It is for that very reason that some people choose to modify thier cars... Heck some people will even argue that fitting nasco accessorys to an old holden is modifying from standard original... take no notice mate. you modify that old FB to suit your taste in accessories. After all it is your car isnt it.
No matter what you do to your car, no matter what brand or year model of car you choose to tow your van with ... You have to keep in mind that even though a car goes in front of a caravan down the road. Here on this forum the vintage caravan comes first.

But you are right.. the world would be boring if we where all the same.
Here is an embarassing story .. I was at a car show one day ..There was literally thousands of cars there. Hot rods, modifieds, classics, vintage, sleds, military, etc, etc , a real mixed bag of interesting cars. It was late in the day and i was walking along a row of identical cars all from a "one breed car club".. All nut and bolt original restorations and identical except for a few variations in colour .. .. I fell asleep .... true story ;D

Anyway young fella. good to see ya catching hold of the vintage caravan bug. I see ya live in Adelaide . Heres a tip..
Try and get over to the Blue Lakes Caravan Park at Mt Gambier between March 16th and easter monday. We are holding the Vintage Caravan Nationals there and we are expecting up to 50 vintage caravans from all over Australia. a perfect opportunity for you and dad to drop in and have a look at some truely classic old vans.

Hope you can make it. Love those FB /EKs. here is one i prepared earlier...


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Praise the lowered.
Reddo

[Deleted]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies,

I do feel very honered to have my thread answered by the top dog ! I learnt something as well.... I thought Reddo was the founder of this site. Ooops no disrespect to you Mark it's just what I assumed from poking around here for a couple of months.

I wasn't spitting the dummy, just a little disapointed by the number of posts but all good now. I go and pick her up this weekend and will take alot more shots of the asked things, inside, a frame etc. I found it a bit unusual that people kept posting pictures of their A frame on here but now I understand why they do it . From memory it has a fridge in it and I don't think it is the original, it looks like a late 70's early 80's one to me but we will wait and see. Wil be interesting to see if it works.

Reddo, love your work !!! I am a bit of a fan of yours. I had heard of you from the fb/ek forums and was excited that I know somebody who is on both forums. I have really enjoyed reading your posts over the months, everything you touch seems to turn to gold. It doesn't matter how crappy they look when you get them they always look awesome when your finished. Your work is a credit to you.

Really like you ek as well, love the fact that it has the "proper" back end on it like Holdens should have done. To add to it all my Dad gave me some caravan magazines that were passed on to him, he read them then gave me any that had vintage caraven stories in them, and what o you know there is a full feature on you and Matilda in one of them ! I am on the fb/ek forums as fbwannabe because when I first joined I didn't have a fb but wanted one oh so bad for the past 15 years !

If I could get to the Vintage van nats I would but I need the leave to go to America in August. If it was on a weekend I could possibly swing something, but as it's during the week I've got no chance.

Till next time.....

[Deleted]

Hi Andrew.

I am definitely not the founder of this site... Just a "serial pest" that loves his hobby, enjoys the outdoor lifestyle that comes with owning an old van, and....frequents this site regularly to make sure it stays "oiled" and doesnt become stagnant, rusty and boring like so many other vehicle forums have done over the years.
True .. i might "dribble" on most occassions but without humour, this world/forum would be a boring place.
( just my opinion .. some would disagree).

I use to pride myself on jumping in an welcoming new forum members. I think it is important to do so.. no matter whether its a car, bike, fishing, soccer club or whatever. Those first few club meetings or posts on a website and the reception you get can make the difference in hanging around and enjoying the commaraderie and friendship the club/ forum, has got to offer.
Get treated like an "alien" and you will walk away and think 'What a bunch of tossers"

With 800 people subscribing to this forum i feel that there will always be someone who will jump in an make you feel at home. You where fortunate to have a reply from Mark Taylor. He , like many others have a job and there is times when the computer is the last thing on your mind when you get home from work.
Hence replys might take a while to appear. In your case you came in with a common question that quite often gets left sitting due to no one having an answer for you.

We will be at Blue Lakes Van Park until at least easter friday. some will be staying on until sunday.. so you may still be able to catch up with us.

Otherwise Catch ya on the FB/EK forum sometime. Keep us informed of the progress on your van.
You might see another of my vans in the March ed of Caravanworld.

Reddo... Newcastle