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Post by shesgotthelook on Jul 19, 2015 15:34:29 GMT 10
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Post by muzza916 on Aug 9, 2015 20:48:46 GMT 10
Hi to all I am a new member who has just purchased this old van. Can anyone help me identify the maker or is it home made. It has Alfab windows and a dymwood jockey wheel. It will be on the road shortly.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 9, 2015 21:12:27 GMT 10
Hi Muzza916,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on joining the vintage caravan community!
I presume that you are referring to the caravan shown in the Ebay link given by Shesgotthelook at the beginning of this thread? If so, I don't think anyone has identified the van precisely. My thoughts are that it looks a bit like a Hardy van that has been modernised/updated a bit with what looks like aluminium or galvanised tin cladding over the original bondwood, and the original wood-framed windows replaced with aluminium framed windows. Those particular window frames were commonly used in the late 50's, say around 1958.
The inside of the van also seems to fit the Hardy mould - cupboards, table leg, etc, etc, - apart from the stove alcove. Perhaps with the windows and the cladding it's just a later Hardy van than we've seen previously.
If you go to the index for the Down History Lane section you can find a link to the thread for Hardy. Have a look at the vans that are shown there and tell us what you think. But the more I look, the more I think it's a Hardy.
Don Ricardo
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Post by DC3Td on Aug 9, 2015 22:05:33 GMT 10
What a great looking van.Nicely set up & modded through the years yet still has that older look.Love the laminex & sink water tank.
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Post by muzza916 on Aug 9, 2015 23:00:08 GMT 10
Thanks guys for your thoughts. The cladding is Masonite. Has FJ wheels. The windows may have been modified with the alfab aluminium but I can't see any obvious mods, even the window holes are rounded to match the windows. The only mod that is obvious is the addition of a gas line for cooker. I was heading down the path of it being a Rowvan but that table leg is a Hardy thing. The lining of the cupboards is the same manufacturer as the floor but a couple of different patterns and colours. Keep your ideas coming.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 10, 2015 0:06:03 GMT 10
Hi again Muzza916,
The fact tht the cladding on your van is masonite is another indication that your van is a Hardy - and also explains the ripples that can be seen in the cladding.
The inside of the van seems to be pure Hardy with the varnished cupboard doors, extensive use of laminex for the benches and the splashback, with the only noticably different feature being the stove alcove. And you're right about the table leg.
If the windows seem to be original, then I think we are probably looking at a later (ie late 50's) model van. We don't know when Hardy stopped building vans, but they were certainly still around in 1958 when those type of windows were in vogue.
I think you can discount the van being a Rowvan because of its shape, which is very different to any Rowvan caravans.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Roehm3108 on Aug 10, 2015 8:55:27 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 10, 2015 10:12:14 GMT 10
G'day Roehm, Nice to hear from you.  My impression - based on what I've seen on the forum and in my garage - is that large expanses of masonite (such as on the side of a van) tend to ripple more over time than say bondwood. My assumption has been that masonite is more prone to absorbing water than bondwood, or even ordinary ply. But I may be wrong. You have obviously experienced differently? The 'bitzer' appearance of the cladding and the cover strips is a characteristic of Hardy vans - one of the features which helps identify them. Don Ricardo |
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Post by Roehm3108 on Aug 10, 2015 13:23:08 GMT 10
Hi Don. My Rowvan was masonite and you wouldn't have known. I think the framing was sufficiently close for those irregularities to vanish. I've seen flat thin gauged ali sheeting do what the pics show and my feeling is that it would be safer to blame the cladding than the masonite underneath it. If there really is masonite under that cladding, I wonder what condition it's in, what with sweating and possible water ingress.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 10, 2015 18:03:26 GMT 10
Hi Roehm,
I think you're probably right about the framing, etc, and Rowvans do seem to stay straight without ripples in the cladding.
I think Muzza916 said the cladding on his van is masonite only - no aluminium or tin involved, that was just my incorrect supposition.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Roehm3108 on Aug 10, 2015 22:26:12 GMT 10
I didn't read Muzza's reply correctly either DonR - so my rambling is again wasted!. I was going on the basis that the masonite had cladding over it. BUT.... there being no extra covering, it would seem that the masonite has got damp/moist/wet, doesn't it? From what I have seen in the past on the properties of this cladding, that's about the only time I've seen it buckle like that. Even a poor paint job or a damp storage shed will let moisture under it and have it bloat like that. Or perhaps the attaching nails/screws have rusted and this allowed the masonite to bow out.Thankfully the Rowvan is in good hands and snug!!!
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Post by muzza916 on Aug 10, 2015 22:30:27 GMT 10
Can anybody date the alfab widows used on this van |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 10, 2015 23:24:40 GMT 10
G'day Muzza916,
The Alfab windows on your van were called 'Fluted Line' windows. They were introduced on caravans from about 1957 on, and used by some manufacturers until the early 60's.
There is a slight possibility that the Fluted Line windows may have been used by one or two manufacturers a year or so before 1957, but the evidence is not conclusive at this point.
Don Ricardo
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Post by muzza916 on Aug 10, 2015 23:48:01 GMT 10
Thanks that ties in with what the vendors told me. His father bought it in the late 50's when it was 2-3 years old. They travelled the east coast and the van was put in a shed when it was last registered in SA in 1977. The cut outs for the windows are the same profile as the alfab windows. Nothing on the van appears to have been modified/upgraded.
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Post by muzza916 on Sept 17, 2015 17:35:32 GMT 10
We are on the money saying this van is a Hardy. I was checking the original cushions for their brand which is Superior. turned the tag over and spotted a faint marking that was in pencil. It simply said Hardy. Can't wait to start work on this van after I finish painting my other van, a big teardrop made by a builder in Gippsland in 1950. Thanks Blokes Muzza916 |
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