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Post by seeshell on Sept 4, 2015 14:32:21 GMT 10
Hi All I was looking through some old Keith Winser magazines as well as some others from overseas, as we begin to think about a new old van - we've been keen to build a vintage plan to suit us for some time. I'd like to customise it a bit, as many of the old backyard builders did. That got me to thinking about some of the more unusual features in vans. For example ours has a bed under the kitchen counter, but if you drop the counter down it becomes a sofa.  I'd love to see unique features from other people's vans - special drawers, unusual cupboards, interesting internal fittings, different tables or fixings. Window mechanisms, whatever you think is a bit special and departs from the norm. What have you got? Please share your pictures. Cheers Seeshell |
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Post by King Fisher on Sept 4, 2015 14:45:17 GMT 10
Hi Seashell, Lets kick this off for you, well I must mention the laminate on my table in Bessie, which I have kept of course and love all the Australian themed items in the pattern.   |
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Post by King Fisher on Sept 4, 2015 14:50:55 GMT 10
Also the two wall lights either side of the table. I believe that they might be a marine light fittings but I have not confirmed this.   And art deco light under the cupboards:  |
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Post by King Fisher on Sept 4, 2015 14:58:24 GMT 10
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Post by King Fisher on Sept 4, 2015 15:04:12 GMT 10
Do you want us to include things/features/mods that we have done ourselves aswell, or only original things???
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Post by seeshell on Sept 4, 2015 15:14:36 GMT 10
Thanks for the jumpstart K!
I don't mind if the features are your own or original. Just interested in what is out there.
Cheers
Seeshell
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Post by sportsman 1 on Sept 4, 2015 15:42:10 GMT 10
Here's one, Hilda A Clipper was custom built in 1955 for a Minlaton, S.A. farmer and had fitted a bread or vegetable keeper, an Ice Box and, would you believe, a Meat Safe! To my recollection I have never seen another van with a full meat safe fitted. It originally had only 12v power fitted and I suppose how else does an outback farmer keep stuff fresh?  Note vents in both side walls and a full wire mesh front door. |
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Post by griffin on Sept 6, 2015 11:45:25 GMT 10
Our bondwood has a couple of things that tickle my fancy as being a bit different. Crockery storage cupboards above the sink has racks for the plates, saucers with the cups in special holders on the doors.  crockery storage by viva gt, on Flickr And just when you think you have enough there is a concealed vertical drawer which drops down from the back of the same cupboard to make use of the half depth plate racks above.  crockery storage - hidden rack by viva gt, on Flickr The spacing in the drawer indicates some kind of shallow bowl might have been housed there, but so far I've only been able to find one plate that fits. The original owners' family said it had a full set of matching crockery. We will have to make do with the odds and ends from second hand and op shops. And then there is the built in radio with a nice fretwork caravan on the speaker.  caravan radio frretwork by viva gt, on Flickr George |
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Post by seeshell on Sept 7, 2015 10:41:04 GMT 10
Thanks Sportsman1 and Griffin -
Nifty meat safe, dish drawers and inbuilt radio!
Cheers
Seeshell
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Post by King Fisher on Sept 7, 2015 10:57:26 GMT 10
One of the non original mods that I did on Bessie was to add a 12v accessory plug for charging our modern equipment. In order to make it ' blend in' I mounted it on a round wooden back plate, made from 9mm ply by using two different size hole saws. Reminds me I still need to replace those temporary screws...  |
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Post by King Fisher on Sept 7, 2015 11:11:09 GMT 10
Another mod that I did on Bessie was to include an meter and indicator. I was one day scrounging through dad's collection of vintage car parts when I found an old Amp meter out of a 1954 'Ford 10'. Which dad had wrecked years ago in his early 20s. I also found some parts to reco a red indicator light. It took a great part of the weekend to pull apart and clean the old Amp meter, returning it to it's former glory. Traditionally the brass mounting plate was hidden behind the dash panel but I cleaned it up as it would also be visible. I carefully cut out a new gasket for the bezel, and reassembled the meter. The amp meter shows the charge/discharge from the 12v car battery in the wardrobe. Originally I wanted an volt meter but didn't have any old ones. The indicator light has a red/green led behind it with a small driver board to run it, so it glows dim orange when the battery is ok and bright red when the battery is low to flat.    |
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Post by seeshell on Sept 9, 2015 15:23:06 GMT 10
Hi All Worth noting that colinandsue's "Miss Dorothy" Fairway also had the rare hand water pump seen in KFisher's Bessie:  Cheers Seeshell |
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Post by akeepsake on Sept 12, 2015 10:04:03 GMT 10
Great thread seeshell! It would be a super project building your own custom "vintage " van with all the bells and whistles ! One of the unique features in my Jennison is the rear rh side bed. It has a little space underneath which will be good storage for bedding etc  It can be lifted up to make a small extra dining table/desk which could come in handy if the normal dinette was used as a double bed or the kids wanted to play games etc. Originally the mattress was divided into three so to make a seat cushion and backrest  Oh and don't forget a big hatch!  Cheers Andrew |
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