pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 11, 2016 18:08:06 GMT 10
Could anyone please tell me the age and maker of this caravan? I recently purchased this van as a project and have no idea of its age or origin. I would like to restore as close to original as possible.Will attach photos would love any feedback anyone can offer. Only new to this site and so far have loved reading the threads. No space to add photos atm. well will try again at a later date. It is a wooden caravan the door is slightly lower than the chasis it was painted cream and a white roof and has some sort of canvas covering on the roof ,the canvas has been painted over. it has 3 windows in the back ,two at the front, it has michelin tyres and only 1 stop light on the right hand side.Probably have just described every wooden caravan ,but will try again with the photos.;Cheers
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Post by shesgotthelook on Feb 11, 2016 20:34:46 GMT 10
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 12, 2016 10:53:06 GMT 10
I tried photobucket as it shows on thread and it doesn`t come up( share link). it only comes up as (share)...very confused.
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 12, 2016 11:01:59 GMT 10
Hang on may have found the answer.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2016 12:25:40 GMT 10
Hi Pippa, Your van is an Aerolite made in Melbourne in the fifties. Extremely lightweight for their size,as you would have probably found out by now! Hope this helps hughdeani
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 12, 2016 17:25:36 GMT 10
Thanks Hughdeani, It does help a great deal. As you can see I have a lot of work ahead, have already made a start by stripping parts.Yes it is extremely lightweight.I wonder if anyone has a fully restored Areolite? At least now I can do research on it now. Thank you so much.
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Feb 12, 2016 18:40:31 GMT 10
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 12, 2016 19:06:06 GMT 10
Thanks Geoff & Jude, Just before I saw this msg from you I was reading your thread and looking at your van. Looks fantastic and loved the way you discovered the name Areolite. I hope mine comes up as well as yours, your tips on what paint and the use of bondcrete was very handy as well.This is my first wooden van to renovate\ restore .I must say I`m very excited by the project and love looking at all the vintage vans ( really can`t get enough of looking at them haha) Thanks for the threads will check them out. Pippa
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 13, 2016 15:42:41 GMT 10
Hi Pippa, Great to hear about your Aerolite. Unfortunately there aren't many around now, possibly because they were so lightly built. Have you worked out which particular model yours is? It will be interesting to hear more about it. If you are able to post more photos that would be excellent. I'm sure a lot of is on the forum would be interested. Well done on working out Photobucket, by the way. Don Ricardo
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 15, 2016 11:16:59 GMT 10
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 15, 2016 11:21:14 GMT 10
Also forgot to ask. anyone know what the stove or cupboard handles looked like on the original Areolite vans? Any help greatly appreciated.
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Post by DC3Td on Feb 15, 2016 12:01:36 GMT 10
Hi Pippa. Great van. Check Geoff&Jude reply (12th Feb) above. gordo
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 15, 2016 22:03:19 GMT 10
Hi Pippa,
Good to see the further pics of your van, and that you and Graham are getting stuck right into its restoration.
Caravans are measured by the length of their cabin, usually a foot or so up from the floorline to deal with the curves that often occur where the front and rear walls meet the floor. So 15 feet is the correct length of your van.
Your van looks as if it's the same shape and size as Geoff & Jude's Aerolite, which is also a 15 footer. Geoff & Jude's van was modernised at some point with the addition of a bay window, but if you look at the photos of the front of their van from the side you'll see the pre-existing shape is the same as yours. Your side windows are different from theirs, but it could be that their windows were modernised as well at some point, or that your van just had a different internal layout and therefore window layout to theirs.
One thing which is unusual about your van is that it doesn't have any external wheel arches - the floor line just runs straight from front to back. Although some manufacturers built their vans that way, we haven't seen any Aerolites like that on the forum. The others all have wheel arches. Not sure that that means anything, it's just an observation that's worth noting for future reference.
Regarding door knobs, etc, the inside of Geoff & Jude's van is pretty original and from the same era as yours. So that will give you a good indication of how your van probably looked. I think that's what DC3Td meant with his comment?
Good luck with the resto. We'll look forward to hearing more about it as you proceed.
Don Ricardo
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 16, 2016 15:27:54 GMT 10
Aaah yep, just had another look at Geoff & Jude`s thread and yes the layout is different as I don`t have an L shaped kitchen area . the dining area is more traditional to other van`s i`ve seen with the fold down table & two bench seats either side. At least I know what the original knobs are like now, I think it looked pretty good . I wonder if Geoff & Jude have any photos of the interior now ,I couldn`t find any and if not could you please post some , would love to see if you kept it original colours or changed it. Not quite sure how I want to do up the interior yet.
Cheers, Pippa.
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Feb 16, 2016 17:26:38 GMT 10
hi pippa we haven't changed the inside at all except to remove the headlining over the bedroom that wasn't original and in poor condition, it's still even got the original lace curtains from the last time it was used (before we got it) back in the 70's. we haven't repainted any of the interior except the front inside roof, so the inside is still basically the same as the original photos on the thread. here's a link to our thread: vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/10126?page=1#81659geoff 'n jude
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 17, 2016 10:15:40 GMT 10
Yep thanks Geoff & Jude , Love the pastel colours ,so popular right now. I`m thinking wood with green upholstery and touches of red maybe .
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Feb 17, 2016 16:40:15 GMT 10
hi pippa if you like timber cupboard doors, with green upholstery and a touch of red, maybe you should have a look at what our roadmaster was like when we first bought it. vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/1333geoff 'n jude
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 19, 2016 17:18:11 GMT 10
Thanks Geoff & Jude, Great photo`s . Just 1 question what`s the best way to go about replacing damaged framework that bends underneath, as in the side framework? how do I get it to bend or can you buy wood already curved? ?
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Feb 19, 2016 17:45:25 GMT 10
hi pippa it's a bit techo but here's how we did it. we removed the side panelling and traced the shape onto a full sized sheet of masonite. (i guess you can't remove the side panels so you could just put the sheet up against the side of the van and directly do the traced shape. once we had the shape, we screwed and glued blocks onto the masonite, lining them up with the traced shape. you can now cut strips of 3 ply (preferably marine) the length (add about 500mm each end extra length) and the width of the original timber frame and glue and clamp as many strips as required to make the original thickness of the frames to your formed shape. lay down some glad wrap or plastic under the strips so they don't get glued to the masonite. use outdoor aquadhere and let it set for at least three or four days before you release the clamps and you'll have the correct shape and being laminated it will be heaps stronger than the original framework. hope that helps. geoff 'n jude
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Post by King Fisher on Feb 26, 2016 14:21:44 GMT 10
Fantastic advice G&J, I need to do some bends for our Burwood rebuild ( Fisher's Rebuild) and have thought about doing it this way but its great to hear that it is a viable technique. I was also toying with bending the wood by steam but always sounded like too much effort. I like you suggestion heaps better, will try it myself now. Thanks
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Feb 27, 2016 16:43:55 GMT 10
Yep thanks again have been busy sanding and buying materials starting to look like somethings happening will post some more photos in the near future! Pippa
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