joshd
New Member
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Post by joshd on Apr 16, 2016 8:18:12 GMT 10
HI - i need some advice on repairing/replacing the lower side panel on my Viscount Valiant. As you can see its got a few nasty patches. Options are to 1. Source replacement cladding which from the forum I can tell is near impossible except for a donor; or 2. replace the whole lower section with another 'similar' type of aluminium ? Would love some advice on options as im pretty new to the caravan life  Cheers,  |
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Post by Franklin1 on Apr 16, 2016 11:38:48 GMT 10
G'day joshd, and welcome to the forum.  A few comments about your van... It doesn't appear to be a Viscount Valiant, If the cladding was painted in the factory, the van will be from 1967 or later. Is there a chassis number welded on the drawbar somewhere, usually near the jockey wheel clamp? Are there any remains of a brand name sticker above the front and/or rear windows? Your van has a hint of "Escort" about it (see here ) but the angular shape under the rear window is not typical of Escorts (and nor is that angular shape above the front window). The green painted design on the sides of the van will narrow down the make of caravan, if that design was how it looked out of the factory (meaning it hasn't been created by someone since the van was built). Forum member hughdeani might be able to shed more light on the brand of your van. I presume you are asking about the patches covering the old fridge vents? What happened to the fridge in the van? If you are putting a fridge back in, I'd look at getting replacement louvre panels to fit to the cladding. Judging by the join in the wall cladding at the mid-point of the wall, I presume your van has a timber frame? Putting new louvre panels in place should be a reasonably easy fix. cheers, Al. |
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joshd
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by joshd on Apr 18, 2016 8:18:50 GMT 10
Thanks Al - Wow.....ok now i feel like a complete idiot! It was advertised for sale as a 1965 Valiant Viscount 11ft and is now registered as one..... Any help identifying what it actually is would be greatly appreciated. I've attached a few more pics. Drawbar has been replaced and chassis number is 557. no other stickers or identifiers. not sure the paint job is original    |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2016 8:56:24 GMT 10
Hi Josh,
Don't worry too much about your van not being a Viscount!
Happens all the time and at present on eBay there are 4 vans wrongly advertised!
Your van is niggling in my brain as to the brand,just can't place it at present.
I will keep trying though!
Cheers
hughdeani
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Post by Franklin1 on Apr 18, 2016 11:23:02 GMT 10
G'day Josh, I need to modify my comment about the possible age of your van. When I looked at your first photo posted at the start of the thread, I thought the background cladding was painted white, with the green design painted over the top. Now I can see from your further photos that the background cladding is actually plain aluminium, and has a distinctive profile. That would indicate your van is from the middle part of the 1960s, so a time period of 1964 to 1967. Perhaps focussing on that cladding profile might help to narrow down the make of van - I don't remember that being a common profile in the industry. Our Down History Lane Index might be useful in trying to find out what it actually is. cheers, Al. |
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Post by bobandjacqui on Apr 18, 2016 11:53:14 GMT 10
G'day joshd,
Check out Sapphire caravans in down history lane. Looks like your van may be from this maker. Angle style in the front bulkhead and similar style finish at the rear.
Also some models show the angle side windows. Also similar cladding.
Cheers Bob and Jacqui.
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Post by seeshell on Apr 18, 2016 11:56:15 GMT 10
Hi Bobandjacqui You beat me to it by a minute. I had the same recollection about the shape - but I don't know about brands. Hughdeani might be able to confirm? Cheers Carley |
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joshd
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by joshd on Apr 18, 2016 13:22:44 GMT 10
Thanks guys - who is this hughdeani you speak of how do i message him? I looked up Sapphire and can see similarities, but the front bulkhead on mine still has some curl before the sharp angle. Also mine has flat panels on the window height the while way around the van. Can I post this in another section to get some more input on its origins? Cheers, Josh |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2016 14:37:03 GMT 10
Hi Josh,
Can you put up some interior photos?
As bobandjaqui say it could be a Saphire,but interior photos will help.
Cheers
hughdeani
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 18, 2016 14:37:55 GMT 10
Hi Joshd, Hughdeani is a forum member who has had many decades of involvement in the caravan industry and has what seems to the rest of us to have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of caravan brands and models from the 60's and 70's. If you look higher up this thread you'll see from his post that he's already on the case! I agree with Franklin1 that the profile of the ridged aluminium panels together with the plain panels between the windows suggests the caravan was built sometime around the middle of the 60's, say 1964 or 65 at a guess. But the interesting thing about your caravan is that the 'knife edge' styling above and below the front and rear windows didn't really come into vogue until the later 60's, say around 1967. So...that may mean that your van was built in the latter half of the 60's by a manufacturer who stuck with older style paneling...or that it was built around the mid-60's by a manufacturer who was a bit ahead of the game with the 'knife edge' styling...or it may mean none of the above! As you've seen, the Sapphire vans (which were built in the latter half of the 60's) used knife edge styling, but we haven't seen any examples of them using the same profile paneling as yours, or the plain panels between the windows. They also had different shaped wheel arches to those on your van. For those reasons I personally don't think the van is a Sapphire, but having said that, I'll probably be proved wrong!  Can you tell us what state you are in and/or anything about the history of the van in terms of location, eg from a rego sticker or similar? That may help us narrow down its possible origins. Also can you show us some photos of the inside? There might be some clues there as to its origins. Sometimes quite small things about a design or construction can reveal who built a caravan. Regarding your question about the best place to post the info about your van, I note that the thread is currently located in the 'Technical Enquiries & Advice' section. You may get more feedback if it is located in the 'General' section. I can move the thread to 'General' if you would like me to. Just let me know. Don Ricardo |
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Apr 18, 2016 15:30:37 GMT 10
Thanks guys - who is this hughdeani you speak of how do i message him? hi josh hughdeani is the "ghost who talks". like the "ghost who walks", hughdeani stays silently in the shadows waiting for those who need help to make their plea, then, like a flash of lightening, he reveals his encyclopaedic knowledge on the subject and then slips silently back to his shadowy world. many have tried to identify him but his disguise is omnipotent, leaving we poor mortals only to wonder at his caravanic capabilities. we can only know of him, but never know him. how do you message him? - nobody really knows but he will contact you if you need him.  geoff 'n juuuuuude |
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Post by Franklin1 on Apr 29, 2016 18:49:41 GMT 10
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