Toddy's Van

[toddy]

Hello All

Love the forum - been reading heaps since finding it - it’s a mine of information !

We've recently bought an old van to restore & have been searching for clues to its make & age…..so far with no luck.

It's been in storage for years & sadly the bloke we bought it from had cut off the tow-hitch / draw bar because 'it was in the way'….. Other than that, a non-original door & a pretty bad paint job, it seems to be pretty original. Sadly not the original curtains & no seats though.

His parents bought it from someone who got it new - so we seem to be the third custodians. If the previous owner was correct, it's spent most of its life in Coronet Bay Victoria.

It has bond wood sides with an aluminium top.

I'm hoping some might recognise it from the shape - I'll have a go at posting a few pics. (thanks Geoff for your help :


Cheers

Pete

[firefighter]

G'day Peter

I see you worked photo bucket out in the end
If you are in trouble getting a draw bar made send us another pm

I have a mate in Clayton that has a small engineering factory
that does small jobs
Don Ricardo or Hughdeani will be along soon and should know the make of your van

f/f

[Deleted]

Hi Peter,
Any interior photos ? Might help date your van a bit more.
Cheers
hughdeani

[aza]

What a caracker !! Great little find. Look forward to hearing what it may be.

[toddy]

Interior photos:

[toddy]

Sept 25, 2016 17:30:27 GMT 10 firefighter said:

G'day Peter

I see you worked photo bucket out in the end
If you are in trouble getting a draw bar made send us another pm

I have a mate in Clayton that has a small engineering factory
that does small jobs
Don Ricardo or Hughdeani will be along soon and should know the make of your van

f/f


Thanks Firefighter

I guess the first thing will be to take the body off & sandblast the chassis - then see about putting on a draw bar.

[Deleted]

Hi again,
Thanks for quick response with pics,are there any names under drawers or inside cupboards? Sometimes builders put identifying marks in hidden spaces!
Vaguely looks to me like an Owen Bailey or Goodtime build,but that's only for the shape and wheel arch,interior doesn't give away any clues to me.
Good luck with your restoration.
Cheers
hughdeani

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Toddy,

I've spent a bit of time thinking about the origins of your van and comparing it to other vans on the forum, but haven't come up with anything definite at this point, I'm sorry to say. However the features that may help us identify the brand are the overall shape, the fact that it has a porthole window, the fact that it appears to have opening windows at both the front and the rear (is that correct?), and - as Hughdeani has said - the shape of the wheel arch, which is relatively unusual.

In addition the fact that your van spent most of its life in Coronet Bay, means that there is a pretty strong chance that it was built in Victoria. (Prior to the mid-60's most caravan manufacturers, with some exceptions, only sold caravans in the states in which they were based.)

The most distinctive feature of the van that I've focused on so far is the shape of the wheel arch. There are a few brands that produced vans with a similar shape. Hughdeani has mentioned Goodtime (built in NSW) and also Owen Bailey. However, there are some Phoenix and (Victorian) Highway vans from the late 50's which also have relatively shallow rectangular wheel arches as well. The trouble is that most of the vans I've looked at with the similar wheel arches have a pretty up and down (ie vertical) back wall, whereas your van seems to have a rear wall that slopes out from the top to the bottom. The photos you've posted may be a little deceptive in this regard because of the angle they've been taken from. Let us know what you think, or maybe post a photo of the van from the side when it is on the ground sitting level. That will give us a better idea of its shape and what we're looking for.

Although we may not be able to tell you the make yet, I think we can give you a broad idea of the van's build date, based on the fact that it has bondwood sides, an aluminium roof (that's what it looks like - tell us if that is not right), and the shape of the aluminium frames of the windows. The window frames first become available in 1956 but don't seem to have been widely used until 1957 onwards. The combination of bondwood sides and aluminium roof (and front and rear in some instances) was adopted widely in the late 50's and into the 60's - and the late 60's in the case of some smaller manufacturers. So based on the shape of your van, the window frames and the external materials, I would estimate that your van was built sometime between 1957 and the early 60's, say 1962.

I'll keep thinking about who may have built your van and let you know if I can come up with anything further.  It may take us a while but we'll let it simmer... 

Don Ricardo

[cobber]

G'day Toddy,Don R & Hughdeani, 

I don't have a clue what brand your beaut looking vintage caravan is but I do like the icebox with its unusual ice tray (nothing wrong with my priorities) 
So I'll put your photo of it In the ICE BOX THREAD if you don't mind.

Rather a unique external clearance light too I reckon, might pinch that photo for the tail light etc. thread ;)  

And Don R, does that light on Toddy's wall look the same as your Dons kitchen light ? Not that that proves anything much.

Cobber.

PS While searching through the tail light etc. thread I came across this post by Al Franklin, check out the post with particular attention to the third photo down, is there a similarity to Toddys van ? 

Cobber

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Cobber and Toddy,

Yes Cobber, the light is the same as used in the leadlight window Dons and a couple of other Victorian built vans as well.

And Toddy, one thing that I meant to mention about the unusual features of your van is the curved water channel over the door. Why it is unusual is that it is only curved at one end (towards the front). I've seen lots of straight channels, and channels that are curved at both ends, but I can't remember seeing one curved only at one end. Of course it could have been an after market addition, but in any case it's something worth noting and looking for in terms of identifying your van.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi again Cobber,

The Franklin appears to be a similarish shape to Toddy's van I agree and the way the aluminium cladding has been applied in a very similar way back and front, but there are a few too many other differences between the two vans I think to prevent us from concluding that his van is a Franklin:

• Looking from the side, the front and rear of Toddy's van end in a distinct little corner where they join with the floor, whereas the Franklin's front and rear flow unbroken into the line of the floor.
• The rear window on Toddy's van is the same shape and style as the side windows, whereas the rear window in the Franklin is a different shape and rubber sealed into the wall.
• The top of the side windows on Toddy's van appear to be in line with the top of the front and rear windows, whereas the top of the side windows on the Franklin are higher than the top of the rear window at least.
• Toddy's van has the curved water channel above the door, while the Franklin only has a straight channel.
• The wheel arches on the two vans, while they are similarish in shape, are actually fairly different in size and the way they are finished.
• Toddy's van has a porthole window for ventilation over the galley, whereas Franklins don't from memory (I am open to correction on that).

Don Ricardo