Dumb question's time.

[JBJ]

Hi Olfarts


If your van is homemade it could be difficult to date much better than(around...... year) an approximation guess. There were no rules & standards applied that I have been able to find.

Some were homemade from kits, & some, like the one I'm rebuilding, come from the fertile minds of the builders.

If they were built as they were dreamed up, who knows what era the design was based on. Reddo had a bondy a few years back that was homemade, & not very old. But it was (almost) built along the style of a 50's van.

But if you want anyone to offer an opinion on your van , you GOTTA put pix up so we can see what you are talking about. If you have already posted pix on another thread, give us the direction to find where they are.


With the importance of keeping a van original, you open a can of worms.

Some believe you should try to keep EVERYTHING as it was, while others believe in do what you want .

Its your van, I believe in altering as you want to make it suit your needs. The average person looking at it only sees an old van, not a modified old van or a perfectly restored old van, but just an old van.


But here we get into the age old argument between "restorers" & "hotrodders", which NEVER will be resolved, & really isnt that important.




I'm happy to see as many old vans as I can, however they've put back together.

JBJ

[Deleted]

Hi Olfarts

1. Dating your van??
Check on the backs of draws, inside cupboards, under beds for pencil marks or dates handwritten by the builder. Sometimes the builder would put his/her mark somewhere.
Also there may be a manufacturers date/docket stuck on a part that was supplied from somewhere other than the factory where the van was built.
I found a "Sorbys - Newcastle" delivery docket stuck up on the back of the red sink in "Rosie" during her recent overhaul. No date on it but it did lead me to sort of think the van was built in Newcastle by Walsh caravans in or around the mid 50s.
Next....Have a look at the wheels and stud pattern. If the axle appears to be the original one from new you can get a ball park manufacture era from the wheels and stud pattern.
1940s and early fiftys vans tended to have 15" or 16" wheels. Ford prefect, Early Chev 5 and 6 stud, FX/FJ Holden etc.
Most of the vans from that era have an offset or "dropped axle" to counter the hieght of the tall wheels.
By around '56 onwards wheel sizes started drop to 13" as Later model Holden/ford Hubs and stubs became plentiful. likewise the straight axle became popular.
Mechanical brakes where still being fitted on vans well into the late 60s and beyond.
Another rough indicator of era build is aluminium windows. Some might argue here , but i am of the opinion that most vans built after 1956 or thereabouts have aluminium windows. Once one large van manufacturer went to aluminium windows most of the rest followed. The buying public more or less forced the van manufacturers to do so.
Having said that i would imagine that smaller backyard/homemade concerns would have stuck to the cheaper timber windows for a few more years.

2.
Canvas was used on the roof to improve waterproofing. There is a few theorys on how it was applied. A thick coat of silverfrost then roll the canvas smooth onto the wet surface. Roll the edges of the canvas over the edge of the roof and tuck it in under the j mould . seal that joint with tar paper type tape.
Its best not to disturb the canvas or the joins unless absolutely necessary. They alo used canvas tape on the walls where the sheets join to help seal them . Some vans have 1/2 round timber moulds on these joins.

In the 4 years i have hung around here i.. like you have read a lot on the forum, discussed a lot at gatherings etc. One thing i have noticed is that when people first buy thier vans they tend to post that they have bought a van from the 30s or 40s . Once we get a good look at them about 90% of them turn out to be from the 50s.


3. Original as first made???
As JBJ said, this question can be a contencious issue.
Its been done to death on the forum.
we did not reach a concensus one way or the other.
The fact that those fore and agin keeping things as original as possible are still here on the forum is testament that we have accepted each others view points and have learned to live in harmony with each other here on the forum. ( even though i do stir the pot on the odd occasion )
Please dont think that i am treating your question flippantley.

But it is best answered by yourself. You paid for the van . You do what you like to it without fear of contradiction from anyone no matter what path you take.
Just love it , work on it ... and most of all enjoy using it when you are happy that you have it finished the way YOU like it.
Now get your act together and master photobucket so we can see some pictures of it.

In closing
People may come on here now and correct me. I am happy for that to happen. Its all about learning as we go.
Keep the questions coming.

Reddo

[1954homemade]

Hi All,

This is the link to some of the photos of Dave n Cookie's van.

vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=forsale2&action=display&thread=2965&page=1

I presume that once they get the van home, they will be able to take some more photos and post them then.

Regards
Di

[Deleted]

Thanks Di

IMHO

Cupboard push button knobs and type/style of electrical fittings indicate no earlier than mid 1950s through to mid 60s when most electrical goodies went from bakerlite to plastic power points.

Its a challenge !!!

Reddo

[Deleted]

WHAT... a bath tub up the front... OH No... ya shouldna ourta said that Olfart Dave.
Now ya gunna have every Tom , Dick and DON owner claiming its a DON.

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear

We all know that Furness and a few others offered stainless steel bath tubs under the front seats. So i hope that is enough to quell the claims at the start that its a Don you have there.

17" wheels with 4 studs you say ... That is also interesting.
I sold an old trailer to RFW that use to have 17" / 4 stud wheels. I was told that they where Willys wheels . While i was fiddling with Rosies undergarments i found that the 17" wire wheels fitted exactly on the morris 14" stud patterns... soooooooo ... your wheels could be of british origin.
There was a lot of old stub axles welded to those 30s, 40s and 50s dropped axles so your running gear could well be early Morris, Austin, Hillman etc. ... or... Willys as i was told.. i think not.
Kaybee or someone might like to comment on when 17" rims fell out of vogue with the big car manufacturers but i know that Chev went from 17" to 16" around 1935.
Not sayin your van is THAT old. axles can come from anything at any stage after the donor car was produced and i am still stickin with your van being early to mid 50s;.

No matter what the outcome . there is no percieved "can of worms". What you have got is a great chunk of Australias touring Heritage... Go Love it to death
Reddo

[Deleted]

Ok Dave...
5 stud not four..
Dementia is good.. Ya get ta hide your own easter eggs .

Duzz your 17's look like this then



1934 and 35 Chev wires ... 17" with 5 stud 108 mm PCD pattern ( distance between 3 stud centres) .. or in laymans terms.. Early holden stud pattern.
Also available in "scalloped " solid rims .

Ok .. i wont pester you no more... I will wait until some more pix are up on the forum and we can all make our (ill)informed assumptions...
just like mine

To quote.....
"Mrs olfart and i have started buying bits and pieces for it,its become a second girlfriend!"

I have seen these symptoms before.. there is no cure... you will not be able to stop at one..... Now THAT has definitley been said before here on the forum.
Loving to death,,, ?? .. what a way to go .

Reddo.. up north a bit.


Reddo

[rfw]

Hi Reddo. That s/steel mounting bracket looks a mite close to the tyre. Or is that an optical allusion? Suppose it also deflects stones/pebbles. See you got beer on "tap' also!! cheers

[Deleted]

Hi rfw
Stainless steel is actually Alloy.. about 40mm away from the tyre.
If you look closely the stamped text in the alloy states "Reddos 1934 TD" which makes it 2 years older than cobbers Old '36.. although i have signed an agreement never to state that........

Guards are 2006 Yamaha cruiser rears.. try finding a matching pair of them
Tap is for good old H2o..
Sorry olfarts.. its back to the carbon dating of your V.V dinosaur...
Reddo