Shiloh Rescue

[shiloh]

G,day Vintage Vanners,
it was me that went to Merredin with Mark last weekend to rescue a 9' bondwood caravan that Mark had found on a previous trip. Thanks again Mark for your time and use of your BIG Truck.
The restoration won't start for at least a year but has been put safely away from the weather untl then. I have my Quest van to use until the job is done.
If Photobucket works for me here are some pics. Check out the map and Tour dates on the side of it dating back to 1956 up to 1980. Should I try to preserve it or replicate it when restoring, what do ya reckon?
Ron

[Deleted]

Sweet lil van you picked up their Shiloh .....all 9 foot of it

Re the map ......mmmm .....that's a tough one .....I'm thinkin' replicate it

Daggsey's a signwriter .....wadda you reckon Daggsey

Mark

[bobt]

excellent find lads

She sure is a monster................. perfect to hang on the back of my MG...

"Replicate...... if you can find someone that is prepared to do the necessary work"

bobt

[shaneandsimoen]

Hello Shiloh,

good looking van, all nine feet of it,
whats inside like ?
Interesting map, bit of history there
they say there's a window of opportunity up north ;D ;D ;D ;
wheres Tassie ??

What is the silver car out side the fence ?

Good luck with your van

Shane

[sportsman 1]

Hey Shiloh,

what a pearler of a little van.

That map is priceless, if there is any way at all I would preserve it and do the rest of the van to fit in with what you do there.

Lucky the map wasn't on the other side!

good luck with it.

cheers, Leigh.

[firefighter]

Hi Shane

the car out side the fence.......I think you will find it is Marks 39 chev sedan
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[earlee]

hi Ron,

What a great little van you have there. ;D ;D ;D

Luv the shape and size

Most importantly - it has so much CHARACTER and HISTORY on the side. It has definately done its share of travelling - probably on rough dirt roads as well.

I feel that the map side should definately be preserved and not replicated.
How you do it, I dont know, but i am sure you will work it out.
Definately keep it.

I cant quite read the yellow year of the first trip - what is it?

regards earlee ;D

[Hillbilly]

What a pearler Shiloh .......a nice little van.

The van's got real character and will look a treat once its had the resto done on it.

I tend to disagree with the others re the map, I reckon it would be really nice just done up with a nice splash of paint and not the map.

A real cuty indeed, good find.

Cheers, Hillbilly ;D

[Deleted]

G'day Earlee,
the year in yellow on the map is 1956 .

and yeah right again firefighter, the car in one of the pics is my 39 Chev

Mark

[whippy]

Hey Ron, you know those dolls that fit inside one another
MMMMMMMM ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[shiloh]

The score is 4 to 1 in favour of preserving. Mark says get Daggsey to replicate it. Elaine says restore without the map, I should remove it and hang it on the shed wall (inside) and restore the van without it and hang a pre resto photo insde the van to display its history. I think I'll stew on it for a while, listen to suggestions and advice on how to preserve and make the decision next year.
Shane, you can see the interior thru the door, it doesn't get much better. There is a blue sink along the front with overhead water tank and the remains of two single beds one down the right side and one along the back. I'll take some more pics when I next visit it.
Cheers all Ron

[chippydave01]

Keep the map for sure and just paint the other 3 walls ,the map is priceless and shouldnt be replicated otherwise it is just another van.The map is part of Australian touring heritage and if I owned it I would leave it for future generations to see it in its original state .
Just my opinion anyway .Cheers Dave

[Deleted]

I'm getting jealous at all the fuss over this 9 foot nothing lil van ;D

Wonder if I could photocopy of every page of the log book of the "world's oldest couples ;D" caravan "Joker11",
and stencil it all on the side wall of Joker 11 ;D ;D ;D ;D


www.vintagecaravans.com/joker_log.htm

[Deleted]

awsome Dave ......you're not allowed back on the forum until you find that photo ;D ;D ;D

we've just gotta to see that photo from the 70's

The lil van came from a farm 15 kms north of Merriden on the Nungarin road ....its a little ghost siding called "Nokaling" ....somethin' like that anyway ......
The farm house was burnt down, all that remained on the farm was a few sheds (with goodies), and 'Shiloh' ....in a lean to off one of the sheds. We think Shiloh was parked up on the farm in about 1980.

Mark

[cobber]

Shiloh,

That really is a great example of “Australia's touring Heritage”.

What you should do with it (I reckon ) is just tidy it up... restore things like the tail lights to original and then sell it at a great profit to somebody who aspires to having a “Caravan Museum”... because that is where it belongs, in a museum..... wouldn't take up much room.

Cobber.

[shiloh]

Hey Mark you serious about being jealous over the map on the side of Shiloh. I will gladly swap Shiloh for Joker 11 or any other van in your collection, then you can get all the attention.

Hey Cobber its already in marks "Caravan Museum". He wants to display it behind an old Morris 1000 thats a similar colour to the map. Maybe when I pick Shiloh up to start the restoration I will collect them both, be a shame to separate them after their 1st anniversary together.

Shiloh

[Deleted]

;D ;D ......yeah .....see Cobber ....its already in the 'Beverley Vintage Caravan' museum .....and as Ron says, its displayed behind a "patina" 1954 Morri sedan

so ......there ;D ;D ;D

[bobt]

Hi Mark

Congratulations on being granted such a loverly donation to the museum. ;D ;D

I have had a serious re think of what should happen with the map on the external wall, I think you should do the rat style thing with it and leave it alone.

bobt


_{posession....9/10ths the law .... so say the rule book}

[Daggsey]

Just by coincidence, I happened to be in Beverley when "Shiloh" arrived (collecting the rest of "Effacy" after it's transplant op. 12 months ago)........

I have viewed the "map" which is now the most controversial matter on this forum ........should it or shouldn't it be saved

I personally, would save it, but hey, Ron, it's your van

The way I would tackle it is............

1. Sand down the cracked paint around it and fill/repaint that section......you're not going to match the "background" of the map, so that gives you the freedom to paint the van any colour you like......

2. Wash the map with a chamois and warm soapy water to remove any oxidisation and dust....you'll be surprised at how well the original lettering will recover it's gloss, especially as it will be enamel , not acrylic (now there's a little hand grenade, eh Cobber ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D)

3. Touch up any of the worn lettering yourself, let dry for a couple of days and then spray/brush enamel clear over (DO NOT use Automotive Acrylic Thinners or 2 pack thinners)

The reason I would recommend brushing the lettering yourself and not engaging a signwriter is for the following reason........

"Shiloh" was obviously homemade........the previous owner probably built "Shiloh" and then took great pride in recording the journeys he/she took between 1956 and 1980 and painted said journeys, probably quite painstakingly and with minimal signwriting skills..........I would hazard a guess and say that the owner was someone of minimal financial resources, maybe a farm labourer or itinerant shearer and "Shiloh" was his/her pride and joy..........

If you could find a signwriter today who has brush skills (modern "signwriters" wouldn't know one end of a brush from the other ), they would probably try and "correct" the lettering and the intrinsic appeal would be lost.........

One of the joys of restoring vintage vans is that we are forced to learn new skills (wood work, electrical wiring, painting, breathing in fibreglass etc) without spending a motza on specialist tradesman.........

Daggsey

[atouchofglass]

What he said

Gotta agree with Daggsey ...... doing the work yourself and learning new skills are part of the joy of this hobby

The idea of touching up the map yourself also says each owner has added something to the original

Just my thoughts

Atog

[oldie]

I've got what I think is a 1960 Wayfarer in the back yard. Needs a full resto but I've got too many projects on the go already. Could anyone let me know where I could find someone who wants it. Would be a shame to leave it to rot.

Andrew

[firefighter]

Hi Oldie

If you tell us what part of australia the van is in ...it might help some body to make there mind up if they wont it or not or to come and look at it
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[sportsman 1]

Perhaps we should move Oldie's post to for sales, it might get lost here!

[oldie]

Thanks guys. I've put it in the for sale section. Just got to get some photos on there too.

[Deleted]

Hey Ron ......sorry mate, I can't find Elaine's ph No ......you know the lady that you got Shiloh from

My desk looks like a Tsalami hit it, and I can't find her ph No anywhere

Now how we gunna tell her 'bout the lil Electrolux caravan fridge you sto borrowed from the shed ;D ;D

Mark