In search of the Holey Bail.. umm.."Grail"

[Deleted]

Hidey Ho there Vintage Vanophiles....

Swapmeet this Sunday at Maitland... A chance to throw off the mundane domestic shackles and do a bit of male retail therapy around the junk mounds
So .. as usual i toddle off down to .



and rat through the selves lookin for old shiiiiiii...... ... ummm quality collectibles i think they call em .. to take along .
Rummage, rumage, ... blow the dust off this and that......
Reach up the back shelf ......up behind the secret stash of black label XXXX porn magazines ..... Hmmmmm whats this???......
Well i'll be buggered .... Look Bill ( he's my shed assistant and night watchman.....also doubles as a 13 year old deaf, dumb , toothless, overweight and blind cattledog..)

Have a go at this old mate... Its the.." Reddotel Wood-o-Matic Timber Radar .. with added crystals and valves to pick up bondwood within a 100k radius of Reddotel International HQ"


CRIKEYS BILL... how long has it been since we plugged this in. Have a look at that black and white chequered jug cord i patched onto it after the rats chewed through it back in 2007.

Hang on while i dust it off.. grab 2 stubbys outta the beer fridge Bill and we will give it a whirl for old times sake aye Shirl.
"woof woof Reddo".. even Bills excited .. "woof , woof, woof.snarl, snarl..... oooh ya just want a beer and ya dont give a rats about the wood-o-matic
Bloody houndoholic

He we go.. found a power point....."click"......
Hang onto your haggots bill anything could happen...
"HHHHHHhhhhhhhhhuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..
Ccccccccccccccccccccrraacccckkkkkkklllleeeee
Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzz...

Just gotta shift the Coathanger arial up the clothesline a bit and adjust the horizontal hold there old Billyhound.....
Roll
Roll
Roll

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh thats it . Bloody bewdy mate... looky .. we have the radar screen up .. black spot top left quadrent... must be a blown valve ??.. hang on ... no... its just pigeon poop on the screen.... rub, rub... aaaaaaaa thats clearer
Shes up and resonating.....

Now.... lllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttssss seeeeeeeee. engage clutch on pedal assist... release handbrake start pedalling.... 'Blip. Blip. Blip"... wooooo whoooooooooo... unbldybelevbl!!!
...
The transducer is saying there is a large timber object about 10,000 K's North of here....... .. Wait a minute.. thats mount Siani.. oh drat its just that bloody ark thing again
Wish someone would go down there and clean that bloody mess up.....Arks are a god damn eye sore.. The bloody council should make Noah clean up his act and get it off the footpath.

Lets narrow the tangental parabolic reddofunctional parameters sine wave and see whats on offer on the east coast.

"Burp" ...... oh for gods sake Bill.. wheres ya manners...

"Blap, blap, blap.. " Holey portholes Bill... have a go at that......


nup, nup... its galvaqnised iron...

Try again...
"Clack, Clack... ooo bugga the chain has fallen off... ..Bloody cheap Jappo 10 speed shimano gears and deraliers... this is embarassing... and right in the middle of a story too...
Should have stuck with the old Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub gears..
Plan B.. Insert crank handle through side..
swing the handle vigoriouoi... viagra... viger.. vicka... .. ummm.. flat out ..
yup, yup.. ya doin good Bill....thats it 2500 RPM .. keep goin Bill..

"Bling, Bling, Bling....
Alrighty then... we are getting a reading....But wait.. whats this?

It must be massive...... a giant red "Blotch" at co-ordinates 23deg east by 112 degrees south ..... ......

Jeeves .. Jeeves ... come quick. Ready the pack mules and double axle dray. We just have to get an expedition up and on the road by 6.00am tomorrow. We will ride like winged arrows .. straight and true .. to "the Red Blotch".
"But reddo sir... There is a lake between us and our objective??

"Ooooooo Bugga.. your right Jeevsey... Better take the Chev, Carfloat and head down the F3 expressway ;D

WWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLL
FFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSS....

What has our intrepid trio unearthed this time

Tune in next time when ya hear Reddo say..
"Jeevesy you bonehead .. i thought i told you to fill the bloody car with petrol before we left... .. now get out and push us up this hill !!... Phew ... smells like Lucky dog dinner.. Bill..... did you fart ??
Its the last time i am taking you pair "

Oh bye the way.. Ya can stop crankin' the handle for today Bill. We are finished now....
"Phew...... ritz arout rime reddo ..rhy roz ready roo rexplode!!"

...................................

[Geoff & Jude]

;D ;D ;D

Translation 1-5 happy for you, 6-9 it's a secret,10-12 more happys,13-17 the expected reaction & 18-20 hugs & kisses

[1954homemade]

Hi Reddo,

I'm pretty certain, i've worked out what you've found, but would hate to spoil the fun we will all have reading all your installments to come on this thread.

Congratulations ;D ;D
Di

[Deleted]

Outta bed early.. at the servo and collect trailer at 6;15am... off down the expressway.. drizzling rain.
Arrive at umina...
Locate object of interest...



Knock on door.. No-one wants ta talk.
neighbour comes on the scene. Supplies compressor and hose to inflate tyre. Over inflates tyre and blows tyre off rim.


Deduce rim is very rusty...
Press on with recovery..

Wife of owner arrives all bleary eyed wandering what explosion was. Informs me owner is in Werries Creek. wont be home till this arvo. Old mate the neighbour does a runner.
I am left to load van with flat tyre on my own...

Van keeps wanting to run off the ramps to the flat tyre side.
I collar a young bloke who leans on side of van while i wind like crazy.
finally succeed in loading safely...give young bloke $4 to spend at the lolly shop.

Finish securing windows doors . Tie downs everywhere.
Pay money ... leave
2 blocks later.
Young dudes pointing and waving at van. I Pull up..

Canvas over Canite is peeling off like space shuttle tiles.
Think: whats it gunna be like on the expressway??
Will Canite lift off at speed. What holds Canite to roof joists??

Worry, worry, worry...
Pray that it doesnt rain...

Prayers arent answered

It rains... ...Does canite swell up..??.. worry worry.
Make it home about 12.30.. check roof.. all good... but bugger all canvas left.
As usual Chev done all the hard work .. but.....




FB muscles in on the scene and gets to take the van around the backyard.

Number plate use to be black with white letters painted on..
"166-SIG"... not 100% sure but thats what it looks like.
All tarped up .. i took off to Maitland swapmeet for the night.

Hope to get it into the shed next saturday......Preliminary measurements indicate it will fit if axle, springs , water tank and hatch cover are removed... oh yeah.. remove roller door from tracks as well....
Ply is messy on the rights suide ( as seen in photo of flat tyre)
The frame around the bottom edges appears to be OK.
Looks like i will have to remove around 300mm up from bottom edge right along both sides.. maybe more on the right side.
So there ya have it..
Arrived home 10th/10/2009... wander if i can have it on its feet by 10/10/2010.. in time for Coledale.


There is a twist to this rescue story . Not all is as it seems.. I might elaborate at Coledale.

I will start a separate resto thread now that the van is home. The Jury is still out as to what brand it is.
Style cues indicate Roadhaven ,,, but i will leave it to those that reside down history lane to sort it out..... For now.. i just wanna cuddle it.

Thanks for looking..
Reddo

[kaybee]

....only you Bud....only you , explodin' wheels, shredded canvas and soggy/saggy roof.....rainstorm en route.... ;D...so it looks like you need a pair of those nice chrome FJ wheels I've got here......stick 'em in the post? ;D....or stick 'em somewhere else? ;D ;D

[Geoff & Jude]

Hi Reddo,

Not your easiest recovery, but you know I think it is your best ever.

Glad she made it home in one piece - now the fun begins. Keep us all posted on the progress

Jude & Geoff

[firefighter]

Hi Reddo

once again love you rescue mission
can't wait to see where kaybees chrome wheels are going to fit

Style cues indicate Roadhaven ,,, but i will leave it to those that reside down history lane to sort it out..... For now.. i just wanna cuddle it.

Thanks for looking..
Reddo


Reddo the van is not a......... Roadhaven
Love to come on one of your vintage van rescue missions one day

f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Don Ricardo]

Nice one, Reddo!!! When I saw that it had gone, I had my fingers crossed on both hands that you had managed to get it, or that one of our other V V'ers had.

As I've commented before, your new van is a most interesting one because of its roofline and the 'canopies' over the top and at the sides of the front and rear windows. Well worth saving. Despite the work needed on the outside, the inside of the van looks to be in great condition.

Oct 11, 2009 16:56:28 GMT 10 @reddo said:

...The Jury is still out as to what brand it is.
Style cues indicate Roadhaven ,,, but i will leave it to those that reside down history lane to sort it out..... For now.. i just wanna cuddle it...

Reddo

Roadhaven?? Did you mean Roadmaster?

This is Firefighter's Roadhaven, built in Victoria, and as you will see is quite different from your van. Although F/f's van is a 1960's model, Roadhaven had a pretty consistent style across its history:



In my opinion your van is almost certainly a South Australian designed and/or built van - such as a Roadmaster - because of (1) its double cambered roof, (2) caneite roof covered in canvas, (3) exposed ceiling struts/ribs inside the van, (4) and the FJ tail light.

Here is a picture of a Greythorne Roadmaster caravan built by Roadmaster in Adelaide (ignore the fact that Greythorne caravans was based in Melbourne - I'm just trying to confuse you ). While this van doesn't have the canopies over the front and rear windows, note the general profile of the van, double cambered roof, exposed ceiling ribs/struts inside, and FJ tail light:



I'm hoping that Lazza or Beetlesbailey may come on line and confirm what make of van yours is, but personally I'm 95% convinced it hails from SA originally.

Anyway, a very nice catch indeed! Happy restoring.

Don Ricardo

[younglover]

Hi Reddo,

Pretty new around here, just thought I'd stop by and say hello and I can't wait to see what you have in store for her.

Cheers,
YL.

[Surf Tragic]

Hi Reddo
that is one nice looking van you have there ;D no wonder you want to cuddle it
My education of appealing Vintage Vans is broadening & am liking these Roadmaster style looking beauties The roof lines do the trick & really stand out to me now.

Great recovery story, bit of tension there, know how you feel on that one I wonder if that's the best one you've brought home yet? it's sure got potential, good for you ;D

Surf Tragic

[humpyboy]

Hey there Reddo, I'm in agreement with ST on the roof line, that is exactly what I will be looking for when I'm ready to go from teardrop to full on van, I just love the look of the roundy roof which I wreckon would be a perfect match for the roundy roof on my 55 humpy, if you see another in about ten years time let me know, why ten years you ask? cos thats how long it's gunna take me to get through all my other stuff, or I could just build yet another shed to store it in till I get round to it ;D
Look forward to the resto mate.

[freeway]

Hey Reddo, that's a tops lookin van, and a great story

Looking forward to the resto pics and more amusing posts!

Andrew

[Deleted]

Hi All..
Those of you amongst us that are avid ebay watchers will know i have" äired"this 1958 Greythorne Bondwood van on ebay 2 or 3 times now in the hope that some one would be interested in taking on the challenge and restoring it.
I have walked up to it on many occassions and have been on the brink of starting work on it but it seems i just cant get motivated

Previuos start prices have been $2500 then more recently $1500.
The van is scheduled for relisting tonight at 7.00pm.
Starting price is $500 with No reserve.
Or... Buy it Now for $2000.
cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270554924738&ssPageName=STRK:MESCX:IT

Reason for selling??.. I need the space it is taking up .Also have spent a lot of dollars on other interests of late and need the dosh back in the porcelain piggy bank.

Reddo

[kaybee]

Hey there Red-ho.....that link...she's a no work.....

I can't understand why you've had no interest in that neat van....seems everyone wants one of those dime-a-dozen Sunliners .....instead of a quality built van like yours made out of the right materials...... ;D ;D (we'll see if they're even bothered reading this ;D ;D)....hope you find a discerning buyer soon, cheers...Col.

[JBJ]

Hi Kaybee & Reddo,

Maybe the Sunliners are becoming the same as the Chevies are in hotrodding, the" Belly Button " unit ( Every ones got one).


I can say that now I dont own a Sunliner any more.

JBJ

[Deleted]

Now now fellas... Just remember .... "All creatures great and small"

or is that ... "One mans meat is another mans poison"......

ummmmm.. "To each his own.....
Oh i dunno... Just give me the money... "

Oh did i mention i went and had a look at a 1964 sunliner the other week......Bloke has done a lot of work inside and under the van.... just needs finishing off around the outside....
I could be quite easily become a fobbergrosser
....and tow it with a chev....


Flap, flap, flap..... oh look dear... there are pigs flying past our window..... ;D ;D ;D ;D
Whats that you say.. the link doesnt work?
Try this ...
cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270554924738&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT
It works for me....
The Mexican is probably not holding his cactus plant at the right angle....

Reddo

[atouchofglass]

Hey Reddo

I seem to recall you also had discovered a sad Sunliner out the back of ?? last year sometime
While you were out on a bike ride

Seem to remember a photo of it tucked up the side of a shed

Did that ever come on the market?

Atog

[atouchofglass]

Found it

OK it was 2008

But have you revisited the van?

vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general08&action=display&thread=2510

Atog

[Deleted]

;D ;D ;D
Hi Atog....

I have been passed that van on several occassions since posting the pictures back in 2008.
Ummmmm come ta think of it i have stopped opposite it a few times too.... Not to ogle the van though.. The stoppages where due to thirst
It is still there..... in the same condition.
and.. probably still available .
I think they where asking around $400.
I was only interested in the little bar fridge when Trish and i checked it out.. Would have given him $100.. yanked the fridge out and left the rest there.
A bit of a task to get it out from behind his woodheap and through 2 barbed wire fences.

Fly to Newcastle. catch a bus to the Ellalong pub up in the coalfields. Buy a beer. stand out the front and scan the houses across the road... there is only about 5 houses and its next to one of them. ;D


The Sunliner van i looked at recently is in much better condition ( and a lot dearer) than that ....

Reddo

[Deleted]

The 16ft greythorne is now sold ..well it will be as soon as old mate the winning bidder comes up with the cabbage.
It is heading approx 15ks as the crow flys west of my place.
Not too sure what the future holds for it....
Will let ya know what the new owner intends to do with it after he / she has collected it.
Lets hope i can lead him / her down the path of riteousness.....or should that read riotness .

Reddo

[littlemissyana]

I'm the lucky one who bought reddos van! I'll keep you informed on hows she's going. I've never done a project like this before. But i'm super excited to see how it turns out!

[littlemissyana]

Also cheers for all your help reddo!

[nicngeary]

Just doing a little research on a van I have just bought and realised that it is this van. Trying to find a bit more info on this model but it is few and far between. Also in one of you post you said that you had some advice for the direction the resto should take, any clues. Anyway, will set up a thread to show its progress.