Post by Don Ricardo on Oct 15, 2009 20:27:38 GMT 10
Question regarding her Gracemur caravan posted by Lebubbles on 15 October 2009 and transferred from the DHL Gracemur thread:
Hi,
we took Le Bubble in for her gas safety certificate however, as the original stove did not have a compliance plate, there was no certificate forthcoming! What have other people done to comply with all the standards when doing work on their vintage van???
The original owner Ken .....? lived on Fraser Island and the person we bought Le Bubble from has had her for 28years. We think the van probably spent around 15 years on Fraser!!!! Although the chassis has passed its safety ticket, there will come a time when we will need to do something about it. Any suggestions?
Le Bubble also has independent suspension which will need to be looked at. We have been told that the bushes have gone and need to be replaced. Can these be sourced from somewhere???
Le Bubbles
Response from JBJ later the same day:
Hi,
If you look on my Sunliner restoration thread, you will find towards the end how i replaced the bushes. But not all Sunlners are similar.
You need someone with mechanical ability to dissasemble the suspension. Hopefully the remnants of the brass bushes will be there.
Then you need a machine shop to make new ones, then refit them. Pretty simple if you are a fitter & turner, or a mechanic.
With these vans, youhave to remember that 50 years ago they were built in a NO technology era. Mostr of the bits wre hand made by the workers that assembled the vans. All the bits were probably sourced from a local hardware shop, & being in the bush where they were built, stocks of parts would have been minimal.
When I rebuilt my early model Sunliner, I was intrigued by how components had hacksaw & file marks on them. Any welded pieces were done by hand with oxy welding, a process no one but us old farts still use. Door hinges were made for each van from welded butt hinges, & will not interchange ( unless you are lucky) from van to van.
So a quick answer is NO, you are not likely to find anything that I know of that you can buy that bolts onto or into a Sunliner, except for proprietary items with names on them, like door locks.
Some people like myself have fibreglass panel moulds, & Spyder can organise perspex window panels for front & rear.
JBJ
Reply from Lebubbles:
Thanks for the info JBJ... Mechanic said that would be the case, but thought it would be worth a question.
much appreciated
Hi,
we took Le Bubble in for her gas safety certificate however, as the original stove did not have a compliance plate, there was no certificate forthcoming! What have other people done to comply with all the standards when doing work on their vintage van???
The original owner Ken .....? lived on Fraser Island and the person we bought Le Bubble from has had her for 28years. We think the van probably spent around 15 years on Fraser!!!! Although the chassis has passed its safety ticket, there will come a time when we will need to do something about it. Any suggestions?
Le Bubble also has independent suspension which will need to be looked at. We have been told that the bushes have gone and need to be replaced. Can these be sourced from somewhere???Le Bubbles
Response from JBJ later the same day:
Hi,
If you look on my Sunliner restoration thread, you will find towards the end how i replaced the bushes. But not all Sunlners are similar.
You need someone with mechanical ability to dissasemble the suspension. Hopefully the remnants of the brass bushes will be there.
Then you need a machine shop to make new ones, then refit them. Pretty simple if you are a fitter & turner, or a mechanic.
With these vans, youhave to remember that 50 years ago they were built in a NO technology era. Mostr of the bits wre hand made by the workers that assembled the vans. All the bits were probably sourced from a local hardware shop, & being in the bush where they were built, stocks of parts would have been minimal.
When I rebuilt my early model Sunliner, I was intrigued by how components had hacksaw & file marks on them. Any welded pieces were done by hand with oxy welding, a process no one but us old farts still use. Door hinges were made for each van from welded butt hinges, & will not interchange ( unless you are lucky) from van to van.
So a quick answer is NO, you are not likely to find anything that I know of that you can buy that bolts onto or into a Sunliner, except for proprietary items with names on them, like door locks.
Some people like myself have fibreglass panel moulds, & Spyder can organise perspex window panels for front & rear.
JBJ
Reply from Lebubbles:
Thanks for the info JBJ... Mechanic said that would be the case, but thought it would be worth a question.
much appreciated
