van I D

[fxfj]

can anyone help with year & name of this van we just purchased
its vin number is R22TM106280 maybe a franklin.

[Franklin1]

Hi fxfj, and welcome to the forum! ;D ;D

The VIN (number) you've given is the number allocated by the registration authorities, most likely because the original registration details are long gone.

See that bloke in your photo who is bending over looking at the tow hitch? Tell him to go and get back in that position, and see if there is a number welded on the drawbar. Probably about where his right knee is.

Your van appears to be an early Valiant, made by Viscount. The cladding profile suggests around the 1963 to 1964 period. The windows don't slope like the typical Viscount/Valiants but I think the sloping windows were introduced sometime in the mid-1960s. Maybe my memory's gone, so I'll have to check my history information.

Let me know if there's a number welded on the drawbar, and I'll see what other info I've got on the early Valiants. Can you also tell me what the length of the cabin is? Just measure where the line of screws is at centre height...that'll be rough enough.

So, what's the story that goes with the van?? Got any inside pictures? C'mon, fxfj, spill the beans!

cheers,
Al.

[fxfj]

Hi Al
here are some more pics to help.
When we brought the van it was last registed in 2008 as a 1980 classic franklin which we doughted was correct.

As far as we can make out the number is ID145 or IB145, we found these welded inside the front draw bar.
It is 10 foot long.
The small window next to the door opens into the wardrobe which is on the left with the kitchen.

The ceiling is masonite with a diamond pattern.
The left side where the power connects is recessed with a cap over it.
The weels are 13 inch Holden pattern.
It has 2 single beds with a table in between.

Thanks Dot

[fxfj]

Here is another Photo

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[fxfj]

This is all the photos i have hope they help

[Franklin1]

Gees, Dot, you don't half make it hard for me to zero in on the history of your van!

A wardrobe with a window, no less!! They sure do things differently where you live!

The difficulty now is trying to determine what is original in your van, and what has been modified. I've never known of a window in a wardrobe before, so let's assume the wardrobe has been installed after manufacture. Also, I can't remember seeing a van from this early age with a kitchen across the front window, so I'm also of the opinion that the kitchen has been relocated from elsewhere in the van, or has been installed after manufacture. The single kitchen bowl is a tad odd - they usually have at least a little draining board as well. The brown pump-action tap is a later addition from the late 1960s.

I can see what looks like a bead of "gap filler", or sealant, running along underneath the front overhead cupboards, where they join onto the wall. This raises questions about the originality of these cupboards.

Without spending an hour or so in your van with a magnifying glass, I'm clutching at straws trying to identify the interior of the van in relation to a manufacturer brand. I'm still of the opinion your van is a Valiant model, based purely on the outside shape of your van. The only other brand I can compare it with is the Fleetwinds, but these have a sharper curve at the lower rear bottom section.

I checked my history information for Valiants, and the following information might be of some help in solving the identity dilemma:

1.) In early 1963, Valiant were offering a choice of the "figured" aluminium cladding (ie. the flat diamond embossed cladding) or the "latest American-type ribbed finish".

2.) In later 1963, Valiant were offering the choice of new full aluminium frames, or the previous timber frames. $50 extra for the alum frames.

3.) Also in later 1963, Valiant launched a new model, now with sloping windows, "as in Viscounts".


Pending further information that might come out of the woodwork, at the moment my money is on your van being a Valiant from 1963.

cheers,
Al.

[fxfj]

Thanks Al ' it is a bit of a puzzle isnt it ,any help is welcome from anyone who has any info,we checked valiant by viscount c/van site you could be right going by photos. D OT.

[Franklin1]

G'day again Dot, I was looking at some other Valiant photos in my collection, and this later model Valiant shows the same diamond pattern ceiling and cupboard handles...



That's not necessarily conclusive proof, because other manufacturers may have been using the same ceiling lining, and they certainly were using the same cupboard handles. However it at least confirms that Valiant were using both of them.

Interestingly, just as your van was called a Franklin, a former owner of the later model Valiant above had put a Millard sticker across the front. Doesn't surprise me how confusing it can get for new owners.

cheers,
Al.

[fxfj]

Thanks AL for your trouble we agree with 1962/1963 year looks like an early viscount with the added small front window .Did the id no,s help at all?once again thanks Dot.

[Franklin1]

Hi Dot, unfortunately no, the number didn't match other info I had. Valiants from the mid-1960s had a chassis number 32xxx so I thought yours might have been from the same series. Valiants from the late-1960s have B's and C's chassis numbers, so Viscount seemed to have chopped and changed the numbering system over the years.

I'll copy your photos into my collection, along with your chassis number, and one day we'll come across more vans like yours with numbers close to yours. Then we'll be able to get a clearer picture of what is what.

In the meantime, you just enjoy this great little van, whether it be called a Valiant or an Iced Vo-Vo (...betcha didn't know Arnotts made caravans... ).

cheers,
Al.