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Post by richard on Jun 9, 2011 19:56:01 GMT 10
I am hoping to convince Dear Wife that a porta-potti hidden under a bed would be adequate, but I promised to at least ask. Dear Wife doesn't want to "ruin" the van either - she's helping with period soft furnishings, a lino floor that will look right and interior accessories. She's asked me to try and work out a way to do it without changing the interior layout... But if (for example) it was possible to fit something entirely inside the wardrobe, then she'd be interested. I think I may have just thought of something she'd be happy with that won't involve altering the interior layout: Porta-potti hidden somewhere on a slide, with an exterior shower setup accessible from the boot. I'm keen enough on keeping it original that I've tracked down the exactly correct side-markers and rear lamps and I'm working on how to get the rear ones re-chromed despite being pot-metal. Things I won't keep original are: - Lack of brakes.
- Original colour scheme, but it will be a 50/60s inspired one, interior & exterior.
- Electrical setup: More 12V power, LED lamps, on-board deep-cycle batteries, a small inverter, maybe a solar panel between the two roof vents if it would be inconspicuous from ground level.
- Plumbing: modern tanks & pump, maybe hot water.
- Original fridge is gone, replacement will be (much) younger than the van, but have a formica front or colour-matched wooden panel.
If you look at my Jag: It has upgraded tyres (but they are exactly the correct size), modern suspension bushes, a newer brake-booster, brand new period-style seat-belts and child-restraint anchors and modern sound deadening hidden under the carpet. All the bulbs are halogen, and I'm thinking about fitting the Mk 9 rear lamps that have proper indicators instead of "flashing brake light". The engine mods I'm doing now include have a massively upgraded clutch, upgraded oil seals, a more modern oil pump, better pistons, upgraded valve seats, possibly a better air-filter if I can find the the correct period canister to hold it. Both the car and the van need to be usable & safe, because we're planning to use them a lot (for their age). The previous owner was doing 200 miles a year in the Jag - I'm doing 4,000. The van hasn't been on the road in a decade or two, we want to use it a dozen times a year or more. The van needs to work, and work well - we want us and our kids to be dead keen to go out in it at every possibility. But if we didn't want retro, we wouldn't be looking.
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Post by richard on Jun 9, 2011 20:03:03 GMT 10
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Post by surfingyogini on Jun 9, 2011 20:12:30 GMT 10
Hi Richard,
I have two young kidlets (4 and 15mths) and haven't found that we've ever needed to have an internal toilet in any of our travels. Both love having outdoor "bucket baths" (personally I prefer a solar shower, hard to find a bucket big enough for me...) and in the case of a toilet a porta-pottie does the job if there really is nothing else around (rare!). Its easy to setup a privacy screen with a hula hoop and shower curtain - has the added bonus of the hula hoop when you're not needing the loo!
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Post by exocet on Jun 9, 2011 20:18:37 GMT 10
Hi Richard, i may be going completely up the wrong path, but we just use one of those instant pop up shower/toilet tents and place it close to the van, or at the rear with a shower connection in the boot that simply would hang straight into the top of the tent. These tents take up virtually no room as they fold into a flat disc shape that would easily fit into the boot when not in use. A porta potti fits in the tent easily as well, its worked extremely well for us for years in our other VV ''Dorothea''.
Cheers James
PS, any news on the freight of the van?
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Post by richard on Jun 9, 2011 20:20:30 GMT 10
That's really good info, Surfingyogini - thank you, and I'll let Dear Wife know.
I was thinking one of those outdoor shower tents would be a good solution for privacy.
Also: There's a pic of the white-walls in my Jaguar thread now.
On that note: Anyone know where I can find a 13 or 14-inch wheel for the van that takes a nice hubcap? I'm thinking I may need to switch to 14" to get a white-wall trailer tyre - they seem to be hard to find in 13" - check the Jag thread in my sig to see what I want to match in style terms.
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Post by exocet on Jun 9, 2011 20:22:19 GMT 10
And as for the Lino Richard you could not of found better, the one in it , which is original is certainly much more grey, but those colurs are perfect!
James
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Post by richard on Jun 9, 2011 20:23:24 GMT 10
Hi Richard, i may be going completely up the wrong path, but we just use one of those instant pop up shower/toilet tents and place it close to the van <snip> That's pretty much exactly what I'm thinking. Shower tent & shower in the boot. An awning in there as well, if I can find someone to make a striped-canvas one. I wasn't able to organise it all for the 10th of June (which was when Treasured Transport would be in Melb). He's next there in another couple of weeks. Are you about during late June?
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Post by richard on Jun 9, 2011 20:31:17 GMT 10
And as for the Lino Richard you could not of found better, the one in it , which is original is certainly much more grey, but those colurs are perfect! Thanks We're thinking that the blue/aqua/green triplet near top right of the lino would drive the colours for curtains, cushions and interior paint. The rich red colour in the lino is close to the exterior bottom half colour - the Jaguar version of the "Imperial Claret" that Rod has on his coupe. The jag will eventually go back to original black, with the section under the chrome side-trip being the same rich reddish maroon. I'm having real difficulty matching the current laminate, looks like it's discontinued. May give up and patch over the chipped bit above the sink with a thin sheet of stainless.
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Post by exocet on Jun 9, 2011 20:43:58 GMT 10
Hi Richard, we will be about in late June, no worries. As with the yellow laminate, occasionally you do see it at garage sales on old tables etc, so you never know your luck, Sharon and I will keep a look out for it on our rounds of the garage sales that we do sometimes.
James
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Post by exocet on Jun 9, 2011 20:47:35 GMT 10
And the striped awning will be a piece of cake, we've got one for Dorothea.
James
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Post by richard on Jun 9, 2011 21:41:46 GMT 10
Here's the other version of the Lino pattern we were considering. Dear Wife quite likes the subdued colour version as well - I prefer the bright version. We won't pick till we've got the whole colour scheme planned.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 9, 2011 23:54:37 GMT 10
Hi Richard, Re the 'internal bathroom' issue, I'm in general agreement with the others who have commented. Given the rarity of your van, I think it's important to maintain as much originality as you can. While there are plenty of V V'ers on the forum who have modernised their vans (and I am not criticising them for that), not many have a van as rare as the finned Kennedys. I'm not sure how old your children are, but we started regular and frequent caravanning with our 3 when they were tiny (the oldest was only 2, and the youngest yet to be born) and the issue of using park toilet facilities never became a major one for us or them, even allowing for the fact that on a couple of holidays we had to deal with them having stomach upsets. Our van has a built in wash basin which we used a lot, but that can easily be replicated by a bucket or basin in the annexe. My other thought, for what it's worth, is that once the kids get to 7 or 8 years old and a bit more self reliant, the bathroom issue becomes less important. Of course we haven't camped in areas where there are no toilets at all, and I guess that has to be considered. Even so what others have suggested re shower tents, etc, sounds workable. My thoughts for what they're worth... Don Ricardo
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Post by richard on Jun 10, 2011 9:49:11 GMT 10
The feedback from people who have gone caravanning with small children has been really helpful - thank you. Dear Wife's decision is that we'll try it for a year with the existing internal layout before we do any permanent alterations.
External shower and a shower tent in the boot, a porta-potti stashed somewhere and we're good.
My preference is to restore it with hidden or unobtrusive upgrades, do a nice interior/exterior, and if in a year's time we decide it isn't the right van for us but we love doing the V V trips - sell it! and buy the correct van to suit us.
If we decide we can't cope without a bathroom, I'll find a Carlight or maybe an Airstream.
From my perspective the other nice thing about this van is that it's much lighter than a Carlight or an Airstream, both of which are well over a ton. I'd rather get started with the lightest van that's a reasonable size and make sure the Jag can cope.
Now, with the "OMG, he's going to butcher it! sorted out - how about some more advice!
There's some questions scattered earlier in here, I'll put them together in one place and "Ask the experts!"
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Post by richard on Jun 10, 2011 12:59:18 GMT 10
Questions & advice requests!There’s a ton of questions here, so any advice or answers would be appreciated, even if it’s only to one or two questions. Axles, wheels, brakes & tyres:The van currently has a live axle, 13” rusty, mismatched wheels, ancient tyres and no brakes. - Brakes are mandatory (for me): Electric or over-ride? I was strongly leaning to electric. For safety related stuff, cost is not really an issue – which is better?
- The wheels need to be replaced, so do the hubs (so I can fit brakes), which probably means a new axle as well... Since I’m basically replacing the running gear, should I get one of the Alko torsion-bar axles? They’re independent and have built-in damping. Full axle, hub-to-hub & including brakes is about $1,200. Anyone know what the same “hub to hub” solution would cost with a beam axle? I like the idea of the van having damped suspension – seems like it would be less likely to start snaking.
- Wheels & tyres: Current wheels are 13”. I’ve been told that once you add tyres, there’s very little difference in outer circumference between 13 or 14 inch wheels. I’d like a hubcap on the wheel and whitewalls on the tyre – check out my Jag thread (in sig) for the car I want to match. What’s a small wheel that I can easily find with a decent chrome hubcap? Any advice on what bolt pattern I should pick? Or does it not matter? Anyone know of a cheap whitewall option with a wide stripe?
Exterior paint:The van seems to be in pretty good condition based on the photos. My brother has some experience of restoring fibreglass boats and he suggested the following process for painting the outside – does anyone think this is good/bad/indifferent? Any other advice or comments? Bro’s advice:- Remove all windows and exterior hardware.
- Do any required repairs (some obvious ones required at front under centre window)
- Mask off windows from inside.
- Sand off “dead” gel-coat until you hit solid material.
- Apply high-fill primer, re-sand. Repeat until smooth.
- Paint with AwlGrip fibreglass boat paint.
Questions: First: Some people have suggested I use automotive two-pack instead of fibreglass paint. It will certainly make it easier to match colours between car and boat. Any comments? Second: Is it possible to get a decent finish using a brush/roller, or am I being stupid and should stop being chicken and learn to use a spray gun? Spraying two-pack makes me nervous – they’re poisonous? Exterior colour scheme: Warm-off-white main body. Lower sides “Imperial Maroon” – similar colour to Rodnet’s coupe. Stainless or aluminium front stone-guard and lower side trims. One-inch black stripe splitting maroon sides from upper half. If you look at the current scheme: White -> White. Pink -> Maroon. Red stripe -> Black stripe. Black at front and grey at side-bottom -> metal sheet. Stainless trim strip round the waist. The other way I could do it would be stainless trim strip round the waist, then black below the waist, them the metal side-trims in maroon instead of “shiny metal” – that would match the Jag really well, but I’m not sure what the original finish on the metal side-panels was. Any comments or advice? Curved Perspex windows: Probably need new ones. Anyone have any advice on making them myself or having them made? I have the existing ones as guides, but they look a bit crazed in the photos – not clear if they’ll polish up. Interior paint: I was thinking Dulux WeatherShield exterior-grade gloss (or semi-gloss?) would be a good choice. I have a little electric spray gun, and I’m not nervous about spaying water-based paint. Top hatches Currently wood, look slightly damaged. Will repair/rebuild frames as required, but I’m very strongly tempted to put a layer of fibreglass on the outside of the hatches and re-paint them to match the new exterior paint. I’ll also try and fit better weather seals, should be invisible Lino: Multi-coloured squares or multi-tone-grey squares? Dear Wife will probably get final say.
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Post by kaybee on Jun 10, 2011 13:45:36 GMT 10
G'day Richard,you're probably not going to take this well.....but from this and your earlier posts, it doesn't seem like there's too much about this van that you're happy with ,and if you're already thinking about selling it off after a short period even before you've actually got it home, well, maybe you should wait a bit longer and have a good think about whether or not it's the right van for you before you launch into a big makeover that might spoil it's authenticity , regards, Col.
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Post by richard on Jun 10, 2011 15:30:11 GMT 10
G'day Richard, you're probably not going to take this well.....but from this and your earlier posts, it doesn't seem like there's too much about this van that you're happy with ,and if you're already thinking about selling it off after a short period even before you've actually got it home, well, maybe you should wait a bit longer and have a good think about whether or not it's the right van for you before you launch into a big makeover that might spoil it's authenticity , regards, Col. Col, I’m not insulted by you being worried about my intensions. I can understand why the “bathroom” post would have set off warning bells from anyone who appreciates “original”. But I promised Dear Wife I would ask the forum if it was possible/sensible/not required, I asked, it isn’t required and now we’re not doing it (thank god). If you’re married, I’m sure you know how it is – wife asks “ Does it have a toilet, could we add one?” – you do as you’re asked and find out. So if people are concerned I’m going to wreck the van, I have no issue with explaining or defending my plans for it. I’m asking the opinion of the forum because I see so much stuff here that I think is well done and I’m hoping that when we do show up to a V V run we’ll get “ Nice work, love how you restored it! rather than behind-the-back whispers of it “ There’s that idiot who wrecked an historic van!” All that said: I’m not happy with the current condition of the van, I don’t think it’s usable as-is. I completely understand the appeal of keeping things authentic and unrestored when possible. I love the fact that there are members here that find "time warp" vans and use them "as-is". But please, go look at these photos – there’s a whole library of interior and exterior shots. I think it needs restoration and a makeover. I'm leaving the interior and exterior layout the same. I'm planning to leave the original laminex in place so long as I can cover the one damaged bit, and hope I can find a second-hand source of the same laminex. I've found the exactly correct exterior lights. The current lino isn't usable, so I'm replacing it with different lino. If the current interior lights aren't serviceable, I'll replace them with the closest ones I can find. I will change the colour of the exterior – it’s already been done at least once, and the current paint is completely shot. I'll might change the colour of the drawer fronts and cupboard doors, haven’t decided, if I do it will be to a late-50s / early-60’s colour scheme. We have no idea what the interior soft furnishings were like, they're gone. So the interior colours will be different to original because we don't know what original was. Again, it will be a 50s/60s scheme. The original wheels are gone, so is the original drawbar and hitch – the guy before Exocet cut it off and lost one wheel. There's nothing authentic left from the running gear other than the axle and springs. It’s probably illegal to run it without brakes, it certainly isn’t safe, so I’m adding brakes. Even if the original hitch was there, I’d look at it very closely before using it. If a sympathetic restoration to as good a condition I can get it in is "spoiling its authenticity", so be it, I'm spoiling its authenticity. If Exocet doesn't like what I'm planning for his van, I will not be insulted if he says I can't have it - I've asked his advice several times on what he'd do if he had the time, he seems to like our ideas for it. I'm also very happy to get advice on ways to fix things up to usable without "wrecking it". If any of the stuff I’m planning is going to wreck it, let me know (I agree that the bathroom would be a blow to its authenticity). As for selling it: It is absolutely not part of the plan, but I have to think about it just in case. My wife and I plan to restore the Kennedy to just how we want it enjoy the process of picking fabrics and colours, finding lights & appliances and doing the work to get it back to usable. My brother is keen to help me paint it, I’ll enjoy repairing the shell – I talk & type for a living, so I get a lot of satisfaction from building and restoring things – using my hands. My point about selling it was meant to be that if it does turn out that we’re wrong and the Kennedy doesn’t suit us, then I’d much rather sell it than add a bathroom. As a restored van in Sydney, it will be easy to find someone who it will suit and I’ll be careful who it went to. Last time I did something like this I spent a long time doing research, then bought my Jag. Plan B if I hated the Jag after a few months or we couldn’t use it as a family car was to sell it, but it turns out I chose well and we love the car and plan to keep it for many years (thus ploughing over ten grand into the mechanical rebuild it needs rather than fixing it on the cheap and driving it into the ground). While I’ve only been active on the forum for a couple of months, I’ve been lurking for over a year doing my research and the Kennedy was on a pretty short list of options I was chasing: Finned Kennedy, Sunliner, Carlight Continental, Airstream Safari (or other 18-21 foot US aluminium streamliner) was my shortlist. Maybe a Carapark. If Exocet decides he doesn’t like my plans for his Kennedy and he wants to wait for the next person, that’s OK, I’ll go back to my shortlist. The Kennedy is in somewhat worse condition that I was hoping for in a V V, so it isn't my "perfect van". But I like the look of it so much that I'm willing to get an unrestored van towed from Hobart to Sydney so I can restore it.
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Post by hilldweller on Jun 10, 2011 16:28:34 GMT 10
Nice lino! Cool van too. I like the idea of it being well-used.
Been checking out lino options over here and the only thing I've found that looks vaguely retro is black and white squares which I like but won't suit my intended colour scheme. No hurry though - rather a lot to do before I need lino LOL. Best of luck with your purchase and refurbishment.
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Post by exocet on Jun 10, 2011 17:55:19 GMT 10
What Richard is going to do to the lovely extremely rare finned Kennedy, it will be one of best this forum will ever see; rarity, class and sympathetic to the era of the van. What more could one want for an old van like her? James
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Post by sutcac on Jun 10, 2011 21:23:55 GMT 10
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Post by richard on Jun 10, 2011 22:02:53 GMT 10
I have over 11,000 posts if you combine the two computer gaming boards I frequent
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Post by firefighter on Jun 10, 2011 22:47:31 GMT 10
Richard One little question .......Do you own this van ......yet f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by exocet on Jun 10, 2011 23:37:18 GMT 10
Hi fella's Richard confirmed late today that a flatbed truck will be at my place on the 17th June to take said van to Sydney. Cheers Exocet
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Post by richard on Jun 12, 2011 13:39:01 GMT 10
Hi fella's Richard confirmed late today that a flatbed truck will be at my place on the 17th June to take said van to Sydney. It's surprisingly painful to organise transport from Hobart to the Sydney for unaccompanied vehicles. None of the normal transport companies will touch anything in Tas due to how much Toll & Spirit of Tas change to take car-transport vehicles back and forth ($3k-ish). So you have to line it up as three separate chunks of transport and get the logistics right at each step. If anyone's interested: If you're on holiday, Spirit of Tas is cheaper, but still expensive ($700 one way for car+van+driver). On it's own (as freight) the van is $1,300 via Spirit or $1,000 via Toll. There are no other choices for crossing Bass Straight. Yes, adding a car and driver to the van drops the cost by $600 via Spirit of Tas....
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Post by richard on Jun 12, 2011 18:53:14 GMT 10
Here's the exterior colour schemes we're considering. Please excuse the crappy photoshop work... The maroon colour is supposed to be "Imperial Maroon" - late 50's early 60's Jaguar colour. Grey panels at the front and bottom are metal. The Jag will (eventually) be black top half with maroon under the curvy chrome trim line.
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Post by exocet on Jun 22, 2011 19:31:42 GMT 10
Well "Lady Penelope" is on her way to Sydney, after one false start, i saw her drive off into the sunset late today............
James & Sharon
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