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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 26, 2012 21:34:07 GMT 10
G'day DonR and Kfisher, I posted some Australian paint advertisements in Reply #14 in the following thread from 2010: Paint choice. Latex exterior paints were available as early as 1957, and possibly earlier because my research at the time only went back as far as 1955. cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 26, 2012 14:38:58 GMT 10
G'day George, Well, there you go! Piecing together the bits of info so far, I believe the writing on the top half says HIRE AND TOUR, and the first part at the bottom says what you said, BAILY'S. That leaves a few letters after Baily's to work out. Plus there's other writing in the middle of the circle. cheers, Al. [Edit: Perhaps the rest of the letters on the bottom half say GARAGE? The writing in the middle of the circle might include the word DEVONPORT?]
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 26, 2012 14:35:09 GMT 10
G'day seeshell, I'll also join in with the "Wow!, what an amazing job!!"-crowd One thing I'm confused about is the previous Bote-Cote coating you applied, versus the recent Norglass coating you applied. Why is it necessary to apply both products?? What does the Norglass do that the Bote-Cote doesn't? (asks he who has only been using B/C and suddenly thinks, "Oh-oh" ) ps. I know you love technical questions (tee hee ). cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 26, 2012 12:06:23 GMT 10
G'day Ben, It's possible your van is from 1969, although it would depend on the chassis number. Having said that, we don't have very much info at all about how the Chesney chassis numbers operated, so it might end up being a bit of a guess about which year your van belongs to. The Pacemaker model was first launched at the start of 1969, and was then discontinued around mid-1972. The name was resurrected in the mid-1970s, and a Pacemaker II series was produced. Your van is from the first series, so it'll be somewhere between 1969 and 1972. You will find more info about these sorts of Chesney vans on the Classic Caravans forum, so even if it turns out your van is from 1969, they haven't shown up on this Vintage forum very much at all yet. Hop over and join up over there. I can vouch for them being a friendly, helpful bunch ... Classic forumcheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 24, 2012 23:14:24 GMT 10
G'day All, I've been reading through some old caravan magazines that I picked up from the Salvos the other day. The following photo comes from the Caravan & Motorhome mag, April 2006, P21... The caption reads: Julie Crisp, one of our readers from Tassie, sent in this pic of a vintage van from Devonport Times Magazine. We thought it was pretty neat, too! Have a squiz - EDI'll leave it to sharper eyes than mine to try and work out what the signwriting on the van says... cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 24, 2012 23:07:29 GMT 10
G'day George, Well, there you go! Piecing together the bits of info so far, I believe the writing on the top half says HIRE AND TOUR, and the first part at the bottom says what you said, BAILY'S. That leaves about three letters after Baily's to work out. Plus there's other writing in the middle of the circle. I'll copy my post above into the DHL section. Perhaps you could do the same? cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 24, 2012 18:23:40 GMT 10
G'day All, I've been reading through some old caravan magazines that I picked up from the Salvos the other day. The following photo comes from the Caravan & Motorhome mag, April 2006, P20... The caption reads: Julie Crisp, one of our readers from Tassie, sent in this pic of a vintage van from Devonport Times Magazine. We thought it was pretty neat, too! Have a squiz - EDI'll leave it to sharper eyes than mine to try and work out what the signwriting on the van says... ps. Do you think that fella in the deck-chair realises the tide is coming in?? cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 19, 2012 13:04:48 GMT 10
G'day playingforlife, One option worth exploring is to get in touch with your nearest Mens Shed, and see if there's an old codger there who might be interested in doing something for you. Being an eastern-stater, I'm not at all familiar with the Perth surroundings, however the Mens Shed website shows there is a shed in Bassendean and Midland, which seem reasonably close to Guildford, according to the internet. Even if you don't find anybody there who is able to help you, they may suggest where you could go to get help elsewhere. Somewhere in your region there will be a fella who is retired, but still tinkers with the sorts of jobs you want doing. My brother does it, usually in his driveway, and word gets around that he does it. Now he says he might as well be back working full time again. All the best with it, cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 14, 2012 15:11:41 GMT 10
Yeah, froggandrach, I be saying mid-'60s for your van, with a coat of white paint added to the original silver cladding. By the late '60s, Escort were using laminated coverings on all the interior furniture, whereas you've got the earlier painted interior.
And tell that fella in your photo that there's no time for sittin' around holding a tape measure. It's time to get crackin' on doing stuff! ;D ;D
cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Nov 11, 2012 13:24:34 GMT 10
G'day star121, Go to this other thread about Viscount Ambassadors and scroll down the separate year sections to see which year you can fit your van into [ Ambassador (by Viscount) - chassis numbers ]. I think you are correct in narrowing it down to 1966/67. You just need to match the side stripe pattern with the appropriate year. And yes, the white paint won't be original, because Viscount didn't start using white cladding until mid-1969. To learn how to post photos, go to the Forum Guidelines and Helpful Hints section cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 28, 2012 20:37:48 GMT 10
G'day DonR, Well, we lashed out and bought a $2.50 Senior's travel pass and took the train up to Sydney today for a look at the exhibition. And what a great exhibition is was too! What I didn't realise when I looked at the internet photos was that each of the large models is not just a shell. In fact, every van has all the internal layout that you would normally see in a real live van. And all the internal parts are ceramic as well, even down to the black and white check flooring that they all got. The detail in each van is actually quite astonishing! If you forgive my amateur attempts to take a photo of the inside of a couple of vans, using my mobile phone camera with the flash turned off, and trying to photograph through a 1" square window that's got perspex on it, you'll still get a bit of an appreciation of the level of interior detail... Van 1: Van 2: Van 3: The largest model was the "Carapark" display (and not to be confused with the Carapark brand)... This model was made up of 12 individual tiles butted together to create the whole scene. Once again the detail was outstanding, although the vans and cars were a much smaller scale compared with the individual larger models. This Carapark model was encased in a perspex cube for the exhibition, and sold as presented like that. The attendant told me it had sold quite early after the exhibition had started (for $30,000), and was bought by a "very private school for display in their Art Department" (her words)... Any models that had not sold by the end of today would be returned to the artist for safe-keeping. The attendant told me that people make enquiries months or even years later after an exhibition has finished, asking if a particular item is still for sale. The gallery will then make contact with the artist and find out. I quite liked the Sandrover model, which is quite eyecatching in the flesh, and hadn't sold by the time we left this afternoon... The exhibition model photographs will stay on the Australian Galleries (Paddington) website "forever", so the attendant told me. Look for them under "Exhibitions -> Previous Exhibitions". DonR, I'd like to see this thread transferred to the "Caravan Models and Toys" section of the forum, if you agree. I think it's well worth keeping a record of what Fairlie Kingston has done. cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 27, 2012 20:54:16 GMT 10
G'day Col, I stand in awe of the quality of work you do on your projects. You never seem to "cut corners", nor strive for anything less than "perfection". This Hawthorn is a real credit to you and Kris, and I congratulate you both for a really beautiful result. On a side note, can you tell me more about your comment, "nearly poisoned ourselves cleaning up the inside of the ice chest .....what a stinky job working with old Gal iron......"? What actually happened, and do I need to be wary of anything if I try to work on the one in my project van?? cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 27, 2012 9:56:30 GMT 10
blacknomad, next time you log in, click on the link at the top of the page where it says: Hey, blacknomad, you have 1 messages, 1 is new.
The details for the Sunliner will be in that Personal Message (or 'PM' as they are also known as).
cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 27, 2012 7:21:25 GMT 10
G'day cobber, When I looked into Fairlie's work a bit more on the internet, I discovered the "Seabreeze" model is actually of the "Sea Breeze Holiday Flats" in Coffs Harbour, NSW. You must have been travelling past in Driftwood at the very moment she was absorbing the lines of the building, heh heh. What I also discovered is that she has in fact done a stand-alone model of Driftwood in the past (in 2009 I think), but I can't find any info about it other than this photo... cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 26, 2012 17:40:02 GMT 10
G'day DonR, That's pretty interesting stuff! And did you notice that once again we get to play the game, "Where's Driftwood?!" when it comes to these sorts of things relating to vintage vans... ...and once again we are not disappointed ;D ... ...although I don't know how cobber feels about the building being called "Seabreeze" instead of that other well-known name "Drift....", ...well, you know the one I reckon with him being a pensioner an' all that, that $5250 is probably a tad more than he's got in his kick at the moment, so if anyone is wondering what they should get ol' cobber for Xmas this year, then the Driftwood model would give him a fair bit of Xmas cheer, I reckon. And if anybody thinks $5250 is a bit much to pay for a pile of ceramic, six of the models have been sold so far! So, get' em while they're hot!! The only other one I readily recognise, apart from Driftwood, is the "Betsy" model, which is based on the "Betsy" caravan that featured in a Sydney Morning Herald article, back in February this year (2012), relating to the upcoming Vintage Nationals in Cowra... I might even mosey up there on Sunday and have a squiz at the models. Might see if I can get a decent Seniors' discount just before the exhibition closes. cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 24, 2012 13:29:15 GMT 10
G'day All, We've just returned home from a 10-day road test of a non-vintage caravan. Thought I'd throw up some of the more interesting photos we took during the trip. We based ourselves at Tamworth NSW (home of the "Golden Guitar" and the Country Music Capital of Australia), and then went daytripping within 200kms each day. Some of the vintage vans sighted around the traps... I don't know whether the van was advertising the Hilton, or the van itself was considered to be the Hilton. The name "Morrison" doesn't come up in a search of the forum... A mid-60s Valiant, wasting away on a farm... Another oldie wasting away in a front yard... A Sunliner (? can't be too sure these days )... Some other photos... I thought I'd discovered the entrance gate to reddo's country retreat, about 10k south of Tamworth, but then I realised the bikes weren't old enough, and were the wrong brand anyway ... I don't see too many of the old mile markers around these days, but this one is on the old Tamworth - Nundle road, near Chaffey Dam. This old road is actually partly buried under the dam wall... A nice bit of craftwork using old corrugated iron... This sign for a footbridge caught my eye... A nice old house to go with your nice old vintage van... ...and around the corner at the church, you can get a genuine original outback dunny to go with the house... Part of the redundant NSW railway system... And finally, a rock having trouble deciding which way to fall... Hope you enjoyed them. cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Oct 11, 2012 19:35:58 GMT 10
Ah yes, it must be the Coledale weekend this weekend... Usual thing to expect: "Severe weather warning for the Illawarra and South Coast regions. Strong winds developing overnight tonight, with average speed 65kph, and gusts up to 100kph. Localised heavy rain may cause flash flooding about the coast." The crap weather continues tomorrow. The Tathra mob were due in Coledale tonight, so they'll cop the brunt of it overnight. Time to batten down the hatches and put the annexe away, I reckon. As I type this, Bellambi (20ks south of Coledale) is copping lightning and thunder as the storms roll overhead, but no serious rain yet nor wind to speak of. Things must deteriorate over the next few hours if the forecast is to be believed. Those of you going to Coledale (or already there) please keep an eye on the weather forecasts, and stay safe. thanks, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 28, 2012 19:35:42 GMT 10
G'day Di, I think you have a "typo" in your details, but I don't know which number is the typo. #3 gauge screws aren't 1/8", #5 gauge screws are. Is it the gauge number you're looking for, or the 1/8" shank diameter? A similar question to yours was asked by humpty2 back in June this year (click here ), so you could try all the suggestions in that thread as well. You could also drool over all these chrome-plated brass screws available in the UK on ebay . They even have slotted heads on them. cheers, Al. Oops, I meant to add in the post that if you really want stainless steel, you can have a look at this mob in the USA. Slotted heads as well. The current Aussie dollar makes good buying in the US if you can't find what you want locally.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 26, 2012 21:03:14 GMT 10
G'day cobber, Congratulations on another mighty effort to support the "Yarts", as Les Patterson would say. I'm curious to know if you get a cameo appearance in these videos you support? Maybe you serving high tea dressed as Jeeves the butler, or even a couple of seconds of you streaking across the background wearing just your favourite footy scarf? I think it would be fun to play "Where's cobber the wally?" when we view all the commercial events your vans have been involved with. Well done, cobber. cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 23, 2012 20:02:39 GMT 10
G'day Koala, Yes, there were quite a few models of Franklins that got these spats in the second half of the 1960s. Trying to find a set would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, I reckon. Maybe an option is to borrow a set from someone else with a Franklin, and have them copied somehow (fibreglass?). cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 19, 2012 10:53:29 GMT 10
G'day Max, I'm thinking 1960 or thereabouts. It has the same windows as my 1960 Newcastle van, and which I think are the second-generation (or third?) style of aluminium windows introduced into the industry. That's a pretty interesting parking brake set-up. cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 15, 2012 11:15:01 GMT 10
G'day Miss Molly, Congratulations on finding a caravan in your own back yard, after circling the globe twice while searching. ;D Funny how that happens, ay?! This Capricorn is one of the very few we've actually seen on the forum. I've just done a search and apart from this van, there was one seen in a caravan park by somebody touring, and another member said he'd had one, but no photos were available. That's about the full story at this point. When you say, "It's 1955 on the rego", was that a typo and did you mean to say 19 65? I've got a caravan and camping magazine from 1975, which lists some of the major caravan manufacturers that were operating in the mid-'70s. The entry for Capricorn caravans says: "CAPRICORN: 57 Plateau Rd., Reservoir, Vic. Custom built units that have gained popularity during the ten years the company has operated. Thick aluminium cladding and full frame construction are special points."Note the words "during the ten years...", which would mean Capricorn started in 1965. The ribbed aluminium cladding on the front and rear of your van was introduced in 1963, and the combination of flat cladding and ribbed cladding around the van would normally suggest to me that a van was built around 1963/64. I would have thought by 1965 that Capricorn would have used ribbed cladding on the sides of the van as well (the majority of others were doing this by '65), but Capricorn might have been a bit slower than the others. OR...your van might actually be from 1964 or 1963, and the "during the ten years..." comment is a bit of a generalisation. Bottom line summary is probably a '64 or '65 van. Halps was never shy in entertaining us with stories about his and his families experiences with the Capricorn. He's a great storyteller, as you can gather from reading these old threads about this Capricorn van: July 2009 : Our VW Kombi funAugust 2009: The Next Chapter in the CapricornMay 2010: The Capricorn Micro Tour 1Dec 2011: building bed and bunksJun 2011: Capricorn Gets a New Full AnnexI've always thought this Capricorn van was quite eyecatching, ever since it first appeared on the forum. The halpsies have obviously looked after it well in the time they've owned and enjoyed it. I reckon you've made a good decision in grabbing hold of it. ;D cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 13, 2012 23:58:49 GMT 10
G'day Trish, Got your PM, and yes it's a 1965 model, proven by the 5 after the hyphen in the chassis number. You didn't tell people you saved this van from the scrap metal yard. reddo would be proud of you! I'm sure you'll give it the same magic touch you gave the Travel Home. ;D ;D cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 13, 2012 13:39:12 GMT 10
G'day seeshell, Seems like more money would be made with a title like "Fifty Shades of Couplings" cheers, Al.
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Post by Franklin1 on Sept 6, 2012 22:41:19 GMT 10
G'day Ray, Who would have thought a cheap second-hand shed could create an environment where such masterful work is achieved! I know a bloke who spent $35,000 on a new shed, and he STILL can't get off his butt and get motivated. I reckon you should explore the option of becoming a plastic surgeon. There'd be heaps of women who would be happy to have the curves you create. Love your work, Ray. cheers, Al.
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