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Post by cobber on Jan 31, 2014 7:59:51 GMT 10
G'day Mr Conti,
I see a few other trend setters have adopted your suggestion and added their approximate location to their signature ...... but did you notice I took the opportunity to add my location below my avatar also ......... ( can't work these new smilies out though )
Just follow the procedure you gave to get to the 'Personal' tag then go down to the ' Most Recent Status' box and type in what you want to appear under the avatar
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 30, 2014 18:30:40 GMT 10
Good on you Andrew, this thread needs a shot in the arm occasionally. At least we know the year your mark was made ... 1949 and a fair idea when Gypsy 10s was used....mid 1950s. Might be useful info for somebody one day.
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 30, 2014 17:47:50 GMT 10
G'day Jane,
If you read through those links hilldweller has given you will have a fair idea of what I try to do with my vans, thanks hilldweller
But a post that pretty much nailed it home for me was one posted by a new forum member in her first and only post ( so far ) in the 'whatever' section, where it was doomed to die. I liked it so much I copied it so I could regurgitate it ( with Randoms permission ) on appropriate occasions....... like now
This is it,
Preserve, restore, rebuild, wreck.
Posted by 'Random' in 'Whatever' January 27th 2013
Hey guys, not even a newbie, but wannabe. We have been looking at buying a caravan for the past 18 months, and haven't as we couldn't agree on what we wanted/needed. However, in the past week the subject of purchasing a vintage van was raised by my husband and son who started trawling the net doing "research". This then lead to an interesting discussion about the difference in "restoring" v "rebuilding" v "sympathetic revamping". As discussion became circular, I headed to The Google Web to look for some clear cut rules and found you lot. Let me say it has been a Very Enjoyable Read .
Searching through old posts trying to find how to know what to save, and how best achieve that I have come to the following conclusions, and I'd appreciate if you could tell me if I'm on the right track.
1) An almost perfect specimen, with original fittings and fixtures - should be kept as close to original as possible, which means allowing slight wear and tear imperfections to remain as a testament to the vans history. Anything done should be done to preserve the van for the future. 2) good quality van that is less than pristine due to weathering, water damage, poor repairs or modifications - should be restored to as close and as true to original as is possible., 3) structurally sound carcass that has been gutted, cannibalised and/or modified to point where to restore to original would be impossible or impractical for even the truly gifted craftsmen (of which there are in abundance on this forum). In this case, it would be preferable to rebuild in a sympathetic style as it is preferable to keep these vans going in as optimum, usable condition as possible rather than have them junked, or pillaged to the point of no return. 4) structurally unsound - as much as ca n be salvaged to save others of its kind.
A modifying factor for point 3 would be the rarity of said caravan
Is this a fair summation, or have I missed some important considerations?
Random.
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Post by cobber on Jan 28, 2014 18:53:05 GMT 10
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Post by cobber on Jan 28, 2014 5:54:56 GMT 10
G'day Don R,
It is sometimes hard to concentrate on what really matters ..... at my Australia Day event I was beside a recently restored FJ Holden ute, all the screws in the engine bay and the luggage tray were authentic brand new slot heads, and all were perfectly 'dressed'.
I was so overcome with emotion. ............ that I forgot to take photos
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 27, 2014 18:18:17 GMT 10
Thanks for the annual Tuross Head holiday snaps, no matter how many times you visit the place there is always new things to see aye ?
And even if the local attractions become repetitive you can always visit Cruz and see something new.
And a special thank you for the photo of the pipe rack in the Morris Cowley..... you didn't happen to get the PCD of the three stud wheels did you ? And the ice box in Cruz's Carapark Hunter.... did you get a shot of it open ? And the tow couplings ? And the tea towel rails ?
Maybe next year aye ?
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 22, 2014 19:19:53 GMT 10
G'day akeepsake and Miss Molly,
Thanks for the tick of approval ..... as stated above the index will be hard to keep accurate, but at least in most cases the link will get you to the appropriate page, so scrolling up (or down) will get you do the coupling you are looking for.
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 21, 2014 18:47:41 GMT 10
Good on you Sandra, if you set your mind to it you might have it finished for the nationals..... maybe not the Broken Hill ones, but you're sure making progress.
Keep at it
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 18, 2014 18:46:56 GMT 10
G'day drivinglights,
That tour of the UK in 1952 by your Grandparents and mother in a caravan that your Grandfather built himself would have been an adventure not to be forgotten.... that is for certain sure Thank your mum for sharing it with us please
Being 1952 they preempted another similar type of tour in 1958 that we are aware of by a family in a Jennison caravan ( which they did not build themselves) so your family can claim to have set a trend aye ?
English caravan parks then ( and even now I suspect ) were not up to the standard we enjoyed here at that time, but never-the-less camping in a farmers paddock takes a lot of beating. I spent the night of my 70th birthday doing just that on the way home from the Mount Gambia Gambier Nationals in 2008
I wonder if the southern 'Aurora' is still tripping around the old dart ?
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 17, 2014 16:27:34 GMT 10
G'day Doug,
Now that sounds like a great trouble free tour, and it sure is a great photographic tour for the rest of us. Been to a lot of those places but didn't see all you saw and didn't get to have a party every night with other vintage vanners..... way to go aye ? Thanks for showing us all about it .
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 16, 2014 16:06:56 GMT 10
G'day Gertie, Yes Spoonflower is just another place that have a wide selection of fabrics but..... I don't think we can clutter up the list above with all of them, but it's OK to have it here in 'general discussion'......thanks for bringing it to our attention. Spoonflower has previously had a mention in this thread here Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 15, 2014 9:09:31 GMT 10
Yet another nice ice box in yet another nice Vintage Caravan
You can see.the Pilgrim caravan it is in if you CLICK HERE
Cobber
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Post by cobber on Jan 14, 2014 16:32:53 GMT 10
G'day Andrew, You would have noticed that I have had the cheek to brand this coupling a ' Jennison' coupling, and the evidence I use for that assertion are these two photos showing the coupling welded to the chassis as part of its original construction. Problem is... the blue slip people ( in NSW) have been told that ALL tow couplings since the beginning of time were branded with the makers name and max. weight..... we vintage vanners know there are numerous examples of patented couplings without those markings. So....... just make sure the markings " JENNISON. 40Cwt. max." miraculously appear on the coupling and you're home and hosed, I'd fight it all the way to the Supreme Court ............................. ( if I was you , would help if somebody can find the patent application, I've looked... can't find one ) Cobber. Here are some further Jennison Pathfinder photos Jennison has found amongst his mother's things.The first two photos show the framework and A frame for a late 40's Jennison Pathfinder taken at John Jennison's factory in Parraween Street, Cremorne (Sydney):
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Post by cobber on Jan 13, 2014 8:10:28 GMT 10
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Post by cobber on Jan 13, 2014 7:00:30 GMT 10
G'day Jane,
Welcome to the world of vintage caravans... and haven't you picked a fine example to start the journey with ?
We don't see many real live examples of the way Australians first started caravanning in the 30s and 40s but you have got one of them..... a real treasure.
Have you had a look at THIS THREAD about the 'Windmill' caravan I had ? There are similarities and I'll leave it to you to compare the finer details but I tend to think your van is not the same...... doesn't matter, just means it is more likely to be based on the 'Home Beautiful' caravan and I don't think we have seen one of them in the flesh before.
You can see examples of the Home Beautiful van HERE and HERE
I passed my 'Windmill' on to somebody in Victoria..... is that where you are ? Might be interesting if you could compare the actual vans.
Good luck with it.... enjoy the journey,
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 12, 2014 18:17:11 GMT 10
G'day Don R, Many thanks for all the time you have spent recently on the Down History Lane thread, and a special thank you to Donna Ricardo for mowing the grass.... washing the cars.... fixing the leaking tap...and doing all the other jobs a bloke should do instead of playing on the computer and that "silly forum" I sort of know the feeling..... I've almost finished a new Index for the Tow Coupling Thread.....but that has only taken one day, I know you have been working on DHL for weeks...... and weeks but it is a resource on the forum that many people refer to often..... even if they don't say so Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 10, 2014 15:00:30 GMT 10
Thanks everybody for the posts above, grist to the mill they say,
Looks like your test works Al
Now here is a very unique tow coupling fitted to a 1949 Jennison pathfinder caravan ( thanks Andrew, I hope you're able to hang onto it during the restoration )
And as evidence of its authenticity look HERE
Cobber
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Post by cobber on Jan 10, 2014 8:51:50 GMT 10
I've just been looking at the options available when you click the gear wheel in the top right hand corner of any post. There is an option called "Link to Post" which might substitute for the Reply # system of reference. You can either have the linked post show as part of the original thread, or you can nominate for it to show independent of the thread. See my dummy links in the post I just created in the Tow Couplings thread And Don R said, [/font][/quote]Hi Cobber, You're right about not having the 'Reply #' to refer to. That was really convenient. But on the other hand it was also a bit of a pain when posts got deleted from the thread because Reply #58 would then become Reply #55, etc, so the reference then became not very helpful. Maybe what we need to do now is to make a reference to the person making the post and the date, eg 'post by Cobber on 13 May 2009'. Then the reference will continue to be valid even when posts are deleted. Of course if a person posts on the same subject several times on the one day...but who would do that? (Except thee and me! ) Does that mean you need to go through the Tow Coupling index and re-reference the posts, and I need to go through DHL and... Don Ricardo [/quote] G'day Don R and Al franklin1,
Gee I love the way you young blokes accept the challenge and come up with solutions to these big issues ....... Me, I was going to make excuses regarding the Tow Coupling index like..... "Even though the Tow Coupling Thread has had 23353 views the actual Index has only had 1963 views so is it worth keeping ? " ( and half of those views would be me looking at it and trying to keep it accurate )
Not sure how either of your ideas would apply to the tow coupling index and the way it is presently structured, in the case of 'Dymwood' couplings it makes at least 10 appearances spread over 9 pages... WE'LL have a look at it aye?
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 9, 2014 18:25:56 GMT 10
Hi Akeepsake, Re the tow coupling, if I don't say this Cobber will... Most states allow you to retain original fittings on a restored vehicle if they are in a working and safe state. You may have to argue the point because sometimes the rego authorities don't know that part of the regulations. There's a thread in the Technical Stuff section on this topic (near the top). Don't know what the rules are in Tassie but worth investigating. Can't wait to see the next post! Don Ricardo Bit rough when one of the moderators start pinching a blokes lines... but he's right Andrew, as long as it's working the way it was when they made it, AND the van is being restored to it's original state.
The only point they might get you on is if the coupling has no makers name or max weight limit marked on it......... a set of metal stamps before you visit the blue slip man will overcome that potential problem ( keep that little hint to yourself.... OK ?
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 8, 2014 19:52:51 GMT 10
G'day f/f, You said... "Thumbs up button.......been removed another facebook like thing not need here ...just my thoughts ...it can be returned" Well said I reckon.... you're worth more money, well ............................................................... at least a 'like' or two Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 8, 2014 13:50:43 GMT 10
G'day f/f,
It could get a bit chockers up there if Reddo posts a funny that 2583 members 'like' ..... I notice that the 'Classic' forum don't have that 'thumbs up' symbol on their site... what do you and the Mods think.... is it a good feature, or not ?
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 8, 2014 12:25:39 GMT 10
Thanks Al, do you mind if I quote you ?
How about the new 'thumbs up' button over there on the right? If you like somebody's post but can't be bothered responding, or feel you have nothing to add to it, you can give them a 'like' .(.thankfully, I don't see a 'thumbs down' button, that could be embarrassing aye ? )
How about that.... you can even 'like' your own post
That business about posts not having a 'post number' anymore makes a mess of threads like the 'tow coupling' thread and it's INDEX PAGE .... not sure how we can get around that, aye ? l Just did a hyperlink there ....see if it works
Cobber..
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Post by cobber on Jan 8, 2014 8:39:05 GMT 10
Well done Andrew,
It really is good news to see an old vintage caravan icon such as the plywood Jennison Pathfinder pursued and picked up by a keen enthusiastic young restorer such as yourself. I look forward to hearing the rest of your story about the recovery and then the restoration of this old gem.... good luck with it.
Cobber.
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Post by cobber on Jan 7, 2014 19:14:44 GMT 10
G'day and thanks Don R, That does clear up the method of finding posts by a particular member... and that is good As pointed out by Al in the post below it was useful to be able to sort the number of 'views' or 'replies' in those particular columns...... I can't see if that facility is still available Am I wrong again ? ( I hope you are smiling again ) Am I right in my reading that........ more than one 'attachment' can now be added to a post (depending on the size, which now appears to be more liberal than it was previously ) Cobber. G'day jhuxley, Good on you for wanting to educate yourself before taking the plunge. There have been people who have gone the other way - frantically grab a van and then wonder what they do with it to fix it up. I always think new people could do themselves a great favour by reading through the completed restoration threads in the "Members Photo Album" section. There are currently 46 pages of threads, with 25 threads per page, which means you could read about 1,150 van restorations if you wanted to. You would be more educated than the rest of us if you went to that trouble. The way to narrow down the Members Photo Album to see the popular restorations is to do this: 1. Open up the Members Photo Album section. 2. Across the top of the list of threads there is a dark blue band, with the column headings "Subject", "Started by", etc. Click on the actual word Views above its column, and all the threads will be sorted according to the number of views they've had, from 'most' to 'least'. Usually you'll find the threads with the most views are the threads that have fairly comprehensive restorations involved. You would end up being fairly knowledgeable if you read all the threads on the first two or three pages after you sorted them according to the number of views. cheers, Al.
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Post by cobber on Jan 7, 2014 16:50:10 GMT 10
Can I just remind everybody that right at the top of the page .... under VINTAGE CARAVANS there is a tool bar .... Home. Help. Search. Calendar. Members. Profile. Bookmarks. Messages.
If we click on the 'Help' button we can find the answers to a lot of the questions we might have
Cobber.
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