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Post by Don Ricardo on Dec 4, 2015 9:22:44 GMT 10
Hi again Fordprefect,
Great to hear some more details about your Ambassador and its history. Sounds like it's in good nick, and fantastic to have the original paperwork. Only a few of us have that for our vans.
Knowing that the van was built in Sydney, it will be really interesting to see some photos of it which may help us identify any features that might help us identify other Sydney-built Ambassadors. The shape of the wheel arch being possibly one as I mentioned previously.
Unfortunately there is no click and drop function for posting photos on the forum. The 'Add Attachment' button you may have seen is not operating at the moment (long story!). So the most satisfactory way to post photos is via an online photo storage website. There are instructions on how to do it in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum. However, that does require you to upload your photos to another website and a bit of fiddling around. The alternative - as you suggested - is for you to send your photos to another forum member to post on you behalf, and in this regard I would be happy to do that for you.
I've sent my contact details to the email address you used to register for the forum. Let me know if you don't receive them.
Don Ricardo
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Post by Don Ricardo on Dec 4, 2015 20:08:02 GMT 10
Photos of Fordprefect's Ambassador posted on his behalfPhoto showing the round wheel arch:  Interior:  Set up at Rylstone:  Photos of the hubs showing branding:     Fordprefect has done a bit of research and discovered that Watford Axles Ltd is a British company. This raises the question of whether Watford components were used by Viscount in all its factories, or only in the Sydney factory. If it's the latter, then the maker of the axles may help us to know which factory various Ambassadors came out of. Does anyone have any information about the use of Watford components by Viscount or other manufacturers? Don Ricardo
Additional photo provided by Fordprefect on 12 December showing round wheel arches:
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Post by fordprefect on Dec 4, 2015 21:06:18 GMT 10
Thanks Don,
It did however occur to me later, the 5 x 108 may not be English.
the brakes are a girlock 8 inch English type for trailers
The wheel bearings are also larger than Holden, not identified yet
Reards
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Post by playwithme on Jan 7, 2016 18:18:18 GMT 10
Wow great information here thank you for all the hard work currently traveling around in my ambassador but will go through everything to see if any dates are anywhere and post pics when I get a chance
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BlueBird
Full Member
Monica and Shaun
Posts: 209
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Post by BlueBird on Jan 8, 2016 18:39:52 GMT 10
Hi Franklin1, I have a Viscount Ambassador 12ft caravan with the chassis number E1878. It is registered as a 1962, but looking at your photos, it looks like it has the pattern of the 1968 make, however the numbers match up more with the early 1960's make. I'm not real good with posting photos, but you can see a photo of my "Bluebird" on my profile. Thanks, Monica  Hello Monica, The van in your profile picture is very much 1968 if the stripes are original to the van and looks closer to 15 foot. pull the drawers out and look on the underside for date marking in pencil or under the table or under the slide out stove table. most viscounts peices were marked with the original chassis no. , van length and date so they got put into the correct vans after each peice being made. Hi Leeron, Thanks for that. The van is definitely a small one. It is 12foot, maybe 13 if you include the rounded bits at the front and rear. Unfortunately there are no markings on the drawers, but looking at this more, it seems to match in with the 1968's. Thanks Monica. |
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Post by ben1978 on Jan 9, 2016 20:38:02 GMT 10
Hi. Very new to vintage vans. Bought this one home today. Hoping to find out as much info on it as i can. Chassis number is 1364A. Any help on identifying year and model would be great. Thanks Ben   |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 11, 2016 7:59:15 GMT 10
Hi Ben1978, Well done on your purchase and welcome to the forum. I see that no-one has responded to your post as yet, so I'll try and point you in the right direction. Based on the format of the serial number for your van, the profile of the side cladding, and the size and shape of the coloured section on the side, your van is actually post-1969. This means that it comes from the Classic era, as opposed to the Vintage era. I'm not terribly familiar with Classic era vans, but I'm pretty sure that the 'A' in the serial number indicates that your van is a Viscount Ambassador (you've posted this on the Ambassador thread, so you probably already know that?) and the fact that the 'A' is at the end of the serial number rather than at the beginning probably indicates that the van was built in or after 1971 and before 1973 when Viscount introduced a new serial number format. What confuses me a little is that the Viscount logo sticker on the front of your van appears to be late 70's, but perhaps that has been replaced at some point? You can read more about Classic era Viscounts and see some photos on the Viscount thread of our sister Classic Caravans forum - click here. Hope that helps. Don Ricardo |
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Post by ben1978 on Jan 12, 2016 20:58:41 GMT 10
Thanks Don. Yes the sticker is a add on. Under it the sheet metal seems to be embossed with duralvan. Ill look up the classic van page. Cheers
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Post by sailorboy on Jan 13, 2016 11:29:42 GMT 10
This is my van. I cannot see the actual model name on the van as yet as it has been painted over but I believe it is a Viscount Duralvan Ambassador based on looking at other vans of the same age and design. Chassis number is A3456 as welded into the draw bar and marked on the frame on the inside. There is a date (18/12/68) on the ply in back of the van below the sill. I think this would have been after the final QA before the skin was put on.
Stillworking out how to post photos
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 16, 2016 20:47:21 GMT 10
Hi Sailorboy,
Welcome to the forum. Great to hear about your van.
I think you can be fairly confident that the date of 18/12/68 is the build date for your van. A lot of Viscount owners on the forum have found the build date of their van written somewhere around the van on a panel, the bottom of a drawer, etc, like you have.
Subject to seeing some photos of your van, I think the fact that the serial number starts with an 'A' indicates that your van is a Viscount rather than an Ambassador. My understanding, based on Franklin1's research (see higher up this thread), is that from about 1963 or 1964 to around 1970 or 1971 Viscount Ambassador caravans were given a serial number beginning with 'D' or 'E', and Viscount Valiants were given a serial number beginning with 'B' or 'C'. In the early 1960's Viscounts were given a serial number beginning with 'N' or 'V' but then from about the mid 1960's to the early 70's were given serial numbers beginning with 'A'.
Once we see some photos of your van we may be able to tell you more.
Regarding posting photos, the 'Add Attachment' button in the Create Post window doesn't operate at the moment. Instead you need to post your photos via an online photo storage website, such as Photobucket (or Flickr or similar). There are instructions on how to do that in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum. A benefit of using Photobucket or one of the alternatives is that the photos are better posted that way, so it's worth working out how to do it.
We'll look forward to hearing more about your van.
Don Ricardo
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Post by rod68ambassador on Feb 4, 2016 21:12:02 GMT 10
Here is a picture of our 1968 Viscount Ambassador. Chassis number is E3425. It has been in my family since new and I am the third owner. I've owned the "old girl" for 5 years and am only starting to get around to doing anything to it. We take her down the coast for 2 weeks every January and then one or two shorter trips during the year. I would like to know what the original stickers would have been and if the stripes on the side are correct for the age. Cheers, Rod [   |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 5, 2016 14:42:28 GMT 10
G'day Rod68ambassador, Welcome to the forum and thanks for showing us your family's Ambassador. It's always great to see a van that's been in the one family all its life, and has given pleasure to several generations. The design of the side flashes/stripes are definitely right for 1968. If you look higher up this thread you will see there are a number of 1968 Ambassadors shown with flashes of the same design. As you may have gathered, Viscount used to change the design of the flashes more or less every year (not sure whether it was a calendar year, financial year or model year), and so the flashes are one of the important ways we have of dating Ambassadors, and Viscounts generally. The serial number is not quite so easy to interpret, and there are examples of vans with serial numbers which don't seem to quite fit the years we would expect them to, but it's probably just that we don't have enough info yet to be able to understand how they fit. That aside, the serial number of your van seems to be generally right for 1968. Regarding the build date, a lot of Ambassador and Viscount owners have discovered a build date for their van written in pencil on the underside of drawers, in a cupboard, under the table or in the lining of the van. So if you hunt around you may find something similar, although of course you already know the year from your family records. You mentioned the Ambassador stickers on your van. If you look at the photos of other 1968 Ambassadors on this thread you'll see some with the stickers, which seem to be like yours (and fairly faded). There's another example here on a 1969 van that is clearer and may be like yours? There are also some Ambassador stickers available for sale on Ebuy, but I think they are from yet later models again. Hope that helps? What size is your van? Don Ricardo |
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Post by bbqbaz on Feb 16, 2016 19:26:05 GMT 10
I have purchased a van that has a compliance plate of 1980 however I think it may not be correct. It has Viscount Ambassador stickers on front and back and certainly has the interior which suggests this is correct. The Chassis number is 1722E. It also has a double fold down compartment next to the sink that has a small 3in1 oven/grill /cooktop. It is a Flavel B.600 Popular Deluxe oven. I would really appreciate any help someone could give me in working out this vans age. Also the interior is woodgrain but it is a high shine kind of thin crinkly laminate that peels off and is very shiny. Any ideas if and how this can be painted without having to replace panels or strip or the plastic like covering off.
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Post by bbqbaz on Feb 17, 2016 11:55:03 GMT 10
G'day Rod68ambassador, Welcome to the forum and thanks for showing us your family's Ambassador. It's always great to see a van that's been in the one family all its life, and has given pleasure to several generations. The design of the side flashes/stripes are definitely right for 1968. If you look higher up this thread you will see there are a number of 1968 Ambassadors shown with flashes of the same design. As you may have gathered, Viscount used to change the design of the flashes more or less every year (not sure whether it was a calendar year, financial year or model year), and so the flashes are one of the important ways we have of dating Ambassadors, and Viscounts generally. The serial number is not quite so easy to interpret, and there are examples of vans with serial numbers which don't seem to quite fit the years we would expect them to, but it's probably just that we don't have enough info yet to be able to understand how they fit. That aside, the serial number of your van seems to be generally right for 1968. Regarding the build date, a lot of Ambassador and Viscount owners have discovered a build date for their van written in pencil on the underside of drawers, in a cupboard, under the table or in the lining of the van. So if you hunt around you may find something similar, although of course you already know the year from your family records. You mentioned the Ambassador stickers on your van. If you look at the photos of other 1968 Ambassadors on this thread you'll see some with the stickers, which seem to be like yours (and fairly faded). There's another example here on a 1969 van that is clearer and may be like yours? There are also some Ambassador stickers available for sale on Ebuy, but I think they are from yet later models again. Hope that helps? What size is your van? Don Ricardo Hi can you help me identify the age of my van. It has VA stickers to it and has a chassis no. 1722E Cheers
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Post by chrisbne on Mar 6, 2016 18:58:37 GMT 10
Hi everyone, Hope you can help us identify the year of our caravan which we have recently purchased. We were told it was 1978, ad had it as 1974, and some of the fittings make us think it may be 1960s! So very confused. The chassis number is 368E. its obviously been painted on the outside, but inside is original.      
Thanks in advance for your help Chris |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Mar 7, 2016 11:06:45 GMT 10
G'day Chrisbne, Welcome to the forum. Looks like you've got yourself a nice caravan there. According to our best understanding at this point, Viscount Ambassadors from 1964 (when they were introduced) to 1970 were given a serial number with a prefix of either 'D' or 'E' followed by up to 5 digits - so for example 'E3456'. From 1971 onwards at least some Ambassadors were given a serial number with an 'E' suffix , such as your '368E'. That together with the profile of the cladding on your van indicates that it was built sometime after 1970. What is a little confusing to me, is that I have only personally seen 'xxxE' serial numbers with relatively low numbers, ie less than 1,000. So I wonder if Viscount used the 'E' suffix numbers just for a short while before changing to another numbering system. If that is the case, then the fact that you have an 'E' suffix serial number may help you narrow down the date of your van much more than just 'sometime after 1970'. You will probably get further information if you go to the Classic Caravans forum, which is for caravans built from 1970 to 1979. The Classic Caravans thread on Viscount is here. Hope that helps. Don Ricardo Postscript: I commented above about only have seen 'E' suffix serial numbers of less than a 1,000. I've just seen Bbqbaz's post about an Ambassador with a serial number of '1722E'. However, I think my suggestion that Viscount may have changed their numbering system (after 1973 or 4??) is probably still correct. Anyway you should get more info from our sister Classic Caravans forum. |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Mar 7, 2016 11:35:37 GMT 10
Hi can you help me identify the age of my van. It has VA stickers to it and has a chassis no. 1722E Cheers
Hi Bbqbaz, Welcome to the forum. I see that you've asked for help dating your van a few times since you joined the forum, but haven't had much response. Apologies for that - I'm sure it's not that we haven't wanted to help or have been deliberately ignoring you. All of the comments I made to Chrisbne's post about his Ambassador - click here - also apply to your van. In other words, the serial number being an 'E' suffix number, and the profile of the cladding on your van (particularly the sides), indicate that your van was built after 1970. The additional factor with your van is that it has a post-1970 Viscount Ambassador logo sticker on it, whereas Chrisbne's van has a sticker with a logo that may have been used before 1970, and possibly/probably indicates that the van has been refurbished at some point. I think the good folks on the Classic Caravans forum will also be help you narrow down the build date beyond 'after 1970'. Regarding posting photos, I am not sure why you have had trouble putting them up. I see that you are using Photobucket, and there isn't a size limit if you are posting photos that way - in fact Photobucket automatically resizes your photos down to a reasonable size, eg down from 3 or 4MB to only a couple of hundred kilobytes. You should be able to copy and paste the Photobucket URL (address) for your photos one after another into the post you are creating, and they will then all display in the post when you publish it. Don Ricardo |
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Post by chrisbne on Mar 7, 2016 14:55:12 GMT 10
G'day Chrisbne, Welcome to the forum. Looks like you've got yourself a nice caravan there. According to our best understanding at this point, Viscount Ambassadors from 1964 (when they were introduced) to 1970 were given a serial number with a prefix of either 'D' or 'E' followed by up to 5 digits - so for example 'E3456'. From 1971 onwards at least some Ambassadors were given a serial number with an 'E' suffix , such as your '368E'. That together with the profile of the cladding on your van indicates that it was built sometime after 1970. What is a little confusing to me, is that I have only personally seen 'xxxE' serial numbers with relatively low numbers, ie less than 1,000. So I wonder if Viscount used the 'E' suffix numbers just for a short while before changing to another numbering system. If that is the case, then the fact that you have an 'E' suffix serial number may help you narrow down the date of your van much more than just 'sometime after 1970'. You will probably get further information if you go to the Classic Caravans forum, which is for caravans built from 1970 to 1979. The Classic Caravans thread on Viscount is here. Hope that helps. Don Ricardo Postscript: I commented above about only have seen 'E' suffix serial numbers of less than a 1,000. I've just seen Bbqbaz's post about an Ambassador with a serial number of '1722E'. However, I think my suggestion that Viscount may have changed their numbering system (after 1973 or 4??) is probably still correct. Anyway you should get more info from our sister Classic Caravans forum. Thank you so much, appreciate that! |
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Post by trevorh1516 on Apr 8, 2016 13:36:51 GMT 10
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Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 9, 2016 13:54:16 GMT 10
G'day Trevorh1516,
Welcome to the forum, and thanks for showing us the photos of your van.
If you refer to Franklin1's post that commences this thread, the design of the coloured flashes on the sides of your van and the serial number indicate that your Ambassador is a 1966 model.
Don Ricardo
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Post by trevorh1516 on Apr 12, 2016 9:03:01 GMT 10
Gidday Don thank you
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aquamum
Full Member
1968 Viscount Ambassador - Sydney NSW
Posts: 493
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Post by aquamum on May 1, 2016 11:47:05 GMT 10
I recently bought this Viscount Ambassador from a friend in my car club. Year 1968 Chassis Number E6743 Length 15 foot 6 inches and width is 7 feet on 13inch Holden rims. I believe I’m her 5th owner. 1st owners are close friends of the 2nd & 3rd owners, who are brothers. The 1st owners had her as their tourer from 1968 to 1972. She was put onsite until 1984, when a bigger caravan was put on the site the Viscount was taken home to Kurri Kurri, where she sat until 1990. The 2nd owner bought her, used her for his touring caravan until 2010 The 3rd owner then bought it from his brother and sold it to my friend in 2012. There is water damage to the hatch and the back left hand corner too as a previous owner put a modern awning on her. I’ve pulled up the fake timber floor to discover vinyl tiles over the original tiles. I think she still has the original fridge & stove too. I’ve found info under the kitchen table & inside an overhead kitchen cupboard “CXXXNITE CxxxxMIAN - Satinwood Laminated Plastic” and a date stamp of 14 MAR 1968. I have a mobile number for the 3rd owner and plan to give him a call.       |
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BlueBird
Full Member
Monica and Shaun
Posts: 209
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Post by BlueBird on May 1, 2016 21:05:53 GMT 10
She looks great Sandra. It's so great that you have so much history about the previous owners. A little bit more room for you, compared to the Gypsy, Monica |
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Post by babyblue69 on Oct 11, 2016 9:25:23 GMT 10
HI Carl, My name is Christina and I definitely have the brother van to yours! Same interior colouring, (on the reverse of that blue vinyl...is there big blue floral fabric?) but much smaller and a light blue flash. My chassis number is E9200. I'm hoping it's just squeezing into 1969 somewhere... All my handles are in fine order, but sorry...I need to keep them! My sticker also needs to be replaced. If you go to the guy on ebay's website www.rvstickers.com.au He's selling the alumvan sticker for $65. (I know it's only $5 cheaper than ebay, but there you go) He's off now until late Jan- I need to get onto ordering one. I'm off to look at your renovation post. Mine was in super overall condition when I got her in September 2013. I've got her parked in my back yard now, and just gave her a good clean on the inside, but now am in the middle of painting the exterior. Also, my issue is with the roof hatch. We've taken it off, and I can't figure out if it's worth replacing the badly weather laminate on the underside, or if I'll never get the capped pop rivets sorted back on...maybe it's better to leave it all alone, and just give it a wipe. Hi Christina, my reverse seat pattern is a bit freaky and it's pretty dirty so I need to clean it somehow, but it appears to be original. What do you think?
I still haven't found any of the cupboard handles, there's no caravan wrecker near Canberra, so I hope somebody one day sees this thread and has some to sell.
I've found threads about two vans with chassis numbers after mine (E10033 and E10091) that both have the earlier decal so it's definitely the right one. Thanks for the tip on rvstickers, they look great. I'm now pretty sure my van was made in early 1970 because the owner of chassis number E8135 found the date of Feb 1969 inside one of the cupboards. I have no idea how many vans Viscount made each year, but there's 1755 vans between that chassis no. and mine which means they would have had to complete about 5 vans per day (every day including weekends) in the remaining 11 months of 69 to squeeze mine into 1969. Yours is only 1065 vans after E8135, which means they would have had to complete a little over 3 per day, still a lot of vans...
I don't think you can post photos with a quick reply, I always have to quote somebody's post to attach photos.
Cheers, Carl
Hi Carl, Im in Canberra also and have a similar van (keeping me handle tho) Chassis no. E8336 1969   |
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Post by paulff05 on Oct 15, 2016 16:42:57 GMT 10
Hi
I have a viscount ambassador caravan unknown year model but chassis is E866 looks similar to 1965/66 model but left hand front window is not slanted.. Happy to include photos..
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