Carlight Continental 17ft

[humpty2]

Amazing that just after UK Brian showed us some 'Pommie' vans on this site, guess what I found!!!!!! A Carlight Continental

The van does need some (ha!) restoration.

Just 1 photo at this point, more to follow soon.

The only problem towing it back to Maitland from Laurieton was that a small hatch blew off and wrecked the windscreen of the following car...........and the hatch!!!


Well I've given Phto#$^^&$^%&** about 20mins with NO results,
1 more go....no go....... I get past PB then can't paste onto thread

[humpty2]

See what a bit of bloody persistance can do.

[Geoff & Jude]

Hi Humpty,

Very nice ;D ;D ;D.

C'mon we've waited patiently for a look - how about the inside?? Pleeeeeease. Is it or

Jude & Geoff

[firefighter]

::)Hi humpty

great find .......how did you find it
by the front of it ...could it be marvins cousin
F/F ;D ;D ;D ;D

[cobber]

That's great Humpty,

A fair dinkum ridgy-didge true blue certified pommy caravan on the forum now ;D .
Do you know the story of how it came to be in Australia, you would wonder why somebody would cart a van from the U.K. to Oz in the 1960's, we had reasonable vans here then
Yours is very much the same as the one UK Brian posted at
vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1179060034&page=1
(bit of a surprise to find one down under Brian? )

The fiberglass front and rear are separate pieces to the roof aren't they, so that they were able to vary the length of the van just by fitting longer or shorter roof sections between the two ends, pretty tricky.

Plywood sides Humpty ??

Bad news about the hatch mate, that could have been real bad eh?

Cobber.

[Geoff & Jude]

hi humpty

nice looking van there, pity about the hatch - is it repairable or will you need to source a replacement from england.

had a similar problem when the fargo was brought down from tamworth. it arrived on the back of the transporter without the wooden tray on the back.

it 'flew off' near murrurundi and smashed the screen of the following car - the police were holding it in their yard pending an investigation. it arrived home about 2 months later.

geoff 'n jude

[humpty2]

I could probably make my own hatch it was perspex.about a foot square, with about a 1" lip......there are 2 (now 1)

The sides are (in small print) flat aluminium......the interior looks like they killed Sherwood Forest for it!!.

So now I have a Fibreglass top and ends, with aluminium sides...and a mass of wood inside, caravan.

This is a restoration job.....don't expect it at Coledale!

Iwill put more photos on over the weekend

[lulu]

That is so

Nice work Humpty

[ukbrian]

Humpty

Great to see the pic at last. The Carlight is recognised as the Rolls Royce of Caravans, and so an emigrant from the UK is likely to take one with him when going to Oz.

If you do need any Carlight specific bits from the UK, just let me know and I'll do what I can to help. It would be my way of repaying the kindness shown to me by other members of the forum (they know who there are!)

Brian

[humpty2]

Does that mean I now have to buy a Roller to tow it .

I was intending to probably go with a Rover P5B.

Thankyou for the kind offer Brian, I will keep you in mind should I need anything for the Carlight.

[ukbrian]

You might see the Carlight looking down its nose at a Rover P5, but it would still make a great outfit.

I expect you have already found the manufacturer's website at

www.carlight.co.uk

On their restoration page is this Continental that they restored at the factory and the owner pulls it behind his 1960's Bentley Continental.



There was a Classic Car magazine article about this outfit a few years ago. It'll take me a few weeks to find it in my mag collection in the loft. From memory I seem to recall it cost him about Ausd 50,000!

Do you know that Carlights originally came with a full bone china crockery set all marked with the Carlight logo in Gold leaf with caravanning scenes on them - plates, cups & saucers, even a teapot. A teapot sold recently on ebay for Ausd 500. Has to be the finishing touch to a full restoration. You will now astonish me by telling us that yours has a full set already in it!

Brian - from the home of Rolls Royce and the Rolls Royce of Caravans!

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Brian and Humpty,

The bone china crockery set sounds very classy. I haven't heard of something like that before. Somewhat outclasses the melamine dinner set in our van, but something to aspire to, eh Humpty?

Brian, do you suppose that the gentleman in the Carlight and Bentley would be accompanied by a small two berth Carlight towed by a Wolseley or Land Rover which would provide the quarters for the butler while on tour? Or would the butler stay in a nearby 'otel?

On another topic, I note that the Carlights appear to have the doors on the road/driver's side. Given that the UK drives on the LH side of the road like us I was a bit surprised by that. Do you know of the reason for that Brian? Is this common to UK vans and/or does it reflect the fact that some Carlights (and other brands?) were sold to the Continent?

Just wondering.

Don Ricardo

[sportsman 1]

Hey Humpty2,

sounds like a terrific project. As far as a tow car why not consider a 1959-62 Vauxhall Cresta. Top looks, good reliable mechanicals, relatively easy to get parts for!!!!!!!!!!!


Cheers for now,

Leigh.

[cobber]

Don,
Excuse me for butting in but Brian is probably sound asleep at the moment.
You may have made that comment in jest but it is true, caravans were made that provided accommodation for a chauffeur/steward or maid (sounds like a good idea to me ).
One such manufacturer was a mob called “Raven” whose Dominion model had three rooms, five berths, three outside doors, toilet room, bath, gas cooking lighting & heating, ventilated & heated coat cupboard, cocktail cabinet and so it goes... on and on, and this was in the 1930’s .

Humpty’s van (lucky bugger) has a door on both sides. The one on the off side gives access to the toilet which can also be accessed from the inside (lucky bugger).
If I tell a fib pull me into line Humptyluckybugger .

Cobber.

[Geoff & Jude]

hi there cobber

i had a look on the net for raven vans and this is all i could find.



not sure where you'd fit the 2nd and 3rd room though, not to mention the butler.

you can see more of it at www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/ravencaravan.htm

geoff 'n jude

[ukbrian]

The door on each side idea was common on the top quality caravans in the 60's both to give access to the toilet but also so the vanhad a nearside door even when travelling in mainland Europe where they drive on the wrong side of the road.

For the brochure including plan of Humpty's Continental:

carlight.co.uk/corporate/brochures/60s.pdf

I see it weighs 26cwt, (1.3 tons) so a PA Cresta might be a bit light for good balance. Do you have the 85% rule in Oz? (The van should not weigh more than 85% of the car's weight when fully laden). A Rover P5 should be fine.

Brian

[cobber]

Brian,
that's a great link, should be very useful for Humptyluckybugger.

In N.S.W. (and it may be different in other states of Australia) newer model cars stipulate the Max weight their cars can tow.
If the manufacturer hasn’t done that the RTA says the towed vehicle must be no more than one and a half times the unladen weight of the towing vehicle if the towed vehicle has brakes, and if it has no brakes it cannot exceed the weight of the towing vehicle.
Anything over 410 kg loaded weight must have brakes, this may have changed because I have also see a document that indicates brakes are not required up to 750kg, anybody had experience with this.

The above statement is uttered in good faith and is open to correction by anybody who knows better .

Cobber

[Franklin1]

G'day Cobber,
The NSW RTA has a document entitled "Towing trailers, Things you should know" located on-line at:
www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/2005_10_towingtrailers.pdf

As many know, in NSW caravans are classed as "trailers" so all the info in the document is applicable to caravans. The document is chock-full of useful info relating to towbar capacity, trailer weight, towing ratios, brake requirements, etc etc. It states that 0-750kgs do not require brakes (the regulations actually state loaded weight, which is interesting because Franklin Freedom weighed in at 750kg "empty", and the rego papers say "exempt brakes". If I load it up with holiday stuff, it is going to go well over, and I should therefore have brakes on it. )
All in all, this is a very informative document, and one well worth reading for NSW vintage caravan enthusiasts.
cheers,
Al.

[humpty2]

I wish I could say the crockery was there but alas....................

Yup 2 doors, the one on the 'wrong side accesses the main entertaining area where the cocktail cabinet and lounge is, adjoining the dining room. The rear door on the 'right' side gives access to the kitchen area, but you do go past the toilet/shower area, that can be isolated from said kitchen with a door......lotsa thought has gone into this van. The fly screens pull down like a blind!
The wardrobe door in the lounge/bed room concertinas to close the lounge/bedroom off from the dining room.
I will only keep the gas heater and gas lights for show I think....but then"Colddale"!!!
Don't expect to see it on the road too quickly as it needs new carpet (best Wilton old boy), upholstery done in 'tastefull' tapestry, some woodwork of course and new curtains.
The kitchen is full of cupboards and great ideas.photos over the weekend....if I can find out how to post multiple pics instead of one at a time.
Hope I can get to it, just started raining again.heavy!

Tow vehicle must be British old chap, large, comfortable,V8 and have disc brakes.Except for a Roller there is only the Rover eh?

[Geoff & Jude]

hi (sir) humpty

for the discerning v.v'er, when only the best will do.

cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200117657502&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:middle:au

tally ho old chap

geoff 'n jude

[Don Ricardo]

G'day everyone.

Cobber you never have to apologise for butting in as far as I'm concerned. You always add something interesting to the discussion, and I must say that this time you've taken the wind out of my sales. I thought I was making a clever little joke, but I should have known better!! Just goes to show that UK and Australian V V's developed along somewhat different lines...actually very different when you consider some of the materials and layouts used.

Cobber, Brian and Humpty, thanks for the explanation about the doors. Makes perfect sense once you think about the flexibility of two entrances both in terms of accessing the toilet and second bedroom area, and travelling on LH and RH drive roads. Living in Australia you tend to forget that you can move from one to the other with a short ferry trip (and now train trip).

Humpty given that your van is a Continental, it seems to me that the only way to go vehicle wise is Geoff 'n Jude's suggestion. Imagine the reaction when you pulled into an Australian caravan park with that combination!!

Brian's comments about crockery has given me an idea though. We've been talking about a vintage caravan sticker. I reckon we're missing the mark. If we really want to make a hit we need to come up with V V dinner sets. I'm sure we could get Wedgwood or Royal Albert to come to the party. Anybody who wants to have their van and car combo on a dinner plate or a soup bowl can send their application to me. We should have it all done in time for Christmas - the perfect gift for your spouse or mother in law. Think how proud you'll be knowing that the V V'ers of Australia are eating their dinner off the side wall of your van! ;D

Enough wild thoughts for now. Just looking forward to more pictures of Humpty's van once he can get photobucket to behave. Tell it you're the owner of a Carlight, Humpty. I'm sure that will make it realise it has to behave for you!

Don Ricardo

[sportsman 1]

Hi Don Ricardo and others,

quick thought on your suggestion re dinner sets, for us Teardrop enthusiusts where weight and space is always at a premium how about some printed paper plates and plastic or foam cups!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people reckon Teardrops are at the poor end of the V V spectrum??

Leigh.

[cobber]

Hey Humpty,

Here is another site to give you some idea of the standard of restoration you should aim for
www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2002/07/22/emvan22.xml&site=14&page=0

Cobber.

[Geoff & Jude]

hi cobber/humpty

that drayton restoration looks like the van used on the carlight restoration site.

he does mention he had the work done by carlight.

(hey humpty - looks like you'd better do a top class job on the old girl - if you think you're not up to it, we're prepared to buy it sight unseen).

geoff 'n jude

[Don Ricardo]

Nice suggestion Leigh! Real classy. I'll look into it when I'm negotiating with Wedgwood. I'm sure they'd be into a range of paper plates. They probably just haven't thought of it ;D ;D

Don Ricardo