will the Quest fit in the shed

[ron59]

Decided that this long weekend is a good time to get the caravan in the shed, but will it fit?
first i had to take the wheels off and pull the axle out so it was resting on leaf springs





well it got half way in



then it got stuck so i had to unbolt the front corner of the shed and jack it up 70mm to get an extra 30mm in the middle and then it went in


now i can start work

[Deleted]

Onya Ron. Just dont forget to jack the shed back up B4 you tow her out again.

Might sound like a silly question but....... how are ya gunna get in the van take a sheet of tin off the side of the shed.
Reminds me of the time i put a 4" lift kit in a mitsubishi 4 X4 van. had to take the wheels off and drag it under the roller door on 4 skateboards with half the neighbourhood inside the van to soak up a bit of suspension.

Necessity is the mother of invention

Reddo

Reddo

[Roehm3108]

Reminds me of the story (apparently true) I read years ago aboout the bloke who had one of those cars with the bubble roof (Messerschmidt or GoGGomobile - not sure any more), who built a garage for it. To save costs he built it as high as the car, drove in, and realised he couldn't get out because it was a lift-up bubble and he hadn't allowed clearance for it!!! ;D ;D ;D
Roehm3108

[ron59]

Yea Yea who said it was Weatherproof and who said it was aluminium. It leakes like a sieve and is really a plywood van in disguise. Theres plenty of room around the van when I take the Fairlane out, just no headroom but I took the hatch off before it went in.

[Roehm3108]

Is that an all timber frame there, Ron??? You sure got your work cut out. Go, Jailbar, say "sorry"!!!!! That "looker" is B A C K .................... !!!

[ron59]

yes its an all timber frame, it looks like it started out as an original plywood van and then clad with aluminium at a later date. Why else would you go to the trouble of painting and striping the ply if you were gunna clad it with aluminium? Anyway the back and front windows leaked ond rotted out all the timber frame and the ply from under the aluminium, so that all needs to be fixed and then the aluminium goes back on. I think its probably easier to polish the aluminium than sand and paint the ply. Jailbarjuice, its okay I wasnt offended by your comments. I think I may be a little insane though cause most non beleivers in old cars and stuff keep telling me so. I dont have any chooks and I reckon I can talk to my wife while WE are working on it Ron

[ron59]

progress report





a shipwright mate laminated some good West Auzzie hardwood for the curvy bits.







I found this insulation good in my house walls so thought it would be good in the caravan walls. Thats all for now. Back to the shed.

Ron

[earlee]

looking really good Ron.
Thats an odd colour electrical cabling you are using - looks like computer cable. The insulation will be good.

regards
earlee

[carapark]

Good work Ron, I had to take the wheels off my Carapark Cardman 14 footer to get it through my shed into the yard. Then I had to build on to the shed to give it shelter.

It came with 3 sets of wheels and none of them let it ride low enough so I had to drag it through.

To get it out again I'll have to permanently raise the roof of the shed, or remove the arches and square up the openings of our drive through garage beside the house!

Keep up the good work.

Gary

[ron59]

She's finished at last. Six months later she was dragged out again, axle and wheels went on and a few other finishing touches done. It went over the pits today and passed for registration no worrys. We are ready to play.



The first holiday will be to Tasmania in January.



Its all worth it in the end. Sorry about the plastic tow car, it's only temporary until the stable mate of the blue 59 Fairlane is finished. It's another Tank but a 61, will be the grey colour of the stripe on the caravan with a white roof. Should have a matching pair mid next year.
Ron

[retro1]

Great resto
love the aluminumum sides its a credit to you.
Would love to see some pictures of the inside
Cheers
retro1

[earlee]

Looks great Ron. ;D ;D

the wheel spats really set it off well. What material did you use to make them?

I love the polished alloy look.

earlee

[WILL AND lYN]

;D
Ron

top resto and a great credit to you another beautiful example of our rich caravanning history
All the hard work has paid off!!!

great work
Will

[ditzygypsy]

Ron and Elaine,

A fantastic job. I remember when Mark and I came over and saw the van. You have done wonders.

I have been kept up to date via Jan ( Elaines's Mum) about your progress.

I would love to see the inside ( if it is ready) did you get your fabric you wanted? The van is a credit to you both..................... and I will not take any apologies about the "plastic tow car" , it is another nice FORD. ( I know that your are using it on the trip hahahahahahaha.)

Would love to catch up again................soon. Mark would love to show off the shed ( hint hint).

lots of love Ditzy.

[earlee]

Ron,

I just noticed the chrome number plate holder/surround on the van, and can't recognize what type of car it came off - do you know?

I really like shiny bits on cars and vans - and you have a PORTHOLE - might be worthwhile rivetting it in place just in case you know who is around! ;D ;D

earlee

[earlee]

just realized the number plate surround looks like an FC holden?

[ron59]

Thanks for the positive comments Gang, I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes ally vans. I'll get some interior shots this weekend. Havn't got the cushions for the dining table/bed yet but the rest is all finished.
Earlee - The wheel spats are made from 6mm ply with plenty of paint inside and out to stop the rot but hey if they only last for a few years I'll just knock up a new set, only took a short time to make them. You've got a keen eye for the shiny bits, yes the number plate surround is from a FC Holden. I helped my brother move house recently and he was gunna chuck it so I grabbed it. Being a Ford person I was a bit reluctant to use it too close to my Fords so I put it on the back of the caravan. you could say its just holden on.
Ditzy - hint taken, we would love to come around and show off our van and to check out the shed. Also need to buy a sticker from you before the big trip. Is Sunday afternoon okay? email us on [e-mail]
See you soon,
Ron

[escapepod]

She's a Dandy, Ron!
I like that almost "fastback" tailend.

Look forward to seeing out on a run with a "tank" in front.

Is the interior all finished?
Yeah, inside pics would be good, since we have all been following your progress.

[ron59]

Here's the inside of the Quest with a temporary matress for the dining table / Bed

[Deleted]

Hey Ron

I almost cry when i think of the number of old vans that i have seen commited to the tip that have been in better condition than your van was when you started this project.
I will have to admitt that i didn't think we would see this van again after your first posting and the bagging you copped about jacking up the shed etc, etc.

Whilever there is dedicated blokes like you, retro and everyone else on this site that has put in 100s if not 1000s of hours work on these old darlings, we can live in hope that some if not all of those old basket cases will be saved from a splintery grave.

I admit that at times i am one eyed biased towards bondwood vans but i can appreciate the efforts people put in on thier hobbys no matter what the material.

Once again congratulations mate - she looks great. I love the interior layout too. Enjoy Tassy in 2006 . i am sure you will get plenty of looks as you motor around the apple isle.

Reddo - Bondys rool OK

[will and Lyn]

;D
the finished product looks Faaaaaantastic Im wrapt in the colours too!
all credit to you Ron
your going to get some long looks towing the quest behind the Tank
If I buy this zephyr van we could almost be cousins Ron aluminium portholes being the genetic link
My Father was born in Hobart Tassie
lyn and I spent a month Touring your great state and to be honest we nearly bought a house down there and stayed permanently
We just luv everything about Tassie except the Temperature
which was the deciding factor to staying in W.A.
the other thing I liked was no population pollution
Enjoy your V Van after all the work you have put in Ron you well and truly deserve it

Will and Lyn