1960s? 12' bonwood/ally caravan

[jr1300]

Hello,

My name is Todd.

Just Joined up in the hope of finding some information/ help.

Recently just purchased this little van for my mum from a gentleman in Keswick. It was his fathers who I'm told had it from new.

He seemed to think it was from 1967. Was enjoyed for many years and eventually parked up in 1984 when it was last registered.

He registered it and drove it back from Mildura last week. It is in great shape and we couldn't be happier with the purchase.

Absolutely zero rot in the wood anywhere, very solid body. Plans are to keep it pretty original on the inside, fresh lick of paint on the outside, clean up the ally and just enjoy it.

I have looked through all but one or two pages on the "down history lane" section of the forum and cant find anything like it in shape.

There is no identification numbers or name anywhere I can see on the van itself or chassis.

Look forward to reading up on the forum and learning along the way.

We haven't even started this project and I'm already on the lookout for something to tow behind my 49 chevy.

Cheers, Todd

[Franklin1]

G'day Todd, and welcome to the forum!

That's a pretty interesting van, and one I can't remember seeing the likes of before.

The cabin shape is almost a mirror image from end to end, which is quite unusual. And the way the corner windows have been made in two parts is different to how we typically see the wrap-around style.

I think you've got quite a unique van, whatever its history may be.

Take a couple more photographs for us and post them here: one showing a close-up of the coupling on the drawbar, and another showing a close-up of the jockey wheel. You never know, they may help to narrow down the origins of the van.

Any chassis number welded or stamped on the drawbar that you can see?

cheers,
Al.

[jr1300]

Thanks for the reply Al.

No numbers on the chassis or drawbar anywhere that I can see.

Here are some pictures of the jockey wheel and coupling.

[Franklin1]

G'day Todd,

That SL coupling has shown up on a couple of other vans on the forum; one a Skyline (ex Franklin), and the other a Coronet. See the coupling in the old tow couplings thread, about 3/4 of the way down the page ( posted Dec 15, 2011 at 12:40pm by webrake4bricabrac ).

Two swallows do not a summer make (or something like that ), but both Franklin and Coronet were Ballarat-based, so it might just be possible your van originated from the Ballarat region. Have a read through the Down History Lane index ( link ) and look for the other brands that were based in Ballarat (like Hunstman, Telstar, Vacation, others?). You might see something that could resemble the style of your van.

I still think the way the corner windows of your van have been made, is an intriguing feature. It might be that your van is a "home-built" jobby, where it was the easiest way for the builder to do it. However, curved corner windows were readily available in the industry around the time your van would have been built, so the use of flat panels is a bit mysterious.

Apologies if this insults your intelligence, but take note of the 2¹/₄" towball requirement for your coupling. These are not designed to be used with a typical 50mm towball.

cheers,
Al.

[jr1300]

Thanks for the info Al I will look into it.
Thanks for the heads up too on the tow ball. I did know about the different sizes but only after discovering this page and reading through the posts on here.
Only had the old girl a week and already had a bloke knock on the door interested in it. Will be getting stuck into the interior shortly. Can't wait.