van hunting

[kingy]

Hi all
Have come across these two vans recently which i thought i'd show you all , seeing we all love to look at van pics.
The green one is on an empty block right on the coast (30mts from the beach) in a very secluded area . I knocked on the doors of both neighbours , no one home
It has a canvas roof and alloy sides which struck me as being strange, never seen or heard of that combo before .
I also noticed that it had two different types of alloy sheet used on the walls.
Now the big bondy is interesting, it is apparantly homemade and the owner says he thinks it is of american origin (the plans)and he knows most of its history
In brief----
15ft long --- canvas roof --- landcruiser wheels(original rims were dodge, same bolt pattern) --- inside is pretty much guttered except for overhead cupbourds --- floorboards --- jones hitch/dolly wheel (actual wheel is inside van) --- last registered only two years ago --- been around Aust 6 times incl. twice to Tassie
The owner will sell it , but neither of us put a figure on it, for someone wanting a big van this could be it , if anyone is interested give me a hoy. Oh yeah, the owner says the van is a jensen or janson pathfinder

Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Hi JBJ,
Your probably right in what you say re. the van being factory built, i was just going on what the owner told me, it certainly did'nt have a homemade look about it. The owner did tell me also that the jones hitch was an afterthought, the previous chassis being to light and the van having to much weight over the front. Just looking at it you can tell she'd be heavy towards the front, so i'd tend to think the hitch is original, maybe his imagination goes walkabout
Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Hi all,
Well, went out a hunting again this weekend and caught a 14' WAYFARER bondwood/alloy van which is complete and original with some water damage but certainly restorable.Stuck a deal with the owner over the phone who lives in Canberra and will pick it up shortly. Anyone know much of the wayfarer history, and are they related to globe trotters at all, they seem much alike.
pics coming soon. Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Hi all,
This is the wayfarer i was on about which comes home on the weekend, i only have to travel 3/4 klm to pick it up which is a bonus.I don't know it's fate at the moment until i go right over it when it gets here, if it needs to much work i'll certainly keep all the goodies it has throughout. I would prefer a smaller bondy but who's fussy, i got it for next to nicks.
stay tuned
Kingy

[groovy]

Richard Pym of Jennison Pathfinder is now involved with Pathfinder Marine, I don't know the man, but might be worth a try for info if anyone has a Jennison Pathfinder.
Greg

[tinnie]

Hi Kingy,
I'll see what info I can get from my father in law about Wayfarer history. He worked for someone here in Gippsland that had the agency for Wayfarer in the late 60s or there abouts.
I hope your new aquisition proves to be good.
Cheers,
Tinnie ;D

[kingy]

Thanks Tinnie,
It would be good to get some info. on it, when it gets home on the weekend i'll take off the water damaged panel/s and determine its future whether i repair it, pass it on, or strip it for bits.
Cheers Kingy

[tinnie]

Hi Kingy,
Spoke to my father in law briefly this morning. I think I have probly "over promised and under deliverd" on the info side. Anyway, he told me his involvement with Wayfarer vans was late sixties. At that stage Wayfarer were building vans in Melbourne - he was pretty sure it was Springvale, as he visited the factory there at the time. Not sure if they built in other states also at the time? Next time he's round I'll show him the pics and ask if he knows anything about the vintage etc of yours (I'm tipping it would be before his Wayfarer days). FYI he bought a new van at the time, full tin on a tandem axle, the tow vehicle for a while was an EH Prem! Unfortunately he doesn't have either anymore.
Cheers,
Tinnie

[kingy]

Thanks again tinnie,
Any news is good news.
Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Hi All,
Well the Wayfarer's home and after a thorough once over was parked down the back till after Coledale. What was concided restorable is now being used for parts being that it failed the screwdriver test where it sunk to often into the ply.For my $50 i get a 2 way fridge, 2burner stove,lights and many hardware pieces etc.



THE HUNT GOES ON Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Howdy All,
Well the hunt continues, found this little number again not far from home (5mins)on a 240 acre property owned by a 90 year old who lives there on his own- -what a legend-- He bought this superlite bondy new as a rolling shell and fitted it out himself. The inside is very basic, but in top nick. It has mk.1 zephyr/consul wheel caps. The front cover over the window is removable , he used that for when he travelled the nullabor back when a lot of it was dirt.
He will sell for what is a reasonable price but i'm not sure it's exactly what i want , plus we've laid out a few $ recently and it has'nt finished yet. If we decide against it and anyone else is interested we'll pass it on --------- stay tuned------
Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Hi All,
Have been tossing a few things around and decided against getting the superlite bondy, for a few reasons the main one being $ but the main reason is i have stumbled across some thing very unique that is made of f/g is a 6o's model and has a holden motor in it -----bet thats got ya's think'in-----.
Might have to sell my78 millard which does'nt get used now anyway (to new)
I'll send photos shortly of my newest find which i think there's a good chance of getting, and if anyone's interested in the superlite i can give you the details.
Cheers Kingy

[Deleted]

I'm guessing a Mr whippy bedford van converted to a camper.
Either 173 or maybe 202.

The bloke with all the old cars in Just cars has a resto Bedford CF van with a reco 186s.
Hoping to get a look at it next weekend if i can get down there for a look at the 1929 Chev - Australias oldest camper.

Wouldnt mind a van for carting my bikes to Vintage rallies.

Anyway Kingy we wait with great anticipation.
Reddo

[kingy]

Very close Reddo
It's not quite a mr. whippy van but a CA bedford debonair camper with a 173 coupled to a T bar auto which i would presume is a trimatic all fitted some time ago and seem ok.Interior needs a little work but exterior is fine
It's a bit of a long story re obtaining pics and clinching a deal, but hopefully will have both soon ;D
ANYWAY, here's a photo of an identical one in the U.K.
I realise not much van content here, but it would make for an unusual tow vehicle i feel Whataya's reckon ;D

Cheers Kingy

[sutcac]

Talking of Mr. Whippy Vans, they found the local Mr. Whippy Ice cream man dead on the floor of his van this morning, covered in hundreds and thousands............. police reckon he topped himself !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[carapark]

I owned a CA Bedford ex Aus post van once, it was a good thing, back then you could drive along with the door slid back (air con)
I fitted out the back with cupboards & a bunk.
The only thing that let it down was the motor, just could not tune it, so one with a Holden red & auto sounds like a pretty good combo.
Gary

[melanco]

Hey Kingy.. The superlite looks great, where is it and could I have their contact details do you think? Any thoughts on what would be a reasonable price? Wouldn't want to offend...

Mel

[kingy]

Hi Mel,
The van is located in Moruya NSW which would be about 9 hours from where you are in Melb.
The old timer who is selling it said he'd like $2000 for it, but if you waved cash in his face i reckon you'd get it a bit cheaper
The exterior of the van is in good cond. and would possibly only need a decent rub back,sealer/primer and paint. Interior is basic like i said and after i left i did'nt recall seeing any form of refrig. I'd say it would be around 12' long
Send me a PM if you wish and we can take it from there
Cheers Kingy

[kingy]

Hi All,
Here's the pics of that bedford camper i mentioned, i've got first
option to buy otherwise it goes on ebay. I really don't know what to do at the moment, It's been rego'd before with the holden running gear so hopefully no problem there, and i don't think she'd take much for new rego.
I reckon Humpty needs something like this with a van in tow to cart his crew around for Coledale. ;D ;D
The vans going for around $2500 which i think is ok
I told him i'll get back to him within a week with my decision
What do you lot think, i think as rare as they are you should'nt lose on it ---- decisions--decisions---

CheersKingy

[hwyman]

Hi kingy I saw one of these go on ebay some time back looks like the same one it had a holden motor and running gear you may have already done your home work but beware of the old it has been registed with this running gear . yeah! but did they have it engineered?
from memory these had a pathetic little 1200cc motor how are those little brakes going to go trying to pull it up never mind with a van on the back . some people rip out the old running gear put in the new (10x the horse power) drive it around like this for 5 years then try and pass it of to a new owner with out a roadworthy (of course). saying it should be right its been registed like this . dont mean to be a killjoy just something worth considering if you have not already .

[kingy]

Hi hwyman,
That was certainly a major factor to concider, the fact it has no eng. cert. that i know of. I've since had another look at it and noticed it was last rego'd ten years ago, which is both good and bad i guess.It probably is the same one you saw on ebay around 12 months ago, the poor guy and his wife that won the bid have never been able to collect it (their from Melb.) since both coming down with major health problems, so it's still parked in NSW
I'm still tossing things around Kingy

[kingy]

Hi All,
Found this old viscount by accident on the weekend, it's parked under a holiday house here on the coast and appears to be in good original condition. The only external damage is on the front L/H panel ( 2 small dents).Had a peek through the front window which was not locked and saw an old roundy fridge by the brand of what looked like SILO. the stove area was shut up.
Van looks to be around 11' and i feel has a lot of potential.
So the usual procedure took place, checked with neighbours, left a message under the door, all i can do now is wait
Kingy

[groovy]

Hey Kingy
That is a find and a half if you can get it, it is one of the original Adelaide built vans the same as the one Mark bought.
The telltales are the name Viscount painted on the side over the window and the narrow opening front window, the Sydney built vans had a much wider opening window.
I would say it is the 12' 6" model, they didn't produce an 11' version at that time to my knowledge, only the 12' 6" and a 15' with single longitudinal beds in the back. We had a 59 model 12' 6", albeit a Syney built version when I was umm, a little younger, it will have a night n day divan at the back and a cafe dinette at the front and the fridge would have been a retrofit, although by the sounds of it a loooonng time ago.
One word of caution, don't try towing this with an FJ, it is to heavy for their brakes, but the FE onwards could cope with reasonably careful driving.
Greg

[kingy]

Hey Groovy, Your right, after refreshing my memory (i knew someone had something similar) and looking back at previous posts at Marks viscount, she would be a rare one. Would love to know what prod. no. she is.
Best i keep going back till i run into someone, or receive a phone call.
The visible rust is'nt as bad as it looks and would clean up ok. Mind you it would take a bit to get looking any where near the condition of Mark's
Fingers crossed xxxxx Kingy

[Deleted]

a good find Kingy ......I've been waiting for another one of these to turn up.

Its better than mine, at least it has the original clearance lights front & rear .......

Mine has FX wheels & hubcaps.....

Mark