|
|
Post by maplegum on Dec 7, 2015 19:39:58 GMT 10
Polishing. I'd rather Chinese water torture thanks. It ruined a fun resto for me! And we still aren't finished with the exterior of our van needing a paint!
Your van is coming up great! All of the hard effort pays off and you'll be away on trips enjoying it real soon by the looks of it.
|
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Dec 8, 2015 7:01:57 GMT 10
Polishing. I'd rather Chinese water torture thanks. It ruined a fun resto for me! And we still aren't finished with the exterior of our van needing a paint! Your van is coming up great! All of the hard effort pays off and you'll be away on trips enjoying it real soon by the looks of it. Oh I know what you mean with the polishing. I gave 2 windows a go then gave up. Mr JP brought home a bench grinder with a polishing wheel and I have left it to him to finish haha. We have decided we are only going to polish the roof and trims then just clean the side cladding I dont know if we would survive polishing the whole thing haha. I hope it will be at least usable by Australia Day as we are going away and would love to take it. But still a lot to get done by then. |
|
|
|
Post by mel on Dec 10, 2015 9:35:41 GMT 10
Polishing. I don't ever want to hear that word again. I went over the entire van with a wire brush on a drill, that is months of my life I will never get back!! It then took three layers of purple polish applied by hand to get a half decent shine. After looking at the before and after photos, it was worth it but it was such hard work.
|
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Dec 15, 2015 9:54:38 GMT 10
Week 8 has come and gone and slowly but surely we are still making progress on the resto. With Christmas fast approaching and the hotter weather starting to set in only a few nights have been spent on the van this week. The husband is still avoiding the windows at all costs and but I think I might get stuck in to finishing cleaning off the old rubbers so he can give them a quick polish and hopefully start putting them back together... a girl can dream right  This week during his procrastination on the windows the husband has wired up the clearance lights, and connected the surface sockets on the front for the tail lights.  New double pole powerpoints also went in.  The screen door got a new coat of paint.  Then at the height of his avoidance of the windows which really who could blame him? He also started to polish the roof which needs to be done before we put the hatch back on, which he also finished this week.   Next up, finish off the door and yesterday I ordered some 300 odd new slot head screws for the cladding so guess what I'll be doing over the next week or so.... |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Dec 23, 2015 9:59:55 GMT 10
I'm starting to loose track of the weeks but I think we are at about week 9 now and we are still slowly happening Last week was HOT! So very little time was spent out on the van except on Saturday (which was the hottest day I might add) I came home from work to find the husband in a hot shed cleaning the window frames. We managed to get the little window over the kitchen back together but when we started on the other side windows we discovered that once we put the rubber on they where too big for the frames.... Thankfully the plastic fabricators hadn't yet closed down for Christmas and where happy to cut them down a bit more... I think we owe them a 6 pack or something after the amount of times we have needed to go back to get things fixed. on Sunday the husband had a go at polishing the roof and put in the corner windows.   he also painted up the rims and on Monday with a little help from the kids they went back on the van. he found a pair of Holden hubcaps lying around at work but one is a little worse for wear so he is now on the hunt for one more!   We we are both on holidays for a couple of weeks now so after Christmas maybe we might get the Rest of the windows back in and even possibly the hatch and door back on but don't hold me to that |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Dec 30, 2015 16:34:34 GMT 10
10 weeks in and we have a door and windows!!! Well 8 out of 10 windows anyway. the 2 rear fixed windows still need to go in but in the best interest of our marriage I think That's a job better left to the husband and the father in law to attempt instead of me trying to help.  So today to celebrate we went shopping for inside the van stuff namely curtains and flooring. our original plan was to stick with yellow tones to match the table and bench tops but after re doing the cushion tops and with the ceiling being a turquoise colour we have now decided to go that way instead. Which means we won't be using those "lovely" vinyl squares the husband originally brought home (thank goodness) our first stop stop today was the deep dark corners of the flooring store and in those deep dark corners we hit the jackpot! We found a few half boxes of a commercial grade vinyl composition floor tile in look very similar style to the original lino tiles but in shades of grey and white which will work perfectly with the new color scheme. Fingers crossed we have enough of each color to replicate the original pattern...  our next stop stop was good old Spotlight for the curtains, after about half an hour of torture on the husband and kids we came out with some sheer curtains for the corner windows, venetians for front centre window and the rear fixed windows plus the last metre they had of perfectly matched turquoise fabric for the side windows... fortunately Spotlight now sell fabric online (where would the fun have been if I told the husband this before we went in haha) and I have ordered the remaining curtain fabric I need for all the windows.  Next at up is putting in the 2 rear windows and getting the hatch back on... Hopefully we don't need another trip to get Perspex cut |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 5, 2016 21:21:35 GMT 10
Week 11 of our little resto is done and dusted. This week the husband has polished the hatch as well as finished replacing and painting the ply around the inside of the opening in the roof. We decision to paint it white instead of the same color of the roof came because we had a lot more of gloss white left than the roof color. Then yesterday afternoon the hatch went back on. He also made a start on re sealing the roof.    We have started to put the window stays on (one window down ) but not after discovering the rubber that we originally got for behind the top of the window frames turned out to be too thin and caused the windows to sit at a bit of an angle making them not want to close properly. So yesterday we made another trip to the rubber man to get something a bit thicker.  Then today with the help of the Father in law the 2 rear fixed windows started to go back in. We still need to put in the locking strip which will likely happen tomorrow. The tail lights also went on. The van is getting so close to being water tight now with just the edging strips and the remainder of the window top rubbers and stays to go (plus a whole lot of sealing  )  With things on the outside moving along nicely, I'm starting to turn my mind to the inside. I have had a bit of a debarkle with the fabric I chose for the curtains this week. after ordering the rest of what I needed online, I was informed that they didn't have enough in stock, I ordered more than I needed so thought I'd just take what ever they had and hoped it would be enough. All would have been well and good but turns out no one could tell me what was available, they don't have access to online stock levels and was suggested I just keep placing orders with different amounts until my order was successful keep in mind that I would have to pay for every order up front and wait for the money to be refunded at a later date (great customer service right there I tell you). But after a couple phone calls, I found what I needed at the Whyalla store and they where more than happy to send it out to me and I should see it next week. Next up, sealing, window stays, and the fun stuff... The inside! Till next time. |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 11, 2016 13:48:15 GMT 10
12 weeks in and we are starting to get to the pointy end of our little resto. this week has mainly been spent inside the van. The husband installed the Venetian blinds on the rear fixed windows and the front centre window while with the fabric I had I made the first of the curtains and valance for the front centre window, the rest are at the mercy of Australia post, hopefully I'll see the package by the end of the week.   We also both managed to put a knee through the Masonite on the rear bed so that has been removed and needs to be replaced . This also means and I can finish of painting under the bed easier than if it was still there. I also started to clean up the old stove and fridge, turns out the fridge still works all 3 ways which is a bit of a bonus, the panel on the front is a bit worse for wear so we will need to do something with it to make it look a little better.  Late yesterday afternoon we started to lay the flooring, the original pattern had the tiles in more of a stepped pattern, but with us using bigger tiles than the original ones it looked very clunky so we opted to lay them in a chequered pattern instead.  I know it's a long shot but, Does anyone know where we could source 2 of these window latches and one of these handles? They are the last things we need for the interior and it would be nice if we could keep everything matching but I have a feeling we will need to use something else. 
 lots of little things left to do now, maybe the idea of taking her away in a couple weeks might just come to be. We will have to wait and see though. Till next time. |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 17, 2016 23:02:23 GMT 10
Week 13. 3 months to the day since we brought our little Harris van home, there is still more to do. But, what a way she has come from that little sad and sorry van that followed us home.  This week we have been busy trying to get things finished so we can take her away for our Australia Day long weekend. For the girls, the rest of the curtain fabric turned up Monday afternoon so a lot of time was spent in the sewing room this week finishing off the curtains and fixing the privacy blind. The blind had a section of water damage and was quite fragile across the bottom 20cm from the old roof leak. I considered replacing it but in the end I couldn't bare to get rid of It so instead I cut off the damaged portion And added a new hem. We had planned to use the original fly screens but on pulling them out they where in worse condition than we thought so for now we will go with out and eventually we will replace the screens in them.  We also finished laying and polishing the floor, with enough tiles left over to inside the seat boxes as well.  The panel in the fridge door had some rust spots and looked pretty average, so for the short term I have covered it in the same fabric as the seats to pretty it up a bit and once the husband gets a chance he will cut a new one to replace it.  The screen door and the table went back in and a new bed base has been made and will be fixed down after the husband is finished hooking up the new bigger water tank.   More cleaning and sealing on the outside this week too,. after a good scrub and polish the edging strips have all gone back on and the front and rear towel rails have been replaced. The husband also finished wiring up all the lights and 12v system. Today, the van left the driveway for the first time since we brought her home, the husband took her to his work and put her up on the hoist to check out her undersides and clean and paint the chassis, plus he also install the water tank and a few other bits and pieces.    |
|
BlueBird
Full Member
Monica and Shaun
Posts: 209
|
Post by BlueBird on Jan 18, 2016 8:19:31 GMT 10
|
|
|
|
Post by seeshell on Jan 18, 2016 20:13:48 GMT 10
Congratulations on such a successful and charming restoration! How wonderful that you've been able to retain many of the interesting features such as cleverly reusing the cushion vinyl with new toppers. I think that the fabric and colour choices are spot on. I went back and had a look at where you started only 13 weeks ago - and she was certainly looking a bit sad and neglected. The effort with the windows, polish, even the flooring has been well worth it, and will put her well on her way to the next 50 years of fun. And since you have a little one, he might "inherit" the van...  Really a very lovely restoration which respected the old van's charm (including that ingenious privacy blind! I'm filing that idea away...). Great work, now go out and enjoy yourselves this Australia Day weekend. Best regards Seeshell |
|
|
|
Post by seeshell on Jan 18, 2016 20:30:45 GMT 10
|
|
|
|
Post by tooleyau on Jan 18, 2016 21:46:24 GMT 10
Well done so far. I know the trepidation, frustrations and joy of restoring an old van, as does many members on this forum. Would this help. Attachment Deleted |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 18, 2016 22:19:57 GMT 10
Well done so far. I know the trepidation, frustrations and joy of restoring an old van, as does many members on this forum. Would this help.  Thank you tooleyau, its certainly been all those things and more but well worth it. Yes that would be of huge help! If your happy to part with them Please let me know what you would like for them. |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 18, 2016 22:41:10 GMT 10
Thank you so much seeshell.
we dont know much at all about the vans true history and are yet to see another the same so we don't really know for sure what is original and what isnt so we have worked with what was there and felt it important to try and retain what we could be it original or not because really who knows?
We are really looking forward to many years of new adventures in her with the kids, & your right, the little mr would love to have her as his own.
|
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 18, 2016 22:45:54 GMT 10
She looks fantastic. You've all done a great job, you should be very proud of yourselves. It's been great watching your progress and now to see the finished project Glad to hear that you're gong away this weekend. I hope you have a great Australia Day long weekend in your little piece of Australia History and that enjoy your little home on wheels, Monica Thank you bluebird. We are really looking forward to taking her away this weekend and we certainly will enjoy our advwntures in our little home away from home... even if it means 4 of us squeezed in to 12 ft of van |
|
|
|
Post by tooleyau on Jan 19, 2016 8:01:07 GMT 10
Well done so far. I know the trepidation, frustrations and joy of restoring an old van, as does many members on this forum. Would this help. View AttachmentThank you tooleyau, its certainly been all those things and more but well worth it. Yes that would be of huge help! If your happy to part with them Please let me know what you would like for them. Send me your postal address through my email address - tooleyau@optusnet.com.au - and I'll post them to you. Buy me a beer (or two) when we next meet. Michael |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 19, 2016 8:13:30 GMT 10
Thank you tooleyau, its certainly been all those things and more but well worth it. Yes that would be of huge help! If your happy to part with them Please let me know what you would like for them. Send me your postal address through my email address - tooleyau@optusnet.com.au - and I'll post them to you. Buy me a beer (or two) when we next meet. Michael Oh really? Thank you so much! Its definetly worth 2 beers. I'll email you now. Thanks again Suzanne |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Jan 26, 2016 11:56:09 GMT 10
Over the weekend we made our first trip away in our little van which our 5 year old has now named old Bessie.  Last week we finished off a few small jobs like re fitting the fridge door and stocking the van, also a huge thanks to tooleyau for kindly answering our call for some cupboard handles and window latches, they turned up with Friday's post and after a quick polish and fit they where in place ready to go for our first trip away.   For her first proper adventure in who knows how many years we made the hour and a bit trip with the in laws to Stockport for A few days , and stayed at the caravan park there. The park has no bells and whistles and after the recent Pinery fires in the area we where told that the park wasn't up to its usual standard, but despite all this, we still had a good time, the amenities where clean and tidy and the hospitality at the park was second to none which really what more could you ask for?     According to the husband she towed well and fuel consumption was pretty good too. Nothing fell off the van in our travels and everything opened, closed and worked as it should so all in all a successful trip. The only things we think we need to do in the short term is find and awning and re fit the fly screens just to make it a bit more comfortable on hot days/nights Next up, we are hoping to make it to the vintage caravan meet in March at Nuriootpa, it would be nice to meet some of our fellow vintage canners here in South Australia, but that trip will all depend on if I can get that weekend off of work, so we will see how it goes. Till then. |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Feb 22, 2016 10:53:28 GMT 10
with our next weekend away booked for three weeks time we thought it was probably a good idea to get started on our to do list from our last weekend away. Number one on the list was an awning. Luckily we where able to salvage the sail track that was on the van when we got it. We threw around a few different possiblitites on what to use for the awning and even got some prices on getting one made. In the end we where offered a piece of canvas 3mx2m from the in laws and decided to make our own, even if only for the short term.  The trim is made from some weather resistant canvas fabric I found at spotlight on sale .to make the wave pattern I cheated and made a template off the trim from the outside blind on our bedroom window. Because the fabric frayed like crazy, I have bound the edges also. For less than $50 & a day in front of the sewing machine (which possibly needs a good service now) I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. next up on the list was to replace the fly screens, for the short term we have replaced the fly screen on the hatch and cleaned up the original screen on the window over the kitchen. These should hopefully make a difference in ventilation at night with out us getting eaten alive by the mozzies. The other 4 side windows will eventually be replaced too but that's a job for another day.   There have been a few small purchases like a little fan, bedding and some plastic beach mats to use outside under the awning. We have given the van a good scrub and finally got around to getting the original "Harris Van" decal made up from the tracing we took from what we could see above the front window. I think it's come up a treat.  The only thing left on our list now is for the husband to put the new aluminium trim he got folded up on around the bottom of the van. Which hopefully won't be too long away. After that, it must almost be time to look for another project... I need to keep the husband busy now don't I? |
|
|
|
Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 22, 2016 20:40:24 GMT 10
Hi Jp63 (and husband, and not forgetting your young apprentices/supervisors ), You've done a beautiful job on your Harris. Congratulations to you both/all. The difference between the van now and as you bought it is remarkable. If anyone wants to see what can be done to a van that has seen much, much better days (albeit with a lot of hard work) just have a look at this thread. So what will the next project be? Another van? Don Ricardo |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Feb 23, 2016 9:14:32 GMT 10
Hi Jp63 (and husband, and not forgetting your young apprentices/supervisors ), You've done a beautiful job on your Harris. Congratulations to you both/all. The difference between the van now and as you bought it is remarkable. If anyone wants to see what can be done to a van that has seen much, much better days (albeit with a lot of hard work) just have a look at this thread. So what will the next project be? Another van? Don Ricardo Thank Don Ricardo. As for the next project, I might just let the husband get on with finally laying the concrete in his shed, and if he's really lucky he might even get a chance to work on restoring his car again before I drag home another sad and sorry looking caravan, but don't hold me to that |
|
|
|
Post by morgan865 on Mar 12, 2016 19:34:44 GMT 10
Great job done jp63.
|
|
|
|
Post by toniboni on Mar 13, 2016 7:39:56 GMT 10
Great job so far well done! Hit eBay and search under atomic fabric as there are heaps of vintage fabric similar Cheers Andrew Hi Andrew Rewind mid century have a great range of vintage upholstery fabrics. They also will do the restore. Cheers Toni |
|
|
|
Post by jp63 on Mar 14, 2016 17:01:32 GMT 10
This weekend we took the van to Nuriootpa for our first trip with Vintage and Classic Caravanners Group of SA.  What at a great weekend we had, the kids didn't want to come home and with an abundance of great vans to have a look around and some great company too we didn't either. I don't think I have ever seen the husband talk as much as he did this weekend, he was really in his element. As as luck would have it there was another CH Gray Harris van at the meet that looked just like ours but slightly longer, it was great to see another in the flesh and have a chat to the owners. We also spoke with another couple who also own a CH Gray Built Van same shape but with porthole windows at the front which they are in the process of restoring and found out that theirs is stickers as a "grayline" not Harris like the others we have seen or heard of. It it was also great to meet a few fellow forum members, including willies with there adorable Arnold. I also purchased some of Brenda's knitted caravan bunting that she had for sale which suits our little Van perfectly don't you think?  All in all, it was a great weekend, and can't wait to do it all over again |
|
) 
Glad to hear that you're gong away this weekend. I hope you have a great Australia Day long weekend in your little piece of Australia History and that enjoy your little home on wheels, Monica 
