Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 11, 2020 22:15:31 GMT 10
DOLPHIN CARAVANS
Manufactured by Dolphin Caravan Service Centre
193 Princes Highway, Dandenong Vic
Dolphin Motor Home listed on Ebay(?) in March 2018
The Dolphin Motor Home seems to have been built by Dolphin Caravan Service Centre which from 1965 onwards advertised their business specialising in the fitting of caravan brakes, as shown in this advert published in the Melbourne Age on Monday, 22 November 1965 (page 15):
(Source: www.newspapers.com )
In the late 60's Dolphin began to also advertise second hand caravans.
According to Hughdeany here the Dolphin Motor Home was first produced around 1970. That correlates with the first newspaper reference I can find for the Dolphin being the following report on the 1970 Melbourne Caravan Show printed in the Age on Saturday, 19 September 1970 (page 66), which includes a mention of the Motor Home (see highlighted section):
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(Source: www.newspapers.com )
So it looks like I'm pushing the boundaries a bit by posting about the Dolphin because it was probably built after 31 December 1969 and so might not qualify as 'vintage'. My excuse is that the Dolphin in the photos is built on a Ford Thames 400e cab and chassis. I don't know a lot about Ford Thames vehicles but as far a I can discover the 400e was only produced from 1957 to 1965. So at least the cab and chassis qualifies as vintage!
The question is whether Dolphin would only have built their motor home on a new cab/chassis, or on whatever the customer provided or was willing to accept, including second hand vehicles? The seller claimed the van was built in 1967, but didn't provide any documentation for that date.
Don Ricardo
Manufactured by Dolphin Caravan Service Centre
193 Princes Highway, Dandenong Vic
Dolphin Motor Home listed on Ebay(?) in March 2018
The Dolphin Motor Home seems to have been built by Dolphin Caravan Service Centre which from 1965 onwards advertised their business specialising in the fitting of caravan brakes, as shown in this advert published in the Melbourne Age on Monday, 22 November 1965 (page 15):
(Source: www.newspapers.com )
In the late 60's Dolphin began to also advertise second hand caravans.
According to Hughdeany here the Dolphin Motor Home was first produced around 1970. That correlates with the first newspaper reference I can find for the Dolphin being the following report on the 1970 Melbourne Caravan Show printed in the Age on Saturday, 19 September 1970 (page 66), which includes a mention of the Motor Home (see highlighted section):
(Source: www.newspapers.com )
So it looks like I'm pushing the boundaries a bit by posting about the Dolphin because it was probably built after 31 December 1969 and so might not qualify as 'vintage'. My excuse is that the Dolphin in the photos is built on a Ford Thames 400e cab and chassis. I don't know a lot about Ford Thames vehicles but as far a I can discover the 400e was only produced from 1957 to 1965. So at least the cab and chassis qualifies as vintage!
The question is whether Dolphin would only have built their motor home on a new cab/chassis, or on whatever the customer provided or was willing to accept, including second hand vehicles? The seller claimed the van was built in 1967, but didn't provide any documentation for that date.Don Ricardo
