Barn Find Wilson Wheel Works "Sapphire 19" now available

[kenny]

A work colleague has come into a WWW Sapphire 19 via deceased estate and I'm sharing this info for the family that this caravan is now available.

History:

The van is a one owner, the owner was a local Brisbane plumber and therefore very handy.  He assembled the DIY van intricately.  It has always been stored in the vented shed. The last time the van left the shed was during the 70s from the family information I have been given.  At a point in time, the easement used to move the van in/out was closed and the van has remained inside the shed ever since.  Earlier this year the plumber (Jim) passed and the family are making the caravan available for sale.   

I looked at the van myself yesterday 9/10/2021.  It has the usual dust and surface residue from sitting for so long in the one spot, although its on blocks due to the past owners' dilligence.  I could not fault the outside otherwise.  Inside, the aroma was instant 1960/70s, the interior colour reminds me of the psychedelic era and inside is in great condition. Even the salt and pepper shakers have their own position in the cupboard.  With a washdown, the van should present immaculately. 

The family has not undertaken any work on the van and is presented as is.  The photos in the attached are exactly as the owner left it, a nice little barn find.

Note: the Holden HD ute in one of the photos (and one of the two original tow cars) is already spoken for and not available now unfortunately, however the caravan is currently available and comes with the orginal coupling.  The HD still has the power boost brake equipment installed and can be photographed if needed.

If you are interested PM me and I'll pass you across the contact detail of the family who are selling the van.  I have no other information to offer, I'm just sharing that its available to people who would appreciate it.  Please enjoy the photo story I created for you.

Regards kenny


  


  

Attachments:

Part 1.pdf (910 KB)

Part 2.pdf (901.91 KB)

Part 3.pdf (974.07 KB)

[hughdeany]

Hi all,
Is anyone having trouble downloading theses pics? Can’t do it on my ipad.😡
Cheers
hughdeany

[Geoff & Jude]

hi hughdeany

they downloaded ok on my desktop.

geoff 'n jude

[hughdeany]

Thanks Geoff and Jude,
Nice van Kenny,I saw some of those exterior pics on fb last week,they were talking about the van then and now,and how it’s been in the same family since it was built!
Cheers
hughdeany

[kenny]

Hi Hughdeany, 

oh really?  Thanks for letting me know.  Someone must have cross posted from here?

I wonder if the For Sale info will also make its way there via the same method, will save me doing it!

Regards kenny

[don257]

same here i cant see pics as well. don 257

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

Here are Kenny's photos of the Wilson Wheel Works "Sapphire 19" so that everyone can see them.  Apologies that they are a bit grainy - they're a scan of PDF's which were themselves scans of the originals.

There are a couple of other photos of the van back in its heyday, but I didn't copy them because you can see them here.

I note that Kenny has referred to the van as a "Sapphire 19", but the plans are labelled 'Sapphire 12' and I am presuming that the numbers refer to the length.

Don Ricardo

[kenny]

Update!

This Caravan is now no longer land locked! The house between the backyard shed and the street was lifted and the van successfully extracted for the first time in decades.

The seller is putting new tyres on it and will take some better photos which I'll share here.

More soon, regards kenny

[hilldweller2]

Wow! I love the barn find stories where enthusiast vintage vanners chop down trees, dig out earth, dismantle fences etc to get the van out. Removing an entire house takes things to a new level LOL. Someone had their priorities straight Looking forward to further updates.