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Post by overlanda on Aug 15, 2011 19:53:18 GMT 10
Now Dave you cannot go around threatening a Wayfarer caravan like that As a Mercedes is only a German taxi when it is all said and done ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D. ;D
Regards Gerald ( registered custodian of the Wayfarer Caravan name)
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Post by exocet on Aug 17, 2011 21:04:45 GMT 10
Hi Dave, the Wayfarer badge on the finned badge may well have come from the original Wayfarer factory, but I have always thought my old van was 1959 or 1960 at the latest, especially with the MK11 Zephyr tailights, not 1963, also I was only the third owner, meaning it hadn't been mucked about with much, and everything else is totally original on the van, with everything intact, so I don't think it had been put there by anybody except by the bloke that built them, plus the mould in the fibreglass for the badge, I guess the only way to be sure would be to get a photo up of the finned van in Altona in Melb. But there is no doubt that the badges for these vans were "borrowed" from another manufacturer. Cheers exocet
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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 17, 2011 21:14:23 GMT 10
Gday Don. So they "pinched" the scroll badge from Wayfarer vans ?? ...Dave Hi Dave, No, I don't think that's what was happening. I'm thinking that Kennedy may have produced the booted vans for Wayfarer to be sold as Wayfarers. My theory is based on the fact that the raised mound on the front of the vans and the Wayfarer scroll badge are such a good fit for each other. We also know that: 1. Kennedy produced caravans which were sold under other names - Skyline, Clipper, etc. 2. Wayfarer sold caravans built by other manufacturers under the Wayfarer name, eg Globes. 3. The owner of Wayfarer was innovative and an experimenter (not always successfully), and in the late 50's he experimented with producing fibreglass skinned vans by bonding fibreglass onto an inner bondwood skin. The process wasn't really a success, but clearly Wayfarer could see some value in producing fibreglass vans. Wayfarers were produced in Burwood, Vic, which is only a suburb away from Glen Waverley where Kennedys were built. I reckon it's reasonable to suggest that Wayfarer and Kennedy may have put their heads together over a nice cup of tea and dreamed up a fibreglass van with a boot to be sold as a Wayfarer... Anyway that's my theory...  Don Ricardo |
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case
Junior Member
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Post by case on Aug 18, 2011 10:15:55 GMT 10
Hi all. I am standing next to a Wayfarer in Urunga caravan park, it is 12ft 6inch (owner has original sales bill to his father) 1967 year nothing like the ebay one, the 4 corners have perspex corner windows, on single window in centre front and back, I have not mastered photobucket sorry. Case.
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Post by Roehm3108 on Aug 19, 2011 12:26:30 GMT 10
What a neat van. Reckon it deserves to be in DHL for posterity as this model hasn't been shown before. Very unusual flat top snout on it. I can just imagine that with Reddo's inventiveness he would insert an LED screen with messages running along it whilst travelling ;D ;D ;D
Thanks rodnet for the posting
Ray
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Post by Franklin1 on Aug 19, 2011 13:59:49 GMT 10
Well, well, well... I think rodnet's photos might have solved the ID of some van photos I collected off ebay back in 2008...  It always looked a bit like those fibreglass-ended Viscounts that were launched in 1968. Harumph!...Now we know where Viscount pinched the design from!  My photos above seem to be of a van with a longer length than 12ft 6ins, so these Wayfarers might have been made in a few different sizes. Thanks Case, and Rod! ;D cheers, Al. |
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Post by overlanda on Aug 21, 2011 21:41:28 GMT 10
My old boss actually designed the square front / back Wayfarer in 1966 or so .When i was a apprentice with him in 1976 on we had a customer whom would come every year to service her van the same as that one only it was a tandem of around 23' long.
I should have some photos of it some where in the boxes of photos that are at the factory, they actually were the first to make the polystyrene walls on caravans and then Franklin copied them and had problems with patent people but that is another story.
Regards Gerald
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Post by dolphin73campervan on Oct 22, 2011 13:27:53 GMT 10
Is this strange van on eBay actually a Wayfarer? My uneducated guess is a home-made affair with the name hand-painted on...but would love to hear more educated opinions!  |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Oct 22, 2011 19:01:23 GMT 10
Hi Dolphin73,
It's certainly an unusual looking van. When it was on Ebay before Retrogypsy (the current owner) bought it, there were some additional external photos which made it look even more unusual.
By the looks of it, the metal panels have been added at a later date, so perhaps it is a Wayfarer that has also been extensively "remodelled" at some point.
From Retrogypsy's description the van needs a fair bit of work on it.
Don Ricardo
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2011 10:07:49 GMT 10
Hi there,
I reckon it is a Wayfarer,the inside is not original(the random groove ply)and I also think the aluminium is standard as per old Viscounts and other Wayfarers.
Lots of people used to think the aly was stainless steel!
Wayfarer had lots of different shapes over the years,as you will attest to Don Ricardo with all your great sleuthing!
Cheers
hughdeani
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2011 20:46:48 GMT 10
Hi Dave,
wouldnt know for sure,but would guesstimate mid to late 50s to early 60s.Strange that these early Wayfarers and Viscounts tend to look the same................?
hughdeani
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Post by overlanda on Oct 23, 2011 21:00:28 GMT 10
When i catch up with my old boss i will show him the photos and he would possibly know as he is a ex Wayfarer employee from 1961 or so till they closed in 1969.
Regards Gerald
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Post by Don Ricardo on Oct 24, 2011 21:38:54 GMT 10
Hi all, Given the discussion regarding this van, I've collected the photos of it which have been on Ebay at different times:              I have more... That's enough? OK.  I will be interested to hear what Overlanda's former boss has to say. I agree with Hughdeani that Wayfarer produced caravans in a wide range of styles. As I understand it that is because they bought in and re-badged vans from several different manufacturers, as well as building their own. In addition, the fellow who owned Wayfarer in the late 50's and early 60's was a pretty creative type who trialled a number of different construction materials, manufacturing techniques and van styles. That being said, I don't recall seeing a Wayfarer van anything along these lines. The only van I know that has the acutely angled, wedge shaped roof end styling this one has is an Olympic. Having looked at the photos, I personally am pretty convinced that the aluminium cladding - at least on the walls - has been added at a later date because of the fairly rudimentary joins, the fairly roughly finished wheel arch, and the apparently excessive number of rivets used to hold the cladding on. But the Wayfarer logo looks genuine enough, and if you compare some of the internals photos with those of the van displayed in Reply #15 above, there are a few similarities. So...maybe we are looking at a Wayfarer - perhaps even a prototype - which has been "updated" and "renovated" a (fair) bit? Or maybe not.  Don Ricardo |
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Post by retro64 on Oct 25, 2011 8:56:31 GMT 10
Hi Don R, Thanks for the pics on this interesting van. This has to be the closest thing to a Carapark Zestline or Carapark Astronaught that we've seen thus far. Very similar lines, quite an industrial feel. If we're guessing, perhaps a Wayfarer prototype in reply to Caraparks line, again in the late 50's and early 60's. The curve over the front brow being an obvious difference but otherwise very similar externally. Hopefully someone will have the answer  cheers retro64 |
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Post by overlanda on Oct 25, 2011 15:50:51 GMT 10
Have shown the photos to my old boss, he seems to think that it is a Wayfarer but one of the prototypes as it certainly is not a model that was produced in great numbers . He said that there are a lot of typical Wayfarer bits on it as well as the shape the way it is done.
Regards Gerald
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Post by Don Ricardo on Oct 25, 2011 21:43:05 GMT 10
Hi Overlanda and Retro 64,
That's a very interesting bit of info from your old boss, Overlanda. There you go, eh? Almost worth the trip to Bundaberg to collect it! ;D ;D ;D
And Retro64 - you're right about the similarities to the Caraparks. I hadn't made that connection. It is probably closer in style to the Zestline and the Astronaut, than the Olympic I was thinking of (obviously an aluminium Olympic, not one of the fibreglass ones!).
Don Ricardo
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Post by falcongt29 on May 31, 2013 17:51:02 GMT 10
hello i have a 13x7 foot caravan that i thort was a Viscount but a guy from Classic caravan said it looked like a wayfarer no dissagremants with what he said an aprecate what he said made me do some looking more.. but i put a pic up here an can you guys verafy it to me at all... thank you   |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 27, 2014 23:19:04 GMT 10
Hi all, Just another historical tidbit about the Wayfarer badged Kennedy-with-a-boot vans seen in this post above... During the Reddo's recent 'Autumn in the Alps Tour' in April 2014, some of the "tourers" saw one of the Wayfarer badged fibreglass vans in question with the Wayfarer badge firmly affixed on the front of the van in the position proposed by Exocet in relation to his van. That information does seem to conclusively answer the question Exocet raised about this issue. Don Ricardo |
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Post by Cruz on Jun 28, 2014 8:11:05 GMT 10
Now there's a Fobberglossy I could own. Just love those fins!
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Post by Don Ricardo on Mar 31, 2015 16:46:49 GMT 10
Wayfarer branded Globe caravan, owned by Wayfarer56 and seen at the 2012 Vintage Caravan Nationals at Cowra:   For further information on this model click here, although note that the van shown in the advert is probably an earlier version than Wayfarer56's because of its semi-circular wheel arch.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 16, 2015 16:16:41 GMT 10
Wayfarer caravans belonging to two families from Ringwood, Victoria on their way for a holiday in Apollo Bay in 1965: (Source: Posted by Kelvin McCann on the Ringwood & District Historical Society FaceBook page here) The van on the left appears to be a Wayfarer Road Liner (possibly a Road Liner 63?). The van on the right is probably an older model, but is particularly interesting because the Wayfarer nameplate seen on the rear is the type with the name painted on an oval disk and screwed to the van. We have this type of nameplate on a few of the earlier 1950's Wayfarers, and I had previously assumed that it pre-dated the signwritten Wayfarer logo and the cast logo. However, this van seems to be newer than some with either the signwritten or cast signage, so perhaps in typical Wayfarer style the various types of signage were used on different vans/models simultaneously? Don Ricardo
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ian
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Post by ian on Aug 24, 2016 18:33:18 GMT 10
WAYFARER HISTORY: (to be compiled) hi i recently perchased i belive to be early 60s aliminum 14 ft wayfer i need the weights to try reg in sa |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2016 19:27:37 GMT 10
Hi Ian,
You will have to get a permit and take it to be weighed.they will want weighbridge ticket for rego anyway.
Cheers
hughdeani
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Post by twocutekelpies on Jan 5, 2018 11:30:45 GMT 10
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Post by wayfarerdescendants on Dec 1, 2018 21:11:15 GMT 10
Hi all, new to this forum so please let me know if I’m making any newbie mistakes.
I am posting in this thread in the hope of both adding to and learning more about the history of Wayfarer Caravans.
My Grandfather (Eric) and my Father (Max) were the instigators of the Wayfarer name after purchasing both the freehold and business at 497 Burke road, South Camberwell in the late 1950’s (possibly 1957) that was selling Globe caravans.
Both Eric & Max have passed on but my Mum is keen to provide any snippets of info that she can recall that might be of help in building the history timeline.
So, we are by no means experts like some on this forum, but as we are Wayfarer descendants we are keen to try and help answer any questions.
Cheers.
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