Convair caravans (Queenstown, SA)

[Franklin1]

CONVAIR HISTORY: to be compiled

Manufactured by George Vilaris

Manufacturer location: 1164B Old Port Road, Queenstown, South Australia (to be confirmed)

[Franklin1]

1963 Convair caravan:



(Build No.)Chassis No. 132

(source: Ditzy, May 6, 2005)


[somebody else] wrote, Jul 3, 2005: "Can anyboby tell me when Convair caravans started production in Adelaide? I have recently seen a van with the chassis number 149 and I'm wondering if there are any other Convair vans out there and what numbers they are?"

[retro1]

I have a Convair van ( still in the middle of resto)
Here is a link to a heap of info

vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=photo&thread=1169&page=1

Cheers
retro1 ;D

[Don Ricardo]

Photos of Retro1's Convair referred to in Reply #2 above. The van has the serial number 149:





The Convair is the middle one of the three below:

[Don Ricardo]

Nov 29, 2007 21:16:55 GMT 10 Franklin1 said:

CONVAIR HISTORY: to be compiled

manufacturer location: 1164B Old Port Road, Queenstown, South Australia.

Afternoon folks,

When Franklin1 started this thread about Convair caravans, he listed their location as above. This Queenstown address was the location for Jim King's King Caravans.

Is anybody able to confirm that Convair also worked out of the Queenstown factory?

Trevor Gill's book, Still Swinging the Billy, tells us that Convair caravans were built by George Vilaris, and that George and Jim King at one stage shared a premises at Thebarton. However, King Caravans then moved to a larger building at Old Port Road, Queenstown (pages 65 & 82). The inference I take from Trevor Gill's writing is that King Caravans moved alone to Queenstown, and that Convair stayed put at Thebarton.

If anyone can provide additional information, it would be appreciated.

Just as an aside Still Swinging the Billy includes a photo of a beautifully proportioned larger version of Retro1's Convair.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Photo of a Convair caravan from a Caravan Centre catalogue, circa 1958, posted by Elvie here:



The van shown in this photo is similar in shape to the Convairs shown higher up this thread.  However, the front window treatment is different and the windows look as if they have wooden frames, indicating that this is an earlier model.

Don Ricardo