Found at Garage Sale

[dosse]

G'day all,

Out doing the garage sale thing with Ilse and look what we came across........the owner is in a Nursing Home, she is in her 90's, her name is Mabel, so this is what we have called this van.


photo 2

This section is the worst...rear ply will need to be replaced



photo 4


Some photos of the interior...very dusty, otherwise just need a clean.


photo 6


photo 7
Unusual spot for icebox...on the opposite side of sink and cooker. Its actually in the wardrobe section


photo 8
Photo of the metho cooker..looks to be in very good working condition.


Photo 9
Underneath all this dust is a metal sink


Photo 10


Photo 11


Photo 12


Photo 13


Photo 14


Photo 15


Photo 16


Photo 17
This old style draw bar is the same as earlee's Lantern Van. This van also has a an all timber chassis with Chev 5 Stud rims and a spare. Also came with a good annnex, without the wooden poles and ropes.


Photo 18
Just as we were getting the van out of the carport, the owner's son in law threw in 2 near new Wibroc extendable mirrors in their original boxes.


We are now eagerly awaiting more history on this van...family holiday photos, rego papers and information on the year it was built.
Regards dosse & Ilse

[sportsman 1]

Nice pickup Dosse,

I guess you got it at a Garage Sale price too!

cheers, Leigh.

[Deleted]

I hate you.. that was suppose to be mine. Old Mabel is a long lost ..... ummmmmmmmm... Aunty ... yeh thats right shes my aunty...
Now bugger orf.

Reddo

[Impala]

What a fabulous little van, great find, you lucky thing
Regards
Impala

[earlee]

Another great find Dosse and Ilse.

Shows that these old vans keep turning up, even in brisbane suburbia, if you keep your ear to the ground and yours eyes open.

It has the correct period items as well - green cracked ice laminex - vinyl cushions - icebox - chrome pump tap - timber framed windows - chev wheels - and even the extendable mirrors !

Can you put a date to its manufacture?? - just look for an old newspaper in a hidden cavity -
(Pssst – don’t tell anyone.. but I have a couple of spares...)


Are you going to use it / Mabel ... just keeping the DON for special occasions ;D ;D ;D

well done
earlee.

[John and Lynne]

Just shows what you can pick up around the place ,she looks like a great van ,another that will be saved,best of luck with it cheers john

[peteandtrish]

Welcome Mabel to the vintage van family - she is lovely and full of potential. We just can't believe how tinny you 2 are at picking up great finds! You sure your not Irish??

Trish & Pete

[halps]

Dosse,
You must be the vintage van god's little pet. HOW...WHY...BUT THE... (as you can see I am lost for words which is hard for a guy born in Dublin on St. Paddy's day).
Many people have searched for years for this kind of find and you just go and stumble across one...yeh sure we all believe that. Talk about the luck of the Irish (even though your not).

I am going to ring you and give you a piece of my.....(phone is ringing) "Hello Dosse" (...insert supportive comments and non jealous undertones here)"...Yes you are lucky and yes you deserve it" ( ....me seething). (Don't tell me it looks better than the photos...) "Oh, it looks better than the photos does it?" (Yeah but I bet there is a heap of wood rot...) "Hardly any wood rot you say...gee that's great." (Boy am I going to kill him...)

Like Reddo I too hate you brother.... but that is sure one great van.

Will ring you about that other issue on Friday.

HALPS
Brisbane


PS: Well done buddy ;D ;D ;D

[andrew]

G'day dosse,
Absolute macco find. Bet you couldn't believe your luck.
What I want to know is did you brake a finger or two when you were getting the
money out of your pocket in a rush to buy it?
great find. good on ya
Regards Andrew

[dorian]

Great score! Congrats.

[Cruz]

Well Done,
Another VV on the road again soon.

[cobber]

G'day Dosse,

Don't know if anybody else has mentioned it but..... this 'van looks like a great find... and an interesting project .

Can you tell me if the sink is aluminium or stainless steel and..... would you mind putting your photo of the coupling and loverly jockey wheel in the “tow coupling” thread

Have a look at the DHL thread regarding the “Caravan Centre.... Brisbane, Qld” and tell me if you think the “ Overniter”, 10ft..... or the “Trailite”, 12ft..... looks a bit like your “Mabel”.
vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=chat&thread=2551&page=1

Cobber.

[dosse]

Gday all,

Well, we have started on our restoration of Mabel. Was towed down to our old mate, Graham Coleman, our resident caravan repairer. Here are some photos of Mabel, partly undressed.




This photo shows the only dry rot we found that has now been repaired




An unusual hatch...does not have any hinges


We didn't find any old newspapers in any of the cavities behind the ply, but we did find a scrunched up Vincents Headache Powder wrapper. This is evidence that the maker of this caravan, back in the 1940's clearly had a headache.


We have decided to renew the whole roof, as the old ply had stamped on it...water resistant only...
More photos coming soon.
Regards, dosse & Ilse

[dosse]

Here are some more progress shots of the restoration of Mabel








This weekend I will be busy sanding and painting. More photos to follow
Regards dosse

[earlee]

Hey Dosse.

Old Mabel looks a million dollars now.

Amazing what a bit of TLC can do.

Will you be painting it yellow to match the hotrod/truck or green as per your "fleet colours" ?

earlee. ;D

[sutcac]

Hey Dosse ..................looking good ...........................just tell Ilse....no more garage sales til the vans painted .....that'll get it done in record time. ;D ;D ;D

[andrew]

G'day Dosse and Ilse,
Mabel is just coming on in leaps and bounds. Love it. Will be watching with inerest
to how see ends up. No doubt brilliantly. Keep up the good work.
Regards Andrew

[dosse]

Thank's ......Earlee,Clyde and Andrew for your kind remarks

Earlee....not going to be green like the Don but we did want to asked you for the paint code of your Li'l bondy ........we are both impressed with your fleet colours and how do you think a white flash down the side would look ;D ;D Mabel the Li'l Bondy .

Clyde.....Great idea ;D ;D, only one problem.....don't tell anyone though , but I actually enjoy going to Garage sales myself.
It's all Ilse's fault
Regards dosse.

[RollyDog]

Dosse
The garage sales are getting a bit infectious. Nothing for the van this week but a dining room table and chairs for the house and another retro 'Ampol' sign for the studio. Still looking for wooden tent poles and an 8 Track player though. That shell bowser at your place is very tempting too.
Rod G.

[tl6367]

That was a very nice find! The resto work is looking good too!

[dosse]

More progress shots from the Easter weekend. Had to work in between the showers, so then had the bright idea of putting up a tarp.






This photo shows the original colour underneath



Caught the big fella having a drink on the job. I'm not 100% sure if that is water in that jug. Seems to be drinking an awful lot

[dosse]

Hi ladies, Ilse here
THIS IS FOR LADIES ONLY

I hope everyone is enjoying the Easter break. Well, we have been very busy with our new van, knowing Neurum Creek is just around the corner...there is lots to do.

While Dosse was doing what he does best...Sanding, filling, undercoating and the odd drinking, I spent the day making curtains. On keeping with the Garage Sale theme (the van was bought through a Garage Sale), as I was helping with our Church Garage Sale last week, I came across an old single chair cover which had a few holes and was unusable. I just loved the colours (a deep sea green/blue) and the old rose pattern. I had visions of this material gracing the windows of the old van.

With a lot of cutting and unpicking, I managed to salvage 6 long strips of material to make into pelmets. Not wanting to waste what was left, I made a tea towel and some place mats out of the scraps. There was a lot of lace in my cupboard, which I have cut and sewn into curtains. There is only one small problem...the lace is a little see-through at night. Just hope there will be no peeping Toms at Neurum Creek. Maybe some pull down blinds may be the go.

We have bought the paint for the van and look forward to applying the "secret" colour. I don't like red, yellow, orange or brown; white and cream are boring and show the dirt; grey is a little gloomy; black out of the question (though very nice on Pete & Trish's van); purple a bit loud; pink, well Dosse might get some strange looks; that leaves only blue & green, and it's neither of those. Must be a new colour that has been invented.

I warned you guys..... it was for ladies only!!!! ;D

Look forward to seeing you all next month
I have added some photos
Ilse

[bobandjacqui]

G,day Dosse and Ilse,

Great find. Enjoying the photos of the resto and looking forward to seeing the results at Nerum Creek.

Cheers Bob and Jacqui.

[dosse]

When replacing the roof, we found a stamp of the manufacturers of the ply. Also stamped in the kitchen cupboard. It reads: MOISTURE RESISTANT WRESPLY BROWN AND BROAD LTD. We googled this company and it said that it was around from 1913 - 1940, which makes this van older than we think



This photo is of the galvanised metal which makes up the inside of the wheel arch. at the bottom of the wardrobe.



Went exploring inside the cupboards and found a very old unopened box of mosquito coils, in very good condition. Might come in handy seeing we don't have any screens in the van.







Regards dosse

[dosse]

G'day all,
Here are some progress photos of Mabel. We took her on it's maiden trip to Neurem Creek.
There are still some minor jobs to do on the van, but we are nearly there.























Regards Dosse & Ilse