Help date my Franklin?

[squizy]

Hi all,

I picked up my Franklin last weekend after a roadtrip to Northern Victoria and back home. From what I can find out so far, it's a 68-72 Franklin, but I'm after a bit more clarifying assistance if anyone can help out.

A mate and I headed off last Friday morning taking my HR for the fun of it, and after surviving a tyre delamination, some poor Chinese food, splitting my head open, bleeding at the Tarcutta police, and headwinds back home on the Saturday, we made it back with the prize in tow.

The van is pretty dry, and basically needs a good cleanup. We're going to redo the curtains and flooring, and of course add our own touches. Somewhere down the line someone has painted over the vinyl ceiling causing it to crack, so we're painstakingly stripping that off with the hair dryer, before we decide whether to redo, paint, or varnish the ply. There's a couple of electrical issues, but nothing that can't be fixed.

The kids are very excited and are looking forward to the our first test trip before the Christmas holidays.

[Deleted]

Hi Squizy,
Looks to me like she could be a 1968 model Franklin Safari going by the door,windows and hatch styles.Looks to be in good nick too. Congratulations on your aquisition.
Cheers
hughdeani

[Franklin1]

Hi squizy, gees I missed this Franklin post as well!!

Might be time to put me Franklin radar in for an overhaul.

Can you tell me what the chassis number welded on the front drawbar is please? Probably just next to the jockey wheel somewhere. Should be a few numbers, then a dash (- ), and then one number.

If your van is a 1968 model, then it should have the number xxx-8

But let me know what the number actually is, and I can include you in the Franklin Chassis number Register.

cheers,
Al.

[squizy]

Sorry for taking a while to reply - been moving house, and working on the van of course.

The chassis number is 1932-7 with a VIN next to that of R76T61426, so I'm assuming that this makes it a 1967 Safari? Which makes me even more happy, as it matches my '67 HR perfectly.

Some updates - we've been a bit light on work, but we've managed to strip the vinyl off the ceiling. The reason for this is that it had been painted over previously and had cracked. So after stripping it, we contemplated taking all the leftover glue residue off - but stopped after realising time was not on our side. So what I've started to do is to paint the ceiling in a textured painted. It leaves a nice, textured finished, matches the age well, and will cover any blemishes.

We've found out the fridge is bung, so that's the next project, so if anyone knows of a working 2 way fridge (or 3 way) for sale, please let me know. All the rest of the wiring is sorted out, and now all that is left is decorating the interior Tiki / Aussie holiday kitsch.

[Franklin1]

Hi squizy, based on the information we've collected so far, on Franklin chassis numbers, your number of 1932-7 would have been built at the end of September or early October in 1967. I think the other number of R76T.... is something to do with the registration numbering system back in that era. I have information about other vans from the 1970s where a similar numbering system shows up. But I'm pretty confident it's the actual chassis number that gives us the build date.

I'd like to include your van in the Franklin Chassis Register over in the History section, but I need another photo of your van if possible. One like the first photo above, but without the Holden in the foreground, would be good. No hurry.

Sounds like the paint job is going to come up nicely. The van looks in pretty good nick overall, so a bit of fresh paint will make it even better.

Can't help you with the fridge unfortunately. What area do you live in, in case somebody else here is near you and knows of a fridge?

thanks,
Al.

[squizy]

Thanks for that great information re the age. Brilliant. We're are heading away in it after Christmas, so I'll take lots of pictures then, including the annex as well. I've updated my location details now.

[frankidownunder]

The R76T...... number is a Vin number issued by Vic roads when the van is re registered after being un registered for a period. Vic roads do not recognise the old serial numbers by the manufacturer and so give you a new Vin Number to stamp on the chassis. My Franklin is the same, it has original serial No. plus the Vin No. it was re registered in about 2004 by previous owner.

Frankidownunder.

[squizy]

Here's a few more pics with the annex up. The van towed beautifully, and was water tight. Even the annex was pretty dry too. Very happy with the trip, and now for the fun of putting our taste to it, and taking it for a nice weekend behind the HR.

[Franklin1]

Hi squizy, looks like the family is having a great time with the Franklin! ;D ;D

I've pinched one of your photos above, and added your van to the Franklin Chassis Number Register in our History section.

Do you know what the length of your van is?

cheers,
Al.