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Post by kyliegirl on Jul 6, 2012 8:08:03 GMT 10
what a rockin' van! keen to see how it goes with her.
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Post by kyliegirl on May 7, 2012 13:22:01 GMT 10
thanks, Beetles for the info on the roof resto - shall pass info to man in charge (rodney is his name). the only thing i can think of off the top of my head regarding old fittings, is lights - at least two if not all three of the interior lights are not oroginal. actually, now that i think about it, rod reckons the tail lights are non-original, too.
right now we are just waiting for the 17th of may to roll around - this is the only day my hubby can get off to go and get the identity inspection we need to be able to register it (the lonsdale inspection place only open wed and thurs) so fingers crossed we can get it all sorted and get her on the road asap!
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 29, 2012 9:47:24 GMT 10
ummm not sure if this is helpful - i am also new to this. we just went through the same thing and we couldn't find any chassis number. we were told by transport SA to make up our own number with a mix of alpha numeric characters of 6 - 8 digits. ideally they want it to be on a metal plate affixed to caravan or engraved straight onto the caravan. we used this for our permit to tow (which in SA is $22). we had to have her home by midnight on the date of travel or she turned into a pumpkin. or something.
when we went to register her the made up chassis number was no issue but the fact that we had a hard time identifying her means we now need to get an identity inspection to be able to register *sigh*
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 29, 2012 9:26:50 GMT 10
not sure how to hyperlink but shall give it a go. here is Betsy's icebox (my pic top, seller pic of interior): and her thread: 1953 bondwood - betsy
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 28, 2012 8:52:24 GMT 10
wow, Bill - chellenging indeed - looks like you are doing well so far (=
thanks, Hilldweller for the good advice. trying to work my way through some of the posts here before i start pestering people with questions. shall certainly be taking pics and looking lots before leaping. the whole reason i hunted this place down was to take advantage of expertise. thanks for your welcome!
Kylie
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 27, 2012 7:01:45 GMT 10
My wife's birthday present. The only thing is she won't use them..... decoration only. I almost wept when i saw these! my grandma has the same set (far more worn than these, unfortunately). yours are beautiful and it was lovely of you to buy them for your wife, good deal or not!
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 27, 2012 6:30:50 GMT 10
ugh it all sounds a bit of a nightmare! but you seem to be working it all out. looking forward to seeing more pics!
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 26, 2012 17:28:06 GMT 10
I am actually quite enjoying the process and am not sure what I will do with myself when its finished. haha! that's easy - buy another (= thanks for the encouraging words! do you have a thread open where i can view pics of your caravan?
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 26, 2012 7:37:06 GMT 10
no Don - there was no annexe in sight. it must have been lost or perished because the seller would have passed that on to us if it were lying around somewhere. one day we would love to get something custom made for her, but for now we shall be relying on tarps.
thanks for the encouragement, Don.
Hi again, Dave. had a quick browse through the thread - thanks for the link! there is a LOT of info here (it's great). i shall have a proper look through with Rod when he is home from work tonight.
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 21:03:29 GMT 10
did you make it to the service, Dave? hope the trip to Cowra is issue free!
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 20:02:43 GMT 10
Rod (my better half) is actually freaking out a bit - there are some parts on her lower half which are rather fragile and he thinks she might need re-skinning. *sigh* a bit overwhelmed at our lack of expertise, and also excited about the challenges ahead
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 19:51:23 GMT 10
Hi Steve! thanks for the welcome (= Don! thank you so much for taking the time to give me such a detailed response. many of the vans in the thread you linked to have similar features to our Betsy. from memory the wood on the trim above Betsy's wheel arches is a little rougher so perhaps not original as you suggest! this one that i just copied/pasted from that thread has a very similar/practically identical shape: ------------------------------------------------------- Here is another van that looks similar to the one above... (source: taken from this forum, relates to punkyfunster ) ------------------------------------------------------- as for the cupboard scrawls, one says 'REED' written in lead pencil, capital letters. then there is a painted 'LR' in the Left Rear cupboard, painted in caps, same colour as the cupboards (assuming this means it was to be placed in the left rear of the van..... unless maybe Lou Reed made it?) and then in the bottom of the wardrobe, is this - unfortunately i think it says 'box cleats' which i guess means our van is made from secondhand rubbish??
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 14:15:13 GMT 10
Hi again. opening up a thread about Betsy in the hope that someone might be able to tell me more about her, and as a place to update with resto pics. the seller said that she believes our van was made circa 1953 and that she thinks it is a "rowville". she has no identifying marks externally that i can see but i did find some scrawls inside her cupboards. the only negative so far for me has been her curtains. they were filthy and rotten, and as i had feared, even though i was so gentle with washing them by hand, they just disintegrated. fortunately she has a privacy curtain stored in the cupboard which is in lovely condition. one day i may make some cushions or something for her from this original curtain. fortunately i have found a fairly similar seersucker to make some replacements for the windows!
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 13:56:14 GMT 10
Hi there, Ray - i did have a look through the info you linked to before posting (i lurked around for a few days, reading through old posts because i didn't want to jump right and say something dumb - although no doubt i have/will!). i checked out all the SA made vans and the ones that had a name similar to Roville. i agree that while the Rovan looks similar in some areas, it isn't quite the same. i'll check it out again, especially the Hawthorn and Greythorns. thanks for posting and the welcome (= Hi again, Cobber! thanks for the suggestion - i shall do exactly that. and i really loev old Betsy and don't mind who made her - i am just curious to know a bit more about her heritage. Hi Penny61 - ouch! shall definitely think about some rails for the kiddiwinks. don't want to have holidays they remember for all the wrong reasons Hi Dave - thanks for the offer to come and check her over in July - it would be lovely to meet you over a cuppa (or three - or even an ale) and get some advice (*flywire* yikes!) . if you think of it, drop me a message when it is closer to the time of your appointment and we can work it out. hope that your health is ok and have fun times in Cowra (= thanks for the lino tips, Seeshell! shall apply some elbow grease and see what happens. a friend suggested gumption..?
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 10:48:14 GMT 10
thanks for the greetings, Seeshell!
her lino is gorgeous BUT it is stained and worn. i am afraid of scrubbing it and damaging it further. i live in hope of finding some atomic lino one day in better condition don't like the chances. until that day, she will keep her old lino.
her laminate bench/table on the other hand are pristine - i adore the blue and white marble laminate and am excited about it (=
at least the top bunk isn't very high - providing my kids sleep with feet to the stove-top/bench (so no head whacking if they do fall) i am not too worried. funny how safety standards chance, hey? these days kids have to stay in a child seat until they are at least 7! not that i am arguing about safety for my kids. whatever is best is good.
bye for now Kylie
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 9:26:24 GMT 10
thanks for the welcome, Cobber! we are certainly hoping to do the work ourselves, in keeping with her heritage. we are just scared of doing something wrong as we have no knowledge of caravans. i think it is a great project for us to work on togther (=
i shall certainly follow up on the horse float people. i am also sure the seller mentioned she was made in adelaide, but it can't hurt to check out the horse float lead.
thanks!
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Post by kyliegirl on Apr 25, 2012 8:39:33 GMT 10
Hi! this seems a friendly, informative place. my name is Kylie and i am excited to be here and hope to learn a few things from people here. last week we purchased our first caravan. we were told by the owner that it might be a 'Rowville" circa 1953 but i have not found any reference to caravans with this name. i have been lurking around this place for days trying to find a pic of a van that looks similar to our Betsy (yes we have named her). it looks a little different to the Rowvan - the wheel arches and the shape of the van at the front. here is the seller pic: *sigh* it doesn't really matter i guess - but i am curious. if anyone can shed some light on her make, please let me know! she needs a bit of work, but not much considering her age! new tyres are the priority (i can't believe we got her home without a blowout!), new cushions/mattresses, to be re-upholstered as close to the original as we can get, and paint inside and out. other than that we want to leave her pretty much original. actually - she might need a bit of structural work too - the paint is peeling off the roof - well, chunks are coming off, to be more accurate. to me it looks as though there is flywire up there, with some other stuff and some paint (please excuse my ignorance). my husband is really clever at making and fixing things, but what we really need is an expert to say "yeah, no worries - tackle that one for yourself" or "don't you dare touch that! you need an expert". know of anyone in adelaide? we live in southern suburbs but are willing to travel. by way of introduction, as i said at the start, i am Kylie. i live with my husband (Rodney) who is rather computer-phobic but will have input into my time here, with garnering info/making queries etc. we have two kiddliwinks, 6 and 4 years old and a few chooks, two dogs and two cats. we can't WAIT to get Betsy registered and get new tyres on her (and i just can't sleep on those old, smelly mattresses) and go on a little adventure together! well, not all together - the dogs/cats and chooks can stay here. pics of her interior, taken after a wee scrub:
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