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Post by chaosinmotion on Dec 5, 2011 20:01:07 GMT 10
Hi All, Newbie here, to the site and to caravanning in general...  Just went halves with my younger brother in my first though, a tired ol' Millard #MM514 - not exactly sure what year - can anyone help me with a guesstimate? Came across some amazing Millard photos and reno's (one in particular haha) all on this site, so figure it's the place to be. More pics coming tomorrow sometime, despite being pretty old it seems to be in good (mostly watertight I hope) nick, but have the day tomorrow to have a good poke around in the daylight and see what we are in for.    Anyway, talk soon hehe ;D ;D |
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Post by Sharingan Kyuubi on Dec 5, 2011 22:23:18 GMT 10
I think that you should give all of your money to your younger brother HAHAHA (thats me) But seriously if we can get any help or ideas here, it would be great!
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Post by chaosinmotion on Dec 6, 2011 23:43:17 GMT 10
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Post by millard1399 on Dec 7, 2011 9:28:23 GMT 10
G'day chaosinmotion, and welcome to the forum! ;D I wear two hats on this forum - one as a Moderator, and the other as an owner of one of these Millard poptops. Let me put my Moderator hat on, and tell you a bit about your van. I've always believed from my newspaper research that these Millard Mini poptops (the "MM" part of your chassis number) were first produced in 1976. However, as more and more people come on this forum with these vans, I'm now not so sure, and it's possible they first started sometime in 1975. Since your van is the 514th of these poptops built, it's one of the early ones, so I'd be thinking it was an early 1976 build. The Tuomatic fridge is the original fridge. Damn good fridges if they are looked after. Mine works really well and is in quite good condition for its age. No sign of rusting around the door seal like you see on many of them. The chipboard cupboard doors? Yep, what can I say... Worst thing you could ever use in a caravan. And then the timber industry invented MDF board, which I'm sure is made out of recycled sponges, and not timber.  I'm pretty sure your van will be a timber framed version. My number of MM1399 is, and your van is before mine. You can confirm this by looking closely at the panelling on the walls and seeing if there are little spots of wood filler where they've covered the staples holding the panelling onto the frame. Now I want to put my hat on as an owner of one of these vans. You don't say anywhere that you bought the van to restore it. Rather, you say you are a "first-timer" to caravans in general, so I'm presuming you bought the van to actually use, as opposed to just looking at it. With that in mind, I have to say to you that you've bought yourself a potential nightmare. If the van is fairly watertight at the moment, then I would use it to get a feel for caravanning, and then sell it as quickly as possible. The reasons why are too numerous to mention. Hidden in the wall cavities of these vans are a number of demons. Once you take any part of these vans off, you release these demons and they very quickly grab your banking details and empty your bank accounts of every last cent.  The fact that there is a ton of sealant around the van means that the demons have tried to escape before, and somebody has managed to seal them back in, just in the nick of time. Your photo showing water stains on the ceiling above the rear bed is a sure indication the demons are breeding in the wall cavity. Enjoy your van while you can, but don't get too attached to it. And whatever you do, DON'T take anything off the van that will let those demons out!!  cheers, Al. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2011 19:10:58 GMT 10
I concur!
Every thing that Al says is true - correct - not to be doubted!!!
regards
Bobbie
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Post by millard1399 on Dec 7, 2011 19:20:27 GMT 10
I thought you might have backed me up, bobbie. chaosinmotion, I realised your fridge is actually an Electrolux, not a Tuomatic (Note to self...get new glasses ). So, no, it's not the original fridge. cheers, Al. |
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Post by chaosinmotion on Dec 8, 2011 21:09:03 GMT 10
Thanks Al and Bobbie, from reading through the forums I figure you know what you are talking about, especially the epic tale of your Millard Al!! I have read that probably twenty times over and over ;D While we want to use the van, it badly needs some cosmetic attention, so while redoing a lot of the interior we will be careful not to upset anything major that may result in demons haha. It is definitely going to clock up some k's however because we both have a dominant fishing/camping gene Will keep some photos coming sporadically as the changes happen and hopefully won't come across too many drama's - if we do, I figure that there is no better place than this to find helpful and knowledgeable people. Just remember that compliment when if things go bad and we need advice  |
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