1967 Viscount Valiant 13 ft B4080

[sonnco]

Hello all, I am so pleased I found the little pot of gold known as your forum as I venture into the world of classic caravans. I was wondering if you would mind helping me out??? I have tracked down according to the last rego sticker a 1975 viscount valiant. It is 13 ft in length and all aluminium and the weight listed on the rego sticker is 1020kg. I was primarily looking at vans under 12 ft due to their weight. I know to get an accurate weight it will need to be taken to a weigh bridge but i was hoping that someone may be able to advise if this weight is reasonably accurate or even within the ball park. It seems to be heavy in comparison to others similar size, but this is all a big learning curve for me If anyone has any pics or other details for this model van, it would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I will continue my research, Thanks heaps

[Deleted]

Hi and welcome to the forum, congratulations on your purchase!

I am no expert in identifying vans but i can tell you that the experts will need two things to help you: the chassis number, found on the draw bar normally welded on, and a few good pictures, with at least one showing a good side profile.

If you need help posting photos click on this link it will take you to a thread that will step you through the process.

Besides, we all love photos

Cheers
Doug.

[millard1399]

G'day sonnco, and welcome to the forum! ;D

Double check the rego sticker and tell us if the 1020kgs weight is showing as a "GVM" weight, and not a Tare weight. My rego (NSW) only shows the GVM figure on the label (which is 1200kgs for my 14ft van).

In case you don't already know, the GVM is the Gross Vehicle Mass, and is the fully loaded weight of your van when it's hooked up to the towcar.

A typical tare weight for a 13ft Valiant would be about 750kgs.

Like cruisindoug says, I wouldn't mind knowing the chassis number of the van. It's usually welded on the drawbar next to the jockey wheel clamp somewhere. I didn't think the Valiant model lasted into 1975, and thought it had been discontinued a few years earlier. And at least a photo showing the side of the van would be great! ;D

cheers,
Al.

[sonnco]

Thanks for your replies. I am eagerly awaiting Tuesday when I get to take possesion of the new addition to my family I will put up some pics and hopefully her real identity can be confirmed. Thanks guys

[sonnco]

Hello again everyone, as promised my new project arrived today. It is registered as a 1975 viscount valiant 13 ft however the chassis number is B4080. My initial research suggested it has an aluminum frame however after a huge day cleaning and the discovery of more water damage than expected, now I am not so sure. What is a project without a challenge though I guess : ) and for the price I paid for it (not much) and its age, to be expected. Here are a few pics : )





My concerns with weight have been resolved with the weight I had listed at 1020kg was the ATM, the actual TARE weight is only 460kg (according to the registration sticker).

I also found this article from the Sunday herald from Feb 26, 1972 with a viscount valiant ad, thought you might like to add it to the history section if you do not have it already.



If anyone has any other info or comments it would be greatly appreciated: )

Thanks,

Sonja

[sonnco]

Sorry about the large pictures, I did try to resize them but obviously that did not work, and more practice is required : )

[Deleted]

Nice looking van there Sonja, is the cladding held on with screws or rivets? Screws means timber frame, rivets mean aluminium frame.

See Al I'm learning!

But I'll leave the ID to you .....

[millard1399]

G'day cruisindoug...

See Al I'm learning!

Indeed you are!! ;D We'll make a caravan consultant out of you yet!!


G'day sonnco,
Firstly, the size of your photos is fine. Any photos up to 800 x 600 pixels is good for this forum. Your photos are around the 600 x 480 size, so they are perfect.

I'm pretty sure that your van has been painted in the white and greenish colours some time in the past. Your chassis number translates to a 1967 (or thereabouts) Valiant, and should have an aluminium frame. I reckon if you were to strip the paint off the sides of the van, you'd probably see the outline of the original stripes, which would have looked either like this...



...or like this...




Either way, your van would have been silver aluminium cladding with painted stripes when built in the factory.

I think the Tare Weight quoted on the rego sticker is way out of whack. No way would a 13ft van weigh only 460kgs. Maybe the '4' should have been a '7', so it read 760kgs instead. They've given the van an ATM of 1020kgs, and typically the loading allowance for single axle vans is around 300kgs, so a tare of 760kgs plus a 300kgs load is equal to an ATM of 1060kgs. If you ever go near a weighbridge with the van empty, I'd pop in an get the van weighed so you know what it is exactly, otherwise I'd be using a figure of something like 750kgs to be closer to the truth.

Thanks for the old advertisement for the Valiant model. I don't think they lasted very long into the 1970s, before Viscount gave up making them.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hey Sonja just seen your post and your van looks very similar to mine [see under post Please help with what year it is]Good luck with finding out your information!!

[Deleted]

Hi Sonja, I love the shape of your Viscount. Hope you hve great fun doing it up. They are a mine of information on this site so any questions just ask and I am sure someone out there will have the answer.

regards
Jean

[sonnco]

I know we had just sorted out my vans identify and I am sorry to throw a spanner in the works but after some further investigation I have found that my aluminium cladding is held on by screws, so I guess it has a timber frame based on the above comments. Not sure if this affects her age??? While I am asking, does anyone happen to know if the front cladding was attached in one sheet or multiples (it looks like only 1 large single sheet, but it is difficult to tell with the large amounts of silicon covering anything that may or may not be a join), I was always going to have to reseal it, but I have found some of the frame has disintegrated so I figure i may as well attempt to fix it prior to resealing it, and this will be easier with the screws Any help is appreciated, fingers crossed and wish me luck : )

[sonnco]

Sorry, forgot to ask, contemplating at some stage taking her exterior back to original design with the twin stripes, does anyone know if there is a template or similar for this or what would be the best way to approach this?
Thanks,
Sonja

[millard1399]

G'day Sonja,

It surprises me to know your van has screws holding the cladding on. All the other Viscounts and Ambassadors had shifted to aluminium frames by mid-1965, so I would have thought the Valiants would have been the same. However, if you are seeing screws, then that usually points to the van having a timber frame. You'll know for sure when the day comes for you to take any of the cladding off.

The cladding on the lower front should be just the one piece, from the drawbar up to the bottom of the front windows.

I don't know of any templates available for the original stripes. The only way I can think of putting them back on to an old van would be to study some photographs of other vans with the same side stripes, and then copying where they are positioned. If you study these sorts of side stripes carefully, you'll soon see how they are positioned relative to window tops and bottoms, and cabin shell tops and bottoms. Vans might be different in lengths, but they are often the one height within a brand, so you could count how many ridges there are in the silver cladding to determine where the top or bottom of the stripes needs to be positioned.

The other thing you might find if you were to strip the current paint off, is an outline of the original stripes. That would make life easy for you to just repaint them.

cheers,
Al.

[sonnco]

Hi Al,

I just found some instructions on the vintage site to fix wood rot (nearly in the same place as where mine is) over on the vintage forum, even with pictures. That Franklin1 character is a knowledge man : ) This way i will be able to fix this from the inside, the timing is wrong and I probably would get carried away pulling off the cladding, and I need my little van to be usable for a couple of days in April. Will still have to reseal it but I think I need to allow myself a bit more time : )
Is there a way to strip the paint that would allow (if possible) to make out the outline of the original stripes. I have read Septone paint stripper is effective but was wondering if this would effect the chance of finding an old outline.

Thanks,
Sonja

[Deleted]

Hi Sonja my 1972??? Viscount Valiant that i have just done up has pop rivets in to a timber frame as i had to replace quite a few that had lost there grip and when drilling out was all in to timber!!!

[Dianne]

Can some one point me to a site that might tell me the over all size of a 1974 royal valiant caravan Please

[ForumMod]

What do you mean by the "overall size"? That's obviously going to depend on the length of the cabin, plus the towbar, multiplied by the width of the cabin.

[Mick & Jo]

Hi guys,
We have just bought lightning the 1967 viscount valiant off our dear & close friend Sonja. Sonja advised us to go onto this site to seek out knowledge, so here we are. Does anyone know of a vintage caravan repairer on the sunshine coast qld, we have a few little repairs to complete. Also any tips on taking off the outside panelling then reasealing?
Kind regards
Mick & Jo

[Deleted]

Hi - I just ventured to the weighbridge today with my little valiant- 2 x 4 kg gas tanks, innerspring king single, awning, spare wheel, lightweight BBQ- small flatscreen tv - ( and ridiculously heavy TV mount arm brace thing) no water in the tank - clocked 820 - pleased- as the Mitsubishi ASX is 4 cylinder - rated to tow - 1050- did mostly ok on first trip -I did slow down and have to use gears on the hills but it felt ok. Would love a solar panel on the roof.... next project..

[Lynnette]

But what was the length of your valiant Caboodle?
I am trying to work out (without going to a weighbridge as it is soooo far away and maybe I can't legally tow it!!)the towball download mass of my Viscount to see if I can legally tow it behind a Subaru Forester with 1400kg towing capacity (my towbar is only a 'standard' 1300kg)and 75kg towball mass without load distribution hitch (140 with). I have a 15/16ft Viscount that I think is a 1969+/- model with Chassis number A5942 but from all the reading on all the sites it seems very incongruous as to what model it might be. It has an Ambassador decal but that seems unlikely that it is one given they seemed to start much later. From reading these sites it might have a tare weight of about 860-900kg? It is silver with blue lightening stripes and matching blue inside, no wrap around windows, rivets (I am pretty sure; it isn't here to check), has the two north/south bunks at the back It is almost pristine original condition inside and out, original blinds, curtains, seats etc. A real find. No photos at the moment. Thinking to sell it if I can't legally tow it.

Does anyone know the towball download mass or the Tare, GVM or ATM for this caravan?
Thanks in anticipation of anyone knowing

[Deleted]

Hi - yes mine is a bit smaller- 10ft or 12ft to the tow ball ( have only a single diner, 2 side window on one side but only one window on the door side. The Mitsubishi asx (4 cylinder, 2wheel drive was legal weight-!wise, and did Ok but not brilliantly with the weight - could definitely feel it, slowed down on the hill climbs had to use the gears...)... But was ok. Would like to one day afford electric brakes for a smoother drive and less 'lurching'...

[tedalley]

Dec 7, 2014 1:41:51 GMT 10 Lynnette said:

I am trying to work out the towball download mass of my Viscount to see if I can legally tow it behind a Subaru Forester with 1400kg towing capacity (my towbar is only a 'standard' 1300kg)and 75kg towball mass without load distribution hitch (140 with).
Does anyone know the towball download mass or the Tare, GVM or ATM for this caravan?
Thanks in anticipation of anyone knowing

Lynette Hi.

The way I check the tow ball weight is --

Firstly place the van on level ground with hand brake on ..... or wheels chocked.

Wind the jock wheel up and place some bathroom scales under where the tow ball goes.

Place two 30cm lengths of wood where the feet go and put on top of the timber a car stand and recallebrate to zero with timber & car stand) .

Gently wind down the Jock-wheel till the weight is taken up by the scales (Check the dial in-case it goes beyond the limit of the scales but most go beyond 200kg)

I hope this helps.

Ted

PS you can buy a proper tow ball scales from a caravan place.