1977 millard mini project

[Deleted]

hi all,

new to town. i have recently aquired a 1977 millard minin pop top and am about to begin a reno, i am completly gutting the inside (walls, roof, fixings and furniture)
removing the external channel and resealing,

if anyone has got any info on these renos ide love to hear about it.

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[Deleted]

Oh my....

Yes I do have, please have a look here Millard Micro and one of our astounding leaders "pisces51" has had the greatest pleasure  renovating a van almost the same as that one as well. I sure he would love the chance to do it all again he LOVES Millard caravans

Will be keeping an eye on this one.

Cheers Lawrence

[Deleted]

Mar 14, 2015 20:58:28 GMT 10 @millard2285 said:

hi all,

 i have recently aquired a 1977 millard minin pop top 

After studying your photo's, I notice that 1/ you have the fibreglass pop-top roof and 2/ a galvanised chassis, from what I have read on here, that would put your van in the 1978 year range.

Interesting - Al your thoughts ... 

[Deleted]

hi all,

lockyer, rego papers say 77 so mybe end of 77.

i have been busy removing the internals and som things i have discovered. it was build inside out all the seats and cupboards are stapled from the outside, and im sure if they didnt use so many staples they could have adjusted the tare weight.

found a bit of rotten timber in the corners where the outer roof cladding meets the wall cladding, rotten bits of timber in the top end corners and the timber cross members aswell, thank god for aluminium frames.

i have found that the frot and rear internal roof sheets are put on straight under the cladding from the outside, is there a better way to do this?


the rotten timber in the corner that needs replacing


a couple of progres pics

[pisces51]

G'day millard2285,

Do you know what the chassis number of your van is? (or is the 2285 in your username the chassis number??) It should be the letters MM followed by some numbers. It's on the drawbar just near the jockey wheel somewhere.

I could never be absolutely certain which chassis numbers belonged to which year, when it came to the Millard vans. This van could be a late '77 model, so I'd go with that.

I can tell by your first post that you are the sort of person that "shoots first, and asks questions later", meaning you've gutted the van and then ask how to go about sorting it out. You might like to read through some of the other threads on the forum relating to Millard poptops. Click on this link: Millard poptop threads

I would also encourage you to look at the sides of the chassis where the aluminium cladding is butted up against it. If you've got rotted timber up near the roof, the water will have eventually found its way to the floor, and it's possible there might be some corrosion between the aluminium cladding and the galvanised chassis.

cheers,
Al.

ps to lockyer

I sure he would love the chance to do it all again he LOVES Millard caravans

Did I tell you I was in therapy for six months after finishing that Millard?? I ended up forming a local branch of "Millards Anonymous". We had a 10-step program for never touching another Millard again...ever. I'm happy to say I've been clean for five years now.

[Deleted]

picked it in one, chassie number is mm2285

before i got the millard i scanned through this forum to see what kind of job it was going to be (and what to expect) and where to look to find these issues. thanks for the pointer pisces51 ill have to have a look, i have tapped around the floor with a hammer and seems to be in a good condition.

this is a pic of the rotten timber in the roof/wall corner

[Deleted]

Hi 2285

Best way to check your floor is start right beside the inside walls. I noticed you still have the old vinyl down, this can hide things. Using a large (not huge) Phillips head screw driver push it into the floor along your inside walls, if it feels soft in anyway then you need to investigate further.

i have been busy removing the internals and som things i have discovered. it was build inside out all the seats and cupboards are stapled from the outside, and im sure if they didnt use so many staples they could have adjusted the tare weight.

Yes the mud guards are sandwiched between the floor and the chassis, the front and back walls go from inside to the outside of the side frame, and the roof ply is sandwiched under timber rails on top of the side frame. The ply sheeting is part of the strength/structure of the caravan and is how they kept there weight down. If you are not fitting them back to where they were then you may need to think about adding some extra support in the area. I did this with the front and rear on my van by adding some "C" sections across to the side walls but you will need to removing cladding to be able to do this.

Before you start replacing ply or bits and pieces inside, I would recommend you remove the edge trim from around the outside and clean away the old clay/sealant, repair any timber rot in the top section of the van and do a proper re-seal. I have just finished doing mine and it took me approx. 1 week doing 4-6 hrs a day, but I now know it is totally sealed.

Cheers  

[Deleted]

lockyer,

i dont suppose you have any photos of the additional "c" channel you added,

the van has been stripped bare of anything internal, next move is to make some room in the carport to start removing the trims and roof cladding to replace the rotten timbers.

i have remove a few thing that were bolted through the floor including the table pole that left a tennis ball sized hole in the floor, what is the best product to plug these holes in with?

[Deleted]

Mar 16, 2015 21:24:57 GMT 10 @millard2285 said:

lockyer,

i dont suppose you have any photos of the additional "c" channel you added, 

the van has been stripped bare of anything internal, next move is to make some room in the carport to start removing the trims and roof cladding to replace the rotten timbers.

i have remove a few thing that were bolted through the floor including the table pole that left a tennis ball sized hole in the floor, what is the best product to plug these holes in with?

You can see them here "C" sections

Hey Mods I think this topic would be better in the Hall Of Fame, area that is if it can be moved.

I would use a piece of plywood the same thickness (9-10mm) to fill you hole, glue it with a 2 pack epoxy and then glue 4mm ply over the patch/plug under it but bigger

cheers

[Deleted]

thanks lockyer,

did you do the same for the upper section for the roof sheets also?

[Deleted]

Mar 17, 2015 14:37:15 GMT 10 @millard2285 said:

thanks lockyer,

did you do the same for the upper section for the roof sheets also?

Mate have a read of Al's Millard rebuild, as his van is closer in size and shape and his was an all timber frame (that he loved working on ) my roof is build differently to yours. He shows a lot more in the repair side of the timber then I can Al's Millard

cheers