1971 Franklin REGENT chassis no. 4235-1

[Deleted]

Turbopete @ Robyhoods Franklin Regent

[bobt]

Welcome aboard turbopete


Nice looking Franklin Regent you have there. Always a liitle keen on this shape franklin.

Once upon a time.......My folks owned one similar to yours Traded it in on a Viscount... sad..

So what ya gunna do to it...

or are you just going to go out and use it

bobt

[Deleted]

the van does not need much doing to it,I will fit elec brakes and will do some reseal to be on the safe side

[scotty]

Hi Pete, nice van you have, might see you aroud the place sometime. Cheers Scotty

[tassietiger]

Welcome turbopete. I agree with bobt classic shape for a classic caravan. I have a Franklin Hunter of the same size but lacks the sensuous curves of the Regent. Happy vanning.

TT

[millard1399]

Peter originally posted his van on the Vintage forum, with the following information:

Hi... Peter and Robyn aka Turbopete @ Robynhood,yesterday we purchased a Franklin Regent in absolutely superb condition The serial no is 2331834 and stamped on the drawbar is 4235-1,the van was supposedly under a carport for 30yrs travelled not at all and was used as a spare room for visitors ,it still has (i was told) the original tyres and rego.no (L42850)?? as it was always ?? registered ,the stove appears to have been used probably to boil water for coffee and the refrigerator( gas..240v) seems as new and works on 240V Gas??? :... can some one tell me the age of the van,if it is aluminium framed.( i was told it is) and is it insulated Peter @ Robyn


I was able to help Peter with dating the van [Peter, I'm Franklin1 on the Vintage forum ], and recommended he come over and join us on this forum.

Peter, I'll change the first heading of this thread to include the year and chassis number of your van. It will make it easier for people when they search for information throughout the forum.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

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Hello We bought this van in Oct 2010 ,,due to my wifes death a few month later I lost interest in it,,, but time heals the wounds slowly and life moves on,,,, so now it's time to do a renovation on it

The van is in very good condition internally and externally and has had no major water leaks, the only rot i can find is in the bearer attached to the chassis on the entry side so will replace that ,,the van is sandwich construction ,,,i think i can release the bottom of the siding and insert a new timber,if someone has any other ideas i would appreciate to hear from them.

The chassis has the usual rust but is structually sound and I could not see the point for it to be taken back to bare metal so I rubbed,ground and busted my acx removing the rust and have painted with rust neutraliser followed by anti rust paint (Pr O A job never again) off to the sandblaster for the hunter ( i have a F/hunter) as well as the F/ regent,

I have removed the angle side trims and all the windows and will reseal all ..,was thinking to buy a roll of sealant ,,would that be ok to seal with under the side trim,,, , or use sikaflex/or the sellys butyl mastic

I have rubbed the original paint back and will respray to the original 1970 torana white with an olive green stripe both GMH paints of that era

[youngdazza]

Looking good so far. Sounds like you have a pretty fine specimen there. A coat of paint should cover any minor interior water stains (if you have any), Its worth taking the exterior corner moldings off and replacing the silicon there, if you haven't already done so.

Cheers
young_dazza

[Deleted]

I have removed the exterior perimeter moldings from both sides,ie the r/angle al strips,,will need to buy new ones ,,, any idea where to purchase???,,they are a fairly soft alloy that curves easily.im at werribee if you want to look at what i have done

[youngdazza]

Its probably aluminum? I haven't seen this for sale from a caravan parts place, but I haven't looked too hard. Cant you save the original moldings?

EDIT: Found this page on google. You should be able to find something appropriate here:
www.caravanandrvworks.com.au/shop/index/index/category_id/124

[Deleted]

I hav,nt looked too far yet,,dont expect it will be too difficult to find,,the original moldings got very bent removing it

,i think i will be able to get it in melbourne qld would be difficult because o fthe length of the strips probably would be as bent when it arrived as the old stuff hahaha

[ForumMod]

G'day Peter,

I found the original thread you started for this van in 2010, and I've combined all the information together in the one thread.


I think you should persevere with the original edge mouldings, and try and re-use them. As you say, they are very soft and bend easily, but they are also able to be "panelbeated" back into shape pretty easily. At least all the screw holes line up properly when using the old trims again.

Give the old ones a go before you start looking for any replacements. I think you'll be surprised (and pleased) with how easy they are to bash back into shape.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hi Al Thanks for doing that,I,ll see what I can do with the old ones

[Caprinut]

C'mom Guys!

Breakdown and buy some new strips from any caravan spares company and refresh an old classic.
Van parts have improved from the Seventies and J-profiles are deeper and wider so they do the job better. Any builder in the seventies given the choice would jump at fitting better trim, but they had such a limited choice back then.
It is no sin to improve on a classic, as a matter of fact it is our obligation to do all we can to preserve a classic.
I would rather fit new trim with screw holes in a new place than try to get screws to bite in old stretched holes.
Its ok to want to keep the look of a classic, but there are new trims that work better and don't affect that classic style.
IMHO, Pete

[Deleted]

Good Morn..Here,s a pic of the hatch cover,it is a scrappy looking thing and would like to know if it is original

[Deleted]

and here is the other side. I think the van would look better with a 4 seasons but if this is original then i will do some work on it and keep it ,,,the wood is pine which is a dead giveaway as i think hardwood would have been used in the 70,s

[ForumMod]

G'day Peter,

It wouldn't surprise me to know that the hatch is the original one. I don't think these vans from the early '70s got anything fancy on the roof.

You could fit a 4-Seasons hatch in theory. You'd have to check the size of your roof opening, and decide how the 4-Seasons hatch could be mounted in position. They require a roof opening size of 660mm x 660mm.

The aluminium version pops up on ebay on occasions. Someone lists them from time to time, with "minor" hail damage, and the bidding typically gets up around $100 or so. I think they might be second-hand hatches that have been replaced under insurance claims.

The latest versions are full plastic, and cost up around $450 new (see here )

If you click on this link: Doug's Ute , you'll see in the photos down the bottom that a 4-seasons hatch has been fitted to his 1961 bondwood caravan. So, no reason why you can't do the same sort of thing.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hi Peter,
I dont reckon this is the original hatch,they were made from flat gal steel folded over on the corners.
This one seems to have ribbed ali and looks a bit smaller than usual.If you see anither Franklin ask to see the hatch,as only 2 sizes were made,square and rectangular.
You could also go to a metal fabrication place and have them make one for you for not too much money and refit the windup mechanism.
Hopr this is helpful.
Cheers
hughdeani

[Deleted]

Hello Al I have been at ebay to see if any 4 seasons are available,,but not at present i will keep looking

[Deleted]

G,day hughdeani Have a friendly sheet metal place here,,, I think i can tidy the hatch up with some tidy 45deg cuts and new tin lid

[Deleted]

I have cleaned the hatch and will now begin to do a renovation on it

[Deleted]

G'day Pete, looks like the reno on the hatch is on, probably suit the van better imho.

Our 4 seasons hatch is very practical, and works well, but does look a bit out of place on our van - but as we had NO hatch when we bought it we had to do soemthing! We just picked one up from a local caravan repairer - they replace heaps of them as Al said on insurance if they get dented in a hail storm - $75 is what we paid plus the same repairer sold a sheet of 3mm aluminium for $5 to make up a spacer.

Our opening was a little too big for the 4 seasons hatch, so we just made up a spacer from the aluminium sheet.





Hope this helps

Doug

[ForumMod]

Note: this post has been transferred from the Vintage Caravan forum, where Peter inadvertently posted it...

what really happened

if you do like me you plan your objectives mine for Saturday 24th were

fit new type window stays( having been told by caravan place that old type latches are no longer available) and reinstall windows

,,sorry boys,,new stays do not fit original rivet holes,,so drill new holes,,damm drill hits glass and cracks window,,so $50 bucks for new acrylic perspex,,i,ve got that beat,,, but then discover that

new stays do not hold windows closed,,only hold them open,

,,new stays need a pair of latches at window base to hold window closed,

,,so toddle off to caravan shop to buy latches,,,sorry boys latches dont fit this type window,so having spent close to a $150 bucks on stays and latches and perspex i feel like tearing my hair out,,,and i still have all the problems,,,,when,, i discover old type stays are available from a northern caravan parts place

paint roof with penetrol prior to painting with reflective paint ,,,,, always read instructions...penetrol needs 24hrs to dry

paint hatch cover support frame

,,ok,,, so hop on ladder with brush and paint but notice some,,, MINOR,,, delamination of ply support frame,,,some time later having removed the MINOR delamination and MOST of the support frame,i am looking for some timber to rebuild the frame and again contemplating tearing my hair out or worse

any how if the above rant sounds like i am not having fun nothing could be further from the truth,,i am having a ball most of the time renovating the Fr Regent,,just some times things dont work out like they should ,, who cares there are always tomorrows stuff ups to worry about have fun fellas

i have even stuffed this rant up... i meant to put it in the classic van hall of fame section with the rest of my posts .. perhaps the moderator will do that for a long suffering van renovator,,, because if i try i will probably stuff that up as well,,,,