1974 Viscount Royal R44140

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Hi Cameron,

I've got to say your work is inspirational! I can only hope to manage something close to what you've achieved. Your finish is so perfect!

Just to ask Al's question again (I couldn't see an answer), what paint did you use on the walls, they look fantastic and I'd love to follow suit.

Good job!

Arrow

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Gee, Thanks Guys for your kind words

Al, Ha yes the TV is a 32” cheapest one I could find, definantly don’t need anything bigger, but hey I enjoy the cricket and footy and my wife and I enjoy a good movie. TVs are very cheap now Al, maybe u should trade up the 15” ??…

Chris, mm yes I like to build things nice and strong, intentions are to be able to take the old girl off the blacktop so I don’t want anything breaking. I need to get the van weighed for rego so I will be interested to see what that will be, I know I have added about 100kg with the chassis, but I have also ditched the old stove and heavy fridge and rear carry bar all of which add up. Overall the cupboards are lightweight 3mm ply construction.

Arrow, I sealed all the wall and roof ply with two coats of paint sealer and then 3 coats of high gloss enamel all with a very short bristle roller. I sanded smooth between every coat. The Gloss Paint was the ‘no name’ brand Enamel Tradex which is half the price of the big brands but just as good. I did the roof and the walls and the old overhead cupboards all in the same colour which was an off white. Enamel is messy and takes ages to dry, but if you want full gloss it’s the only way to go.

Regards

Cameron

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haven't been on here for a while, holidays, life etc......
anyway, your Viscount is looking fantastic, have you got to soft furnishings yet?

Jean

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Hi Cameron.
Great work. Keep the photos coming.
I looked at one of the photos & saw that your van has a full size vent behind the fridge, just like mine. Have you changed it ?
Rattles- made a great point that i had over looked on my build, about fridge venting. (p-5 1978 grand tourer poptop) it could help.

Cheers Gav

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Hi gav,crikey i havnt logged on for a while, no mate the vent is as original, ive put in a domestic 240v fridge so the vents arnt as critical anyway as for a heat exchange fridge, ive got an engel in the car for camping

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Hi jean, sorry for the delay in replying same deal, anyway the van is registered, my wife has sown up the cushions for the seats and tells me she will be making curtains tomorrow, will post some pics when theyre done

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Hi Cameron

Great work sir, inspirational and scary to me at the same time. I have a leak (or three) in my Viscount Supreme, one of them at the front curved window. Taking out the whole front windows is beyond what I want to do at this stage. Can I just take off the curved section to repair the leak? Any tips you can offer?

Mike

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looks great, keep it up and posts coming

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Mike, Yes you should be able to get the curved window by itself.

The windows themselves form the majority of the strength of the whole front (or rear) window set, but rely on solid top and bottom sills. The trouble is these sills were made of chipboard, and with movement of the frame over time the sealant gives way and water gets in and damages the actual sill thus creating a compounding water issue.

It depends where you really think the water is getting in, you can try just to reseal it, but use sikaflex not silicon. I know you can buy new seals but im not convinced they will work any better so I pulled the old rubber seals out of the curved windows and resealed the perspex with grey sikaflex instead,

Regards

Cameron

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Hi Cameron

I managed to get the window out. You can see my post here..

ditzygypsy.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=photos&thread=2007&post=18926

Doing what you did taking the window completely out is more than what I want to do. So I will just clean up the frame area and window of old sealant and just put it back in. Out of interest did you use sealant tape at all or just the sikaflex? I will just use sikaflex today on the job. Hope it goes well.

From my post you can see I had to take more than the curved window out. One thing lead to another. My next drama will be to get the window and stone shield apart, make repairs and put it back on.

You can follow my progress in Hall of Fame. Feel free to post any time.. Nice to know people are reading and might be interested.. I certainly enjoyed our site.

Cheers

Mike

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Cameron,

I was reading that you used a sanding disc to clean off sealant. Since I am planning on painting my van I thought this maybe the way to go, however, what grade sand paper do you use.

Thanks
Clueless

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hi Cam, well now its all done.........is there anything you would do different, layout wise? Looking forward to seeing some 'lived in' photos.

Jean

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Hello, I see your last post for your reno was 2012. I have to do the same as you above with the windows in 2013 (now). I suppose you have finished your van and are off touring by now. I would love some guidance if you are still around. Many thanks EnidB - painter and decorator of old vans but not a carpenter or anything....Yet :-)

[supreme78]

Hi there
I removed the front window completely on my viscount and rebuilt it using ply rather that chip board or weatbics as they are known on the forum.
It's a prick of a setup but it is buildable out of the van then refit. I used sikaflex everywhere as it won't come out again and I don't want it to leak ever again.
These vans were roughly built at times and full of surprises.
Make van restoration so much fun I guess.
Good luck
Sorry I posted and then realised that the subject has more pages. Anyway my info is still relevant just a bit late coming lol