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Post by millard1399 on May 16, 2012 9:32:30 GMT 10
G'day All, After two long years of searching, searching, searching, all the planets have finally lined up and we now have a full-size van. There's just one teeny weeny catch about the van from a Classic forum perspective... ...it's a 1992 Windsor Over the last two years, we looked at hundreds of caravan adverts; went and inspected lots of overpriced rubbish; put offers and bids on suitable vans only to be pipped by other people with deeper pockets; but continued to live in hope that one day...ONE DAY... the "ideal van" for us would appear within 100kms of home. Last Friday it did, and it was delivered yesterday. However, in a brilliant legal side-stepping manoeuvre (if I do say so myself ;D ), the Windsor has been put into my partner's name, so I am now immune from prosecution in the Classic Caravan court. The worst I can be charged with is "Aiding and abetting in the towing of a non-Classic caravan" which only carries a 3-month good behaviour bond, so I'll have to wear that. Now we need to find a more suitable towcar than the Mazda Tribute, so we can put the "big trip" plans together. Certainly hope that doesn't take another two years... The Millard has now been put up for sale. cheers, Al.
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Post by viscount6116 on May 16, 2012 11:26:25 GMT 10
Howdy Al Very nice looking van 'you should get many years of enjoyment from it! Wouldn't worry about the 1992 pedigree as don't think anyone would care (wouldnt be much of a forum without you) As for the Millard you should easy get your price or more (it's a credit to you!!) Anyway more pics please and good luck with your acquisition Cheers Andy
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Post by barkpaint on May 16, 2012 13:23:15 GMT 10
Not the Millard, no you could not sell it after all that work? Why not start a new forum..... Comtemporary Vans? It has occurred to me recently that the years of the classic forum must gradually become later and later, us baby boomers will be supplanted by the next generation.... food for thought.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2012 15:21:51 GMT 10
G'day Al,
Geee the Windsor looks great! - got any photos of the inside? Any problems to fix? Regards
Bobbie
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Post by kiwijim on May 16, 2012 17:59:35 GMT 10
Howdy AL, Congratulations on finding that very elusive caravan, only two years searching !! Well Done. "WHATS THIS I READ".... SELLING THE MILLARD[/size].!!!!!!!! "YA GOTTA BE JOKING" .......After all the hours spent on it, The thousand of rivets fitted, The countless skinned knuckles, The glue under the finger nails, The frustrations with those winders on the windows, The hundreds of hours sanding down, The paint in the face from painting the chassis, How can you forget the over-sized thumb from the Mis-guided hammer "NUP" I just can't believe that you could do away with something that has been a main-stay of this Forum. Tell me I have read it wrong, and that you have actually stored it away just to keep for the next VV & CC get-together. kiwijim. P.S. I suppose we had better have some inside Pic's of the new Home away from Home, Just to prove you didn't borrow it for the afternoon, just so you could scare the hell out of us. ;D ;D
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Post by millard1399 on May 16, 2012 19:16:21 GMT 10
G'day All, Yeah, comes as a bit of a shock, dunnit?!! To us, as well! After travelling 9300kms in six trips in the Millard, we had a good understanding of what we'd look for in our "ideal van". We wanted a rear island bed, centre lounge/dining area, and a front kitchen (more on that later). We've got space limitations in the front yard to park it, so it had to be no more than 18ft long in the cabin (with a preference for around 16ft so the car can fit in the driveway as well). We lucked out in the preferred length, with the Windsor being 17ft 4ins, but we'll work with that. The width is 7ft 6ins, so it's a foot wider than the Millard as well. Anyhoo, this is the van side-on... The front kitchen and lounge/dining area... The rear island bed... With regards to the front kitchen, I'd previously read reports and opinions on the internet about caravans with front kitchens being overly heavy in the front end, and being a real bugger to tow, but this van seems to be nicely balanced. It has a tare weight of 1000kgs on the rego papers (which will be confirmed over a weighbridge soon), and I tested the ball weight today with the bathroom scales and it came in at 94kgs, so it meets the 10% requirement. As you can see in a photo above, I've already got the ladders out so I can clean the roof. The history of the van is a story you'll likely hear often: owned by pensioners and parked in a caravan park for their holidays. He dies, so she's left with the van. She's now in ill-health, and the van gets sold. The roof is covered in moss/lichen from it's years in the caravan park... ...which I've been scraping off with a sharp plastic scraper... ...and then scrubbing with a scrubbing brush... Here's a photo of one of the four seasons hatches after I've given part of it a scrub... I think the roof will come up looking pretty good once all the grime is scrubbed off it. The rest of the cladding around the van is in quite good condition already. Problems? Nothing major. That was also one of the important items on our checklist. I didn't want another van that required months (or [gulp] years) of work done on it to get it ship-shape. This one requires relatively minor work only: a couple of broken window locks and worn window winders; a few cosmetic repairs; but mainly just a case of giving it a "steam clean" and putting our own personal touches into it. It does have a bit of wood rot in both back corners, but they are hidden in the wardrobes, so I'm hoping I can get away with how it is (time will tell). The front corners, hatch surrounds, and window frames show no sign of any water damage, so I was impressed with that. A little "bonus" is that the curtain on the roll-out awning was replaced two years ago by the insurance co., when the previous one was ripped in a windstorm. All up, we're pretty happy with the van. Bearings, brakes, and the independent suspension system will be checked in a couple of days by my brother, so that's really the only place left to give us any "nasty surprises". We keep walking outside and just looking at the van. We keep pinching ourselves that after two years the wait has finally paid off. We got the van for a price that was at the lower end of my valuation range, so we've got some bickies left over to put tyres and other bits and pieces on it. It's all good. No... actually, it's great!! ;D ;D cheers, Al.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2012 19:29:25 GMT 10
Hi Al, The new girl looks like a nice'un. Don't be too surprised if Millie puts a long scratch down the side of the young whipper snapper, in a fit of pique.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2012 19:43:10 GMT 10
Hi Al, nice looking Windsor you have there. I had one like this a few years back,used to clean that stippled ali with a small piece of carpet.Good for putting polish on too! Cheers hughdeani
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Post by olfarts on May 16, 2012 19:54:05 GMT 10
Reminds me of a little 19 foot Adelma i had recently,it came up sparkling after a good scrape and polish. You buy what ever van you like Al,im sure the mods wont punish you Go and enjoy a damn good holiday,thats why we have vans isn't it. I just cant seem to find a clause where it says you have to OWN a classic to contribute to the forum Dave.
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Post by bobt on May 16, 2012 22:00:19 GMT 10
hmmm. Do ya still have that other project in the shed? Nice shed too I might add. Last year I had a winsor poptop...love me poptops was a layout similar to yours except dinnette and lounge were reversed. Never had any trouble with a kitchen full of food, a locker full of gear. I carried a fair amount of gear under the double bed, so I figure it offset what was in the front. It towed like a dream. It covered a lot of K's in the ime we had it. Now the down side. Mine was a 1999, the stuff that was used to seal the windows disintigrated and we had to get them resealed. Windsor used a double side tape type thing for all the sealing around the windows and external joins. It had a limited life. (Today I would do it myself, did not no wot I no now ) Nice looking Windsor you will get lots of good times out of it.. If ya wait long enough, it will turn into a classic.. ;D bobt
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Post by millard1399 on May 16, 2012 22:59:46 GMT 10
G'day bobt, Yep, and that's the main reason I didn't want another caravan that needed a heap of work done to it. Got enough on my plate as it is. This was what the little van looked like back in January... I'm not rushing this one, so it's progressing slowly. Since January I've done a bit more framework in the rear bed area... ...and cut the door opening and put that framework in place... This little project is a bit like me... every day it gets another day older! cheers, Al.
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Post by millard1399 on May 17, 2012 17:20:01 GMT 10
Just thought I'd pop a couple of photos up, showing what NOT to do when restoring your caravan... SCREWS!! Don't use bright galvanised or gold passivated steel screws on your van!! Somebody has done a repair to one window and refitted it using steel screws: And worse still, the people that installed the roll-out awning have fitted the awning rail to the van with steel screws: Don't you do this sort of dodgy work in your restoration! Spend the dollars and use grade 304 stainless steel screws whenever you use a screw on the outside of the van. Don't skimp and use the cheaper rubbish, ok?! cheers, Al.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2012 19:56:31 GMT 10
Crazy isn't it.
And this was no doubt done by a 'reputable repairer'.
No wonder our manufacturing industry is going down the gurgler.
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Post by bobt on May 18, 2012 22:57:44 GMT 10
Hey Al If ya add the ages of the two vans together and divide by 2 I reckon you would have a classic on your hands. bobt ;D
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Post by millard1399 on May 19, 2012 7:50:03 GMT 10
Hey bobt, I actually have, errr, four vans at the moment (call me irresponsible ) A 1956 bondwood A 1960 bondwood (the one I'm rebuilding at the moment) A 1977 Millard A 1992 Windsor The average of all those years is 1971, so collectively I qualify as a Classic, and I also qualify for other categories on an individual basis. ;D ;D ( Gotta love how numbers can be manipulated to show anything! ) [The fella who delivered the Windsor van the other day has an old FJ ute he's had for 35 years. As soon as he saw the bondwood van that I'm working on, he wanted to buy it on the spot to tow behind the FJ. ] cheers, Al.
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Post by millard1399 on May 19, 2012 19:08:27 GMT 10
We had a productive day on the van today. The roof cleaning is almost completed, but I had to divert my attention to start resealing the edge cover mouldings before some predicted rain. As bobt mentioned above, there is a foam-like substance deep in under the cover strip, and then a cream sealant has been applied to seal the moulding outside edge. This cream sealant is now well and truly brittle and cracked... I needed a small jeweller's screwdriver to get in behind the cover strip and prise out all the cracked sealant... Then the job was masked up... Sealant applied and smoothed with a plastic scraper... All excess sealant cleaned up with tissues dampened with turps, and masking tape removed... Looks much better now. I'm using Selleys Butyl Mastic sealant, because it doesn't cure completely like most other sealants. I may want to remove these cover strips in the future for woodrot repairs, and this sealant will allow that to happen without giving me a heap of hassle. Just a couple of other observations... I had to remove the reflectors at the back to allow access for the sealant nozzle to get in under the moulding. I prised them off with a plastic scraper so I didn't mark the white paint. When I got them off, there was a heap of dirt accumulated behind them... ...and that was because whoever sealed them couldn't be bothered running the bead of sealant around the perimeter of the reflector... It was the same with the rear red marker lamps... The moral of the story is that if you're going to all the trouble of restoring a van, DO put some quality into your work. You'll love yourself forever if you do! ;D In other news, the dodgy steel screws continue to appear. I took the plastic insert out of the edge moulding, and found these underneath... Mr. Bunnings will be handing over a heap of stainless screws when I next visit, so I can fix this second-rate job up. cheers, Al.
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Post by millard1399 on May 20, 2012 18:04:34 GMT 10
Well, after four days of scraping, rubbing, scrubbing, and wiping, the van roof has change from this... to this... What a difference! cheers, Al.
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Post by kiwijim on May 20, 2012 21:52:20 GMT 10
Howdy Al,
"Man O Man " What a difference !!!!!
That clean roof has added another $1000 to the value straight away.
Great to see you have finally found the van of your dreams,
Not long now and we should see you on the road, the fridge is full in the Coaster, so where are we going to make the meeting place. ? ;D ;D ;D
Cheers kiwijim ;D
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Post by bobt on May 20, 2012 22:27:17 GMT 10
ooooh could this be a gathering some where suitable at a time I can do??
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Post by millard1399 on May 20, 2012 22:43:07 GMT 10
G'day kiwijim,
When are you planning on being over this side and somewhere near me? I reckon we could organise a get-together with our "homes on wheels" somewhere in my region, or we'd be ok to travel and meet up with you somewhere else. Do you have a particular plan for this trip, or are you just pointing the bus in any direction?
cheers, Al.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2012 23:14:14 GMT 10
Looks like a job well done. Did you remove the cover strip or just fed the sealer into it.? I'm about to reseal my Windsor Windcheater as it has a leak at the rear. I'm going to remove the cover strip and reseal the whole roof along both both sides. Al. Attachments:
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Post by millard1399 on May 20, 2012 23:25:25 GMT 10
G'day alan, and welcome to the forum! ;D
No, I didn't remove the moulding. I just wanted to plug up the edges of the moulding with sealant, as best I could without undoing everything. I'm just trying to buy some time, and will look at doing a proper reseal some time in the future.
cheers, Al.
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Post by kiwijim on May 21, 2012 2:01:39 GMT 10
Howdy Al,
The very rough plan as at the moment is.... Crossing the Sand Patch any time from with-in a couple of weeks time and the beginning of July at the latest.
Meeting up with Brother (who's coming down from Brisbane) some-where on the Murray River, may-be around Mildura.
The only other plan is to get with-in photo distance of some Snow,
There's also a Bloke in Vic some-where, that I will try to catch up with, He desperately requires some help to complete a small ( sort of Tear Drop )caravan of un-known make, ;D ;D ;D
We won't have a time limit this trip, but a lot will depend on how the Coaster goes, as to how far we travel.
We'll keep you posted on this Forum when the "Classic Coaster" starts to turn it's wheels.
kiwijim ;D
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Post by bobandjacqui on May 21, 2012 11:32:52 GMT 10
G'day Al, Just found this thread about your new van Very nice. Should be very comfy on your big trip ;D ;D ;D Good luck with the sale of the Millard Cheers Bob and Jacqui
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2012 12:34:13 GMT 10
G'day alan, and welcome to the forum! ;D No, I didn't remove the moulding. I just wanted to plug up the edges of the moulding with sealant, as best I could without undoing everything. I'm just trying to buy some time, and will look at doing a proper reseal some time in the future. cheers, Al. Thanks Al. (feels like I'm talking to myself) ;D We're actually thinking of selling our Windcheater as we prefer a double bed and this one has singles. We have always had a double in the previous vans and also in the Coaster I built 11 years ago, we thought singles would be OK but not the case. So when I sell this one I'm thinking of looking for and going back to a Viscount which was actually the first full van we ever owned back in the early 70s. The one we had was a 13ft. Royal, divan/double at rear and table/seats up front. Now looking for something around 15ft.that needs a bit of TLC. This one looks good but will probably be gone by the time I'm ready to buy. Al. www.ebay.com.au/itm/270978193917?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
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