1969 Viscount Ambassador E9186

[Deleted]

Thanks Al

Well its a gamble whatever paint i use. I counted two other shades of blue under when i sanded back who knows what paint they used. In my mind solarguard is a great undercoat for enamal paint. You can put enamal over anything ! cant you ?
I did it over two days and sanded with 400 between days.

The Blue metalic paint sure looks good it changes colour on different angles and is very reflective at night !

I just hope it wont crack later down the track that will really break my heart

[Deleted]

Henley. How good is that finish .
Great job!!

Cheers Gav

[Deleted]

Congratulations on a great looking paint job - I think you have inspired me to do the same on my Viscount. Any tricks or suggestions I should know about for masking the flashes before painting?

[Deleted]

Thanks remaim

The hardest part was getting the tape in a straight line, i found using the wide tape better, try not to stretch the tape.

its easy really. The trick is to slap ya van close your eyes, spray and pray !

I think you have inspired me too with those shiny white walls and the black n white checkered floor awsome!!!

[Deleted]

Hi all,

Been busy!

*10 inch electric brakes fitted
*New floor covering ( Retro Checkers )
*Cleaned up de-rusted treated and painted A-frame
*Flooded A-fame internals with fish oil and fish oiled all other hard to get to cavities
*Powder coated spare wheel
*Powder coated coupling (just for fun)
*2x New 13 inch Sunrasia wheels with light truck tyres fitted
*Built the bed frame with hinged lid for under bed storage
*PVC storage pipes fitted on A-frame and under rear
*Storage tool box fitted to A-frame
*Old gas lines and bottle removed (going all electric)
* Re-wired all 12v elecrics
*New stop, tail, blinker lights and covers
*New hand brake cable

Many many other small jobs completed the van is now roadworthy and ready for rego I hope to be on the road for Xmas holidays.

I am now starting on the interior I am going to try and keep it looking close to origional 60s /70s style. I wil re-laminate all the benches and table a dark black stone colour.

See you all on the road in a couple of weeks !!


here is a few recent pics :

[Deleted]

well done Henley, shes a real beaut.... im real interested to see the inside reno... please keep us posted..

Alan

[millard1399]

G'day henley,

Somehow I missed your last post, so I apologise for not congratulating you earlier on the excellent work you've done on your van.

You've sure given it a whole new lease of life, and I can see you travelling many miles with your chest puffed out in pride. Well done! ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Thanks

Yes I am a proud daddy

[jeff]

Excellent job henley, thats a Classic finish to a Vintage van
cheers

[Deleted]

Been busy finished off many jobs !! ;D
Got many jobs to go to complete my van!
Here is a few pics!
Air con installation









The old anex roof had to go got ripped to shreds in a storm it was paper thin and was rubish I tyed to fix it but a total waste of time! the new roof is awsome and cost me a fortune!









I also go windows and a new removeable door on the anexe pics to come as soon as i set it up again !
I welded a 5mm x 40mm flat bar on the a-frame to make it stronger and stop the flex! it works i have done a few thousand Ks up and down mountans rough and rocky roads without worry! Thanks to Gav fo the idea and advice!





Got rid of the rodeo rubish and got a old bomb falcon for a few bucks I needed to give the rear springs a 2 inch lift fitting extra extra heavy duty custom made springs to acomadate the weight of all my stuff tools and 70 litre gas tank and the van ! I tried towing with the standard falcon springs and the ass was near dragging on the ground it swayed and i got the death wobles so bad it scared the living sh--t outa me !
Now with the new springs and my toughened a-frame I can travel speeds of up 110 kph without the sway or fear! now she tows like a new van!!






The inside has had a makeover with new curtains and this and that and a bit of laminating !CHOPPED THE OLD TABLE IN HALF TO GET MORE SPACE TO WALK AROUND
AND ITS MORE FUNCTIONAL AS I NOW CAN GET A CORNER SETTING, SINGLE BED, TABLE FOR TO OR COFEE TABLE THE EXTRA SPACE WAS MUCH NEEDED!
still got many more jobs to do !

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

i have a confesion !!
i never got around to painting the lighting bolts on the top portion of the right hand side of the van !! sory for the dissapointment ! the job will be done one day when i feel like it in the near future!

[ForumMod]

Well henley, you certainly haven't been sitting around idle!!

Struth, that's an amazing amount of work you've completed, and doesn't it just look the goods!

All round, she's a great looking van now. Congratulations on a VERY fine effort! Well done. ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[Dunnwatt]

Hi Henley,

First time on the site & came across your project, nice job. I have a very similar caravan. A 20' Ambassador E1149, 1971. I will get her posted soon. Hope your enjoying the fruits of your labour.

[Deleted]

Gee the paint job came up great. Can you tell me what the material is on the front of the van. Thanks.

[Deleted]

I now use Galmet Epoxy Paints over an etch primer. Super shiny! (Pressure wash, sand and sugar soap super prep before etch priming).

[Deleted]

Hi everybody,

I am back from my 1 year working holiday. My wife and I travelled and worked all over QLD living out of our van. We had a great time met so many nice people and had so many great experiences. We had the time of our lives. We created a baby boy on our travels! Our first born!! He was born 8 weeks ago and his name is Daniel. That has put a permanent end to our life on the road.

Planning a 2 week caravan adventure to Tasmania in Feb 2015

The van was perfect but just a little small, it towed like a dream and the old Falcon never gave us any problems.

Stage 2 of my van Reno will start shortly and will post many pics of the holiday and van Reno soon.

So I am back at my old job working with my Dad at our factory at Ingleburn NSW.

COUGAR POWDER COATING
15 York Road Ingleburn NSW
Ph: 02 9618 2110
Mob: [phone]
E: [e-mail]
www.cougarpowdercoating.com.au

David Beaver

We are industrial Powder Coaters. Recently we have been doing small jobs for the general public such as: Mag Wheels, Car Parts, Bull Bars/Sports Bars, Car Parts, Truck trailer and Caravan Parts.

Any Members need Powder coating done to help with your restorations!! Give me a call and I will do you a good deal!!!

Here are a few pictures of some recent job I have done:










Powder coating checker plate "black satin" for a major well known local caravan manufacturer M***** one of our regular customers!!

My lonely van sleeping in hibernation! All covered up with this awesome caravan cover I got on special at ALDI for only $49.00

[Deleted]

Hi Dellie

The black material at the front of the van is some kind of black rubber it was on the van when i got it

Cheers

[atefooterz]

Wow great thread & inspiration for us newbies to get it a happening and importantly to report back here :)Powder coating eh.. looks around to find stuff that should be shiney & tonka tough!

[Deleted]

That's awesome! I've got the 13ft variant, which is I'm going through parts of it now. The air con idea is brilliant. Keeps everything original.
Your axle looks similar to mine. I would assume it is a Holden bearing? Was it difficult to swap from the old brakes to the new, I'm thinking of going larger elec, but also maybe going 6 stud or late model Holden for more second hand wheel options.
Interesting thing though. My chassis # is e9235. but registered as an 86 model. I'm on the hunt for answers about that.
I've saved this page, your an inspiration. My little fam want to do a working trip too. Any tips?

[mark'n'drey E8772]

Oct 12, 2012 21:10:20 GMT 10 henley said:

Thanks Al for confirming that with me as I suspected it is a !
1969 Im so happy about that. 1969 Vintage sounds so much better than 1970 Clasic. 1969 was a great year a year that changed the world forever !!
If I can I would love to give both forums a go for a while! The topics and discusions on Clasic forum more relates to my caravan and I, than does the vintage forum ! also I think you lot are friendlier and more down to earth.

[peterpan]

nice looking van good job