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Post by atefooterz on Jan 8, 2016 13:35:01 GMT 10
Enamel is in mint condition, it has a heavy base and boils water very fast. A lovely addition to the van.  That looks like it was made to sit on the orange stove Snoops, You'll have no excuse now not to "unearth" that orange stripe that once graced the outside of the van. Paprika or Orange originally? Always hard to tell if all is faded. |
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Post by snoops on Jan 8, 2016 20:37:11 GMT 10
Not sure if they did both, but it will be a vibrant orange by the time I'm done. |
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Post by atefooterz on Jan 9, 2016 23:33:54 GMT 10
Not sure if they did both, but it will be a vibrant orange by the time I'm done. The standards were, just like standards like brown (nowdays a really custom colour to match)or mission brown the orangie versions of being standard orange was very similar to the original *Ansett colour where as the paprika that was really used in 72-76ish was a slightly redder deeper orange, current stock orange is 3/4 towards paprika haha! The real test of being faithful would be to chase a mustard yellow. I have only seen a bold chrome yellow being used on any repaints, vintage vans included. Maybe if a mustard Renault 16`s owner got a classic we may yet have what can never been unseen! ( dirty nappy colour was what my late Mum always called it). *Clutter the last few years of orange Ansett planes had both orange & a custom colour very similar to paprika plus the black stripe. That changed to just the white & blue gold logo, to suit the 80s. |
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Post by snoops on Jan 14, 2016 20:08:23 GMT 10
Was in the City today grabbing a book off a good friend who happens to work for a large fabric wholesaler. I mentioned I was going to start looking for new curtain material and upholstery fabric for the van, and as he wasn't too busy, he offered to take me through the showroom (not open to the public). They stock thousands of different fabrics and they had several that caught my eye. I was given samples of all the ones I liked the look of - pics of which are below. The 3 on the left are the choices I took for the upholstery fabric and on the right is the drapery I liked the look of. Now the colours shown here aren't quite what they are in real life - they are more orange than red.  So after some discussions with SWMBO, we have settled on...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I'll get these ordered soon, then drag out the trusty 1958 Singer and see if I still have its measure! |
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Post by atefooterz on Jan 14, 2016 20:10:10 GMT 10
That will give a great feel to the interior.
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Post by snoops on Jan 14, 2016 20:16:51 GMT 10
Hoping so, yes. Although they aren't exactly 70's patterns, they should give a nice warm feel to the van. The upholstery fabric is raised at the red bits, and feels really nice. The striped curtain material alternates between the two colours on the sample, but they are also different textures. Both are commercial quality fabrics that are hard wearing. Not sure what the cost will be yet, but I don't need too much so not to worry.
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Post by atefooterz on Jan 14, 2016 20:20:46 GMT 10
Hoping so, yes. Although they aren't exactly 70's patterns, they should give a nice warm feel to the van. The upholstery fabric is raised at the red bits, and feels really nice. The striped curtain material alternates between the two colours on the sample, but they are also different textures. Both are commercial quality fabrics that are hard wearing. Not sure what the cost will be yet, but I don't need too much so not to worry. While not strictly 70s it at least gives that vibe, much of the 70s interiors were conservative family/granny friendly compared to many living rooms i remember visiting! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 20:26:36 GMT 10
They look nice snoops, are they Warwick fabrics?
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Post by snoops on Jan 14, 2016 21:05:54 GMT 10
They look nice snoops, are they Warwick fabrics? They are indeed. A fellow member of AULRO is the IT Manager there. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2016 16:36:49 GMT 10
You cannot go wrong with that brand, we done our motorhome with it and after 2 years living on it the fabric was as new.
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Post by snoops on Jan 22, 2016 5:34:38 GMT 10
Big test today - heavy rain is forecast all day. I've had 2 niggling leaks in the van and I spend quite some time over the last couple of evenings resealing a couple of windows, the clearance lights and resealed all the seams on the roof. The back window is still a basket case but would require a full day's work to fix - someone siliconed it completely shut years ago. Looking over it carefully, I don't think it's ever leaked from the back window, but from the roof joint just above it.
Wish me luck, tonight I find out if I'm any closed to having a leak free van...
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Post by tasmillard on Jan 22, 2016 5:40:58 GMT 10
Your asking the impossible snoops...,a 'leak free' caravan, preposterous! lol
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2016 6:37:44 GMT 10
The seams in the roof are the weak pats on the Franklin. I put heaps of roof/gutter Sika on them and covered with 3 coats of Solargard. So far so good.........
All the J rails are sealed and Sika painted so in the future I will be able to spot a dogie spot.
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Post by snoops on Jan 24, 2016 17:30:16 GMT 10
Well, so far so good. Been down the inlaws place a couple of days now. It rained while travelling down here and we had a solid shower last night and fingers crossed, it's not leaking at the moment. I used a UV stabilised exterior grade water proofer on all the roof joints and along the j rails - straight over the old bituminised sealant already there. It fills gaps very well and is easy to spot places that haven't fully been done. If it leaks from here, the only thing for it will be to completely strip that stuff off - a huge job - I did the bit around the roof hatch and that took hours just to properly clean about 3 meters of it, so hopefully I can get away without doing that any time soon. I'm very close to being able to paint the off side of it - only 1 more window to seal, them tidy up some mouldings and I'll paint it so people can start to see what it may look like when done. Hopefully doing that will get me to sort the rest out sooner than later. I can't start the bed and seating upgrade until after Easter (we will be using it several times between now and then) so I may as well get some cosmetic stuff sorted. |
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Post by snoops on Feb 2, 2016 19:48:11 GMT 10
No pic, but I cleaned and reinstalled one of the J moulds that I've had off since I did the drawbar...  I've been putting it off because of some damage down the bottom of the van which was a PITA to fix. I bit the bullet and have been working on that for the last few evenings. It's now back together and solid as a rock, so that should be sorted for years to come. So, now I've just got one more window to reseal and I can paint the off side of the van. I want to get it done in time for Corowa - the vans been on the road for almost a year now! If that goes well, I might get a rush of blood and rebuild the back window before Corowa as well. Oh, and for those that like old things and have a chance to get up or down to Corowa come see all the Military vehicles that will be on show at the 37th Corowa Swim in - www.corowaswim-in.orgMain weekend is the 19th and 20th March - There's a parade on Sunday morning of all the vehicles - I'll be there all week with the van - and the 101. I'll be camped on the oval in the Ball Park Caravan park if anyone gets there. |
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Post by snoops on Feb 6, 2016 19:31:01 GMT 10
More mundane stuff today. One of the front legs I installed - Alko units - bent out of shape on a trip a while ago as I couldn't quite get it straight when setting up the van - it is a bit too long when on level ground, but the shortest unit anyone makes. The stress on it being at an angle was too much for to and it just bent upwards gracefully lowering the front of the van to the ground. . I cut 2" off it today and fixed the bent bits. It now can be setup square to the van when on level ground. It's not as straight forward as you might think as the entire unit has to be disassembled to do this properly. The biggest thing that annoyed me was that the whole issue could have been avoided if the manufacturer would have used 2 more blobs of weld to stop lateral movement of the mechanism. In fact, the welds were all very sub par, but are now MIG'ed up properly and reinforced with a bit more weld in the right spots. A bit annoying as these are the most expensive on the market but still not up to scratch. Alko get these made in China, like everyone else, and the design is better than most, but could still be improved very easily and cheaply. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2016 20:42:29 GMT 10
I have to get some from my Arrow and I wonder if THIS are not the best option. |
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Post by atefooterz on Feb 6, 2016 21:16:44 GMT 10
I have to get some from my Arrow and I wonder if THIS are not the best option. While pondering about trying to re build my original stands i saw a 2 pack of 2ton rated stands like those in the auto shop for $49, so i bought them and love them. I have a few shimmy bits of timber scrap for those in between sites! 2 years later the only addition was a 1.5ton trolly jack to make set up and pack up faster and safer! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 7:40:46 GMT 10
I have to get some from my Arrow and I wonder if THIS are not the best option. Hi G
While away at Evans Heads I noticed a number of the Vintage van owners were using these, some only on the back while others on all for corners of their vans.
Cheers
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Post by snoops on Feb 7, 2016 12:36:24 GMT 10
Yep, I've got 2 of the old Stakka Jacks and have been using them under the back corners. They are light and strong. They come with a little aluminium spanner that fits the nut and you can put quite a bit of load on them to level the van where needed. I've only gone for the wind up ones on the front corners originally for ease of setup, but I don't think they actually save a lot of time, but they're there now, so making them work properly is the go for me. These are close to the style I have - 
I have strengthened the chassis around the Alko units to make it a bit more rigid in the area they are attached and along with the additional welding I've done on them, they seem very good now. I have a different style for the back - similar to the old scissor type the van came with, but stronger. Again, the shortest unit available is still too long, so I will have to modify them too. I'll take pics of those as I go. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 13:12:28 GMT 10
I level my van in a different way, I use ramps under the wheels and the jockey wheel on the drawbar to leveling it and only use the stands to keep it level (not rocking) and never use the stands as jacks.
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Post by snoops on Feb 7, 2016 13:42:58 GMT 10
That's great in theory, but I've been to plenty of spots where the jockey wheel will run out of travel at either end depending on which way you're facing - up or down hill. I do what you do when I'm at a Caravan park or other dead level ground, but that isn't too often where I camp. imwill level it side to side under the wheels - I've been in spots where I've got more than 200mm of blocks under one wheel and the draw bar on the ground. Once I find the spot I want to be, I'll make the van fit it. . Jacking the van is unavoidable in places. Even in my driveway when I want to level the van for guests to stay in, with the jockey wheel all the way down, I still have to use the stakka's to push the back up a couple of inches. If you think about it, you're not jacking the whole van up, you're just unloading the suspension a bit. Doing this also gives you a rock solid base that doesn't wobble at all. |
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Post by tasmillard on Feb 7, 2016 17:22:24 GMT 10
Snoops, interesting about the leg being bent... mine are too long to sit vertically, so are also placed on the ground at about 45degrees. I was thinking about the stress on it, and seems your experience just made it fact. Which part did you cut shorter, the leg that winds out or the upper part of the leg?
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Post by snoops on Feb 7, 2016 19:32:47 GMT 10
There's a bit to it if you want to do it properly. I cut both the inner and outer, but to do this you have to disassemble the whole lot - then you need to cut the main shaft screw shorter as well, and if you want to put the split pin back in it so you can't unwind the inner all the way out, you need to re drill the screw - which on mine are hardened, so I used a cobalt drill bit. Took about 1 1/2 hours to do the good one and around 2 1/2 hours to fix the bent one.
What brand are yours? On the Alko units, you just need to drive a roll pin out that holds the gear to the main screw and it all come out the bottome.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 19:48:50 GMT 10
Can be welding a flat washer at the end of the screw instead of drilling for a pin?
Always looking for the easy way......sorry getting old.
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