1979 Viscount Pop Top - SN 92812 -

[Deleted]

Hi Folks - names Mark am new to the forum, nice to meet you all, and appreciate the information I have learned so far from some of the forums regarding my 1979 Viscount Pop Top (I did not know the Year of manufacture) as my entry to what I hope to be many years of caravan adventures with my young family and I look forward to sharing some of my vanning experiences with any folks who may be interested.
Purchased on Ebay 1 week ago (wont gloat about the price) - fairly original and straight - the photos I have shared below are from the original ad on Ebay she came with original fly and draft skirt - will post more pics after I give her a clean and polish in the next few weeks
 - I drove down to Melbourne last weekend (Friday night left at 11pm) to collect  and towed her back to Sydney, fairly smooth considering no load levelers were used (bars and brackets were in the van but no tow ball bracket, purchased a set today along with a motorized jockey wheel to back her under my carport) - my kids came with me (8yo princess and 5yo prince) and they enjoyed the excitement of the first night in the van on the way back and are eager for there next Big adventure -
- I had searched and saved for a few years for an entry level van with a tidy light colored interior and look forward to giving her a clean up and getting her back to origional as posible, and was hoping some members may be able to assist with tracking down a few items -
a) Replacement decals
b) Upolstery (will have to settle for updated upolstery unless someone knows where I can get the origonal viscount fabric from ! have had a good look and unable to find similar.
c) unsure if she had a club style seat previously as I have noticed on other similar year and model - mine may have been modified and the club seat is a preferred option with east to west table - or would this be the origional layout?
d) can a bunk be fitted at the front (does anyone have one they dont want? in similar light coloured ply)
e) can anyone tell me if a set of brake shoes and wheel bearings can still be purchased anywhere, seem fine but would like to be sure I have spare set
f) is 79 a classic van ?
Look forward to posting updates over the next few weeks - enjoy each day as your last - one day you will be right!

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[ForumMod]

G'day Mark, and welcome to the forum!

Already off to a good start with creating some fantastic caravanning memories for the littlies, hey?!

To answer some of your questions (and hopefully others will be able to answer them as well):

a) replacement decals: listed on ebay occasionally, but they won't be exactly the same as the originals in design. Near enough though.
b) upholstery: yeah, not likely to find original fabric anymore, so go for what you like.
c) seating: can't answer this one.
d) can a bunk be fitted?: yeah, sort of, but you'd be lucky to find a spare original one. Might have to make your own from timber, or I've seen them made from square tubing and plastic joiners from Bunnings.
e) brake shoes and bearings: they'd just be standard Holden from that time period, wouldn't they? Don't remember anyone else on the forum saying they had trouble with late-'70s Viscounts, so I reckon you'll have no trouble sorting this out.
f) is '79 a Classic van?: Yep, we primarily cater for vans built between Jan 1970 and Dec 1979, but we're flexible around that time period. We get people joining the forum with vans from the '60s and vans from the '80s. That's fine by us if we can help them out in some way.

Not a bad looking van, judging by your photos.

cheers,
Al.

[rebswa]

Howdy Mark,
I regard to your question on wheel bearings and brakes.
I have a 79 Supreme Deluxe tandem axle and some advertising brochures from Viscount from that era.
Consistent with the brochure the springs, axles and hubs are all made by Girlock and the brakes are Kelsey Hayes.
I don't think Girlock are around any more and hours on Google could not source me any Girlock parts.
While I did not need replacement brake shoes I found the brake magnets available albeit in a Tekonsha box from a local caravan parts shop.
Axle U bolts are available from Caravans Plus online store.
As for wheel bearings and seals you should have no problem there as they will either be Holden or Ford or a combination of both and readily available at your local bearing store.
Mine has Holden bearings with ford wheel studs.
Notwithstanding, as your van is a single axle the above info may not be applicable.
Regards, Rebs

[Deleted]

Gidday Al,Rebs and other members - thanks for the advice and your time to post - has been interesting and inspiring researching others members vans and mods, getting ideas for this and my next project also how I can contribute to the forum members (via research and networking)
Update on this project - have not given her a name as yet
a) replacement decals: have seen the Ebay ones (have em in my watch list as last resort) and will investigate if I can have some made here in Sydney and the cost involved (might help other members trying to do same)have seen on threads that other members looked into this but did not post any costs (maybe was way to expensive)one of my friends is a graphics artist and can reproduce on computer in a suitable format for the sticker company to use on their machines (the expensive part)- the rest should not cost to much, maybe other members might want to commission similar, will start another thread for this once I have the quotes.
b) upholstery: will leave as is for now till I sort out the front seat option, the foam is all original - have been looking at other suitable fabric options will at least use the original color (Teal) same as the side stripe , shame they did not use the cool arrow stripes design from the 60's vans!
c) seating: will keep investigating,maybe will make one up if I can locate similar ply - found a mod reno that is the exact same interior configuration as mine and shows the front stow box/ seat - www.caravanrepairshop.com.au/renovations - they did a top job (I want to keep mine as original as possible though)- will give em a call next week see if they have any pieces of the original ply (and trim) left over, fingers crossed it did not all go in the bin, if so will ask them to keep an eye out - as a thought I might ask all the yards and repairers I contact to keep (us) informed of any strip outs in the future for spares, parts and pics and post em in the for sale section at this site (if they aren't doing this already)
and another with the pic of front seat option below
d) Bunks - will design a slat and angle support system using drop catches so can also use for storage when in transit - will check out bunnings and CV shop ( Parravans at Windsor)
e) Brakes n bearings - thanks for the info - they are mechanical brakes will ask the folks at Parravans if they have spares
f) Have found the gas compliance plate - December 1978 - so she is in the classic era - yeaah
Bye for now - happy cruising - cheers

[supreme78]

Hi Mark
I have a 1978 supreme deluxe and it has the same wheel covers as yours. It's fitted with girllock brakes Holden bearings and ford wheel studs. I work at a parts store and most parts are available for these set ups. They have wheel nuts holding the wheels on and then aloy nuts hold on the hub caps separately. I am looking at upgrading my springs and axle to give me more Gross capability. My 16 1/2 foot van will be on the limit and I want some in reserve. I will endeavour to get part numbers for parts listed here for you and others info in the future.
Regards
Paul

[Deleted]

Hi all - Thanks Paul for the info and suggestions - apologies for the delay in reply, unfortunately my wife has been diagnosed with cancer and I am time poor of late whilst I take care of her - we are to trying to get her strength up so she can get in and out of our tow vehicle and the caravan, we hope we are able to have some time together on the road with the kids and it is giving her hope to have a goal of putting some fun memories together for the lil uns which we can video as keepsakes for them, I have not done much on the van for the past few weeks apart from begin a tidy up of the draw bar (for NSW Blue slip)only cosmetic as it is in good shape under the paint ( anybody know if the draw bars were black or silver from the factory ?) and have sorted out a quality (Baintech)battery box, the 12V Battery and connection wiring was under seat on the same side as the kitchen (not good for weight distribution) will move to the center of the drawbar in a lock box - when I have chance I will confirm the stud pattern (Holden or Ford)and inspect the shoes and bearings and let you know - also something interesting is that I found that the mission brown stripe is painted over a yellow stripe !! wonder if the original would have been blue and yellow stripe (would be surprised if this was the case!!) any confirmation would be appreciated however I do not think back to original livery would be an option, if I do not go to original I will rethink the stripe and may follow Pauls lead in upgrading the springs and also increase the ride height a few inches for some (semi)of road adventures in the future with my kids - was just a quick note today, looking forward to gettin out on the road - take care all and god bless - cheers, Mark

[ForumMod]

G'day Mark,

Very saddened to hear of your wife's diagnosis. I'm sure the whole forum joins me in wishing her the very best for her future, and to you and your children as well. And I sure hope you are able to take her on some memorable trips in the van to help make life pleasant for your family.

I had a look through the photos I've got on my computer, and there are nine Viscount poptops from the late 1970s in amongst those photos. All of them have a single colour band along the side, which is the same colour as the band on the side of the poptop roof. So, I'm thinking your van would have been originally blue paint only if the roof colour is the original colour. It wasn't until the next series of Viscounts in 1980, that we started to see green and yellow bands on the sides of the vans.

The nine lots of photos show 3 to have a black chassis, and 6 to have a silver chassis, but I don't know for sure which colour came from the factory. You could probably just toss a coin, I reckon.

All the best,
cheers,
Al.