Looking to buy a 1976 Valiant Van - Questions

[awbeattie381]

Hi all,

I am currently looking to buy a 15ft Valiant van. Its a 1976 model apparently (47321V).

Pros: new drawbar, new bearings, new tyres, newly painted chassis, safety switch.
Cons: The van has been hand painted with a brush (what is it with me looking at hand painted vans...), 1 cracked window, no water tank.

I am pretty keen on it, as a bit of money has gone into the mechanicals, however I have a handful of questions...

1. Does the chassis number match the year? (not a deal breaker)
2. How would you go about respraying a van with brush marks all over it? A lot of sanding then hire a spray gun? (not urgent)
3. The greenish stripe down the sides has been handpainted (again with a brush) a darker than original colour. Are paint codes available for original colours?
4. Ballpark figure on the cost of buying and having a water tank installed?
5. Ballpark figure for replacement glass (front side window)?
6. Does a new drawbar need to be engineered? It looks very well done (factory good).

Thanks in anticipation. I am trying to decide on whether to make an offer on this one.

[ForumMod]

G'day Andrew,

1. Chassis number - No, that's a 1974 chassis number. It seems the Valiant model was being built from around 1962 up until about 1970, then it disappeared off the scene for a few years. They must have resurrected it in 1974 for some particular reason but only made a small number of them. I've not seen one from the earlier years in the '70s, nor after 1974. The others I'm aware of have the 'V' at the start of the chassis number, so your 'V' being at the end is a bit odd.
2. Paint - unless it really looks crap, I wouldn't bother repainting the van until you've used it for a while. Better things in life to spend your time and money on. Do you know what type of paint has been applied to the van? Might be just acrylic house paint, which should come off easily with paint stripper.
3. Paint codes - never heard anybody talk about them before, but I presume there were colour codes used. I think these days it would be a case of trying to match the original colour somehow, rather than having a code number to work with.
4. Water tank - cost depends on capacity. Around $100 for a 80 litre tank, and up to $50 for the galv brackets. See the CaravansPlus website for types and prices. Also check out your nearest BCF store, or other camping specialist stores, for tanks, etc.
5. Replacement glass cost - probably around $40 for the glass for one window. Depends on who you're dealing with. I've got a friendly little family business I deal with, who cut my glass cheap. Recently it cost me $20 to have four round 300mm diameter glass pieces cut for the two porthole windows in the vintage van I'm working on (two pieces for spares in case I break some when fitting them ).
6. New drawbar - Yes, it needs to be "engineered" in terms of being able to take the ball weight of the van, and not buckle at the first culvert in the road that you drive through at 100kph. If it looks like it's been professionally done, and the steel channel looks like it's a decent size and thickness, then it should be ok.

cheers,
Al.

[awbeattie381]

Thanks Al, after doing a bit of a search on here last night I came to realise it probably isnt a 76 model...

The tank and glass is much cheaper than I was expecting. But obviously I would need to factor in installation if I went down that path (ie getting someone else to do it).

As far as the drawbar goes, it really does look factory. Apparently made to the same specs as the original which was cut off.

This is a little different for me as I am so used to car hunting - I normally look for something that is mint inside and out as you know its been well looked after (and you can always fix the mechanicals). You could say the same of vans but in this case, the mechanicals (and chassis paint) are winning me over and the cosmetic stuff I can worry about later - there isnt exactly competition out there with the sort if van I want. Also, if this one is in my price range, obviously my perfect van would be out of budget!