My 1974 Viscount Royal van

[Deleted]

:)g'day everyone,
I'm new here but have posted in the Viscount Information thread because I couldn't find the new topic button earlier. Doh! this is a great forum and I've already learned how to date my old 1974 Viscount van from the info provided in here. Thanks to all and I know I'll learn a lot more about vans and vanning. I also hope I can share some info with you all.

Cheers,
Ross.

[millard1399]

G'day Ross, and welcome to the forum! ;D

You've come to the wrong place though, if you want to learn about old caravans. Bloody hopeless lot we are...we can tell you everything about barbeques (...we're right up there with the 'gun shearer' on that subject ), but when it comes to caravans...well...

But, stick around, cause you never know what you'll learn about next, on this forum. A real intelligent bunch we are...NOT. Whacky?...yes. Intelligent?...pffffft.

Good to have you on board. And good to know you've got one of those classy Viscounts! ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Gidday Ross and welcome also,

Dont worry about Al he gets a bit bolshy when he's woken up too early and tends to think he can push some of the forum members around. ;D

Good to see that you have great taste in caravans too.

Look forward to the photo's when ya get around to it

p.s. Dont get Al started on BBq's (touchy subject)

Carl

[Deleted]

, Thank you Al and Carl,
Well I hope I learn something about classic caravans here because I sure don't know anything yet. I had a look inside my classic Viscount yesterday and she is deteriorating. We've had some heavy rain here in Newie over the last couple of weeks and things now look worse than they did before. Unfortunately she has a couple of leaks, nothing that a bit of TLC won't fix but I'm no carpenter or interior decorator.

I can look after all the electrical stuff and intend to replace all the wiring, 12V and 240V during the rebuild and do some small electrical improvements. I'll be fitting a safety switch, some high mounted white front marker lights on the front top roll of the van and some extra side markers at the back plus a battery/inverter/charger system and of course A/C.

Looking at her as she is I wonder if it wouldn't be better just to gut her and start again, but as I said, I'm no carpenter or interior decorator. Where do I start? Oh, and the moment I can't do anything because I have a busted ankle and my left leg is in a cast from toes to just below the knee, but I can still get ideas and advice and take them on board for when I'm well again and can start to do these things. I know, . They say there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. I'll try and get some exterior and interior photos up on the board over the weekend.

Cheers,
Ross.

[bobt]

Hi Ross

Welcome aboard.

Sounds to me like your dog kicked back ;D ;D

I would be getting the Viscount under cover real quick or at the very least throwing a tarp over her.

Mate if you can do the wiring bit you sure as $5# can do the carpentry and interior decorating. Just takes a little time.

I am a desk jockey and I have been able to achieve "marvels" with my monster. It has taken me a bit of time, still is for that matter...

bobt

[Deleted]

, Thank you Bob. I might have to do just that. Thank you for the encouragement mate, we'll just have to see how it goes.

Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

:)Well, as promised here are some shots of my '74 Viscount Royal. As you can see she needs some work but I hope that she's basically sound structurally speaking. First shot front R/H corner.

Next is a direct front on shot.

Next, a shot of the water damage inside the R/H front wraparound window.

Now one of the water damage above the front windout windows.

One from directly behind. I do have the front window shade but it's somewhat damaged from a storm when I was living in her in Sydney some years ago and was home in Newcastle at the time.

One from the R/H rear corner.

I have some more of the interior but you'll all have to excuse the mess, I've been using her as a storoom for the last few years. I'll post the in another post later tonight or tomorrow.

Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

:)Now for some pics of the interior. First, looking forward on the LHS. The water damage is obvious on the cupboard.

Next up, looking rearwarrd towards the R/H rear corner.

Another of that area from a slightly different angle.

Next is a closet area of some kind. I had a frost free fridge in there while the van was 'home'.

Another shot of the same area from a slightly different angle.

Now one of the front dinette bench seat. You can see the delamination of the material on the side of the bench. All those screws are from when I had my other ankle broken 7 years ago. I was sitting there working on a model aeroplane and went to get up and fell back down, falling through the bench top.

The cut down table, the shortening was done by a previous owner.

Next, an almost successful attempt to get the chassis number. With a leg in plaster I had to aim the camera (SLR) in the general direction and hope for the best. The chassis number starts with R and has a 4 immediately after that.

Next is more water damage, above the F/R wraparound window.

The suggestion has been made that I should sell her. When I asked "to whom? Who would buy her in this condition" the reply came back "Well, to a caravan wrecker I guess." My reply to that was "Oh, come on now, I'd have to pay them to take it away." Some months ago I had an experience with a bloke going around taking away old cars. I had an old VB Commodore that no longer would start so I ask how much he would give me. He said $150. But he didn't have any cash on him. He'd bring it back later. Or so he said. He told the bloke over the road the same thing about his VH Commodore. We haven't seen him since. Even if he wanted to do the right thing by my neighbour it's now too late. Both he and his wife have passed on in the last month. So that was probably $500 or $600 straight profit for him. Not bad for a couple of hours work.

What do other people think. Would there be a great deal of work involved? If there would I might put a tarp over her and work on her myself. Any and all advice will be greatfully accepted.

Cheers,
Ross.

[atouchofglass]

Gidday Ross
Thanks for the photos
What I see is a lot of templates ready to use and inplace


Start by getting the shell waterproof and the interior will come together

My farter - outlaw is a caravan repairer and sealing the roof has always been the priority....

The plaster and fibreglass is there to give you planning time....
;D ;D ;D ;D
SO ......... start planning ;D ;D ;D ;D

Cheers
Atog

[Deleted]

, Thank you again atog,

Over breakfast I've just made the decision to do it all myself. My carpentry and interior decorating skills are next to nil but this project will give me plenty of OJT training eh? You guys are going to get a lot of questions fired at you from this old 'newbie caravanner' that's for sure. And I will post pics regularly. I still have a few weeks in plaster and fibreglass yet so there won't be anything going on until that's all off.

Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

Gidday again Ross,

How are ya mate, sorry to hear about the busted trotter, no good that but it does allow you the luxury of time to do some planning on what to do to the old girl when your better able to aye. ;D.

Well she's not in bad nick is she, Alas I too have water damage to the window sills and heads although not quite as extensive as yours.
I have been checking it out and I think the windows will possibly need removing in order to replace the sills etc so probably a job best tackled in summer ( without meaning to state the obvious )
But not too difficult to achieve in a day or two. And resealing the roof is going to be a must as well if of course it is actually leaking, but I couldn't tell if your leak was from the roof or due to what they call capillary attraction where the water gains access into the van by seeping in through the upper edge of the window frame after almost defying gravity to get back towards the frame across the eave or overhang above the window. Any gap or crack can see water climb it like kero on a lantern wick if it is allowed to. A good quality sealant ( mastic etc ) will sort that problem out quick smart after the affected timber is replaced of course . Don't be afraid to use sealant ( paintable if applicable )wherever you think it might need it, but try and keep it tidy before it sets otherwise looks like an amature-amater-ametur non professional job lol.

As for gutting it and starting over - a word of warning, this can work for you or against you - you could be opening a whole new can of worms when this is done and also bear in mind that these caravans were built from the inside out and many of the cupboard etc are fixed to the walls from the inside of the wall and attempted removal of such cupboards etc may result in tearing the s#!t out of your wall linings and may also require additional attention form a sparky with a busted hoof, so just take that on board mate as a consideration and something to ponder. ;D.

I myself plan to eventually go down this road later as my long term plan is to completely rebuild my van and also wish to insulate it and install solar panels and complete 12 volt systems for lighting and entertainment etc for when I get out of this silly bl00dy work mode and decide to really do something with my life ( but thats a story for another time )

Anyway mate I hope I haven't rambled on too much and I may just have cast some light onto your thoughts (valid or not) and all the best with what you want to do and if theres any way that we can be of assisstance to you sing out .

Carl

[Deleted]

, G'day Carl,
Thank you for the advice and encouragement. The restoration has already started; I just spent 10 minutes poking around the inside of the F/L wraparound with a small common screwdriver removing the chipboard. It won't matter about ripping the cupboards out, I've poked around enough to see that most of the laminate and timber behind/underneath it is shot so it looks like a complete gut job. I don't care if it takes 12 months or more, if I do a little each day I'll get there.

There's also water damage down the back and it needs a new bed made up and a new bench and table. I intend to replace all the chipboard with real timber and stained plywood. There is also water damage on the ceiling so I don't know if the roof leaks, whcih I suspect or it's the capillary action bit happening. Probably a combination of both. Thank you for the advice about removing the windows, the weather here in Newie is generally pretty good from here until about April/May the next year so there should be plenty of time for that. She will be well and truly tarped when work is not happening.

Cheers,
Ross.

[bobt]

Hi rossjools..

like the photos. Don't you just love those modern building materials... "Cheap Board" Chip Board.. perfect for the inside of any caravan... I just love the way the stuff seems to suck water from any and all sources.. even water from kilometres away............

ONE Step at a time and with a bit for forward planning you will get a great result at the end.

bobt

[Deleted]

:)Thank you Bob,
Yes one step at a time will be how I'll be going about it. I'll take some more pics later today of the beautiful Flavell gas stove in her. Looks pretty well unused. And one or two of the little bit of work I've done already, not much really but it's a start.

Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

G'day to all,
Here are a couple of pics of the tiny amount of work I've done so far; really just exploratory work at this point and one of the beautiful Flavell of Leamington gas stove. As you can see it looks pretty well unused.


.

Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

, Just been having a bit of a poke around inside the Viscount and from what I can see (or what I've been able to see so far) the structural timbers seem to be in ok condition. Of course I won't know for sure until I've removed some more of the chip board and ply from various areas but up inside the front cupboard where I thought all the timbers would be rotted through it all appears very solid. Must, must, just must get rid of all the chipboard. It'll be replaced by solid timber.

Cheers,
Ross.

[kiwijim]

Howdy Ross,

I can tell you that you have a pretty long job ahead of you,
but in the end it will be worth it.

I have just retired from working on Caravan repairs for over half my life, so you might say I've been there and done that.

My advise to you is , before you start to take things apart, windows out and skin off etc,....
Get hold of some good stiff card board and make templates of all the wood you are going to replace, be patent and it's important to get your measurements as close as possible to the original.

Once you are happy with everything, then go ahead and pull the windows out, then the center frame,

these will all have to come out to replace the cross members Top and bottom, once replaced then you can replace the wooden frame around each side of the center window,

Don't be frightened to use plenty of Constructive Adhesive and Screws, I always reckon the stronger the job is, the longer it will last.

P.s. I have always used Miranti timber in framing, its light and is water resistant, Glues well, and the darker the timber, the harder it is.

Best of luck with the rebuild, any problems give us a "Hoi"

Cheers kiwijim

[Deleted]

G'day Jim,
Thank you for the advice. I think you'll be getting plenty of "hois" along the way. there are already some things I don't understand in what you've said, but as you say we'll get there in the end.

Cheers,
Ross.

[bobt]

hmmm

I can see a whole new interest for us all... following your development...

lucky for you there are some talented people on this forum...

hurry up and mend that leg so you can get started and we can all sit in our arm chairs and cheer you on... ;D

[Deleted]

, Thank you Bob,
About a week and a half now and hopefully the cast will come off for good, then I can start in earnest on the Viscount. I'll be on light duties if they clear me to go back to work after the 29th but my certificate gives me up till the 14th of October so if the orthopeod isn't happy to let me go back to work I can at least scratch around a bit in the van and do some little jobs like make up templates etc. I want to thank all of you for your encouragement so far; it's been great and a huge help, so give yourselves all a pat on the back from me.

Cheers,
Ross.

[millard1399]

Hi Ross,
One thing I would strongly recommend you do BEFORE starting any work on the van, is to take LOTS of photos of the areas you'll be doing work on. These restorations tend to drag on and on, and six, nine, or twelve months later you are scratching your head about how to put the bits back together again. What did it all look like before you pulled it apart?...ummm...can't remember!

I was up your way last weekend at a 50th birthday party at Wests' club in Mayfield. Shame I didn't know you lived up that way, otherwise I could have come round and had a good laugh, ...err, I mean good discussion, with you about the challenges you've got ahead.

Just remember...Whatever it takes, Viscounts are worth it! ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

, Well, well Al,
You'd have been most welcome to come and have a laugh with me! Oh, and a serious discussion. I live in the very next suburb to Mayfield, just across the railway line in Waratah. What a pity I didn't see the thread on Where do you live until Wednesday or Thursday this week. I will be certain to take lots of pics of where I'm going so I can use them as a bread crumb trail or string trail if I need to.

cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

, Rats Al, Waratah is the next suburb from Mayfield, jsut across the railway line. You would have been most welcome to come and have a good laugh at me! The good discussion part wouldn't have gone astray either. I'll take you advice and take lots and lots of pics before I start work in earnest. I didn't have much to do this morning so I went out to Hodgson's at Redhead again and bought the towel rail and attachment pieces for the back of the van. She's also now well tarped down, thanks to a couple of good neighbours and friends across the road. She'll stay that way until I get stuck into her seriously.

Here are some pics of how she looks at the moment; not very interesting I know but at least she's now protected from the weather. The tarp is further down the right hand side becasue that's where we get our sun and some of our weather from at the moment. As can be seen the other side is only about a metre or so from the house whcih protects that side.






Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

, I have the same problem marcel has on his York; the paint is worn down to the bare aluminium in places, especially on that rear panel I bought. I know that aluminium can't be rubbed down like steel can and should be stripped using liquid stripper, then rinsed off and prepared with etch primer or similar (eg zinc chromate, port etch etc).

I made a decision this afternoon to buy a triple garage to put the van, trailer, Lada and Lexcen in. At least I'll be able to work on the van regardless of the weather, just put the two cars out and I then have 3 metres down each side of the van to work in and around it.

Cheers,
Ross.

[Deleted]

Oct 15, 2009 17:05:45 GMT 10 @rossjools said:

I know that aluminium can't be rubbed down like steel can

Hi rossjools,
I'm just a little curious as to why not? I rubbed my van back to basically bare aluminum about two years ago and to date have not seen any signs suggesting otherwise.
Cheers,
Chris