1977 Franklin Arrow

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hi. here is a pic of the early? 70s franklin arrow van we have bought to holiday behind the monaro. can any one give us a good idea of age. the draw bar has been replaced at some stage so no chassis number. was a 4 berth 16 ft or so i saw told. twin bunks at the front bouble at the rear. hope someone can help. kel ,, ps this van needs a refurbish inside. if there is a cabinet maker who is semi retired in the brissy area looking for some work give me a holler. kel

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[millard1399]

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

Somehow I've missed your post, so apologies for this late response. Your Franklin will be somewhere between 1973 and 1978. You've got the wind-out windows, which puts it from 1973 or later. If it has the four-seasons hatch, then it will be from 1974 or later.

I've seen Franklin Arrows from within the one year have different stripe colours and patterns on the sides, so it's not easy to tell the age by going on just the side stripe. The cast aluminium Franklin badge above the front window was used from mid-1972 up to 1978. The Arrow model seems to have been phased out around about 1978.

So, take your pick of any year between 1973 and 1978. If you have any photos of the interior, that will help narrow down the actual year a bit, because the interiors and colours changed as the 1970s rolled on.

cheers,
Al.

[Update January 2014: At the time this thread was started in Jan 2011, we had much to learn about the history of Franklin Caravans. We never did get to know the chassis number of kelvin01au's Franklin, so pinning it down to an actual year is a bit hard. I have noticed, though, that one of the photos below shows the RMVAA badge fixed just beside the door opening. These badges were issued starting in early 1977 (or even possibly very late 1976), so this Franklin Arrow has to be from around 1977 and not 1974 as suggested in some of the posts.]

[mike]

Greetings Kel,

Looks like our Franklin Arrow paint stripe pattern and window pattern, with cast al badge. ;D

Does yours have a narrow cupboard on the left as you enter the doorway? That is, at the foot of the double bunks?

Ours is a 1974 arrow. ;D

Cheers
Mike ;D ;D ;D

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thanks mike and al . yes ours has the small cupboard at the foot of the bunks. so a 74 it will be. thanks again. kel

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the arrow after the internal refit. front kitchen shower toilet. double bed, wardrobe and more....

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pretty happy at the moment. still needs the waste water finished off and a few adjustments but glad to have it back in the shed. pulled all the windows today for new seals and catches as well as screens. remove the axle to fit electric brakes and remove the hydraulics.

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WOW nice looking refit ,I hope you dont mind crowds because your sure going to attract a lot of interest with a van like that ;D great job regards Peterg

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thanks. hope to have the seats back this weekend. vintage brocade material. cost a bit but so nice. also have vintage brocade material for the curtains and bedspread. post more pics soon.

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I love the black and white ;D

[millard1399]

G'day Kel,

I've shifted the posts from the "Show and Tell" section over here and put them all into your original thread for your van. Just keep adding any further info into this thread, and it will keep your whole story together.

Did you find someone to do the work for you, or did you end up doing it yourself?? That's an amazing amount of work in just a few short weeks!!

The van certainly looks nice and clean and fresh throughout. You'll be happy chappies touring around in the van once it's back on the road. Looks great!

cheers,
Al.

[Caprinut]

Kelvin,
Your refurbish looks absolutely mint, puts my attempt to shame although I stayed with wood veneer finish. What did you line the walls with? Looks glossy shiny like melamine. Great colour theme

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walls are just ply finished in 2 pack paint. bathroom is a pvc sheet. kel

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windows tinted.http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/kelvin01au/caravan005.jpg

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after window tinting,

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tv mounted. 12 volt tv and dvd, hdmi x2 and usb, dvd player. mount turned from the dining area to the bedroom.

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first cold beers from the 12 volt fridge freezer.

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Replaced the brakes with electric and removed the hydraulics. had to fit a new hitch with a cable hand brake. all new bearings and shackles.

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rear shot. new led lights, have to find a rear window cover. have one for the front but the rear was missing.

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That's one hell of shed you got there in the background Kevin

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Got the arrow registered last week. Opened the door at the registry office to allow the nice lady to measure the height of the van. She couldn't believe the inside. She noted that it was like the tardis. looks like we have a name for the old girl.

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taking the arrow for its first outing today. party at a mates place so we will camp out tonight. curtains are in and inside is finished. just need to paint the outside. already resealed the roof and painted it with luxury paints heat reflecting paint.

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Great job guys.
It looks like it is time to sit back & admire the Franklin Tardis.

Cheers Gav

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ready for the next phase. rubbed and masked ready for paint this weekend

[Cynth82]

great work I am about to do the same !!

[Mustang]

Dec 12, 2016 21:32:13 GMT 10 Cynth82 said:

great work I am about to do the same !!

Hi
Cynth82
Welcome to our Classic Caravans forum.

The forum fosters vans from 1970 to 1980, & we welcome all comers interested in Classics.

You are welcome to start your own thread in the “Hall of Fame”, there you can post images from a third party such as Photobucket, Tinypic, Flickr etc.

Photobucket link
Our sister forum Vintage Vans (1970 & earlier) have many duel members looking in, so ask any info about your project.

Cheers

Brent

(Forum Mod)

PS: Please be aware that you have responded to an old thread 2012.