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Post by doublechevron on Feb 17, 2017 10:39:14 GMT 10
It needs a polished wood tray that's done as nicely as the rest of it  What is the car behind it .....  |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 17, 2017 10:37:34 GMT 10
Given there location they probably need the fuel range diesel provides.... A shame really, the V6 commodore idea has a huge amount of appeal Can you put the supercharged '6 in LOL. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 17, 2017 9:45:35 GMT 10
Here's a worthless one as it's been modified The '92 4 door you have shown is the bottom of the heap. Battered, modified ... it looks lifted .. are the guards cut ? The transfer cases are later viscous borg warners (rather than the near indestructible noisier gear driven transfer cases in the earlier cars). Those borg warner transfer cases lock into 4wd and trash your driveline due to axle windup... The slugomatics are all on there last legs at this age ( though it is a simple 4hp22 borg warner to rebuild).... Mines has a discovery serpentine belt v8 fitted... it's a factory manual (probably the only one sold as a manual in the early 90s... after all they were toorak tractors). It's been converted to the stronger discovery R380 5spd manual. I've put an earlier gear driven transfer case into it. ie: It's been updated for reliabilities sake. not that it's unreliable. It would have just been worn. It's probably done 1/2million kms from new. it's one of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. seeya, Shane l. I rest my case    Your looking at this from the wrong perspective.... That's like me looking at your Zephyr and saying "it's worth $1500 bucks ... no one would ever pay more than that for one of them". 'Cos your average rough Zephyr wouldn't even have a market ( except to the hot rodders ).  very good cars are prized world wide, and will always eventually be worth something. You can't be serious comparing hiluxs and crusiers to an old classic. Have you forgotten how absolutely hideous the old hiluxs and cruisers are ? bone breaking ride on there cart springs, no axle articulation, wheezy sluggish enignes, noisy drivetrain, clunky 4wd system with no center diff etc... offroad the old rangeys are spectacular due to the axle articulation. youtu.be/mmeAr1KETyAWe are just lucky in Australia, that we can still buy shitters really cheaply as they dont' rust away out here like the UK. Give it another 10years and everyone will be cursing the fact they didn't buy a few and put away as now owning one as a "toy" is out of there reach. Another example of this is the Citroen DS's I own. 10 years ago tired, drivable registered cars were $1500 -> $3000 .... These days the world wide price has heavily effecting the cheap value they had in Australia (people are just buying them and exporting htem). You wont find a driver ... even battered and rusty for less than $10,000. The really good ones ( In similar condition to you Zephyr ... So I mean REALLY NICE ) .... don't get advertised. They change hands for $40,000+++ to others than "know" of the cars without them being advertised. We really are lucky in Australia to be isolated so these cars have stayed "afforadable" for the average punter for so long! seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 16, 2017 21:36:48 GMT 10
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 16, 2017 21:29:14 GMT 10
How nice is that AC replica!! How do you go with the registration with side pipes ? I'd have thought they would have been illegal out here as people can burn themselves on them .... ?
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 16, 2017 13:39:17 GMT 10
Another batch of knives (fantasy marble handles) for sale, these now have Kydex edge protectors. (Bad image, the handles look like the knife below.)  The single red was a special order, the handle is a new US product called Kirinite, fabulous finish with the coloured fiber liners. I was a little excited the way this one turned out   Part of knife making is leather work & paracord weaving, guess what the kids are getting for Xmas.  I made the jig from old timber taken out of Vincent!! (screw heads in line)  So do the knifes come with free sharpening for life ? The biggest problem I have is I suck at sharpening them even if I had something really nice like those! |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 16, 2017 13:09:43 GMT 10
I love the battered look of it .... I'd restore it mechanically and start driving .... nice free flowing exhaust (you NEED to hear something that costs so much to run), new suspension bushes.... I'd just get it running for now and drive it for a bit and see what it needs mechanically. If it needs rebuild... bugger originality I'd throw a 4.6 and R380 into it. seeya, Shane L. Bugger restoring an old rangie buy one done they are super cheap only consider restoring if funds and time are limitless and you have no expectation of any return , not being smart or mean BTW just giving advise based on experience . As for modifying one well once you do that there is NO value same goes for any old car/truck/vehicle it is the originality that is worth the $$$$$'s I love old cars and things but always buy them done to a polish and play stage then fine tuning and detail is just a time thing not a lot of $$$$$'s It's not about money ... It's about the enjoyment of working on an old car. A Range Rover is like a big mecano set... Nothing really difficult there. If you gave me an immaculate garage princess range rover.... I'd have no bloody idea what to do with the thing. Park it in the shed and polish it ... ?? If mines not dragging a few tons down the road ... it's being "used". Eg: my daughter just started high school... Day 1 I sat in traffic for 20minutes within 2 90seconds drive of the damn school.... There isn't a snowmans chance in hell I'm doing that for years. So I grabbed up google maps.  and hit the bush ... I worked this out. My daughter now calls the 6minute drive to school "exhilarating.... especially when we drop of the two ledges". The first half in low range with the diff in ... crossing between a couple of tracks there is using 100% of the available axle articulation and as we drop off two small rises.... then it's a 2nd low drop down into a gully and climb out the other side. Do you think you'd take a garage princess through this lot everyday! seeya Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 16, 2017 11:02:03 GMT 10
I think I mentioned in anothe rpost, but I got my 1977 Range Rover Classic to rebuild. Honestly, dont know where to start but already pulled interior out. Needs everything done, body and drive train. I love the battered look of it .... I'd restore it mechanically and start driving .... nice free flowing exhaust (you NEED to hear something that costs so much to run), new suspension bushes.... I'd just get it running for now and drive it for a bit and see what it needs mechanically. If it needs rebuild... bugger originallity I'd throw a 4.6 and R380 into it. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 16, 2017 8:51:54 GMT 10
Wow ... what a bunch of knob heads... I certainly have no time for that sort of bullshit. Post away, I'm keen to see how you go re-creating an old caravan. seeya, Shane L.
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 13, 2017 10:21:50 GMT 10
pretty much every brand ever will have had that configuration somewhere in there lineup. especially in less than 14'.
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 13, 2017 8:04:10 GMT 10
I think they are 2.7KW from memory. Realistically it'll be fine if you don't wont a "fridge" in extreme temperatures. In a franklin/bailey/Jayco caravan it would be a massive overkill ( they are foam sandwich construction ... so built like coolrooms). seeya, Shane L. Ok that explains it my portable is a 3.5kw and it dropped the 4x4m tin shed to 24deg in 5 mins on a 45deg day Yes ... but look at it.... That's a full sized 4wd in front of it  It's not the temperature, it's the direct sun heating the side walls to ovens. In the shade, you'd be laughing.  Imagine that enormous wall with the direct sun against it for a few hours! I don't believe any of the ratings on portables. Yours however seems to be brilliant! ... Infact your the only person I've ever heard say anything positive about one! I'm surprised anything could cool a tin garden shed. Is it shaded ?? Our big 8+KW system in the house would probably struggle cooling a garden shed. Whatever wall has the sun on it would be putting out far more heat than any A/C would produce in "cool". So your portable is very good. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 13, 2017 7:57:39 GMT 10
I think they are 2.7KW from memory. Realistically it'll be fine if you don't wont a "fridge" in extreme temperatures. In a franklin/bailey/Jayco caravan it would be a massive overkill ( they are foam sandwich construction ... so built like coolrooms).
seeya,
Shane L.
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 12, 2017 21:11:34 GMT 10
well we went for spin down to the beach on the weekend... The outside access doors ... bloody brilliant. I found last thursday when I tried the A/C ... it seemed weak ... pathetic. So I chucked the gauges on it ... and it appears to be low on refrigerant.... You must be bloody kidding me .... ARRRRhhhhh... So I spent a bit of time checking all my flares and every connection I made, but could find no issues. However the high side tap cover was oily. If you install one of these things... You need to tighten the brass caps that cover the gas taps "stupid tight" ... as both taps leak ... a lot once opened. Anyway, I parked it outside in the direct sun thursday ... 35 degrees temperature. That big long side wall in the sun. You know ... if I was doing this again, I'd fit a unit twice the size. This caravan is AN OVEN. The entire wall just radiates heat straight inside like a radiant heater. The door gets so hot you can't touch it ... the door handle burns you trying to get inside. The A/C would probably keep up if I put the annex up to protect the long wall from the direct sun. It keeps the caravan cool'ish. but certianly not a 22degree room if it's 35degrees outside in the direct sun. Down at the beach... the sun came up saturday and hit the wall of the caravan... and we had the A/C on and ticking over at 9:00am ... as it was instantly 5->10degrees warmer inside the 'van than out. Wow, people must have been tougher than us to go away in these in summer back in the 1980s. The damn thing would have been 50+degrees inside all day on a sunny hot day You must have just opened them up each night to go inside to sleep, but stayed outside under a tree during the day. Oh after an, er "exciting" trip home (bloody strong gusterly winds had us doing 70km/h at times ... as they blasted us all over the road). I was amazed to see a B-double truck pass us going downhill back to Geelong do about 70km/h in a 100zone too he must have been being blown around too! Anyway, 40degrees here friday ... 12 outside at the moment. So i just went out and tried the A/C in heater mode. And it's very good. It's very, very quiet too. You shouldn't annoy neighbours running it at night (we ran it all night in fan made ... which leaves the outside unit off, but saves you carrying a fan with you). So there you go... bloody good unit, but in a caravan the size of this in the direct sun, you won't have a frozen refrigerated type room in extreme weather. It'll still be nice inside infront of the A/C ... but it won't be an icebox seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 9, 2017 8:34:54 GMT 10
Wow ... how on earth does a small 'van like Vincent have 220kg on the tongue I rekcon my annex would be 100kg in itself with the poles and canvas. So I've moved all of that back to the axles. Did you add an A/C condensor to your drawbar? That would be a solid 30kg there. Your spare is probably 30kg ? seeya Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 7, 2017 10:09:22 GMT 10
How heavy is it... ? I wonder if you can get a version with a door |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 7, 2017 8:10:58 GMT 10
I always thought I'd keep my eyes open at the auctions for a heavily damaged old pommy 'van .... That way you could pull the whole shower/shitter setup out ... and probably the cental heating furnace and move it to your caravan. This also gives you the toilet access doors etc.
seeya,
Shane L.
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 6, 2017 8:13:16 GMT 10
no mine did the same thing with photos I uploaded a few days back .... It's a shame, I'd like to see how the shower is setup!
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 5, 2017 13:36:43 GMT 10
I feel really dumb for cutting holes in the side of the caravan now the idea of a lift up lower bed int the bunk has come to me  Sure they will be really handy, but I'd prefer to avoid modifying this amazingly original, un-messed with caravan if at all possible.  I can just join these 3 panels together with a length of rhs underneath.... hinges at the back.... www.ebay.com.au/itm/PAIR-OF-GAS-STRUTS-50N-CAMPER-TRAILER-CARAVAN-CANOPY-TOOLBOX-/171797337740?hash=item27ffeb568c:g:G78AAOSwKtlWrtehGas struts are only $20 .... groan .... I shouldn't have done this the other side rather than chopping holes. it'll take 20minutes and cost next to nothing. Yeah, I really like the design of this caravan.   it's 4 full sized singles iwth built in reading lamps and power points.  It's much more robust than it looks. The bunk walls are very thick plywood (plywood is VERY strong if it never gets wet.  Now my brain is thinking gas struts. I could kick myself. This is the seating area.... Probably room for 10 adults LOL. It's brilliant 'cos the parents can lay down to read on the long couches and there is still enough seating for the kids to sit at the table (not that we'd lay down reading books with a beer in hand ). Note: the 4 cushions of the lounge. Oh, the storage space under the couch around the table area isn't wasted. I don't mind pulling the seating to bits to get to that. The caravan has a lovely fully framed enourmous "as new" locally made annex. It has been moved from the front of the caravan back to here near the axles. The poles I will mount infront of the axle after I've made up pole carrier. So to keep weight distrubution as close to "right" as I can, with the additional 30kg on the drawbar, I've moved probably 100kg of annex poles and canvas back to the axles.  This cushion .... It'll lift up ... just like the bunk bed down the back....  2 lift out panels underneath ...... Gee's .... BRILLIANT ACCESS... 2 hinges, $20 of gas struts and this entire cushion can just lift up to give access..... Bloody ripper, what an idea!!  My parents turned up earlier today. My father took one look at the front wall and said "that looks bloody terrible" and lifted away the cover over the pipes. It actually look better with the pipes there.  His idea is make a new cover that runs straight across the wall, but make it a lot deep so it covers the pipes.... sort of like this (with longer deeper bit of plywood there. That should look a lot better, still not great, but at least it won't scream "shithouse" at you LOL. Oh, he was both amazed at how quiet that air conditioner is .... and how much better it is than the A/C fitted to the series of modern caravans he's owned over the last 20years. It MUCH quieter than a roof top rattler, and puts out way more cold air. He couldn't believe there only $399.00! seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 4, 2017 23:28:52 GMT 10
  The new crossbar to hold the A/C and gas bottle.   The pipes and wiring run across the front wall, down the bed cupboard, through the storage box beneath and trhough the floor  Who jinxed me by saying there would be wiring there again ? ... grrr... 12 and 240volt! Note: the double upright. the do this where the interior ply pieces overlap  After framing the openings, I just stuck the doors in using Selleys Flexiseal (very cheap if you buy it by the sausage at bunnings)  After framing the openings, I just stuck the doors in using Selleys Flexiseal (very cheap if you buy it by the sausage at bunnings)  Given I didn't end up fitting A/C down here, and now have internal and external access to that storage area.   This should be a lot easier than pulling the couch to bits.  The biggest problem is the way I've hidden the pipes looks shithouse. I thought it would be ok... but now it's in ... It looks liek someone has just smashed the curtain pelmet ..... groan .... It doesnt' actually have pelmets! I'll have to have a think about how to make this look better. The A/C is VERY effective though. Today it was 36 degrees outside ... easily 45 degrees inside that shed (so 45 in the caravan). The A/C pulled that down to 22degree in about 10minutes. The caravan is hopelessly poor and keeping out heat or cold. It's about as good as a tin garden shed as there is no insulation in it at all (they didn't do insulation in the 80's!).  SO I have access under this bunk now from outside.  Now I look at the other bunk .... I'm think rather than hacking holes anywhere... I might try to convert it to a lift up bed! There should be enough height and space.  This is how fiddly it is to get under the bunks. Those big full sized single matresses have to be bent in half and pried out through the openings, then the two covers lifted off. As always, lots of fun right ? seeya Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 2, 2017 14:19:37 GMT 10
With a caravan like yours, there is no way I'd want to change it's interior. I'd probably buy one of those expensive underbed A/C systems that are ducted. www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aircommand-Heron-2-2-Split-System-Caravan-Air-Conditioner-Silver-/152372930546?hash=item237a2267f2:g:TD0AAOSw2xRYY65YIf you can find somewhere to setup the portable, and it works for you ... Go For it! We found it took up nearly all the usable floor space in our 16' 'van... If you can find a corner to put it in, where you can feed the outside pipe ... well outside... and make sure you don't flood the caravan (ie: keep an eye on the water tank level .... don't ask ... sigh)... And can put up with the noise. it might work for you. Another point I'd make is take a spare Doona to put over the exhaust pipe. They radiate enormous amounts of heat back into the area being cooled from the pipe! I really did find it not much better than a decent fan seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 2, 2017 10:40:24 GMT 10
Glad you got it working Shane but I have to burst your bubble re the portables we bought one as mentioned in another thread from Kogan $375 delivered for the office and the vv it is 14,000btu unit nearly as quiet as a box fan and cools as well or better than our bitsamishi inverter split systems , I am really impressed The split system is of course the best choice IF you have the room which in the old Viscount we do not sadly , today I had some have to do stuff that needed me working in our 4x4m garden shed at 40 deg so wheeled the lil sucker out and parked it in the doorway ,within 10 mins the bloody shed was too cold at 24deg setting on high so ran it at 25 on low loving the baby portable A/C Excellent. I have little faith in the portables as we took one away with us last time. It did blow cold air, but seemed to generate an equal amount of heat into the area to be cooled as it generated in cooling. It also generated a staggering amount of water. If your going to use one in your caravan, I strongly suggest drilling a drain hole through the floor so it can drain to the ground outside. My brother tried a big one last year in his Bailey caravan ( which are sandwich foam panel ... like coolrooms). He setup the thing in the shower/ensuite blowing out into the caravan (so it drained into the shower). he thought it was fine. His wife strongly disagrees and thought it was hopeless. My brother works for a company that rents out portable A/C's. They generate so much water, his suggestion is to set them up up on a coffee table (or similar) so they can drain into a full sized bucket rather than the tiny drip tray in them. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 2, 2017 9:48:48 GMT 10
Is it a 16' version ? or the smaller one ?
We used to have my father inlaws 16' Ultralight here ( aka: The SWAYING BASTARD ) as I used to scream at it while it hopped along behind (you could actually feel it kinda "hop" along behind you).
There a brilliant design, and how European caravans are still made today. The problem is Viscount made the caravan longer than they spec'd when they bought in the frail little stamped 'C' section ALKO chassis. So if they were used on rough roads, they rapidly fatique cracked the little chassis just behind the axle mount. This would allow the body of the caravan to slightly bow .. which caused them to leak. If they leaked the floor would get soft (the floor being a structural member) ... if the floor got soft .. they'd bend more ... so leak more etc....
My uncle had the same model caravan as my father inlaws... but his leaked all the time, I sited it down the annex rail and said "the whole thing is banana shaped" ... he said "no it's not" .... Then looked down the side of it like I was and said "damn your right".
His had extra framing hanging off the factory ALKO chassis to try and brace it. It made absolutely no difference to the strength of it though. Once the floor is soft, your fighting a losing battle.
There used to be a company down in Melbourne that would fabricate up a small lightweight chassis and put under them (the best fix, as this would carry the floor if it's gone soft).
I was always incredibly careful never to take my father inlaws 'van anywhere that would be hard on it. Only ever smooth sealed roads. It was a brilliant caravan!
seeya,
Shane L.
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 2, 2017 9:27:09 GMT 10
Well I managed to wire and plumb up the A/C last night. I gave it 1/2hour on the 'vac pump as all the damn wiring was all about 50cm to short, so I had to extend it all (grrrr).
It's nowhere near as noisy as I expected. You can hear the condenser unit running for sure. But it's certainly no louder than a rooftop rattler, but it actually works, and blows quantities of warm/cold air as required.
Next hot day over 30degrees I'll stick the caravan out in the sun closed up ... and see if the A/C is capable of pulling the temp down mid afternoon when it's full of heat soak (I imagine it'll do it easily).
Installing the A/C actually took quite a lot of time, but is very simple and straight forward if you follow the instructions. Oh, and for no reason I can think of (other than to be bastards), they fitted a 15amp plug to the unit. No doubt this is a pathetic attempt to force poeple to have it installed. Why a 15amp plug when the running current is 4amps... and from memory the locked rotor current draw was less than 10amps!
So there you go ... A full A/C install in a caravan that actually works for $399.00 (I already had the exact amount of copper required leftover from a split system I installed in the past). Amazing really. $399.00 doesn't even buy a uselessly pathetic portable A/C system that will not work!
seeya,
Shane L.
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 1, 2017 11:06:47 GMT 10
I need a decent shed/workshop. I'm trying to convince SWMBO I need a "Superbarn". The 20 x 12 meter barn kit that is about $19,000. sadly she shows very little interest Caravans only fit in the crappy shed I raised a heap that has a gravel floor. seeya, Shane L. Had a mate go through the same ##it with his other half so he bought her dream acreage block happy wife built a big BIG shed 55mx30mx10m high fully insulated and concreted floor even has a mezzanine floor in half plus 2 hoists , happy husband then protested not enough $$$$ to build the big house  so bought a 2br demountable and slid it in one end of the shed fully insulated and air con brand new wife loves it so very happy couple has a 30mx4m leanto on the side with access to the house which has a deck for entertaining etc and all way under the quote for the big flash house . As we get older this is what we need more shed for us and less house for the wife to clean and store craft etc in LOL... We have a tiny house and 3 growing kids. I think what we'll end up doing is buidling a modern house against the existing house (so ending up with two houses joined together) as this will no doubt be cheaper than extending the existing house ... or shifting ( we are in such a good location we don't want to shift). I do have sheds.... a small 12 x 7 meter garage with cement floor (no height .. just clears normal cars). 10 x 6meter dodgy shed with a dirt floor that just has cars parked in it.. A 6 x 6 double garage that's a piece of junk with a gravel floor that I lifted way up into the air so a caravan would fit in (and extended half of it back to make it 10meters long so the caravan fits). and a 3 car carport. the issue is there all no good for working on caravans in. Perfectly fine for parking in though. The one with a cement floor is ok for working on cars in though. it's just way to tiny. seeya, Shane L. |
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Post by doublechevron on Feb 1, 2017 10:35:39 GMT 10
Good work Shane, and I LOVE workshop photos I need a decent shed/workshop. I'm trying to convince SWMBO I need a "Superbarn". The 20 x 12 meter barn kit that is about $19,000. sadly she shows very little interest Caravans only fit in the crappy shed I raised a heap that has a gravel floor. seeya, Shane L. |
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What is the car behind it ..... 
It's not the temperature, it's the direct sun heating the side walls to ovens. In the shade, you'd be laughing.
Sure they will be really handy, but I'd prefer to avoid modifying this amazingly original, un-messed with caravan if at all possible.
so bought a 2br demountable and slid it in one end of the shed fully insulated and air con brand new wife loves it so very happy couple