Our Touring Past

Hi
I thought I would kick off a fresh page for a fresh build.
This will be my 3rd Teardrop in my 9 year association with vintage caravanning.
During that time I have restored about 4 pre 70s bondwood vans and rescued probably 3 times that many from shed and barns.
Some have been onsold and their new owners are now a happy part of our touring past in an old van and enjoying the hobby.
So.. every now and again I come across something that has the potential to be built into a tidy little replica Teardrop.

I watch one go through on ebay last week with no bids. So.. I contacted the seller. went and had a look... and... it ended up c oming home yesterday arvo on the bike clubs 8X5 trailer...


Suffering form a bit of black spot mould and way too many tech screws riddling its little carcass.

So.. rather than just unload it down in the official vint van storage carport I figured I would finish of the dual slide out draws on my last TD project and get it out of the shed...


I had originally built one big box to store BBQ and pots and pans etc. Trouble was .. I couldn't fit the draw back in once I had loaded the motorbile in there..
So.. I had to slice the box in two . so ... now the separate boxes fit either side the back wheel... all good.

Out she went and in came the new project.....trouble is I was working on my own . Bit of an Egyptian style wrestle with blocks of wood and timber beams to get it off the trailer...


Took a few "never work under a suspended loads" risks before it eventually settled on some makeshift props..

Spent an hour and removed almost 100 tech screws from the roof area. The roof had been glued and screwed so I don't understand why the previous builder didn't just nail the 3 ply on then punch the heads down.
So.. with all screws out I gave it a sand with 100 grit paper just to take the splinters off.
Then the inventation juices started flowing.. Bits of masking tape all over the body as reminders to me of what needs fixing changing..
One of the first jobs will be to try and remove any "straight edges" in the roof radius..
and get a smoother teardrop shape.
The roof sheeting is nice and sound with no rot... but as I said before.. full of holes..
Which leaves three options.
1: use smaller tech screws and counter sink the heads in .. then cover the heads with putty before painting.. which would mean painting.. not staining and varnishing like I would have liked to do this time.
2: replace the roof sheets with new ply that has a "feature" or high grain side.. then stain and clear coat.
3: Put a skin of thin sheet aluminium over the existing roof after undercoat/sealing the plywood..
That would give a smooth finish and the ply would stop any likelihood of condensation in cold weather.
2400mm X 1200mm alloy sheet is around $70.. bit dearer than a sheet of ply... but no need for primer/sealer/undercoat/topcoat of paint.

Been scanning ebay and Gumtree for a potential donor box or boat trailer chassis...
Good to have a few irons in the fire while starting out on another build.
Also happy to have it up in the shed rather than down in the carport.. it woukd be out of site down there and it takes a bit of motivation to fill the barrow up with tools n stuff and head off down the yard...
Oh .. OK.. OK... the real reason for the shed work is... there is a beer fridge rattling away in the corner..
Bloody boss tells me no beer before 3 in the arvo...
Strewth.. might have to smuggle the fridge out to the carport after all!!
Tis better to be cold and drunk than warm and thirsty

So.. that's it for day one... I am off to clean out an old ( photobucket) site I use to frequent

More later.
Reddo

G'day Reddo,
I reckon I'd go with the second option, ie replace the roof with new ply.

Saves filling in a 100 odd holes with smaller tech screws, then filling with putty (sounds like hard work to me , and possibly interfere with good drinking time after 3pm )

Also with new ply, you'd be able to get the straight edges out of the roofline, get the more "rounded" edge you're seeking.

My two bobs worth!

Mark

Hiya Red-dude, what about this for a plan...paint the roof section or cover it with fabric like 50's vans, and stain the sides. Should still give you the look you're after. Good luck with the p/bucket cleaning,I did some too....

Hi

Col... The roof and front have a stack of counter sunk holes now that I have removed all the screws..
I could putty them , then paint it. then canvas it but I would be a bit concerned by the putty shrinking and either sinking further into the holes... or.. expanding and causing hills or hollows under the canvas??
That is why I am leaning towards the alloy sheet solution..I would use the thin stuff like they use on alloy vans. Not the thicker stuff I used on the last TD... less weight than timber
A lot less fixing required. No sanding , plugging nail holes Painting etc ..Cheaper than recladding with timber .. sanding staining varnishing.. clear coat .

I am liking the fact that the whole thing is only 2400 long and 1200 high x 1200 wide. Previous TDs have been longer and higher which required a join in the sheets. This thing is like a dolls house to work on.
Also because of the smaller proportions I think I will be able to get away with 13 or 14 inch wheels and smaller guards..... But that's a bit further down the track.

Bunnings finally decided to stock up on sanding belts to suit the sanders they sell.. so I grabbed 5 belts while they where on the shelf today.Hopefully I will be able to sand the profile of the van into something that complies with the Reddotel "No straight edges " policy.

Have looked at a couple of box trailers as chassis and suspension donors but axles are in the wrong place.. rusty .. short drawbars etc..
Will price a bare frame trailer kit from Metaland... will work out quicker to build and end up with a chassis that fits and looks "right"

Something that never occurred to me until this morning was the fact that the door is on the right hand side... old mate must have followed those yanking TD drawings to "T".
I'm seriously thinking of duplicating a second door on the left side....
Reason??

In most van parks the slabs are set up for left side access to your van.. which would mean driving the car straight in .. nose first on the site so the RHS door opened onto the slab. With a door either side I get to choose which way I want to set up.. nose in .. or.. bum in. Sure .. you loose a bit of hanging space in the van .. but that can be cured by putting a coat hook on the inside of the door and hanging the clothes on the door that you aren't using that night... seeee .. and you all thought I was silly...

Another issue with the door that the mangler cut out was that no 2 corners have the same radius AND.. it had a flat top and bottom AND.. it was only 420mm wide...
AND.. it was cut out like a dogs hind leg..
So... operation door opening was todays project....

What was there..


and what is there now..


tidied up the two bottom corners to 75mm radius and lifted the top into an arch 100mm higher in the centre.
Suits the van better and it makes it easier for fat bastard Bob the builder to get in and out of!!

Have a go at the timber slats inside the van .. they didn't have that much wood in the tunnels in "The Great Escape".. what was the previous builder thinking

The bloody thing would stand up to a 100kph head on collision..although.. don't ask me to prove that statement
The rear deck area in the kitchenette is 850mm deep...... .. thinking of installing a mini putt putt golf course in there.


That'll do for today... one of those days where ya achieve bugger all.... but .. am happy that something actually happened

Just got back from getting my tax done.. only working 9 months in the last financial years has paid dividends.. I get a good chunk of my tax contributions back to survive on

More soon... I am off to photobucket again.
Reddo

Looking good Mate. Thinking Thunderbirds here . Thunderbird 2 (EH Panno) backs into teardrop hanger and hooks up to Motorcycle Transporter teardrop, Hot Rod teardrop ect. I am looking forward to teardrop 4 ,the underwater teardrop. FAB Virgil.

So....

In between packing to the panno and Td ready to go away tomorrow to a vintage caravan get together at South West Rocks. I managed to sit and have a rethink about the roof and sides of the M KIIIT D..
Not gunna be happy with existing roof .. so... out with hammer and crowbar...
To quote Banjo Paterson..
"He set to work with tooth and nail
He made the place a wreck
Murder bloody murder
Cried the man from ironbark"..... or.. in this case plywood..

Didn't take long to get things looking like typical shed of invention mayhem..


The glue that the other mangler had used to marry ply to batten wasn't all that tough and put up little struggle ... no match for a mad man with a crowbar...
Only broke one batten.

So .. with that out of the way I set about belt sanding all the left over bits stuck to the cross battens until I had a smooth clean surface...
.

Cooky came out with a cuppa and a big chunk of fruit cake....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Just the shot for a practicing T2 Diabetic...

So... while sitting there upping my sugar levels I remembered an issue I had when building the Splinter H.
I clad the van .. then had to use a lead light to see what I was doing inside fitting out the shelves /cupboards and flooring.. other issues where climbing in and out of a small door over 500 times to cut timber .. get tools etc... then there was the issue of evacuating paint fumes.. watery eyes... sore throat etc...
So... leave roof until inside has at least been fitted out .. sanded and painted....
Not too much grey matter left in my melon... but the powers of recall served me well this time.. probably the fruit cake exciting the cells.

However.. didn't stop me dreaming about roof design and cladding ... Still thinking of aluminium roof.
I can fix a ceiling to under side of the roof battens.

Grabbed a 1/3rd sheet sander with 60 grit paper and had a test sand of the side ply.... Nup.. it has like a ripple in the outer skin and 10 minutes of sanding had little effect on the bumps...
So... Back to the coffee and think tank..
... do the reverse to what is on the NECOT TD..
Sheet sides with aluminium.. then run a flash along the side made out of some ply with nice walnut or cedar style top sheet. Separate the 2 materials with cresent mould and stain /clear ply

Mind you.. this could all change when I wake up tomorrow morning...
Don't ya just love it when a plan falls apart.

Only one more sleep and then I am off to South West Rocks to catch up with all the guys and gals from the Vintage Caravan Club, South East Queensland vintage Caravanners, Our Touring Past mates.. and a few from another site that doesn't like me mentioning other sites...... so I wont


Old age...
Sometimes I laugh so much the tears run down my leg

Cheerio
Reddo

Now she has no roof, I`m thinking Lantern.

Lantern. Come on, Reddo has already done a lantern roof.
The only thing the worries me Reddo is that you seem to be going backwards.
Luckily I can see where you are heading tho, so Ill look forward to the updates on the progress.
Cheers.
Richard.

Gday Reddo. Good to see a start on this.Hope you left the First Aid box close by. gordo

Hi All
Havent given up here...
Just in the rolling stock hardware "Hunting and gathering " phase at the moment.
Looking for a cheap box ,boat, ( caravan ) trailer with 75 X 50 chassis to use as a donor

Found a couple to look at locally tomorrow...both registered ... both under $250..
Don't care if the box is falling off or the running gear is stuffed as long as the "Rib cage" is good.. and the rego would be a bonus....

Reddo