Our Touring Past

The next job was to start to install the cupboards in the Glen. Because the interior of the Glen was in good condition, the owner decided to reuse all of the original cupboards and seats.

To make a start I had to install the back drivers side seat first as this governed where the kitchen cupboards would go.
I then worked out where the kitchen would go and installed the overhead cupboards first, as this would save working over the top of them.
The kitchen was then installed, and I made a bit of a discovery while doing this.
Then on the left side I also needed to install the back seat first then the wardrobe, which all fitted in nicely.

Sorry Guys.
I have left you all in suspence over what I found in the kitchen cupboards.
Well I had to unscrew the sink to install the kitchen cupboards, and as I was fitting the sink back in I thought " I had better have a look under the sink ", as sometimes the builders would write the date on it .
And low and behold there was the original Radiant sink order tag nailed to the sink timbers, with the date of 25 / 11 / 41. This would mean that the this Glen caravan would have been picked up by the owners and they would have spent their 1941 Christmas Holidays in it.

G'day Richard,

That order tag is a great find! Congratulations! There are not too many vintage vanners that have something as concrete as that to date their vans.

It's interesting to know (a) that Glen were building vans as far back as that, and (b) that they kept on building vans through the war years, at least for a while. Many other van manufacturers closed down operations during the war because their workers went off to the war, or because their buildings and equipment were being used for other purposes. The Don factory was used to store munitions, for example.

The earliest evidence of Glen caravans I have seen is late 40's, but they were obviously around at the start of the decade as shown by your order tag. By extension you would have to think they started sometime in the 30's - you wouldn't think that a manufacturer would start up during the middle of the war...

Don Ricardo

Hi Don.
It was a great find, and considering that I had the sink on and off several times while fitting the cupboards but never thought to look till I was just about to fit it for good.
It is interesting that the van was built through the war, as a lot of suppliers either closed during or manufactured products for the war. It was surprising that they were able to get hold of a sink, let alone build a caravan.

Cheers.
Richard.

In keeping with the originallity of the Glen, I have welded some brackets on to the A frame and bolted the original Jockey wheel back on. It has a short handle on the top which makes it hard to wind with weight on it, so the only way to wind it up is with the jack handle attached to a "screw" on the side. To make it easier and quicker to wind the van up and down I have bolted a new jockey wheel on as well.
The original radio cupboard had collapsed and a rough repair had been done, so I had to rebuilt the radio cupboard to match how it was done originally.

I have finally got to the stage where I just have to put the last bits and pieces on to the Glen before it gets its final coat of paint.
I had to bolt a piece of the chassis timber to the chassis rail to support the legs for the very unusual step that the Glen has.
This is the legs bolted to the support timber, with the step sitting on the floor.
The two supporting arms screwed to the face of the van. These support the step in the unfolded position and also hold the step up in the folded up position. (I have used roofing screws to fit the step, as these will all be bolted once it is fitted and working.)
Step folded up for travel.

Its time to start to finish the roof and get it ready for its final coat of Silvasheen Enamel Paint. To start I need a 8mm quad to finish the internal corner from the junction of the lower roof and the lantern roof.
The problem is that 12mm Quad is the smallest that can be purchased. Well its a bit of a trade secret that, but 2 8mm quads can be cut from a length of 8 x 32mm cover strip or D mould.
2 8mm quads cut from a length of 8 x 32 mm cover strip.
The 8mm quad after it has been set in a bead of flexible and paintable sealant.
The original 20 x 20mm aluminium angles were in very good condition, so they were cleaned up and also fixed in position with a bead of sealant.

Iam now starting to give the outside its final coat of Enamel Paint, so I usually start from the top and work my way down. Originally the roof would have been painted with "Silversheen", which is a silver paint that has very small particles of aluminium suspended in it. Silversheen was always used on caravan roofes, as the aluminium particles in it give very good heat reflective qualities. As Silversheen has long been discontinued, when I went to pick up some paint for the roof I told the guy what I was doing and asked what they had in the way of silver enamel. He gave me a tin of Robertsons Silver paint and said try this.
It turns out that Robertsons are making the old Silversheen under the name of Trim, Structural and Roof Enamel.
It brings back memories once I started to stir the paint, as the aluminium particles always settle to the bottom of the tin, it always needs a good stir to thoroughly mix it up.

G'day Richard,

Great to see the Glen in all its restored beauty in the pics from the Coledale run. I'm not sure whether you've 100% completed it, bit it looks magnificent in any case. Congratulations.

I look forward to seeing some more pics at some stage.

You commented "Silversheen has long been discontinued". Silversheen was produced by Dulux which still produces 'Silvasheen' (which may in fact have been the original spelling anyway, I can't remember). Silvasheen is an aluminium enamel with the aluminium flakes suspended in the paint just as you described.

The tricky thing about Silvasheen is getting your brushstrokes right so that all the aluminium particles are aligned in the same direction. Did you find the same thing with the Robertson paint, or was it easier to apply?

Don Ricardo

Hi Don R.
I still have a few little jobs to finish the Glen, but it should all be done this week.
As for appling the Silvasheen, there is a bit of a secret to it actually.

What you need to do is to add 2% by volume of cold galvanising paint to the Silvasheen. This reacts with the Silvasheen and coats the aluminium particles with a film of iron oxide which can then be magnatised. So to apply use a standard 3" paint brush with a magnet attached to the metal ferrel, so that when the silvasheen is applied the particles are drawn up and which in turn makes the particles sit in the same direction.

Well after all that Iam not sure that this method will actually work, actually Iam pritty sure that it wouldnt work.

So what I do to get rid of the brush marks is to get rid of the brush all together, and use a 5mm nap mohair roller.

Cheers.
Richard.