|
Post by henry on Oct 16, 2012 10:58:15 GMT
12 months or so ago I started to work for myself as a caravan restorer and called myself custom caravans I have so far completed 15 vans of varying age and states of repair This is the story so far of my current restoration project all I really know about the van is its a 16 foot Pearman Brigs safari I cannot find a chassis plate or number I surmise it is pre 1975 The biggest questions I have are regarding the interior what is supposed to be there and whats not as its all changed that much I am slowly falling in love with the thing the curves are awsome The original plan was to just get the horrid green paint off get it watertight sound and looking original for a new owner to do what they will with the inside but I have now lavished so much time and attention on it I am thinking I will go the whole hog and do the interior too and make sure it lasts another 30-40 years Heres how I found it in the scrap yard covered in army paint and mastic First I set about stripping the exterior of the seals all the screw heads were unusable as they covered in paint and bathroom mastic I found it best to use a 0.8mm slit disk to very carefully cut a slot in the top of each screw so I could use a flat head driver to get them moving Once the had was proud of the seal the mini mole grips were employed And its out no damage to the trim
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 16, 2012 11:11:51 GMT
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 16, 2012 11:13:33 GMT
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 16, 2012 11:21:29 GMT
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 16, 2012 11:26:10 GMT
I have started with the first coat of epoxy high build primer I guess this will take around 3 coats They are cautous thin coats as after all that prep work I would hate for there to be runs in it ;D
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 16, 2012 11:28:32 GMT
I have aquired some new rear lights and handles the handles are correct as I had one of the originals not sure about the lights tho
|
|
margo
Junior Member
Posts: 30
|
Post by margo on Oct 16, 2012 15:27:49 GMT
What you have there is a very early 70’s 15/4 I think. Very interesting layout. It doesn’t look like any of the internal carpentry is original although the beds all look to be in the correct place (minus the bunk across the front). The sideboard is where the kitchen would have once been but the toilet compartment is in the right place. It looks like all of the high level cabinets and shelving is missing and the wood stove is where the wardrobe would have once been. The bulkheads look intact however. To get it back to original Safari standards would be quite prohibitive I would imagine unless you can get hold of another scrapper for parts, but the 15/4’s are quite rare especially one of the correct era. I kind of like it so my money would be to restore it to a nice standard and give it a retro hippy theme and keep the stove if the insurance companies and camp sites would allow it The rear light you have looks correct to me. Keep up the good work…
|
|
|
Post by maxjon955 on Oct 17, 2012 10:33:00 GMT
this is very interesting and challenging job. You are really nice work in this project.
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 19, 2012 20:39:19 GMT
Thank you for your comments and information ;D
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 19, 2012 20:40:46 GMT
Just a quick snap of it in primer ready for paint
|
|
|
Post by Brian M on Oct 20, 2012 9:10:04 GMT
Henry
We spotted this Safari on Ebay and its listing was withdrawn before the auction was due to finish. So we can see what incredibly quick progress you have made.
I wonder why anyone would put a weather vane on a caravan - when towing I would think the rotating bit would go round like a propellor, and then when you park you need a compass to realign the direction pointers!
Margo is slightly out on his dating, yours is a 1975 - 1977 15//4.
If you check the webshots albums for 75-77 you will find literally hundreds of pictures of interiors of Safaris to give you the details you require.
I have a big stock of interior doors, drawer units etc that may be of interest to you or a new owner if you are selling it on.
I feel sure some of our members could be interested in your services to work on their Safaris. Can you let us know whereabouts you are in the UK (county will do).
Please keep posting the pictures as it will encourage the preservation of more Safaris.
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 20, 2012 17:56:27 GMT
Hi Brian
Thank you for your reply and helpfull information Of corse I will continue posting untill the project is complete I hope this thread will spur people on to save safari's from the scrap man
I am based in Maryport Cumbria will update my profile with contact details I would be happy to help with the restoration on any other safari's that need saving I work mainly on more modern vans but would like to get to the situation where all I do is restorations on true classics
So far I am really unsure what to do with the interior I will check the photo album thank you for the link I will pass your name on to the new owner if that gets left to them otherwise I will be in touch
Im sorry my forum name is really confusing Henry is my cars name he's a 1953 sit up n beg ford prefect that has being in the family forever
Thank you
Gary
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 20, 2012 18:03:39 GMT
I am waiting for the paint to arrive and still had to strip and primer the back pannel the door and gas locker so today I preped the back pannel on the bench then installed the new light cable complete with a shiny new plug after that the back went on
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 22, 2012 18:47:44 GMT
The back in primer
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 22, 2012 19:16:04 GMT
The bottom half of the door was damaged from water getting in I needed to strip it of paint so I took it apart and rebuilt the frame at the same time The inner skin was removed If anyone has an image of the door bottom how it was originally I would be glad to see it as I need the inner grill vent mine is missing I will look through the album later I used A heat gun and screwdriver to gently tease off the outer skin that's glued to the rotten frame The top baton was sound but I decided to replace it It has a 45 degree edge to shut against the top The rest is just stock 30mm by 25mm timber glued to the outer skin panel pins at the bottom staples and a rubber seal on the top edge I rounded the bottom corners to the contour of the aluminium skin using my bench sander At this point I realize I have no clean ply wood to re skin the inside
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 25, 2012 18:51:55 GMT
I haven't done much on it this week I have been busy with non safari types of caravan I dismantled and cleaned the paint off the gas locker There was a couple of splits in the fiberglass So I mixed up some resin and glassed over the back of the damage Once the resin has set I will cut off the excess and smooth it out when its gone properly hard I also sanded the nasty green paint off the top of the door I took the window out and the frame off to check the frame as the bottom was quite bad but it was solid as a rock
|
|
|
Post by henry on Oct 26, 2012 20:14:16 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2012 21:46:19 GMT
What a fantastic job your doing, shame it doesnt have the original interior but ey might be able to find one being broke down if you wanted to go all original?
|
|
|
Post by Brian M on Nov 28, 2012 8:00:36 GMT
Come on Gary we are all waiting for more pictures, or did you finish it and sell it so quickly you didn't have time to take any!! ;D
|
|
|
Post by henry on Nov 28, 2012 8:42:08 GMT
I will do an update tonight Brian ;D
|
|
|
Post by henry on Dec 2, 2012 20:44:48 GMT
Sorry about the huge delay to this installment I have been a very busy boy unfortunatly not a whole lot of progress on the safari Today I got the second coat of the old english white on The photos I took didnt come out too well but I am very happy indeed with the quality of the finish now Here is one of the first coat I did a week or two ago I will Get some up to date better quality images up this week I got some Wheel trims that I like a lot not original they came off an eccles but hey ho I replaced the rotten wood of the door frame finally Marked the shape of the corners Cut them on my scroll saw and stuck them in The problem with taking photos is the light in the workshop fades away this time of year at 3pm and the lectric lights are rubish Hope to do another update soon Thanks for looking Gary
|
|
|
Post by henry on Dec 10, 2012 19:59:36 GMT
|
|
bronte
Junior Member
Posts: 19
|
Post by bronte on Dec 10, 2012 20:28:35 GMT
That seems a lot of work, I admire your patience. I would never be able to stick at such a thorough project. I thought I might just wash mine and paint the stripe....
|
|
|
Post by henry on Dec 10, 2012 20:40:55 GMT
Good reply made me laugh ;D
|
|
|
Post by Brian M on Dec 10, 2012 21:00:13 GMT
That seems a lot of work, I admire your patience. I would never be able to stick at such a thorough project. I thought I might just wash mine and paint the stripe.... I fear you will need to do a bit more if you have water coming in!!! And be very careful how you wash it - use the minimum amount of water!!
|
|
bronte
Junior Member
Posts: 19
|
Post by bronte on Dec 11, 2012 8:40:03 GMT
Yes Brian you're right. I have some hard work ahead of me, I also have a 42' x 10' mobile home that needs gutting and turning into an art studio, I have just bought a wood burner from eBay to go inside. At the moment th ground is too wet to get anything in there, I'm hoping for a few days of hard frost so that we can get the truck alongside without digging wheel trenches in the garden!
I have chosen my wallpaper though...
|
|
bronte
Junior Member
Posts: 19
|
Post by bronte on Dec 11, 2012 8:42:36 GMT
It's a shame you are not closer Gary, I would have at least got a quote from you! Has the George Clarke amazing spaces series brought you any work in?
|
|
|
Post by henry on Dec 11, 2012 10:10:16 GMT
I like the idea of using a static for a studio ive quite often thought of using one to do my wood carving in to keep the mess down it goes everywhere
I watched George clarkes program and quite enjoyed it there were some good quality projects on there I liked the ideas he was giving out about adapting old things so they have purpose to survive Ive not had any work from the program all ive had for a few months now are these horrid modern caravans
|
|
|
Post by henry on Feb 3, 2013 20:16:57 GMT
|
|
|
Post by henry on Feb 4, 2013 19:57:31 GMT
|
|