1972 safari 17/4S restoration READ TO END OF ALL MESSAGES

[henry]

This 1972 17/4s is in a pretty sorry state it would be scrap if it wasnt so rare

Chris is having dreams and nightmares about this safari The plan for now is to rebuild the framework re board the inside make it structurally sound

We had to make a temporary frame to keep it from imploding or exploding on the motorway also put a strap around the whole thing to lightly compress the skin on to the frame we also put lots of big screws in to hold the pannels on we tried not to use gaffer tape as it rips paint off but had to put some on the off side front corner
Sill towing was a nightmare all the weight is currently at the very back witch made it fishtail badly over 35 mph
Still at 2 am we got her to the workshop

[Brian M]

Gary

Nice work.

When are you changing the name of your business to "The Old Safari Factory"??

[henry]

On Sunday I gave it all a good clean out inside and got rid of the temporary framework as I need to be able to put the bed boxes back in


Today I spent the afternoon taking windows doors and trims off the near side it was all going pretty well until it came to taking the side locker door off that was a pain so was the gutter and awning rail

I managed to massage the front of the roof from the inside to get the big dent out

[Deleted]

What is the fan thing in the locker?

[Deleted]

Looks like your doing a great job

[henry]

Jun 5, 2013 21:29:06 GMT @retrocars123 said:

What is the fan thing in the locker?

It is what we thought was the extractor fan for the kitchen where that blanked off lantern window is

[henry]

Most of the frame will need to be replaced

[henry]

Today I started making a safari repair kit Got the corners cut for all 17 windows some of the roof bits and the curvy middle bits for the front and back


The plan is to lay the inerior wallboard's on the floor then then lay the aluminium panel's on top of this draw round it all in one whole wall cut the board to shape place the pre cut curvy bits in the right place fill the blanks with stock timber around the windows etc screw it all together on the ground lift up in one peice and screw it to the chassis

[henry]

I did a bit more this afternoon I just have 8 more curved peices to cut out

Im using the original pieces to copy from some are 18mm thick some are 25.4 some made from ply as its stronger some from stock timber When its done the back front and roof will be 22mm thick including the aluminium and the sides will be 29.4mm thick






The shoe shaped peice joins in to the window frame front and back of the caravan the top is exactly the same as the shelf at the bottom of the window just upside down
the back of the shoe shaped peices carry the bottom of the roof board then it gets sanwiched in to the roof between the two roof members








The centre section of the roof is raised up to about 6 inches this is the front section there are 2 shoe shaped pieces at the end screwed together one 20mm above the other one carries the center section of roof board the other carries the side also this lot togerther carry the front cupboards above the window

[Deleted]

Fantastic work Gary!

[henry]

Just a little update on this I've entirely rebuilt both sides and front back panels and will be screwing it all together this week
I will try uploading some photos as its quite interesting to see

Gary

[henry]

Heres where Chris safari is up to ive not got a right lot done on it


first I layed the wallboard upside down on the floor making sure I thaught about where the joins were going to be inside I have managed to make the new sides so the joins will be hidden behind the seats the bathroom wall is made from a vertical sheet istead of horizontal and the joins are hidden in the partition

I then layed out the exterior pannels I diddnt clean up the sealing faces when I removed the pannels so that I could use the rusty screw holes and sealant lines to line the side up on the floor more precisely

I then drew around the wall window and door holes






Then they got cut out





I then added the curvy bits of the frame then the staight bits and it all got glued to the wallboard







then they were stiood up and screwed on to the chassis




this is how it stands today






and heres the new door in the bathroom

[Deleted]

Hello there - please post phorographs of my current restoration - I have not received any for several months accept for one.

[henry]

An update is coming tomorrow at some point

[henry]

Its defiantly getting there now I have most of the roof done
I Am re making the interior walls at the moment this is a bit painful as all the old board has to be scraped off the frame so that the original wooden trim will fit if I left it on the wall would be too thick

[Deleted]

Great to finally see some progress! hopefully i will get her back this year

[shed]

Well done. I've just took on a (free) but basically scrap safari. Had even less in it than yours did, total tin can. With the wind we've had I had to put an emergency frame inside to stop it folding over. I've laid a new floor and new wood on the chassis behind the a frame. It's very helpful to see the pictures you've put up as I have no schematic of how the frame was. It's not going to be "original" but I do want it dry and structurally sound. Trying to build one the wrong way round (outside -in) outdoors this time of year probably wasn't one of my finer decisions but the write ups on here have given me some inspiration. Keep up the good work!

[Brian M]

WARNING

Because of the detailed photographs in this thread I want to leave it on the Forum, but have to advise that the Safari owner and restorer ended up in court, and the restoration has not been completed.