Thread: A swb s3 with "personality"

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I must say I really am enjoying this thread. The title says it all. The owner must have been someone worth knowing!

John

Originally Posted by bob10

Amazing! He must have been one hell of a character.Did you know him well? Bob

I met Hans not long after I moved to the mining town in which he lived, He lived outside the town boundary and was actually on the mining fields but allowed (by special permit) to stay there, so must've set up prior to 1971..

Hans was (as you may have guessed) of Austrian decent. He moved to Australia some time after the war and from what I have been told worked for the railways until he was "lured" by the "opal rush" into the area.

Where Hans' house was also was outside the power grid for the town. So he mastered solar panels and "freelight" wind generators to power his house (that he had built himself). Hans used LED lights through the house as a way of saving power and converted old torches and lights to LED to make them efficient. Like many of his generation he lived alone but with a small dog as a companion. He treated the dog magnificently and it responded in kind. The LWB landy above has many alterations made specifically so the dog was comfortable whilst Hans was mining. (the roof spinner, door windows with grills instead of glass, a hook and holes (drivers door) so the door could be held open to allow his dog access. Also a fan (on timer) and a 'in car airconditioner" (ice melts into absorbant 'vanes" in front of fan, fan blows air past these 'vanes" and cooled air results!)

Hans was devestated when his dog passed on (from natural causes) and he himself died about 3 weeks later. He was 80 when he died and was still mining most if not every day. He is buried in the local cemetary and a very large amount attended his funeral to 'say goodbye".

Hans had a good sense of humour and was a keen gardener having a nice native and cactus garden (with vegies) at his place. He also, like many of his generation, couldnt part with things that "may be needed" one day. Hans also showed some of what he had obviously been through as a youngster by creating stores (secured) of dried and cryovaced food around his house 'just in case'.

Hans was a good, hard working honest and approachable bloke, he would give anyone the shirt off his back if they needed it.

It is a pity he is gone for all these reasons and also because
a) he knew where the swb keys were

and

b) he knew what combination of these switches turned the lwb on!!

Hans sounds like someone that grew up in the Austro/German era of 1933-1945 so therefore would have been schooled in self-suffiencey, and probably been inducted into "Hitler Youth" et-el,and if over 14 the armed forces in 44/45, so,when he arrived in Australia, probably as a displaced person,would have lived a solitary, reclusive life,I had a friend who grew up during that era,and he was similar,he died from the big C a few years ago,but he too would not let anything go to waste,and was well prepared for an "emergency"

cheers

Was the cheese in the box still ok?

At least if it wasn't there are some antacid tablets in the same photo.

Originally Posted by UncleHo

Hans sounds like someone that grew up in the Austro/German era of 1933-1945 so therefore would have been schooled in self-suffiencey, and probably been inducted into "Hitler Youth" et-el,and if over 14 the armed forces in 44/45, so,when he arrived in Australia, probably as a displaced person,would have lived a solitary, reclusive life,I had a friend who grew up during that era,and he was similar,he died from the big C a few years ago,but he too would not let anything go to waste,and was well prepared for an "emergency"

cheers

Do you actually read the drivel you write.

He is from Austria and was alive during war time, he must have been in the Hitler Youth. It is this sort of racist attitude these people have had to endure all their lives, and would be more of a case why they would become that way than any, but how can you speculate about someone who you don't even know.

CC

You do not have to have been in Europe to get at least some of this attitude. I was brought up by parents who lived through two world wars and the great depression - and avoidance of waste was thoroughly taught in our family.

John

Waste not, want not!...definetly applicable in this case.
No point chucking something out if you just may happen to need in years to come!
Definetly looks like some good gear in amongst it!
Those jute bags look unused.
Also..there seems to be a lot of Landies around that have the gal body trim corner pieces etc. painted black!


Cheers, Mick

some more of the swb...


Falcon fuel tank "lip"


inside the cab now LOTS of wiring, guages etc removed!!


A windscreen squirter (ppropped up with towel rail end!)


Shock absorber protection...


The installation to activate diff lock (I unhooked this bit!)




more protection..




the gap between the seat back and the roof back.... (I better fix that!)

a bit of a clean up.... some tyre black, pressure washer......... much better

Well HANS is now going, the electrical problem was a bugger to find but we traced it to the dizzy... a small wire there was shorting (earthing) against the body of the dizzy (only when the cap was put back on!) so when opened and checked all was testing ok, when pushed that little bit down by the cap it shorted!

Used bits from a '57 dizzy to fix ( same as the 73 one!!)
now its regoed and running and great,



Cheers
Digger

Oh and at the moment I'm going topless...

(the car that is, not me !)

photo will follow..