Can I send your number to a friend if mine that has restored a couple?
A while ago someone planted the seed in the wifes head about buying an old Australian made caravan. She's found this 1978 Viscount about 3 and a half hours drive away that she's got her mind set on:
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What can anyone tell me? What do I need to know? What should I look out for? Common rust or failure points? How to identify if wooden framing or aluminium framing? Should I be running in the other direction?
Given it's age, 42 years old, it looks pretty neat. They're asking $9,000.00 but...
It looks like it's an aluminium body but due for a new paint job, one side worse than the other. It also looks to be missing the flap panel for the front window (I assume this protects the window from rocks flicked up by the tow car and/or wind pressure when being towed) that can be seen open ajar in this photograph from the internet:
viscount.jpg
In regards to intended use, it wouldn't be much. We wouldn't tow it off the island (Tasmania) so a trip would probably only be a maximum of 800km return, usually less. I assume the weight and aerodynamics of them is not great compared to more modern offerings, but I'd assume the MY12 D4 TDV6 with BAS remap could handle it. We've got a 2 and a half year old and 6 month old so, jobs and mortgages so not getting away often either - then again with COVID and no interstate or international travel for a while...
Mine - modified MY03 LT L318 Discovery 2a HSE Td5 15P
Hers - MY12 L319 Discovery 4 2.7L TDV6
Dads - MY12 L319 Discovery 4 2.7L TDV6
Sister-in-laws - MY98 LJ Discovery ES 3.9L V8
Can I send your number to a friend if mine that has restored a couple?
The Isuzu 110. Solid and as dependable as a rock, coming soon with auto box😊
The Range Rover L322 4.4.TTDV8 ....probably won't bother with the remap..😈
I’ve restored several old vans and my latest is a 1969 Viscount - yours would be an aluminium framed unit almost certainly, I would take up Justin’s offer to speak to someone who’s done caravan restorations - they can be like falling down the rabbit hole so to speak, but there are certainly still plenty of good old vans out there that would require minimal work.
That said, unless you really like camping in the 70’s there will be things you’ll want to do, like fit batteries and solar panels, an electric water pump, maybe a better fridge, a diesel heater, etc etc - whatever floats your boat, but that’s all part of the fun.
I would also check out the Classic Caravan Forum - maybe make a post there and post the chassis number as one of the members there will be able to tell you a bit about it based on that - she keeps a Viscount register.
They can be found here - Home | Classic Caravans
At $9K it would want to be complete and towable, in reasonable condition. You can get much cheaper ones but you generally get what you pay for and cheap vans will almost certainly need a lot of work. A fully restored and immaculate van like that of that year would command around $15 to $20K if you found the right buyer - old vans are getting very popular.
Good luck, by the pics it looks in good condition, but they can be misleading - I’d check the chassis for major rust (surface rust is fine), the the axle, brakes (probably U/S unless rebuilt, drawbar and coupling, etc. Water ingress around the J moulds along each edge could see some timber rot in the corners (although the wall farms will be aluminium, the roof crossmembers will be timber). You may see this in the paneling on the roof particularly if this is the case. Windows and J moulds will almost certainly require resealling if they haven’t been done as the mastic goes hard over time. This isn’t a particularly hard job, but is time consuming. New rivets to hold the skin on could also be needed - check to see if they are coming lose - again, an easy job, just takes some time - use weatherproof rivets when doing this.
If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.
Received via PM:
Originally Posted by Chucaro
Mine - modified MY03 LT L318 Discovery 2a HSE Td5 15P
Hers - MY12 L319 Discovery 4 2.7L TDV6
Dads - MY12 L319 Discovery 4 2.7L TDV6
Sister-in-laws - MY98 LJ Discovery ES 3.9L V8
Yep, know who that’s from - nice guy and his Son is too, and lots of experience with older vans - some of Calos’s videos would be worth checking out.
His build threads are on the Classic Caravan forum too.
He won’t be able to post here as his Supporter membership has lapsed is all - I’ll zap him an email about that.
If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.
Just a comment about towability with the D4 - when that van was sold new, your D4 would have been considered one of the most powerful cars on the road. I suspect that most buyers would have towed it with cars of less than half the power.
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
Actually, I suspect most cars sold in Australia and used for towing caravans in 1978 were still three speed manuals!
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
Cars like Holden & Falcon 6's, Austin A60, Hillmans, and so on. Drum brakes and 60 horsepower. People bought box stock Holden HQ which were manufacturer rated for towing a small box trailer then put a heavy van on the tow bar which nearly sank to the ground. Complaints to dealer and GM-H went into deaf ears. "You should have got one with the correct options for towing, the Gross Load Package, Heavy duty suspension, superlift shocks, heavy duty radiator, etc." This brought on the urban myth that "coil springs are no good for towing". Nasco offered a towing package for existing cars. Dealers would sell their stock vehicles in preference to taking orders for custom build cars so the client got manipulated by silver tongued salesmen into taking one from stock, available now, or waiting for a custom build for 6-8 weeks.
URSUSMAJOR
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