Moondriven

The 1962 Sunliner caravan has miraculously risen from the dead and gotten jiggy at the Maldon Folk Festival. It’s crew enjoy some tasty beers and a few “Cheers!”.

Festival Milkbars to the stars…

can’t - type - must - keep -working
ok - one - more - beer
hmmm - sweet - medicine

Topcoat done. Whoa! Looks good too.
No more filling and shaping… that is it. Done. *phew*

Sanded interior ready for painting. Tweaked hatch for roof. Took my tools back to the shed. Cleaned up.
Got the van home on dusk and setup the lights to paint the interior. Of course the van became “Bug World”. No painting at night around here. So I sat in the van and had a quiet beer.

Yesterday was a full day of sanding the undercoat. I know it’s bogan… but I started on the Coopers Red at around 5pm and was still sanding at 8pm *hiccup*. (Doing up the van in the front yard is pretty bloody Bogan too!). Done and the van is back at the boatyard ready for it’s topcoat which is going on tomorrow. I am not doing this. Phew. I usually do everything in a project. Everything. Partly to save money, partly out of curiosity but mostly because I don’t trust anyone else to do it right. Hmmm… I gotta let up on that.

Today I built the Hatch that goes on the roof. Marine ply and glass/epoxy. Not sure how it is going to be made water/dust tight as the usual ‘weather stripping’ might not cope with the undulations in the roof. Oh well. We’ll see. It was good to be back at the boatyard making the hatch surrounded by the water and er… boats.

Finished the lights and number plate surrounds etc. The tail lights are off an early Beetle.

Another day at the office. Primary carer for a 9 month old savage and fiesty Tiger cub, um, infant, um, Leopard Seal pup. So little progress on caravan. Mostly phone stuff and mostly done by B. I gave her a list of stuff to do. I won’t mention that it is meant to be her project … whoops, i didn’t intend to mention that.

B scored goals…
- Rubber located. In melbourne too. Bonus. Not cheap.
- Foam sourced and they will cut it.
- Aluminium edge strip located. Near and cheap.

This is where the delicate operations take place…

Z (now 9 months old. eeeeck!) has had a thing for books ever since we started reading her an awesome book our wonderful Northern mates had sent her. Called ‘Moo Baa La La La’. “it’s quiet now what do you say?”… ok i know it off by heart. Z needed a new book as we can’t find the ever loving “Moo Baa La La La’.

Now she digs ‘I went walking’. It is part of her sleep routine.

She drops off to noddy super easy - mostly. Although poor B has had a stack of drama with her lately. This is because I have been doing most of the ‘whispering’ since i have been ‘caravan restoring’ at home and giving B a break from some kid stuff. So i have sused her out! (Tee he… one for the dads!)

Here we are reading ‘I went went walking’…
(you gotta love that she turns the pages… *sigh* )

OK. 10 days to go before we drive into the blue yonder in the ‘as yet’ unfinished caravan. See last post…

Things still to be done…
- Sand undercoat ready for topcoat.
- Get topcoat applied. (By somebody else - a first!)
- Paint stripes and arrow on side (Fun!)
- Build hatch and paint it. Secure it temporarily.
- Cut out four windows. They are 3mm acylic (perspex).
- Source specific rubber to fit windows into.
- Fit windows. I have to heat and bend them.
- Begin 12volt wiring. To fuse panel.
- Fit vinyl flooring.
- Fit tail lights and number plate light.
- Put all the cupboard doors and lower kick panels back on.
- Source and cut and fit foam for dinette seating/bed.
- Source and fit aluminium trim for table and stove/sink.
- Put main door and flyscreen door back on.

Work done today…
Trailed the the newly undercoated van home from the boatyard.
I spoke to a Sunliner Caravan Guru on the phone. He put me in touch with a possible source for the window rubber.
Told me there are about 300 sunliners still in existence. They were made in Forster NSW and Bunbaberg Qld. Ours is a
Victory Special. I think… Said he saw ours when it was in the paddock in NSW. Said “you couldn’t have paid me to take it home…” hmmm… Oh well, it now has a second chance at life
Spent sometime learning how to bend perspex. Went over the van and filled in most of the pin-holes with a mixture of 2 pack undercoat and a ‘filler’ powder (West 405). Stared at the van a few times. It stared back.

Nothing much was done today. I minded small Z all day. We had a hoot. Visited some pelicans and fed the seagulls.
Chased some rabbits. Chased each other etc
Slept. Played. Ate. Wee. Slept. Played. Ate. Poo. Wee. Slept… and Z did fun stuff too!

2008 has been a wild ride. I have taken 6 months off from work. I had no idea that was going to happen. The first 3 months were spent hanging out with my new family.
The last 3 months have been spent restoring a 1962 fibreglass caravan for my partner. It is her dream to have
a vintage caravan. Something to holiday and hang out in. Something to tow behind her Humber Super Snipe.

She got the caravan sent down on a truck from a paddock in NSW where it had been sitting in the weather for 18 years!
Needless to say it was trashed… which explains why it cost $207.

It has been sitting around here, pining for attention, for about 2 years. It has been kinda been hanging over my head. So I gave myself a deadline. Have it ready for the Maldon Folk Festival. I have 11 days to go…