Peanut the ‘67 Caravel

[redthies]

I have been working on a ‘63 GT that we bought in December just prior to selling our ‘74 Ambassador. It is in need of a fair bit of work, and at present has had some frame repair done, a large gray tank fitted, frames sand blasted and painted. We hoped to have it done in a few months, but have 5 customer trailers here, and 4 more waiting for a spot. It might be a while before it gets done. Thread here: https://www.airforums.com/forums/f15...er-218076.html

Then my dad’s cousin calls and says he knows of a couple that are looking for a value on a ‘67 Caravel. I’m not super quick to respond, as ‘66-‘68 are my least favorite years to deal with due to the stupid windows, but eventually I call. We arrange to go take a look...

It turns out the people are the daughter (in her late 70s) and son in law of the original owners, so it has been in constant use in her family until she bought a new 23’ in 2016. It was going to be passed down to her son, but he died, so up for sale it goes.

We show up to find a trailer in what appears to be great shape, with some temporary fixes to keep it from leaking too much. You know the drill, duct tape around windows etc. In the end, and after some dickering with a neutral 3rd party (President of the local WBCCI and mutual friend of both of us) offering valuation, we settle on a price and tow it home.

[redthies]

More to come...

[redthies]

And still more...

[Stefrobrts]

I'm always excited to see new Caravels join the group. Congrats!

[GetawA-S]

It looks like the original owners took pride in it, based on the condition of the interior. And no dents... it should shine up nicely! Congratulations!

[Stefrobrts]

I had a vintage Bambi that had a spare tire mounted on the rear bumper, and it had caused some rear-end separation, so you might want to watch for that. It will be harder to see since the 68 has that interior bathroom shell.

[PA BAMBI II]

I have a very nice set of lightly used (recently replaced) foam cushions out of a '67 Caravel... covered in nice aqua fabric.

A friend at church purchased the trailer and had a totally non-stock interior replacement in mind. It was gutted and I was offered all the cast-off interior pieces. The cushions had just been replaced recently by the previous owners.

The cushions are for sale if you're interested and need replacements.

[redthies]

Well that’s irritating. I guess you can’t edit after 30 mins... I wanted to save space to finish the story.

Well, onward. We got it home Saturday evening, pressure washed it and pulled all the tape off. Then into the barn to dry off. In the ind, only the kitchen window leaked. We had thoughts of only doing a minor clean up, but that never seems to happen. After a day of taking rotten counter and unsuitable appliances out, I sat down and took stock of things. I started to think I might just rebuild the couches with Baltic birch, and do our in-house custom cabinets for the kitchen. After sleeping on it, that’s what happened. We just took the upholstery and bed frames and cabinets for “the swim that needs no towel”. AKA the drive to the landfill. I did keep all the hardware off the cabinets etc as I know that is valuable stuff. The wood was too far gone.

I have a small spot in the curb front to repair rot, but otherwise the floor is remarkably solid. We are going to do a layer of 1/4” G1S ply, and then roll out the vinyl that the sellers included before replacing couches and cabinets. Eventually (after Junebug is on the road) we will remove the new couches and cabinets and do a shell on rebuild. We are doing nice quality fixtures so that they can be reused next time. Only the vinyl flooring and 1/4” ply will be sacrificial.

Some pics after removal of bumper “monstrosity” and interior furniture and his namesake:

[redthies]

And of course gravity has gone on the fritz here, so stuff is upside down and all over creation...

[Peter417]

It is indeed irritating... welcome to using forum software that is a decade past it's expiration date.



Is this a flip job or will you camp in it?

[redthies]

The plan is to camp in it while we do a more in depth rebuild of our ‘63 GT. Once the ‘63 is done, we will decide what to do with the Caravel. It will either get a more thorough restoration or depending on circumstance may be offered to our client base for the same, but on their dime. As said above, all the new wood work etc will be up to standard for a high end restoration.

[Saluda372]

Congrats.

[redthies]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

Congrats.

Gracias. I bet YOUR Caravel is pretty nice!

[Saluda372]

So far, but it was only a quick look. The tour is today. Thanks

[redthies]

So you’re just picking it up today? Very exciting! Make sure they go through EVERYTHING with you. Don’t be shy about pointing out things that are less than perfect!