My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

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Calum
Posts: 163
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:44 pm

My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by Calum » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:32 pm

Or "speed buggy" as it was known as by the previous owner's children!

Here she is, my 1967 Carawagon 6-cylinder. One owner from new, still in contact and hoping to meet soon to exchange photos and stories etc (they even have cinefilm with the vehicle on throughout their many holidays). Has travelled a lot around Europe, all through the alps in all seasons. They used to ski a lot, so it did a lot of alpine winter driving, and a lot of summer driving too. Coins inside found from England (both pre and post decimalisation), France, Netherlands and Germany, though it did also travel to Austria, Andorra, Spain and probably others. When it was new the owner was stationed in Germany with the forces, so the vehicle and (rapdily growing) family took the carawagon out there with them for a couple of years. Got a lovely history too it, and hopefully I can soon start to compile a proper file on it.

Anyway, having been unused for around 20 years I managed to save it (just in time, with the crusher in its sights!). The family were heartbroken that it was to be scrapped, so were very happy indeed that I stepped in at the right moment, and as such a deal was struck that if I could save and restore it, the vehicle was mine. Lots of rot, but most of all around 99% complete - only things I could see missing are the tap for the sink, and the fuel pump. All fittings in the back intact and in pretty good shape - it's let in a surprisingly little amount of water when it has been sat, with the bulkhead taking in most of that water and seemingly trapping it....

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Where it languished for quite a while. Tax ran out the end of 1989; so this vehicle has been off the road all the time I have been alive :thud:

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How I found it at the council impound. Gas bottle bracket obviously taken a knock and the old ally rivets holding it to the chassis have dropped out!

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Pretty straight vehicle - the panel gaps were all spot on, even with a decaying chassis and rotten door frames. Quite impressive! (door top was ripped off to gain access before I got the keys - the wheels were at an angle which proved troublesome when putting it onto the low loader!)

Lots of pics of (slow) progress here on my facebook album - this should be a public link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 42c5056fa8


Cheers!
Calum
User avatar
RMS
Posts: 2236
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:02 am
Location: Near Wakefield, UK, in God's own Country!

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by RMS » Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:10 pm

Hi Calum,

Good to see the pictures again :cheers:

I must admit that I'd like to do a full resto like you are doing, but that will have to wait for another year.
For now, I'm just trying to get my 'new' S2 Carawagon on the road in time for this year's round of shows :stars:

Cheers,
Robin.
1967 109" Carawagon 200TDi
1972 109" SW Carawagon 2.5NA
1958 109" Carawagon 2.25P (project)
1972 109" Carawagon 200 or 300TDi (project)
1974 Dormobile 2.25D (project)
(Robin on S2C forum)
Calum
Posts: 163
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:44 pm

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by Calum » Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:13 pm

Well the roof is finally getting somewhere.... it was loosely resembling a completed Carawagon roof this evening

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Lots of riveting still to do, and screws to fit. The 'side panels' need a bit taking off them too as they aren't pulling the roof panel down enough to get a good fit in the corners. Should only be a 1/4" or 3/8" to come off and it should be a lot better. Can't quite understand it as all the dimensions are the same as the timbers I took off... oh well!
Hopefully have it finished by weekend, and if the weather is good, get it fitted!!
Calum
Posts: 163
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:44 pm

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by Calum » Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:36 pm

Got the roof swapped over finally, and it is feeling like a Carawagon again! Still a lot to be getting on with, which I will start early tomorrow. Will try and get some pics with the SLR rather than my phone....

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Plain and Carawagon roofs on the ground during the swap! Helping hands at the ready...

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Got the last few seals and then the catches to fit and it is almost complete. Just the rest of the interior to sort, and the electrics, and some brake pipes to secure, and the oils to change, and the roof rack to adapt and fit, and the LPG system to sort..... :stars:
User avatar
RMS
Posts: 2236
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:02 am
Location: Near Wakefield, UK, in God's own Country!

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by RMS » Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:40 pm

A proper Carawagon again Calum - well done :cheers:

Cheers,
Robin.
1967 109" Carawagon 200TDi
1972 109" SW Carawagon 2.5NA
1958 109" Carawagon 2.25P (project)
1972 109" Carawagon 200 or 300TDi (project)
1974 Dormobile 2.25D (project)
(Robin on S2C forum)
AntMan232
Posts: 130
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:26 pm
Location: Godalming

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by AntMan232 » Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:59 pm

A great looking vehicle :gold: . I notice you mentioned LPG; my Dormobile currently has a tank in the back, which is right in the way. Out of interest, how are you planning to fit tanks into your vehicle, and what sort of capacity can you fit?

Thanks, :tiphat:

Ant
1965 Series 2A Dormobile
Calum
Posts: 163
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:44 pm

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by Calum » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:16 pm

Looks like it is going to be an underseat tank, which will only be about 10 gallons or so. Not a massive capacity, but better than taking up interior space in my opinion!
dudley
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:19 pm
Location: stamford

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by dudley » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:24 pm

Looks great

well done Calum

Are you going to fit
rear awning poles.I
plan to fit them to
mine before the summer.

Regards

Phillip :tiphat:
1971 2a 109 diesel station wagon

1971 2a 109 petrol carawagon

And others
Calum
Posts: 163
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:44 pm

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by Calum » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:29 pm

Mine had a home-made rear awning which I have now got pics of. I am not sure whether to recreate it or design something of my own, but I know I do want one and I want it to be free-standing, so I can drive off and leave it behind. I find the Carawagon original ones a good design in terms of space saving etc, but not all that practical for what I want.

If you look at the last pic in my opening post, you can see the rails on the back of the motor where it attached.
Fletch
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:56 pm
Location: Sheffield

Re: My 6 pot Carawagon.. again!

Post by Fletch » Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:49 am

Really nice looking Carawagon, I've got the slide out poles (missing the middle one) but no awning. We bought a free standing one for now but would like to make something to work with the poles.
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