Grizz-Pod Teardrop Trailer - New tow truck - 66 Chevy

[laoutdoorsman]

cool stuff...lots of BIG pics....i have satelite internet and it loads like its dial up....lol

those vans are cool as hell....ive always fantasized about having a vw bus, or an old-oldschool ford econoline...i love that look...


what did those perforated channels (trailer beams)come off of??...i wish i had some metal like that available over here....


good luck...you sure are off to a good start with the salvaged pieces and parts...

[grizz]

cool stuff...lots of BIG pics....i have satelite internet and it loads like its dial up....lol

those vans are cool as hell....ive always fantasized about having a vw bus, or an old-oldschool ford econoline...i love that look...


what did those perforated channels (trailer beams)come off of??...i wish i had some metal like that available over here....


good luck...you sure are off to a good start with the salvaged pieces and parts...

Thanks for the welcome Guys and Gals.

he chassis beamsare a compllete caravan chasis. Made by AL-KO in Germany.

Gavanised is the standard here, as they add salt to the roads for snow in winter. (Keeping in mind that a 3inch snow brings the country to its knees.


I have been awake since 4.30am and its now 5.30am..... Today we are off in the bus to the last show of our year "Battlesbridge"

Tonight on the way home I am dropping the bus off with a friend,Edd and over winter he is doing a Ford 1800cc Zetec conversion. at is a Front drive engine into a Rear drive van.
That will give me the space the bus parked in, to build the Teardrop.

OK, now to wake Nicola

[grizz]

Well, today was the last show for the year, and a great one indeed, weather perfect, delivering a scorcher for September.

Nicola and I hit the Auto Jumble first and picked up a few choice pieces for the trailer. And also for the new home we are getting ready to buy.

First bits, 2 lights for £1.00 Bargain in my book.

These may be mounted above the hatch hinge as high level brake lights.




Next up was a bit of latteral thinking (not a lot though)

I got 2 scissor jacks, same style and manufacturer for 50 pence each, or £1.00 the pair.
Plan is to weld some flat bar onto the top of them, and then probably bolt to, or make a slide in mechanism under the rear corners of the trailer, and use them as stabilisers and to get the trailer horizontal when camped up.
The same seller had Cross Braces at 50 pence each, so it would be rude not to get one for the trailer to go into the tool box I plan for it.




Lastly, not a bargain, but a great find, at £15.00 for the pair, with all the fittings and bulbs in place, I got some Austin 1100 rear lights, they also happen to fit older model London Taxi cabs .

Mark, (Nightmares Racing) Karen and Jed came over to the bus at some point this afternoon and chatted. Mark (What a nice guy ! ) immediately offered to buff off all the lettering on the lenses, and also to polish them and the chromed backing plate frames for me for nothing.
You gotta love this hobby and the people who populate it.

Thanks Mark !!

Those that do not know Mark, this is one of the cars he built being driven like it should be. Cortina Mk3.






Lights looking like this. Fitted sideways , teardrop style at the bottom of the hatch, or vertically in the hatch ??
Opinions ??



Hopefully I can get some timber in this week to start building or mocking up the floor frame and storage boxes below the floor.


LASTLY: A massive Thank You to Nicola for helping me deliver the bus to Edd's place for the engine conversion, and driving us home, getting in just after 9pm at her place.
What a woman !!

[grizz]

Ordered the plywood today, delivery is Friday.
I have decided to go for a Birch interior, which unfortunately costs double the price of regular Marine ply.
The sheets for the sides are 5 x 10 foot, and again premium priced, but it means that my sides get no joins, something I want for myself.
Ply totalled at £392.15 which does hurt, but hey-ho, its onward I need to go.
I went to my local B&G super warehuse Hardware store and got all the "foundation " timbers and also the cross braces for the sides and supports for the roof. @ £38 it was a price I was more prepared to stomach.
Fortunately I have a Ford S-Max 2.0liter Diesel on loan this week, so the timbers fitted in, even the 10foot/3meter bits made it.







Thats all for tonight, early to bed I think.

[grizz]

Right, just deleted this post before I posted it, so here goes again.

Just a short report today.

I slept over at Nicola's place last night, so that I could bring the chassis back here today, as the cars that block the carpark spaces where I sneak through to get into my back yard, only opens at around 6am.

The chassis is a tight fit right now, but keep in mind, I will be moving the "A-Frame" toward the axle by almost 2 foot. The rear will also be cut off closer to completion, once I figure points of balance with the trailer loaded.

Where the trailer is parked will be the build space, as my garage is at about 80% of capacity, filled with "stuff"




Next up today, I went to my "Secret" Council (Municipal) Tip, to scavenge for bits of stuff to use in the build. I have found some awesome stuff there which people just throw away.

Today I was looking for some chrome pipes in the steel skip, to use as legs for the kitchen worktop extension I have planned. I found 2 decent lengths, so was pretty pleased.

Next up, I found a small portable fridge, which will take about 6 cans of drink. No electrical lead, but I am sure I can sort that, as it is 12 volt and 220 Volt.

Even more impressive was a larger , but still small fridge, I suspect from a laboratory, or vaccines clinic with a huge thermostat sticking through a hole in the front door. Unfortunately it is only 220 Volt, and the power cord was cut an inch from the body, but that should pose no challenge.

After loading it into the conveniently parked Demo Ford S-Max, I called my mate Dave (Oldbus) in Germany to gloat, he promptly offered to sell me a 3-way (Gas/mains/12 volt) camping fridge for £50 which he had bought in anticipation of the Setra camper bus project he had planned. So now I have a 3 way camping Fridge, cooker and sink landing here on Friday evening , door to door delivery when Dave and one of his sons pop over to fetch the 1938 Rover 16 he has bought.

Dang, life is good.








LASTLY: QUESTION TIME.

I was planning on painting all the timber and plywood with a coat of varnish, and then to top that off with a few coats of Marine Ships Hull paint for waterproofing, lastly doing the designs on the photoshopped pics in regular enamel Dulux paint on the sides, as the roof is getting ally skinned.

What does everyone else use for the underbody, where road water and grime lands, and those with exposed wood sides to their trailers ??

Thanks,

Rian.

[2fry]

Hi grizz
I coated the underside of my tear with roof tar/damp proofing,then a second coat once i had bolted the ply and angle together.
Making sure that there were no gaps between any joint.

I only used this because it was a lucky from work

[jackdaw]

hi Grizz , It might be an idea to check all your paints are compatable with each other. It would be a shame to find they react with each other.

We used a fence paint/stain/ waterproofer on the Coppertop.

Cheers Dave

[grizz]

Just got a PM from Dave in Germany.

Trade conditions for the 3 way fridge have been re-negotiated by him, unilaterally.

Price for the fridge now gone up to Fish and Chips for him and his son.


50cm wide - 48 cm deep and 60 cm high

[jackdaw]

Just got a PM from Dave in Germany.

Trade conditions for the 3 way fridge have been re-negotiated by him, unilaterally.

Price for the fridge now gone up to Fish and Chips for him and his son.


50cm wide - 48 cm deep and 60 cm high

Nice one Grizz ,That looks like a LHD version of our fridge
I'll throw in a fish cake and a portion of mushy peas if he wants to bring it down to Wiltshire.

Dave

[grizz]

Post your response here Dave, Dave's always open to suggestion.

http://www.retrorides.proboards.com/ind ... 389&page=7

[grizz]

Small update tonight.

Guess I kinda started tonight, took the trailer "A-Fram" or Tongue as the Americans call it off the frame, took the brake rod off and cleaned it up.
It gets dark early now, so progress will be a bit limited.

I also tried the 2 fridges I got home yesterday, the small one works perfectly, the larger one is out on the pavement for collection by the steel collectors in the morning, I could not get it running, the element at the rear heats up, but I guess it is old and minus gas.
Lucky I have the one I bought from Dave coming the weekend.


First thing I did tonight was to move some of the stuff , or is that rubbish ? Up into the loft, to make space for the plywood and Ally thats getting delivered on Friday.

By the way for those interested, two sheets of 1.2mm by 1.5m x 3.0m cost £130 delivered. Another ouch moment, but I guess I need to just get on with the build.


Garage before:




Brake rod undone.



Roughly alligned, now needs drilling and fixing.



Must have gained around 60cm , or 2 foot by moving the tongue back toward the axle. Rear calculations to be done later.

[Steve_Cox]

Rian,

Hello and welcome to the forum. Enjoyed the photos of the places and the stuff you have acquired so far. Will be checking back often to see how it's going.

[grizz]

Rian,

Hello and welcome to the forum. Enjoyed the photos of the places and the stuff you have acquired so far. Will be checking back often to see how it's going.

Morning Steve,

Seeing what you guys get up to, and the tailers you have created, I have lot to aspire to.

Hope I can firstly get all the bits made up, and fitted together, and of course also that I can build a trailer worthy of an "OOOOoooffff" comment, like so many here.

Please do make comment and suggestions if you see me heading in the wrong direction.

[Miriam C.]

Nice load of stuff you are getting for almost nothing. A suggestion/request, it would help with the reading if you could make pictures about 650 instead of 800+. The pictures force the edges of the page out and those of us with small screens are scrolling to read......

Enjoy the build. We used roofing tar on the bottom and epoxy on the edges of the ply. Even a few coats of varnish will help. As for the part that goes to the frame I glued mine and screwed it so the glue acts to keep the water out.

[jackdaw]

Hi Grizz, I just a thought , next time your at the recyling place , have a look for a louvre door. You would do well to use a hard wood rail to screw your hatch hinge to . A louvre door is just the thing for the job. You should be able to cut the door up , and use the styles either side of the hinge
You can see the last rafter on the copper top has the same feature



Dave