A bit of Paint removal

I've taken a few of the smaller items out of the caravan, so I can work on them whenever I've got a few minutes free. A lot of the interior fittings have been painted white, so I want to strip these back. So far, touch wood, they're cleaning up well. The ceiling light revealed brilliant chrome and the pelmets have wonderful quarter sawn oak grain. Let's hope the rest clean up as well

Making a start

So first things first. I need to make it water tight. Apart from around the obvious broken windows there seemed to be a lot damp. There are a few holes in the rear fibre glass panel and where the tail light should be. I have gaffa taped these as a temporary measure until I can get them fixed.
There is also water getting in from the front where the roof and front panel join. Unlike later models, this has a thin strip of wood between the 2 panels which has nearly all rotted away.
At a guess, at some point it has had a log burner in it and a chimney has been put in the roof. This will need to be removed but at the moment it has had an old pan lid jammed over it, so it isn't leaking.
That done it as time to make a start on assessing the condition of the frame. It will require the bottom rail replacing full length down each side. As you would imagine the frame had rotted around the 2 broken windows. When I stripped back the test of the ply at the front of the caravan, I was surprised to see that most of the frame behind seems to be in good condition.
Another surprise, was the condition of the chassis. Considering it's 50years old and had spent much of it's time abandoned in a field, the chassis is in great condition! Better than the one on my sable, that I had to do extensive repair to. It will need the corner steadies repairing as the front 2 are badly bent and one of the rear ones has got pulled off. This was from when it was moved from the field with them still down.

A fun journey

So that leads on to its new start with me. Having scrutinised the pictures thoroughly on the eBay posting and spoken to the owner I decided to take a gamble and put a bid on it. The pictures showed in a shocking state and I began to wondered if it would make it back. A week later with the car fully stocked with spares, tools and my friend Joe (who at this point had no idea where we were going or for what) we made the journey up to Scotland to pick it up. When we got there we were greeted by the friendly owner who was more than happy to help us ready the van for its journey. Having checked the structure for weaknesses and deemed it to be better than I thought it would be, we set about fitting new tyres, lights, safety beak away cable and ensuring that everything was greased and that the brakes were working whilst a slightly bemused Joe looked on in dismay. Plastic sheeting was fastened over the two broken windows and the rear door tied shut as it hadn't got a catch. The final checks done we were ready to set off.

Setting off and getting going it handled brilliantly which came as a pleasant surprise. We headed down the A68 which gave us chance to see snow on the tops as we crossed the border back into England. After 170 odd miles and many funny and confused looks later, we arrived back home in Leeds safe and sound. 

welcome

Hi and welcome to my blog. I enjoy taking tired old caravans, like this Puku and giving them a new lease of life. I always aim to restore them sympathetically, retaining as many original features as possible, at the same time modernising it to make it more comfortable to use.

I also own a 1967 Cheltenham Sable that I had the pleasure of restoring some years ago. Although not in the same state as this Puku, it was suffering with quite a bit of hidden rot. It had repairs to the frame, the walls re-boarded, all cupboards stripped and varnished, re-upholstered and the electrics and gas bought up to modern standards.

Over the coming months and probably longer, I will be restoring a 1963 Cheltenham Puku 2.

This caravan has lead an interesting life. Since 1981 it has lived and been used on a farm, in the Scottish borders, as a site office and lambing caravan. Before moving to the farm, it was used as a caravan mission, touring Scotland and attending various events. The sign writing from this can still just about be made out down one side of the caravan. 

The puku had lived out in the fields for a few years before it was put up for sale and had got into quite a state. The previous owner, Al sent me a couple of pictures of how he found it in the field.

A good pressure wash later and it was looking slightly more presentable.