I have always liked the look of an old small 6x3 ft timber trailer, you never see them any more at all getting about and the old ones you do stumble across sitting under an old gum tree in a farmers paddock are usually stuffed, broken and rotten away beyond repair, so the other day when I found one on Ebay and only 80kms from home well I just couldn't help myself so I brought it there and then.
With a larger trailer in tow I went and retrieved it at Seaford with the help of Ray Dean, I brought it from a fella who had just inherited the family farm and was in the process of cleaning out some sheds on the property, so the trailer had to go..
Straight around to my cousins workshop when I got home and on went the industrial hot pressure washer, heaps a paint came off, many layers of brushed on white acrylic water based paint flew off everywhere in tiny pieces and made a hell of a mess on the ground but that to was later cleaned up.
What was left was a nice old cream colour which looked very neat with the raw timber poking through in places, so next I will completely brush on some paint remover nice and thick, let that sit for 24 hours and hit it again with the pressure washer over the weekend.
It needs a new timber floor and also I will make a new front gate, I have some better old rusty hinges for the tailgate, some old antique looking lights to match the Chevy in be install and I will be looking for and restoring some wooden spoke wheel also like the Chevy and I will paint the guards in a matt black and rub them back here and there a little.
These photos are after the first pressure wash...
First coat of paint stripper doing its job..
Now washed for the second time
I have now applied a second thick coat of paint stripped and I will let that sit for 24 hours then wash it off..
And after the third wash, this is what it has come up like
Some WD40 applied and both guards and rims are looking very nice..
I must mention that I had my trailer registration rules a little confused and after looking on the Vicroads website the correct information for non registration of a small trailer is:
- weighs less than 200 kilograms empty
- is not wider than the vehicle towing it
- is not more than 3 metres long including the drawbar and any load on the trailer.
Thank you Grant
Grant,
ReplyDeletewhat a find indeed, you were meant to become the next carer of this wonderful relic, I would have done exactly as you did and race off that bring it home.
The guards almost match the chev and the timber is just right, are you going to paint it or leave with its original patina?
what ever you do will be fine with me.... how about finding an old period caravan or one of those American aluminium round ones that look so space age these days...not form the period but an eye catcher none the less.....
enough ramblings
Peter
Gidday Peter,
ReplyDeleteThanks mate, yep I think when completed and fitted with wooden spoke wheels it will certainly look the part behind the old chevy when I head off to swap meets or vehicle shows around Gippsland.
I need to chop 100mm of each end to bring it back to 1800mm in length and the reason being that I will not need to register it if it is under 6ft (1800mm).
Also the front drop down gate timbers are rotten and paper thin so a new one is needed and also I will redo the floor as it has seen better days plus I can refit new light weight boards which will look heaps better when oiled up...
It a going to be a nice winter project in the resto shed, so please keep your eyes peeled for either 26, 27, 28 chev timber spoked wheels and also a 26 or 27 front axle in your travels.
Cheers Grant
hi Grant,
ReplyDeletea friend has just finished restoring a 27 , I think? and it now has typicaly a holden front end , jag rear and holden v6 with 4 wheel disk brakes and power steering....OMG I can hear you say. Anyway he may still have the Origional parts to the car,I will phone him and see and will let you know if anything is availiable..
so if it is shorter than 1800mm , does that mean no rego number plate as well? just wondering if that is a rego thing for only nsw?
keep up the good work
Hillvile Peter
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeletePlease call if any info about the parts come good, that would be great news.
Plus I have since found out on the Vicroads website that no rego is required if the trailer
- weighs less than 200 kilograms empty
- is not wider than the vehicle towing it
- is not more than 3 metres long including the drawbar and any load on the trailer