drew Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Long time lurker, first time poster. So I dont have an oldschool ride to pimp'n'share just yet, This puppy has my name stamped all over it, currently stored on a mates farm down south, but in the mean time I do have a crusty old caravan full of bitches project that I have this burning desire to share with ya'll. Its a Sprite Hardtop built under licence by CI Murno's very skilleds tradesmen in 1981 at their Otorohonga plant. Aquired from the neighbor over the back fence for the princley sum of $500.00, it had sat tucked up in a corner of their section unused for the last 3 years before I stumbled apon it and made some offhanded remark about what a cool wee caravan it was... Beers and fists full of dollars later I was the proud owner of a slime covered musty old poptop caravan. I shot round home with it and immediatly got to work washing off the years of mould and green slime. I then rang the missus (who was down south at her mothers) and floated the idea past her about the possibility of buying said neighbors caravan.... She replied: "you have already bought it havent you" (that woman doesnt miss a damn thing! lol) After a good scrub it became apparent the old girl was not in bad shape for her age, but the drawbar was in need a bit of a tart up... ... so I used up a couple of those black potscrub looking sanding disc thingys and resprayed the drawbar with a grey enamal engine paint... (behold the bling) .... and immediatly she look a million bucks better. So the tribe returned from the South Island and I unveiled this two wheeled wonder of summer love to the wife, and she actually agreed it was a good buy! (whew!) With that I wheeled the caravan out onto the back lawn and we spent the afternoon setting it up and erecting the awning that came with it. We were actually quite stoked to find that the caravan came with the awning, spare wheel, power cord, adaptor and the cupboards stoked with camping goodies like plastic cups, plates, utensils so on etc etc.... The decor elegantly finished in poo brown and white formica... .. the sink unit slides inboard when the roof comes down, and gets slid back into position when in use! (righteous clevage shot...) The kids thought it was shit hot too!! and the wall can be rolled up to improve indoor-outdoor flow.. The old girl didnt have a warrant or an electrical certificate so I took it down to the testing station.... but I will fill in the blanks on that in the next installment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I believe the correct response to this is... FUCK YEAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I believe the correct response to this is...FUCK YEAH! That response is entirely appropriate. I think this is my answer to a house bus. So awesome, colours are just glorious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage Grumble Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Wholy crap this thing is a plethora of wonderment to my eyes. You Sir, have done very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 FUCK YEAH! Concur wholeheartedly Have been watching trademe for these, toppagees and campamatics for a while now, unfortunately lack of storage is holding me back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixx Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I am jealous as can be. I need more space for storage of excellent stuff like this at my place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 the gypsy in me approves heartily of all projects regarding mobile living quarters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toucan Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Mean, bet you are looking forward to taking her away over summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanfels Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Good buy for $500!! Im surprised there are no rips or patches in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 The canvas is in surprisinlgy fine condition and pleasently free or rips, tears or stretches. A couple of the zips need attention, and a few of the ties to secure the walls of the awning to the poles are missing or broken, but meh - minor details and I will get them repaired in the fullness of time... We took it camping late in the summer just been, but I wont get time to write that one up untill tonight maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truenotch Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Looks like Christmas 1994 in Rotorua to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoozin Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Yes. I am extremely keen for a pop top to drag behind the Trump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 ^ nah trump needs polished alloy slipstream style camper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My name is Russell Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 WANT!@ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 ^ nah trump needs polished alloy slipstream style camper. Hardly. Either pop-top or painted beige doom-mobile. If it were some 50/60's Americar then polished alloy slipstream foh sho. I must talk to the old man about the Playboy at home and what he's doing with it/whether I can steal it to fix and use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 ^ doit. I had a poptop on my watchlist. i think it closes in about an hour. in feilding, too. lol. so sweet. tbh though, you guys should all build teardrop campers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raizer Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 ^ nah trump needs polished alloy slipstream style camper. Hardly. Either pop-top or . If it were some 50/60's Americar then polished alloy slipstream foh sho. I must talk to the old man about the Playboy at home and what he's doing with it/whether I can steal it to fix and use it. I agree. / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Exactly! Raizer knows what's up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 One of the advantages of living in a small town is that you know everyone, or everyone knows you.... I have a good friend who untill two weeks ago was the head mechanic at the local Toyota dealership - a bloody good bugger who always helped my out keeping my surf and the cuzbus on the road.. Anyways, after an afternoon at home mucking around and making sure I had covered all bases, I wheeled the poptop into the workshop for a warrant test... fail. Turns out there was a problem with the taillight wiring and everytime I stood on the brake peddle the horn would go and the rear passenger door would open - or something like that. "oh it'll just be an earth fault somewhere" He then told me off for the dodgy tyres, said they would need replacing, and the repack the wheel bearings... (splits much?) turns out sitting in one spot in the sun for three years causes some cracks... no shit! The other issue was that two of the outrigger arm things that came out from the main chassis under the floor had cracks and needed welding... So I took it round to another mate (yay for small towns) this time an engineer who happened to be the son of one of the old boys at work and I got him to wled up the cracks for me. While he was there he fixed up a couple of other minor defects too! So I take the old chook home and blew half a day opening up all the tail and marker lights, cleaning the contacts, replacing bulbs, soldering wires and chasing the faulty earth, only to find that the lug that holds the earth wire to the chassis had snapped off. pffft A new lug and some solder and bingo, Roberts your Fathers Brother - lights fixed. Another blat round the block, and a promise to get new tyres and the Caravan of Bitches was legal to be on the road! Woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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