Anybody know what this is

[gsdutch]

Originally Posted by Wikkidmel

Thanks it is pretty cool , the inside is intact with original cabinets and appliances, just covered in rat poo. I’ll post pics tomorrow of the inside.

Be careful around that rat poo. It can cause illness or death. Use a respirator when it is being disturbed!

[hednout]

https://webcontent.goodsam.com/motor...Issue_1968.pdf


If you look on page 8 (by the pdf count) the author talks about the commercial availability of motorhomes having just come about in the past few years- and that was in 1968. Yours predates that by a full decade.


I believe what you will find is that someone bought a van or chassis and built it themselves- or hired someone to do it for them. It may well have been used when converted.


Only you can decide if it is worth rebuilding/restoring.






My parents purchased used Flxible bus in the early 60's and "we" converted into a motorhome. They were able to buy the bus for less than the cost of a truck and camper or truck and travel trailer. It has been taken out of service from a route in AR, OK and TX. The toilet was from a boat. The refrigerator was a small apartment model, as was the stove/oven. It had a small shower. We did all the work ourselves. I include myself as I was old enough and strong enough to help. I was also skinny and flexible enough to crawl into places my parents could not get into or reach into.



Our FMCA number was 1183. We went to some of the early FMCA conventions. My recollection is that there were no commercial RV's yet. People bought what they wanted or could afford and converted it them selves or paid someone. Most common were used units that people converted. The quality of the work depended on the skill of the owner. That varied a lot- even by my young eyes. One was a new Greyhound with the owner having hired a cabinetmaker to do the interior. It was impressive.


My apologies for rambling on. I would clean it up some and look at the quality of the work. If it was well built- you are restoring it. If it was not well designed and built- you are rebuilding it. If you are ambitious you can "make it better than it never was".

[accelerate]

it was a former bread van. someone converted it to an rv

[dbteam]

Hello Melissa,

Do some research on the VIN. Maybe Steve Macqueen used it during the filming of Bullet. That might change the value. Good luck with your project.

[glwinger]

Originally Posted by carybosse

Melissa,

Please do not add me to your Christmas gift. If your circle of friends calls that a gift, I would hate to see what you might give for Christmas to someone as low as me on your gift list.

Hopefully you can find a way to turn that lemon into lemonade, I hate seeing so much of what we have going into landfills. My wife and i just had a discussion about my unwillingness to toss 3 bowling balls into the trash - I am going to plan to drop them off at a bowling alley when ever it cools down enough to go in the attic and retrieve them. Surely someone will be able to use them.

We took our two old bowling balls and made lawn ornaments out of them. Stuck them on piece of steel conduit about 18 inches off the ground.

One is black with blue swirls and looks like dark planet. The other like a black gazing ball.

[Steve 716]

I am showing my are here. It looks like an old bread or milk delivery truck I would see as a young lad. Probably from the 1950's.

[Mekanic]

I like that . Although I d give up on a restoration. I’d gut to the walls and start over my self. I build a RV in a uHaul box on a large ford truck. Almost everything in mine is residential (not for Rv use) this does 2 things at once. One the price is the less for things like a sink faucet but Two MUCH better quality than a all plastic Camper/Rv model.

[mark2459]

Originally Posted by Wikkidmel

[Hi. I’m Melissa . I was gifted a running 1958 Ford Motorhome. I have the original pink and the description is Ford 1958. It’s clearly a motorhome but I can not find anything like it online and I’d like to know if it holds any value at all.

Start by searching the VIN online, then contacting the RV Hall of Fame & Museum. While they probably can't tell you the value, they can probably point you to sources to research.

Are you sure it is an RV and not a conversion to an RV?

[LargeMarge]

Originally Posted by Wikkidmel

It’s silver underneAth the yellow paint

.
Semi-retired welder-fabricator here.
.
I have a fascination with old vehicles.
I especially enjoy the 'Rat Rod' stylings.
.
Some vehicle builders paint several layers of different colors, then 'age' the usual use-areas -- such as the tops of the fenders and around the doors -- by carefully removing some of the paint.
.
This creates a layered visual history of the vehicle.
The look is similar to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, with centuries of wear exposing the layers of the ages.
.
If I was me, I would appreciate the antique patina.
.
Instead of trying to work with your ruined interior, I think most resto-mod folks would gut it to bare metal.
With this base, an interesting and up-to-date interior can be manufactured.
.
I doubt the vehicle has much value beyond 'bring a trailer'.
I think getting it to livable would require a dedicated metal-head craftsman, some old fart with a lot of time to putter.
.
Please, do not send it to the scrappers.
I think it is just weird enough to get somebody's interest.
.
.
An aside:
In the movie USED CARS, the Kurt Russell character refers to the yellow paint as 'primer'.
But I think he was selling a beat-to-death taxi as a reliable family sedan...
.
PS:
Actor Gene Hackman used the layered technique to 'antique' his New Mexico home:
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/s...-santa-fe-home

[Norcenark]

There is restoration business in Bend, Oregon called Flyte Camp that might be interested. They usually only restore 1965 or earlier travel trailers, but worth calling them to see if they want to buy it.

[Wikkidmel]

Originally Posted by Michael1955

Wow, seeing your Van Camper brings back a flood of great memories for me. In 1975 I bought a 1957 Chevy Step-Van for $450 that the previous owner had made into a very basic camper. No stove, no refrigerator- but a large Ice Box (yes, required ice). Re-did the inside on a shoe-string budget, installing a homemade cold-water shower, some storage, carpeting, and hit the road with my best friend.

With a grand total of about $900 in cash between the two of us, and 3 Gas Credit Cards my Dad let me use (I'd pay the tab upon returning) we embarked on a 6-week cross-cross country trip from east coast to west coast, and back. In the entire trip we paid to stay in only ONE location- 3 nights in Yellowstone National Park. Otherwise we just parked it where ever.

They call it boon docking now. Back then it was just a rest area (not allowed in most states anymore), the banks of the Mississippi River, the side of the road in Missouri and waking up at 5:30 am to a cattle drive crossing the road, in the residential section of Nob Hill in SF while walking about Fisherman's Wharf, the beaches of Southern California, or just the occasional shopping center.

2nd night of the trip we parked it overnight in the Pro Football Hall of Fame parking lot in Canton OH. Can't do that sort of thing anymore. For hot food we had a small hibachi- or we just ate at diners from time to time.

The back had an overhead door to which we had added a zippered screening so we could raise it at night to let in night air, without the bugs. We often drove with that overhead door open, along with the 2 entry doors open (which slid open/closed- similar to UPS Vans today).

That sucker had a diamond plate floor, 18.5 inch tires and weighed 7,500 lbs. Top speed was about 55 mph- and even that took about 2 full minutes to muster- and only on flat roads. Up hill we lumbered along at about 40 mph. lol

No GPS in those days, just a Road Atlas and drove west. Collected about 3 dozen local beer cans as souvenirs, as we made our way across country. That ice chest was stocked primarily with beer! lol

20 years old and crazy. I'll never forget what my older brother advised when we were contemplating the journey. "Go, go, go, go now! Because the older you get two things hold folks back- When they finally have the money, they don't have the time (family, job, responsibilities)- or when they finally have the time, they don't have the money." (How many retired folks discover the latter? Especially now?)

The best feature of that old step-van camper? A STEEL roof, with NO HOLES in it. If I were to custom build my own camper, I would start with that. Every opening in the roof is a leak waiting to happen. When you get caught in an upper mid-west hail storm (as we did in Wyoming) you appreciate that steel roof a lot more.

I think you'll have no trouble finding a DIYer that would love to tackle the project of bringing your 1958 back to life.

Thank you for sharing your good memories!!!

[Wikkidmel]

Originally Posted by sashaver

Where are you located? I’d love to take a look at it. I’ve completely restored the interior of our 2002 Demon Ultrasport, I’ve restored a 1974 MG Midget, I’m working on a 1965 Ford F100 now, I’d love to tackle a very old RV!

I’m in Sonora, california

[D Gardiner]

AT Wikkidmel

Very, very cool old RV. Sonora, CA! Wow lived their from 1998-2011, still have property that I rent there.

Good thing I did not see it around the year 2000, I'd have bought it. Looking up 1958 Ford delivery vans, I don't see any matches (non have the brow over the windshields) so she is probably not a converted delivery van. Vey well could be from a company that did not last very long, or many many units. There were numerous RV builders back then. The Wild West of RVs.

We have a vintage RV now. Not as old as yours though.

If you decide to fix her up, I'd go the minimalist route on the interior. Clean lines, simple layout, with folding beds. On the exterior, can't tell if its aluminum or steel. If its aluminum, parts of it can be polished and the rest painted. A simple single stage paint would work well and be period correct.

No matter what you with her, please post pictures.

Now, any restoration is costly, even if you do most of the work yourself. I've restored over 15 cars for myself and customers. Every vehicle is unique, has history, and its story should be told. If you are handy, can do some cabinet work, and don't freak out with 12V DC electrical,....go for it.

[Wikkidmel]

We got it home and cleaned it up a bit. Washed all the mold off. Took a grinder to the paint on the front, there’s a couple different colors on the front but on the sides you can see just bare aluminum under the yellow, and the top was never painted. The inside is more thrashed because we took up the cushions and put bug bombs . There’s a B on one of the vents . I can’t find anything like it online I really think it’s rare and special . What do you guys think , still junk ??