Even though the main frame on the van was super important and every detail was being taken care of, there were still other additions that needed to be shunted along with the progress. One of those was the wheels and tyres. Would we repair, or replace them! Anyone who has already done a Reno will understand that the many hours spent on the floor of the shed are equalled by the hours spent, researching, sourcing and acquiring. You do need a full time 'Hunter and Gatherer' and I was it.
The two wheels plus a spare are all EK Holden wheels and are original. I soon learnt that they are as rare as hen's teeth so we opted to have them checked over by an expert to see if they would stand the length of time. One of them needed a small patch weld which we authorised and it would become the spare. The repairman was fascinated where I had scored Holden wheels from as he had been trying to find some for ages for his own needs. They were all given an overhaul, repaired and then spray painted with 2 pack white paint.
We took them to a tyre place and they recommended to fit them with light truck tyres, which we did. They now looked amazing again. I had even sourced some white-walled 'flappers' to add to their appeal.
Another very important part of the end result was to have my navy and white striped awning attached to the side of little Piccolo Rose.
What an absolute mission the awning proved to be. I searched the entire country looking for navy and white striped canvas and drew a blank every time. The only canvas I eventually found was just not right. The navy appeared more like denim and the white, looked like a dirty grey colour. I ended up communicating and negotiating with a place in USA, which of course was proving to be cost prohibitive. So.... what now?
Still not an ideal solution but I knew I could make it work for the interim anyway. Dressmaking is one of my gifts, so off to Spotlight to buy some navy and white polyester canvas and I would make the awning myself, which is precisely what I did. This way I got the right colour and the lovely deep scallops on the edging as well. I don't like the gentle wave that most scalloped awnings have and I wanted ours to be deeper. Mind you I know exactly why they do it that way, because it is much easier to edge the scallops when they are less dramatic.
I also put velcro along the three straight edges and made a panel that could be velcro-ed on for some extra protection from sun.
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