New Project: 1964 Cheltenham Puku 4
I don’t think a lot of people intend to buy a vintage caravan project. Once you’ve done one restoration, you usually vow to not do another one for a while or you’ve got the bug so bad that you can’t wait to dive into the next project. Unfortunately, I definitely fit into the latter camp, so my willpower to turn down potential new projects is virtually zero!
Enter the 1964 Cheltenham Puku 4 here.
I was innocently browsing the classified section of the Cheltenham Owners Club website, when I spotted this badly photographed and barely described Cheltenham for the princely sum of £500. Intrigued, I contacted the Chairman of the Club to ask if he knew anything about it, to which he declined and encouraged me to go and take a look. I liaised with the seller and blindly trekked all the way across the north of England to Cheshire with no real expectations of what I might find.
What I actually found was something of a diamond in the rough. I asked the seller did he know how long it had been kept in this car port: “Well we bought it before we got married…” he mused “and we got married in 1980”! I couldn’t believe it - had this Cheltenham been kept out of the elements for all this time…?
A closer inspection revealed that it had stood the test of time exceptionally well. The floor was solid, chassis was solid, the seams were in tact and the interior was damp free with the exception of the front fixed corner windows where the seals had shrunk and perished, which is pretty standard on a Cheltenham caravan.
Inside, it was pretty tired but crucially all-original and hadn’t been messed with. At a passing glance, I could work with it all and the deal was done. I would return the following week with new tyres and the necessary tools to service the chassis to enable me to safely tow it home.
The following week, I returned and spent some time stripping down the wheel hubs, checking the brakes and attaching a trailer light board. To my amazement, the brakes were in great shape, the bearings had minimal wear and even most of the original road lights still worked!
The 75-mile journey home was a breeze. I had forgotten just how well Cheltenham caravans tow. They’re probably the best road performing caravan of all time. I would proudly shout that from the roof tops with full confidence! These caravans were rally proved, using a bespoke triangulated chassis for extreme strength and low weight. The main chassis makers didn’t make a hitch unit that provided smooth enough braking, so Cheltenham made their own with a hydraulic damper and fine-toothed ratchet handbrake. The industry standard today, but very innovative back in the early 1960s.
Once safely home, the Cheltenham got a thorough clean inside and out to see what I was working with. Although I’d clearly been a little bit misty-eyed when buying it, it wasn’t terrible, though it quickly became apparent that the interior was certainly a lot more worse for wear in the broad daylight. I would have to come up with a plan…