I make regular trips to junkyards- need to because I have a 75 Clipper, a 78 Dodge truck, an 88 Olds, and 93 Geo Metro that needs new door handles once a year!! grrrr!!
Anyways - I'm there Saturday (Pick n Pull) and I see a 70s truck with a cab-over camper (a 70s Western Wilderness) still on it. Naturally that's the first vehicle I check out - and it's pretty beat up - both the camper and the truck. But I did find a kitchen roof vent handle which my wife broke in Big Sur (she didn't know how it happened??..hmmmm...) - so that was cool, and then I saw it - a beautiful wood panel covering on the truck fridge with a painting "burned" into it somehow- a scene with seagulls, deer, some trees,a lake, some sand dunes, a canoe, etc. - simply beautiful. And it was a dometic fridge! I have never seen anything like it and I've been in hundreds of vintage rigs. It was a bit larger than my Dometic fridge and was beat up, but somehow the door cover was still pristine! I carefully removed it, got it home, had to cut it down a little, a bit of sanding, took off my fridge door, gorilla glue, some weights, and voila! It fits perfectly - and it's just real real pretty.
Looks much better than my old plain fridge door. I'll post a pic or two soon.
So, if you're ever in a junk yard, don't forget to look at old dead truck campers, motorhomes, van conversions and the like - you just might find a jewel to add to your Clipper like I did.
Oh and the best part! The junk yard guy gave it to me for FREE (after charging me for my Geo Metro door handles and a few other parts).
Way to go Horst!!!!!
I can't wait to see the pics. I never thought of the fridge door in the camper as a place for art, I like it! I bet it will make the beer taste better too :)
JerryT
:) Beer, the Hotdogs will just want to jump into thoses buns..
Sounds as if that fridge is getting an attitude...
Just becarfull Horst!!!
John E :)
Here's a few pics (I can't seem to upload to this site)
http://www.harborweb.com/clipper3.html
also have two other pics of my inverter and microwave set-up
Nice find Horst! I may have to convince my mom to wood burn me something like that on some veneer next time she comes for a visit. She does great work and you have proven it would look perfect.
For a second there, I thought you had an extinguisher in your microwave ;D.
-D
That is a terrrifict find !!!!!!!and I do like the nest for the microwave!!!
I have to replace that whole side. It for some reason weathered and warped
It will be in the upgrade any way..
But You got yourself a real good find!!!
JohnE.
One more question, where can I find the step runners that I have seen on some of these rigs?????
step runners?
you mean the rubber ones that say American Clipper?
I believe the Club sells them.
No Bro, I mean the steel ones that bolt to the bottom just under the drivers and passengers door..
I guess they calll them step up s.
Thanks , JohnE. :)
try JC Whitney (online parts place) - I'm sure there's other places
My brother-in-law' was over last night for a BBQ, and I was showing off my fridge door cover to him (also Clipper Owner) when his girlfriend came in to check it out.
She is an artist and seems to think that this was a piece of a large panel, maybe 8x4, and that the "art" is put on via some sort of thermal transfer system (not "burned" in by hand, that's for sure) - that's it's actually more of a "print". She thinks that these panels where actually fairly popular in the 60s and maybe even 70s, and used as interior wall siding in mobile homes, and smaller cabins and such.
Seems like a good theory to me............now I'm going to be looking for junked mobile homes to see if I can find more of that siding........I'd like to redo the entire Clipper in that stuff!
Hey there HORST, My buddy was over about a day or so and I showed him the pic of your fridge.
He thought that that was the most Bitchen find !!!!!!!
He was telling me that that did used to be a print on 4x8 sheets of panneling that could have been purchesed at Ace hard ware about fifteen years ago. He is not sure if you can still get the print.
But it wouldn't hurt to ask someone at ACE hardware..It maybe a special order-- Well worth it if you ask me!!!!!
How have you been, everything oky doky.
Take care, John E.
Horst
I was at the antique camper rally "Tin Can Tourists" this weekend in Milford Michigan. The rally was held at a campground next to the General Motors proving grounds out in corn country :D I went in a rig and I saw something that looked like your fridge door so I took pics to show you. the rig was a 73. I also want you to see my Canadian friends rig so here is pics of it too!
JerryT
Here is Bill's rig! It has a 6 cylinder and a 4 speed in it.
JerryT
that paneling is sweet!! - how about some interior shots of that unique rig?
thanks for the pics - enjoyed them.
If anyone is interested, I found a similar paneling to Horst's fridge door cover here:
http://newenglandclassic.com/hunting-camp-collection/
There are some other softer floral designs also:
http://newenglandclassic.com/designer-collection-plywood-paneling-4x8/