The 15th International Portafold & Ansfold Gathering) (i.e. 2024)

Our annual gathering will be returning to the Newbury Retrofestival.

So put the dates 9th, 10th & 11th of August 2024 in your diary now and get those dates booked off work early.

Show Address: Newbury Showground, Priors Court, Hermitage, Thatcham, West Berkshire, RG18 9QZ

Don't book direct with the show organisers it will cost you more money, just contact me (07771544419) to get your pitch saved.

New to the fold

Any talk that's not covered by the other forums.
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nimdy
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Joined: Sun, 06 Mar 2011, 6:41 pm
Location: Darlington, County Durham

New to the fold

Post by nimdy » Mon, 07 Mar 2011, 7:36 pm

I have just bought a Portafold last week, it was listed on Ebay in the North East. It tows very well and I plan to use it behind my kit car mainly because of it's low weight.

Condition wise it is not bad with the worst bit being the roof. This has gelcoat cracks and has sagged a bit on one side. Fortunately owning kitcars i have done a great deal of fibre glassing in the recent past.

I have a couple of questions which people may or may not be able to answer. The colour of the sides appears to be cream but the base and the roof look white. The base has been painted with what looks like emulsion but the underside definitely looks white. Could this be the case? Also when erected there are gaps in the four corners where the roof meets the end walls. Should there be a seal of some kind on the top of the end panels? There looks to be the remnants of glue but nothing else.

What is the window seal on the door glass off as mine is a bit perished?

I will get the chassis number and pass it on when I have unearthed it as I would like to know the year of manufacture.

Russell

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Admin
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Location: Christchurch, Dorset

Re: New to the fold

Post by Admin » Mon, 07 Mar 2011, 7:58 pm

nimdy wrote:The colour of the sides appears to be cream but the base and the roof look white. The base has been painted with what looks like emulsion but the underside definitely looks white. Could this be the case?
My roof is certainly a lot whiter than the base and sides, which are cream. But I put a lot of that down to sun bleaching.
nimdy wrote:Also when erected there are gaps in the four corners where the roof meets the end walls. Should there be a seal of some kind on the top of the end panels? There looks to be the remnants of glue but nothing else.
Those gaps in the corners are air gaps to prevent condensation build up, they're mentioned in the brochures as a selling point...

The top of the side walls have a square strip of sponge stuck along them. Mine still has them but I haven't got round finding a suitable replacement yet. Another job on my long list...
nimdy wrote:What is the window seal on the door glass off as mine is a bit perished?
It's the same window rubber design as in most BMC cars but there's a great variety in sizes of glass thickness and panel thickness. You need to remove the glass, measure the thickness of the GRP and measure how thick the glass is, then give Phoenix Supplies http://phoenixtrim.co.uk a call, they sell all the variety of sizes off the roll and the plastic chrome trim finisher. Pop it into a windscreen fitter and get them to fit it (it needs a nacky little tool) and seal it all, Bobs your mothers Uncle.
Matthew
portafold.co.uk
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Wanted: Any original Portafold, Ansfold or Mini-Motel brochures, adverts or magazine articles.
Also, any chassis numbers for the above caravans!

nimdy
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun, 06 Mar 2011, 6:41 pm
Location: Darlington, County Durham

Re: New to the fold

Post by nimdy » Mon, 07 Mar 2011, 8:05 pm

Matthew,
Thanks for the quick reply. Strangely I have one of those little tools for fitting the filler strip from my last car rebuild. Don't know if I can live with the selling feature though!

Russell

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Re: New to the fold

Post by Admin » Mon, 07 Mar 2011, 8:11 pm

You might be surprised, it's a small little space to keep warm and the air gaps don't make a great difference in temperature, but the condensation from your ceiling will soon make up your mind once you've been woken by water drip drip dripping on your bed... :wink:
Matthew
portafold.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanted: Any original Portafold, Ansfold or Mini-Motel brochures, adverts or magazine articles.
Also, any chassis numbers for the above caravans!

DanBoy
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue, 19 Oct 2010, 4:11 pm
Location: Lichfield, Staffordshire

Re: New to the fold

Post by DanBoy » Sun, 13 Mar 2011, 7:46 pm

Welcome to the forum and the joys of owning a Portafold Russell :wink:

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