A 1973 Millard has gone from eyesore to extraordinary after a Wollongong couple spent just over three months refurbishing the rusty old van in their spare time.
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Chris and Amanda Piazza spotted the vintage caravan for sale on Facebook's Marketplace back in January.
It had an asking price of just $400 but there was a catch: it was completely gutted.
The previous owners had stripped the vintage caravan to its bare shell before abandoning the project altogether.
"So we took on the challenge," Amanda said.
Christening their new purchase Mona, they set to work on making it roadworthy on the outside and liveable on the inside.
Chris, a carpenter by trade, rebuilt the caravan from the chassis up, then Amanda took care of the painting and interior design.
When the Piazzas finally took their refurbished van on its maiden voyage in April, they knew they'd picked a winner.
"She towed like a dream, and was our little home away from home," Amanda said.
"She may look little from the outside, but we have lots of room on the inside.
"There is plenty of space for the four of us to live comfortably in here while we are away."
Amanda has shared her renovation journey on the Instagram account @monathemillard.
See the reno take shape step-by-step ...
January 15: Well, she's here! And definitely a sight for sore eyes. Meet Mona, our 1973 Millard. She is in bad shape right now, and totally gutted, but I can't wait for my hubby and I to rebuild her and make her as good as new. Definitely a work in progress, but I'm so excited to see her change from a beast to a beauty.
January 16: Getting Mona propped up and ready to move out the chassis for rust repairs.
January 18: Replaced rusted-through chassis rail. We opted to use custom-folded galvanised C-channel to match the existing structure. Hubby did a great job, now just waiting for the steel for the draw bar.
January 20: Aluminium wheel arches fabricated and all done. Thanks @fortheloveofmillie for letting us come over and measure yours to make sure we were on the right track.
January 27: Our new draw bar is installed and a few little things to finish off but we are getting there. Can't wait till we can lay the floor down. Axle and springs to clean up next.
January 27: Two coats done on the frame ... onto the axle.
January 31: Axle is back in and new brakes, bearings and cable. Almost floor time.
January 28: Axle prep and paint today. We bought some new wheel bearings for some peace of mind to fit on our freshened-up axle. Look at these old bearings. Made in Australia ... when was the last time you saw that on a bearing?!
February 2: Yay, sealing the underside of our new floor sheets today.
February 2: And the chassis and floor is back where she belongs.
February 2: All nice and fresh under here. Just waiting on new wheels to turn up.
February 5: Mona got a bit of a facelift today. The hubby and I started putting on this checker plate to replace the very beat up cladding around the bottom and front and back. Still one more side to go, but I'm loving how she is looking! We are planning to paint over the sides and back checker plate later on too. Also our new wheels came today - and I love them!
February 6: Roof fixed and installation installed, Finally feels like we are getting somewhere!
February 18: This hot weather is definitely not ideal for caravan renos, that's for sure. Can it be autumn now please? We have been working on the roof these past few days, getting the inside and outside all sealed and insulated. Done one half of the outside today, took off the J-rails and cleaned out all the glue and resealed them.
February 20: Just finished the second J-rail on the roof today before the rain hit. I could say it was a fun job, but I'd be lying. So happy that part is over and done with! Next up will be the windows ...
February 28: Ten pieces of new glass replacement for the louvre windows. It's never a good idea to use perspex as window glass. Our previous owners thought it was a great idea - what a mess to clean up. Before and after ...
February 28: We have power in Mona! Such a good feeling to be able to get closer to lining walls. Came along way from buying a wrecked, stripped van.
March 9: Big weekend! We finished off all the window restoring (never again). Also got the roof waterproofed as our aluminium was in a bad way and had some fair damage from its past life. Onto the inside.
March 10: Our new custom folded Colorbond roof hatch (old one was crusty and rusty). @vollers_fabrication.
March 17: For the installation we used 10mm foam for the walls and just doubled up in some spots where it fit.
March 17: Finally lined the walls! Well, most of them anyway. Still one end to finish, but it's so exciting! This means we can move onto the interior now. Hubby has done an awesome job and now it's my turn to paint.
March 25: We have come a long way since Mona came to us on a tow truck two months ago. She has a newly fixed chassis, draw bar, wheels, new cladding (checker plate), refurbished windows and seals, refurbished hatch, insulation, electrical and is finally watertight and lined with plywood. Sometimes it feels like it's taking ages, but the reality is, we've gotten so much done in two months. Now onto painting the interior and getting the inside built.
March 26: Started on the interior today. This is the start of what will be our overhead cupboards.
April 2: Our kitchen is coming together nicely. We still need to put doors and drawers in but we will be painting this beauty soon enough. Hubby has been smashing it out lately.
April 7: So much progress over the weekend. Chris has put in so much work this past week. Painted, put in the bunks and the flooring. Still more to do, but it's finally feeling like a caravan now. Can't wait to take this baby away and relax.
April 11: We have mattresses! And blinds and fly screens. Loving our little space. After all the hard work of getting her to this stage, I can't wait to take her away in a couple of weeks.
April 14: Some before and after pics of Mona's new paint job. Love it!
April 16: So hubby decided to rip off the Tic Tac (peel and stick) tiles today and make his own herringbone splash back. I think it looks so much better, and so much more our style. He made this from old pine palettes which he cut down, so it's nice and light. Unfortunately the Tic Tac tiles just kept unsticking from the wall and coming off, even after proper prep work.
April 28: We headed down the coast to Lake Tabourie on our maiden voyage in Mona this weekend, and she was sensational. She towed like a dream, and was our little home away from home. We love her! Lake Tabourie, you were beautiful, and that sunrise was magic. Thanks @fortheloveofmillie for the great company.
April 30: I just love our little kitchen space. We don't have an oven, we opted to leave it out and we purchased a convection microwave oven which suits us fine. We cook mostly outside on the BBQ, which is much better. Still have a few bits and pieces I would like to do, decoration wise, but I do like a minimal look.
April 18: The last thing on the list before we go away these holidays was a rock guard for the front windows. Now we can tick that off. Looks like it was always supposed to be there.
May 2: We decided to make a fold-up table for this area so we could fold it down and pop it behind our bed when we aren't using it. Most of the time we will eat outside anyway, and it's worked out really well, and opens up the space nicely when it's put away. Also the bench seat opens up for extra storage.
May 5: The most important part of the caravan ... the beds! We decided from the start we wanted to put full-sized beds in the van, and we didn't mind sacrificing a little bit of space for that, so we basically built everything around them. This is a queen bed and the single bunks are standard foam mattresses, which we just had to shorten a little. Sleeptight mattress and single foam mattresses from Fantastic Furniture. All the bedding from good old Kmart.
May 27: Starting to get Mona ready for our winter getaways. Flannelette sheets are on, the rug is out and we have a new heater all ready to go. Can't wait to head away in a few weeks, it's going to be nice and cozy in Mona.
June 7: Finally finished my macrame piece for our little bedroom area. I'm no macrame master, but I enjoy doing it and I'm happy with how this turned out.
June 12: When we were deciding the colour scheme for our van, I knew I wanted it to be light and airy. I was worried it might be too white, but it's perfect. All the other elements warm it up and brings everything together. PS. Yes, that Harry Potter book is mine, and yes I'm taking it with me when we go.
June 24: We received our new Millard stickers in the mail today. They are the perfect addition to finish off the outside of the van.
June 21: One feature (of many) that I love in our van is the roof hatch. Before we rebuilt everything, the hatch was in poor shape. It needed to be reinforced and fixed. Hubby did a stellar job. There is nothing better than having a beautiful breeze blowing in on a sunny day.
July 23: That feeling when you are all set up. How long does it take you to set up your camp site? We are pretty easy going and it doesn't take long at all, thankfully. I love being able to get it sorted out so we can relax.
Take a video tour of the finished van ...
Want to renovate your own van? Chris has shared video how-to guides on his YouTube page.
