Okay...so we made a huge decision this this weekend...we have been peeling layers of the onion over here...
There is (was) "soft, crumbling wood (splinters!) at the first 12-18" in both the front and back. No biggie...so we removed 4' in back to get to a cross member and 3' in front in prep to put in new marine grade plywood patches. Then we noticed the step is loose (not sure of the fix yet - but certain it needs to be accessed) and the floor could use a little epoxy there and back by the service panel. We also want to straighten out a couple of the buggered banana wraps which means either removing the floor or the one piece belly pan/banana wraps which also means taking out
all the rivets that hold the shell to the frame. Since we don't want to, or need to do a shell off floor replacement "just for the heck of it" - the frame is in GREAT SHAPE no rust or damage, we are going to replace the entire floor as a "shell on" and leave the belly in place!
On the plus side - I'll be able to strip the lower panels of the faux-finsh paint horizontally in my garage rather than vertically in place...and the VAT tiles which are a b***h to remove - they are stuck on really good - will be going to the dumpster with the plywood and I won't have to deal with them! Oh joy!
Still looking for more positives on this one...wish us luck.
I'll post pics later this evening ~
Shari
