Once in awhile you get REALLY lucky. Today was one of those days! As you can see in the before picture, I had a major dent in the top left front of my AS. Had is the key word here. After reading a bit about paintless dent repair, I thought I would have to pay around $1000 to have this dent repaired. I went out and bought a $5.00 suction cup dent puller and after two pulls, the dent is completely GONE. I had one of the best days I've had in awhile. It literally took 10 seconds. I don't know that this will work for everyone but it worked for me.
I also was lucky enough to have my brother Bob, a licensed electrician, come over and put in a 30 amp circuit and plug in my garage AND helped me replace my very weather beaten shore power line. I got shocked from hot skin last week. I had all of the stuff bought to save time.
That looks excellent. Doesn't look there are any residual effects from the dent and this wasn't even on your to do list. Congratulations on your great day. Say "Hi" to Bob for me.
I see a time very soon when 3rd brother Bob gets an Airstream of his own. So far you're all Legacy guys, so I'm thinking the years 1958-1963 are the best for your family members. Tell me which model he would like, and I'll find it for him!
Keep up the good work, I'm enjoying following your progress.
My oldest brother Bob just shows up once in awhile to see what's going on and likes to help out. It's a nice way to hang out and catch up. I could see him getting his own but I hope he waits until mine is done
Can you give us a little more detail on removing your dent? I got a suction cup from Harbor Freight and didn't have any luck. I've head some ppeople use heat along with the suction cup.
Hi Alumanutz,
I think mine worked for a couple of reasons: it was on a compound curve and there were no creases. That dent wanted to come out. There was pressure in there once it came out to hold the old original, non dented shape. I have another dent up on top the is pretty big and shallow but is on a fairly flat area. When I pulled on it, it just went back. On this type of dent, I think I will need to slightly over-pull the dent. The good news it that it is so high up that it doesn't really show up that much.
When I tried mine, the suction cup wouldn't hold. Harbor freight crap. I can't make out the name on yours. What brand and where did you get it. I would like to try again before pulling out my endcap. Thanks
Hey NUTZ
The brand is Bondo and I got it at O'Riley's Auto Parts. I didn't clean the metal or slightly wet the area which both may help your suction cup hold. I just placed the puller on the left side of the seam and pulled it, released it and made one pull on the right side of the seam and it was out. I really hope this information helps some people because I was shocked at how well it worked for me.
Last night my brother and I replaced the shore power cord. The picture shows the extremely unsafe condition of the cord that we took out.
I also received some parts from VTS today. I can't wait to get these parts installed.
Finally, I installed the butyl tape, glass and the proper gasket for the front window. I'm hoping to get the bulb seal and the window installed tomorrow.
I am having fun but man, even with your tip about using a screen wheel to help get the seal in the window, it is very difficult and time consuming. I'm hoping that the other shrunken seals won't take as long as this one due to learning curve and the fact that I'm not going to try to remove the glass if possible. My fingers are sore from trying to work the rubber into the seam!
With a good cleaning, I think I'll be able to take her camping. We live only a mile or two from Saylorville Lake, a state park. It will like camping with beds, lights and air conditioning but little else. All of my LP lines are shot and I don't really want to replace them only to replace them again when I replace the floors. I have a tiny 110 fridge and we can take coolers and build all of our meals over the fire. I want to get my family camping soon so they (and I) can stay excited about the project.
Not that I've had a lot of work to do to get the systems running, as Terry did an excellent job of that already, but I'm taking my '63 O'lander out for her shakedown cruise this weekend. We're going to our local City Park which has RV spots right on the waterfront of Lake Austin. We go out there pretty regularly for tent-camping, but this will be the first time ever with AC and our own sink/toilet/bath, so I'm hoping this trip will set the hook and get my wife FULLY on-board. So far she is supportive, but not nearly as into it as I am.
Keep up the excellent work, I'm really enjoying your thread.
Hey Marcus,
Good luck on your Shake Down Cruise. Getting the family on board is important. My wife, like yours, is supportive and excited about the prospect of camping but hasn't done much to help yet but that's okay, I like a project!
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