Well. ....I bought it $1800! Good= skin is in great shape. No leaks. The subfloor 1/2 good 1/2 bad. Frame looks pretty good...lot of surface rust..some bent angle iron pieces. Leaf springs look ok? The bad= needs new gasket seals around all windows/door. Belly pan totally ahot/removed. The front part of the frame(hitch area was cut and replaced at some point. But looks ok. Front window glass is broken. Tires are garbage. Oven/stove is there just unhooked. Toilet is not original
Now for the real surprise. The original Zolotone Its all there and in great shape other than the grunge.
The axel is the real question mark. Do I dare tow it w/ new tires or should I have it towed on a flat bed? Leaning toward the flat bed. All in all I'm pretty excited..I pick it up Sat. Thanks for all the input. My camera bat. Died so no pics for now. Post them soon.
Many congrats!! You will love this era of vintage. Can't wait to see pictures. How far do you need to tow it to get it home? I towed ours from northern CA to Phx on an unknown axle. Had new rims, tires and a good lube and we were all set. Check the wheels, if split rims, replace them becuase if you encounter a blow out, no one will work on split rims. Best to prepare ahead of time.
My opinion is, that if this cute little trailer spoke to you, then you should be more than happy to give it a good loving home.
Bob,
Bob- Boy do I feel better after your post! I thought I was going crazy when I started hearing Airstreams talking to me! Nice to know I am not the only one who hears those voices!
__________________ J. Rick Cipot Sandi Gould NEUNew England Unit Airstream Life Magazine WBCCI #3411 AIR #17099
Bob- Boy do I feel better after your post! I thought I was going crazy when I started hearing Airstreams talking to me! Nice to know I am not the only one who hears those voices!
Maybe we are both crazy, but that's O.K. My 64 Safari said take me home with you, so I did. The next day it told me that it's name was Silverhawk. We still talk all the time.
Congrats on the purchase! As far as the axle goes, you said it has leaf springs. Mine does too and the axle is square and solid metal. I was suprized at that and I think mine is okay. I would worry more about wheel bearings. Mabey you could jack each side up and give the wheels a spin to asess the bearings.
eric - congrats on your purchase. it looks in good shape. you got a real deal on that airstream. the small ones are very hard to come by and will usually go around 5k in the shape yours in in.
i'm just getting back into working on my 56 flying cloud. it has the orginal axle and leaf springs and i'm changing out that setup to the dexter torsion axle. you can do a search on here and you'll find a ton of info on axles and such.
post pics of your progress, you're about where i am when i stopped in november for a small hiatus.
are you planning on taking the shell off? again a search here will give you a ton of info. the frame will probably need some attention.
good luck!
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Great deal Eric. And obviously you are not afraid of tearing into it. The pics you put up are a great help at putting this all into perspective.
Thanks for sharing and we'll be watching for updates as your project progresses.
Barry
Oh yeah, for those who's Airstreams speak to them let me tell you, it's even worse when you also use vintage cars to tow. They also talk to you and can be very noisy at times. It causes me to get this glazed look in my eyes and my wife then starts checking the bank account to see if another one has convinced me to buy it.
Eric, it takes vision to work on these trailers. You bringing this unit back to life will not only give you satisfaction and pride, but will encourage others to do the same. I am trying to finish a 60 Pacer in time for the Fla. State Rally.
Will try to post a few photos. Congrats on your new/vintage trailer!
Eric, here are some before and after interior photos.
Not quite finished with the interior, but close...next will be the exterior if the weather will hold out.
I've been reading quite a bit of great info here And I appreciate the feedback/support. I'm hoping to not have to do a fram off. I'm going to pull the floor and the rest of the pan tommorow. The frame seems to be in good shape. The 75% I have inspected seems pretty solid. One beam in front of the axle will have to be replace or reinforced it appears. I'll keep checking in. Thanks again. Eric
You stole that trailer for $1800. Instead of replacing the axle, just get new back plates and replace the brakes, bearings and all at one. Just make sure no springs are broken.
As for your frame, is it box frame, right? Check for thinning especially up front, if Airstream did not close in the box up front - it would let water in there, and as the water went down into the box frame, it rusts and thins the frame. That is why we did what we did back in Oct 05 timeframe on our SOTR - Sweet Sovereign of the Road
Also, where are you located? I don't see snow, so must be in a nice area.
Rob
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$1800! Good= skin is in great shape. No leaks. The subfloor 1/2 good 1/2 bad. Frame looks pretty good...lot of surface rust..some bent angle iron pieces. Leaf springs look ok? The bad= needs new gasket seals around all windows/door. Belly pan totally ahot/removed. The front part of the frame(hitch area was cut and replaced at some point. But looks ok. Front window glass is broken. Tires are garbage. Oven/stove is there just unhooked. Toilet is not original
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