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... what can you do with 2 airstreams, that you can't do with 3? well, here she is, in all her embarassing, over-oxidized, caulked, rotted, squeaky, leaky glory. the former owner named her "stinky", quite appropriate, i assure you.
do i need another project? not really... especially as i have a '59 18 footer in need of an interior...
do i need another airstream? not really... our daily camper (64 trade wind) suits us fine!
could i pass it up? nope.
makes no sense, i know. the neighbors probably hate me, the wife thinks i'm nuts... as do most of my friends, but here she sits! i think it's safe to say i have aluminitis... and ADD!
what she needs... everything! first thing on the list for me is to work up the exterior skins a bit, and get new running lights and umbilical. then she's at least remotely street legal. next up, i'll be taking taking out all the interior and dropping it off with womeone to clean up the frame and install a new subfloor. then the REAL fun begins. a new axle and tires isn't far behind all that.
in the grand plan, we want to put in a side dinette, and modernize the interior. everythiing's still up in teh air at this point. i'll post photos and progress as things develop.
A-Merry-Can, WOW...3 We just bought our first Airstream in July a 20
ft 1967 Globetrotter. Can't imagine having two more. You must have great
experience at this. I have noticed many people on the Forums have more than one. I teach Marketing/Advertising and perhaps Airstreams are fine to collect and then sell? Or use a different one on each different trip?
I gave my wife the choice of picking my hobby and have been happy ever since. I let her choose between Heroin, Younger women with bigger "chests" or restoring old Military vehicles. Guess what? My hobby is now restoring old Military vehicles. I'm a lucky guy! The other two choices were too expensive for me.
I have the identical Globetrotter in the same (worse?) condition. It arrived just before a '68 Tradewind became available. Bought the Tradewind, too. It's 100% usable and in very nice shape. Now, the Globetrotter has been moved to the neighbor's barn to await its future. I'm thinking of turning it into a "Vintage Base Camp." Just enough interior furnishings to make it usable, but still light enough to be towed by small SUVs. Or maybe someone else out there needs "another" project and claims it before I get started! Darol
well, after really looking at the tail lights on the ol trotter, i've decided i'll need to replace both rear quarters with fresh aluminum. the original aluminum has completely deteriorated behind the light plates. it looks more like baking soda than aluminum at this point!
since i'm replacing the corners anyway, i think i'm going to move the tail lights inboard to the center panel. i'll still have the spare tire on the back, but there's plenty of room for inboard lights. plus, moving them inboard will allow the lights to seal better. getting the lights to seal on that rear curve looks near impossible. i'm also planning on recessed tail lights with the trim rings (available from vintage trailer supply). they look so nice! total cost for this should be less than $350 +/- $170 for the 2024T3 aluminum, $40 for olympic rivets, $25 for the recessed light cups and $120 for the trim rings and lenses. not too horrible for a completely new look to the rear end.
i always thought the outboard lights on the early trotters looked a little strange anyway. was that a globe trotter ONLY thing? i haven't seen that on other trailers of that era.
i'll post more pics as i make progress on this. first thing i'm tackeling this weekend is the PO's caulking nightmare they left on the endcaps.. oye! going to strip them of clear coat while i'm there, in prep for the upcoming polish.
...since i'm replacing the corners anyway, i think i'm going to move the tail lights inboard to the center panel. i'll still have the spare tire on the back, but there's plenty of room for inboard lights. plus, moving them inboard will allow the lights to seal better. getting the lights to seal on that rear curve looks near impossible. i'm also planning on recessed tail lights ...
i always thought the outboard lights on the early trotters looked a little strange anyway. was that a globe trotter ONLY thing? i haven't seen that on other trailers of that era. jp
Hi JP:
I think the "outboard" large diameter taillights on the rear side panel curves is a California only thing on all their early 1960's trailers (from 1961-1962 or thereabouts), perhaps due to state motor vehicle lighting laws. If purely aesthetic placement, it's certainly questionable taste IMHO as it looks Wally-eyed. The Ohio trailers from the same era all seem to have the same or similar taillights on the rear center panel for a much more balanced and pleasing appearance, again IMHO. I think 4" dia. recessed LED tail lights would look great, especially with a browed trim ring.
__________________
Fred Coldwell, WBCCI #1510, AIR #2675
Denver, Colorado - WBCCI Unit 24
Charter Associate Member FCU
Vintage Airstream Club Historian
Airstream Life "Old Aluminum Adventures"
the first disappointment was the tail lights. you can see in this pic what i meant by baking soda. it's really bad, so both quarters need to go. there's really no elloquent way of fixing it other than to ditch it all and start over, so that's my plan.
second up is the end cap seams. when i said caulk, i meant CAULK! there must be a tupe per seam! i'm going to try a few powerful strippers i have, as well as a caulk softener. i'll let you know what happens.
finally, a shot of the inside to show progress. it's almost gutted. still have the wardrobe and bathroom to go.
on the title it says a 68, which we ALL know isn't true. i'm thinking it's a 61 or a 62. in looking at the SN, i'm inclined to say 62. what do you guys think?
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