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AndrewM · 03-07-2011, 07:02 AM

Hey all,

I have been lurking on the forum for many months now. I was introduced to airstreams by my brother Chris (chriscrimmin on the forums) who owns a 1964 Overlander. I somehow got roped in to helping him on his little project there, and somehow was forced to stay in it a many a nights....so I fell in love. I caught Aluminitus (Sp?, I'm no doctor) and have been looking for a cure for a while now. Last week we drove down to Atlanta and rescued a 1954 Cruiser whaletail. I plan on going full time in the thing starting May 16th, so as you will see in the pictures it need a good deal of work! I wish I had the time and resources for a full restore, but right now I will just get it to a very nice usable condition (aka the floor and shell will stay intact) and in five to ten years she will get the full treatment. I am relying on my brother's knowledge, and also the forums' to guide me on this adventure. It doesn't need to be perfect, but very livable by May 16th.

I will be posting some updates and pictures to the forums, by most of the updates will be going to airstreamfever.com I will be coming to you all for advice and input.

So here she is, feel free to give me any feedback you can think of. I will say there is a medium size tear on the street side that I could not get a good picture of do to the parking arrangement. Just know that it is going to need a serious patch/replacement of skin over there.

Thanks

Ten Year of difference...

Melody Ranch · 03-07-2011, 07:41 AM

You lucky Devil! Thats NICE.

Colin H · 03-07-2011, 07:49 AM

Yeah, very nice..........................Chris must be envious

Colin

BradS · 03-07-2011, 07:50 AM

I know they always look to be in better shape than they really are but that is a very well taken care of trailer. Wow enjoy it!

SilverHoot · 03-07-2011, 07:58 AM

Love it and the Land Rover!

cruiser54 · 03-07-2011, 08:52 AM

I am glad with you about the Cruiser 54!!
Look, nevertheless, sometimes at my Blog, maybe you find ideas, plans exist enough, grin....

Lots of love from Switzerland
Werner

Melody Ranch · 03-07-2011, 09:31 AM

Look at Werners Blog....you will be impressed. But, don't let it discourage you.....hardly anything will match it.....or his enthusiasm.

3Ms75Argosy · 03-07-2011, 04:24 PM

Wow, that's a beauty! May 16th? May my bday wish (mine's the 18th) be that you'll be finished. I see you already hooked up the water supply... is it holding? How's the electrical? Looks like some inside scrubbing and a rear window are the priorities.

I guess I'd work on getting it water tight (seal the seams), window repair, rebuild the brakes and bearings. I'm assuming a leaf spring? You might want to take them to an axle shop and have them rebuild the axle packs with new bands if you're planning on towing a bunch.

Maybe some new Fantastic Fans (lets in light and a breeze). Since you're not going to keep the floor, maybe a plug in AC mounted inside a cabinet and vent it through the floor? A cheap camping or Ikea table, chairs, and new foam/bedding for the rear... you're set.

Can't wait to read more in the blog. Where are you planning on going while full timing? How long?
Envious!
Marc

AndrewM · 03-08-2011, 07:12 AM

Thanks for all the support! I am very excited, and feel like I stumbled on a good find. Good eye, on the Rover SilverHoot. In all reality that is part of the Aluminum fever because those Rover's had an aluminum body and is exactly why Chris got it. He is a little and that it won't be getting attention anytime soon!

I haven't hooked up the water yet, but the electrical seems to work perfectly. I am not too worried about the water because I am planning on redoing all of that. Don't tell anyone but I am thinking of doing a sawdust toliet with the wetbath

so we will see. The electrical port on the back needs replaced, but its amazing to see the 5 glass fuses in the back and realize that is all it is! i also plan on putting in some glolf cart batteries and updating all of it, but I will come to you all for help when that day comes. I love how simple these 50's are. THe refrigerator cranks up right away and sounds great. I was told the stove works but it will need some serious help.

Werner, I saw your blog when i was firt researching them, and was utterly intimidated. But now your work inspires me! as much as I can make out on there...

Looking at your blog, I am very sad I won't be replacing the floor, especially seeing your floor. I am anxious to pull up the 3/4 in plywood overlay to see what condition it is in. I plan on hopefully putting down some sort of penatrating epoxy like Liquidwood to give it back some strength and then I will probably use 1/2in plywood for my actual flooring to give an industrial/modern look.

I am getting ahead of myself...here is a sneak peak of what I have been working on.

Messy!!

Silverfoxrae · 03-08-2011, 07:49 AM

Congratulations! Looks to be in great shape. The open layout is lovely. Is that painted woodwork? It has the great fixtures of the time period. Nice find! I guess I'd be focusing on the running gear (axel, wheels, brakes) to start, if you're planning to use without a full shell-off.
Good luck with her... :-)
Rae

via~ AIR Forums App.

cruiser54 · 03-08-2011, 07:59 AM

I see, it has fully got you with the aluminium cigar!
In our climate I must develop the Cruiser differently than with You. There I want water-central heating with radiators, heated tanks, no installations in the outer wall, a good isolation!
The next week the locksmith begins with the construction of the new chassis...
Greeting Werner

54Cruiser · 03-08-2011, 06:16 PM

Andrew, nice find.

I'll be starting my '54 Cruiser rehab in June, check it out on the link below. If at all works the way you report you will be in by May!! Definitely check out Werner's blog...great plans and ideas. I'm going to try soda blasting the interior paint off. Messy but no damage although I have heard that if you want to polish the inetrior aluminum this may not be a good idea. Go to youtube and search "soda blasting" you'll see what I mean. Seeing your pics with the open floorplan and the shower removed gives me ideas for mine!

tinman54 · 03-08-2011, 08:04 PM

Another Cruiser coming back to life, looks to be in good shape! Have fun with your project. It looks like you have better working conditions there then we do here! We still have lots of snow here and more on its way. I gave up on a date to get ours on the road, maybe this year?

My guess is that your floor will be like the rest of ours after you remove the top plywood, so cover bad stuff back up quick if you don't have time to replace.
Doug

AndrewM · 03-10-2011, 09:14 AM

Tinman, yes that is my one source of anxiety about the trailer. I hate not being able to totally replace the floor, but I have a few plans to make it sturdy. While I will be investing a good bit of money and work into the trailer, I must remind myself I am not doing a full restore right now. I need somewhere to live for the next year, and I would like to travel in it in the following years. In about five or more years I will do the full restore. Much of the money I invest now (AC/electrical/plumbing/) will be reused in the final restore so I see it as an investment.

NTRPZ, getting off the Zolotane has been my life the past few days. I used to soda blast my carbs on my motorcycle and could definately see how that would be awesome on the aluminum. But I went the cheaper route. I stripped it down to the aluminum using Citristrip stripper and steel wool. THe bare aluminum end caps look really good. I wrote up a guide on how to do it on our blog if you want to take a look: http://www.airstreamfever.com/?p=25

But here was the final product...

cruiser54 · 03-10-2011, 09:47 AM

Looks nice!
Werner

chriscrimmin · 03-10-2011, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin H

Yeah, very nice..........................Chris must be envious

Colin

I am Colin, thanks for the reminder

Colin H · 03-10-2011, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriscrimmin

I am Colin, thanks for the reminder

Anytime.............
Colin

tinman54 · 03-10-2011, 05:53 PM

I Always like the clean aluminum inside! I wish I could have a move in date of May!
Looks Great
Doug

54Cruiser · 03-10-2011, 06:21 PM

Andrew and Gal Friend...I love the satin finish look...really nice result, I'm going to try your process on my Cruiser. Thanks.

AndrewM · 03-18-2011, 03:55 PM

So we have been working on the windows the past few days. You can see some of our progress at the blog here

We have run into a pretty large snag. We went to make the rear window, which was missing, and realized it was not like the other windows. It almost appears to need two windows in it. One inside and one out. But that can't be right. Instead of having the normal push rods to extend it; it has holes for two hand levers inside bottom. The window fram has a hinge at the top but that also has the main gasket on it...

I can post pictures later, but I thought maybe some had knowledge about the 50's rear windows such as these. Pictures would be a blessing!