'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[mprokop87]

Thats a fine looking rig ya got there. Wish mine was that nice!

[wxbuoy]

Man wish someone would do that for me! Haha


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[bkahler]

Originally Posted by ViewRVs

While in the area, I stopped in to check on Brad's progress and remind him what a fully assembled unit looks like!

Monique and I had a great visit with Brad before heading south.

Talk about making a guy feel inadequate...

[birdsurfs]

Looking for a front passengers side windshield if you know of any!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by birdsurfs

Looking for a front passengers side windshield if you know of any!

Wish I could help but other than a glass company I don't have a clue where to find one.

If you do find a source let us know about it!

Brad

[martin300662]

They are still available new via Airstream and can be ordered from just about every Airstream dealer.... about $750 plus tax each. The big parts guys like Airstream Supply and Inland RV even list them as being in stock. I have a good passenger side that I took out because the drivers side cracked in shipping the MH from Florida and the tint along the top of was blue, whereas the new ones have a tint that is grey.

Airstream order them from coachglass.com and in my case they were 'drop shipped' (not literally) from Coach to Airstream NE even they they were order via Airstream.

[bkahler]

Martin, price isn't as bad as I thought.

Were you able to buy a replacement seal (glazing?) as well or did you have to reuse the original piece?

[bkahler]

One of the may tasks that needs to get done is creating a replacement dash plate for the new instruments I will be using. I have found a place online that fill fabricate instrument dash plates based on cad drawings that you send them. The 10 hole version should come in just under $200 which I feel is a decent price.

The first attachment shows the layout with holes for 2 large 3-3/8" gauges and 9 small 2" gauges.


The second attachement shows the layout with holes for 2 large 3-3/8" gauges and 10 small 2" gauges.


If you're wondering why so many small gauges, it's because I like to see what's happening with the engine and transmission. Even with the 10 2" gauges there are still a few other instruments that would be nice to have as well

The list of the first nine 2" instruments is:

Fuel
Water Temp
Engine Oil Temp
Transmission Oil Temp
Oil Pressure
Vacuum
Volt (engine)
Volt (coach)
Air Pressure (suspension, assuming I add air springs in the back)

I would also like to add a 2" LPG gauge as well which would be the 10th 2" gauge. Another possibility for the 10th gauge would be another fuel gauge. My Argosy has two fuel tanks and I do have a switching valve so the second gauge isn't really necessary but beats flipping a switch

The 3-3/8" gauges are of course the Speedometer and Tachometer.

I'm inclined to go with the 10 hole version and if I need to plug a hole ore two I can do that. By the way this dash plate is designed for the 74-76 Argosies which use the small instrument clusters as seen in Martin's Argosy rebuild.

Not shown on the drawings are the holes for some switches and the turn signal indicator lights. I'll add those once I decide whether to with 9 holes or 10.

Just thinking out loud here

Brad

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Martin, price isn't as bad as I thought.

Were you able to buy a replacement seal (glazing?) as well or did you have to reuse the original piece?

Yes Brad.

The PO had replaced the seal (I believe he got it from Out-of-Doors Mart) and the photos I have of it when it left Florida show both screens intact in the new seal. When it arrived the drivers side was cracked but there was no sign of impact and I suspect the screen was not 'in' properly and the crack was a stress crack. When I got the donor the guys at the shop took the drivers screen and installed that (using the same seal) and it went in fine, but both the donor screens were clouding (from the usual place along the lower edges) and had a different color blue tint along the top, so I ordered the new ones and the shop removed both the donor and original and installed the new ones all using the same seal. So although the seals were new the drivers side screen has been in and out at least 3 times and the passenger side twice, so as long as you are careful they should be reusable.

Those dash inserts look great can't wait to see them installed.

[bkahler]

Martin, good to know the seals are still available.

There had been talk on Airforums a year or so ago (can't remember for sure just when!) that the seals were no longer available which is not a pleasant thought.

Thanks for the info!

Brad

[mayco]

What material are you going to use for your dash plate? What are the options?

Mike

[bkahler]

Hi Mike,

Right now I'm looking at 4mm polished aluminum plate. Once you get above 4mm they state that they can't guarantee a scratch free surface.

There are a lot of options as to thickness and type of finish. Before placing the order I'm going to look closer at the options for dash finish to see if some other finish might look better.

I'm using a company called Front Panel Designer.

They provide free design software that you use to layout your panels. The program has a built in pricing module so you know what your panel will cost as you develop it. Some of it's capabilities are limited such as the shape of the dash but I found that by designing the dash shape in Autocad I was able to export the Autocad file and import it into Front Panel Designer. From there I started the actual gauge layout.

Brad

[mayco]

What fun!!

[Gregsch]

Brad, Not sure how much you have actually driven your MH but it is worth noting that the gauge layout on the AS MH is almost worthless as far as reading the gauges while you are driving. There is not a gauge on the the dash that I can read from a normal driving position. I would suggest that you mach it up to be sure the gauges are not obscured by the steering wheel.

[Aerowood]

Have you given any though to a wind speed gauge? Doing the math will tell you your headwinds.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Gregsch

Brad, Not sure how much you have actually driven your MH but it is worth noting that the gauge layout on the AS MH is almost worthless as far as reading the gauges while you are driving. There is not a gauge on the the dash that I can read from a normal driving position. I would suggest that you mach it up to be sure the gauges are not obscured by the steering wheel.

Greg, I've not driven the Argosy at all but I have a lot of hours behind the wheel of a 1984 310. On the 310 you couldn't see the gauges for crap either and I'm betting the Argosy won't be any better in that regard.

The way I figure it is I'd rather have the gauges there so even if I have to move around a little to see them that should be better than not having any gauges at all.

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

Have you given any though to a wind speed gauge? Doing the math will tell you your headwinds.

Actually I have but I haven't spent any time looking for one as yet. I guess I'm not even sure where to look for one

Brad

[Aerowood]

Look for airspeed indicator on eBay, with aircraft going digital the old surplus analog units are getting cheap

[ViewRVs]

Brad,
What's the progress on getting it inside your shop?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by ViewRVs

Brad,
What's the progress on getting it inside your shop?

Pretty good actually. I've already made enough room now for it to fit easily inside. However I pulled my tractor inside to mount a backhoe that I bought for it. That should be done sometime this week and then I'll do a little more organizing and the shop will be ready. Say, sometime in August.

Later this month I hope to pull the Argosy away from the side of the shop so I can hot pressure wash it to remove all of the moss that's growing on it

Once that's done there should be nothing from keeping me from moving it inside.

It will definitely be inside for the winter and now that the shop is heated I should be able to work comfortably on it without freezing my **** off