'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[Danec020]

If you have a sand blaster I would put some fine material in it and blast it about a foot from the piece, should give it a satin look. Obviously it will have some small texture too it, if that isn't desired then I done know how to dull it up. If you go the sand blast route I would sand out the scratches with real fine sand paper. Only if they are deep enough to catch a nail on though. But before doing it, try on a test piece!! I'd hate to give bad advice.

Edit: Just another thought, if you wanted to get fancy you can go buy some letters to put Argosy in it somewhere. Use the letters as a mask for the spraying and when you peel it off it will be in the original shine.

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by Danec020

If you have a sand blaster I would put some fine material in it and blast it about a foot from the piece, should give it a satin look. Obviously it will have some small texture too it, if that isn't desired then I done know how to dull it up. If you go the sand blast route I would sand out the scratches with real fine sand paper. Only if they are deep enough to catch a nail on though. But before doing it, try on a test piece!! I'd hate to give bad advice.

Edit: Just another thought, if you wanted to get fancy you can go buy some letters to put Argosy in it somewhere. Use the letters as a mask for the spraying and when you peel it off it will be in the original shine.

Uh oh! We have another artsy one on our hands. All the rest of us are going to be thinking "now why didn't I think of that!"

Keep it up Dane.
Cheers
Tony

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Danec020

If you have a sand blaster I would put some fine material in it and blast it about a foot from the piece, should give it a satin look. Obviously it will have some small texture too it, if that isn't desired then I done know how to dull it up. If you go the sand blast route I would sand out the scratches with real fine sand paper. Only if they are deep enough to catch a nail on though. But before doing it, try on a test piece!! I'd hate to give bad advice.

Interesting idea! I would have to mask (with duct tape?) the frame itself as it's anodized and still in pretty good shape. I just want the overlay to have a satin finish. I don't think there are any scratches that a finger nail can catch on, most are just really light scratches caused by handling. The only concern I have is how much of a texture will it give it. I guess playing with a test piece is the easiest way to get these questions answered.

I do have a portable pressure sand blaster, not sure if I can dial down the pressure low enough to work efficiently but it won't be hard to try.

Edit: Just another thought, if you wanted to get fancy you can go buy some letters to put Argosy in it somewhere. Use the letters as a mask for the spraying and when you peel it off it will be in the original shine.

That's a neat idea but I think I'd be pressing my luck! Knowing how I do detail work...I generally totally botch stuff like this

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Uh oh! We have another artsy one on our hands. All the rest of us are going to be thinking "now why didn't I think of that!"

Why, you ask?

Because we're getting OLD

[Danec020]

As long as your using a fine material like sand or something of equivalent size it shouldn't give it too harsh of a texture. Just practice at different distances away and see if it is uniform enough and you like the look.

Dane

Edit: here is a good video for brushed look.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BVN1fk-quIo

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Danec020

....

Edit: here is a good video for brushed look.

This video has the answer to the finish I'm looking for!

I'll have to give it a try this weekend

Thanks!

Brad

[mayco]

Hey now, thats a great tip!

[bkahler]

I've ordered a couple of switches that mount in the dash so I'm holding off putting the brushed finish on the dash until the they arrive and I can drill the holes. Once the last two holes are drilled in the dash I'll try giving it the brushed look.

Since I couldn't work on the dash I decided to work on the saddles for mounting the new 50 gallon gas tank. As big and bulky as the larger tanks are I decided I didn't want to mount it like the factory did with the original tank due to the difficulties in dropping the tank for service. With that in mind I worked out a way to allow the tank saddles to pivot down allowing the tank to be slid off the saddles for easier removal and/or access to the top fittings.

First thing to do was to mock up the mounting pieces and attach them to the frame to see if the concept was doable or not.



Things looked good so I clamped both saddles in place and tack welded the various pieces together so I do proper job of welding on the bench

Once the welding was complete I had to drill some mounting holes on the frame portion of the "saddle hinge". After bolting the frame hinge plate in place I lifted the saddle and stuck a couple bolts as a temporary hinge pin in place.



After that it was a simple matter to raise the ends of the forks to bolt the saddle to the frame. I have the same number and size of bolts that held the original saddles to the frame and ended up using the same mounting holes the frame as well.



Left to do is figuring out a way to install the saddle straps that hold the tank firmly to the saddle and frame. After that there's a bunch of finish grinding to clean up the welds to get rid of any sharp edges and then paint.

I have a couple of more fittings to install in the top of the tank and it will be ready to install once the saddle straps are finished.



One more major task just about complete

Brad

[bkahler]

Just a quickie here. While Dane was making his epic trip home in Trixie we got to talking about the oil level dipstick. Apparently the one in his Argosy only had a couple of scratch marks to indicate the full and fill marks.

I had saved the oil level dipstick from the 345 and was planning on using it in my Argosy but after our discussion I decided to skip the extended dip stick and the extended oil fill tube.

I've decided to go with a normal oil filler cap on the valve cover and a dipstick tube that is on the side of the engine block and requires the dog house lid to be opened to view. In my opinion it's two less things to clutter up the engine compartment and definitely provides easier access to the alternator.

Total cost for the conversion was $18 delivered price for the cap and the dipstick


Brad

[Danec020]

Looks good, definitely a lot cleaner. I need to order a new dip stick, was thinking about that last night!

[Keyair]

Yes to the brushed finish, using the method shown.
Yes to the media blast from a distance if needed.
I also liked the finish i got using a DA with finer and finer paper, then a pad of scotchbright under the DA to finish...

Or this looks cool too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV8U_RXUfd4

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Danec020

Looks good, definitely a lot cleaner. I need to order a new dip stick, was thinking about that last night!

Dane, here are the links to the parts I bought.

Filler Cap

I can't say how well the dip stick fits just yet, I have to much stuff in the way at the moment

Dip Stick Tube

O-Ring

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Yes to the brushed finish, using the method shown.
Yes to the media blast from a distance if needed.
I also liked the finish i got using a DA with finer and finer paper, then a pad of scotchbright under the DA to finish...

As soon as the last two switches arrive I'm going to give the sanding block method a try. The DA sander won't work due to the dash face being recessed.

Or this looks cool too...

Yep, it looks cool but at $200 I don't think I have enough uses to justify the purchase!

[bkahler]

Getting close to wrapping up everything necessary to install the gas tank. Spent the afternoon fabricating hold down straps.




Other than painting the only thing left to do is find some corner guards for the straps and figure out what to use hold down the back edge of the tank where it meets the saddle. I'm thinking of using a couple of nylon blocks between the strap and the tank.


I've put way to many hours into this tank installation but it will definitely be nice to have 50 gallons available


Brad

[Isuzusweet]

UHMP (Ultra High Molecular Plastic) is also a great product to use as it's unbreakable and won't wear down; not just for this application but for any application. I have evn thought of engineering replacement slides for my huge drawer out of UHMP if I can.

Cheers
Tony

[martin300662]

When the guys re-installed my tank this last/current time, they used thin, rubber, strip between the straps and the tank to stop abrasion. I don't remember the name of the material but it was sold specially for the purpose.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

UHMP (Ultra High Molecular Plastic) is also a great product to use as it's unbreakable and won't wear down; not just for this application but for any application. I have evn thought of engineering replacement slides for my huge drawer out of UHMP if I can.

Cheers
Tony

I did a search on UHMP and came up with UHMW which is what I think you were pointing to. I think a couple blocks of UHMW will do the job.

Thanks!

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

When the guys re-installed my tank this last/current time, they used thin, rubber, strip between the straps and the tank to stop abrasion. I don't remember the name of the material but it was sold specially for the purpose.

I've been debating what to use between the saddle and the tank. I need to check out Mill Supply to see what they have to offer. I can't imagine it will be hard to find something appropriate.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I've been debating what to use between the saddle and the tank. I need to check out Mill Supply to see what they have to offer. I can't imagine it will be hard to find something appropriate.

It looked like this Brad

https://www.millsupply.com/rubber-in...960.php?p=4181

[Gregsch]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Just a quickie here. While Dane was making his epic trip home in Trixie we got to talking about the oil level dipstick. Apparently the one in his Argosy only had a couple of scratch marks to indicate the full and fill marks.

I had saved the oil level dipstick from the 345 and was planning on using it in my Argosy but after our discussion I decided to skip the extended dip stick and the extended oil fill tube.

I've decided to go with a normal oil filler cap on the valve cover and a dipstick tube that is on the side of the engine block and requires the dog house lid to be opened to view. In my opinion it's two less things to clutter up the engine compartment and definitely provides easier access to the alternator.

Total cost for the conversion was $18 delivered price for the cap and the dipstick
Attachment 276482

Brad

Brad, I agree , the simpler the better. I plan to remove my oil fill tube and replace it with a cap similar to the one you have. I intend to use the acquired space to run a fresh air tube from the air cleaner to the space in front of the passenger side tire, to draw cool, fresh air to the air filter.

The previous owner removed the extended dipstick tube and replaced it with a cheap replacement that just comes up to the top off the valve covers. The dipstick itself is very stiff and hard to get in and out. I would like to replace it with a dipstick that has greater flexibility , more like the factory dipstick. If you like the way your new dipstick works , please share your source and the part #.
Also, I have always questioned whether the replacement dipstick is the proper length to illustrate the proper oil level. Do you know a good way to determine if you have installed your new dipstick to indicate the proper level?