'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[bkahler]

Since it's getting close to mud dauber season I figure I need to get the cab sealed up. Right now there are big gaps between the walls and the floor in the cockpit and I can't get the wall panels back in place until this is task is done.

Once that task is done I'm sure I'll find something else to do that needs to be done

Brad

[bkahler]

A while back I think I posted a picture of the license plate mess that was on the back of my Argosy. Well I finally took the time today to remove it so I could see what was underneath. It was pretty obvious that the license plate light mess that I removed was not the original setup. You can see where the original style of light was fastened in place.



While I was at it I put a patch over the hole that used to house a shore power socket. I've since upgraded to a 50 amp service that I detailed previously. This was the first time I had a chance to use Cleco's and I'm impressed how easy they are to use and how well they hold the metal in place.

I also filled all the excess holes with Olympic rivets and have ordered a replacement light assembly that should have been there in the first place.

[PeterH-350LE]

Making good progress, Brad, its fun to watch from my comfortable chair .
Are you going to have a pimp my Argosy contest as Fred did, when the time comes to paint it and do you plan on painting it yourself?

[bkahler]

Peter, I don't think for as long as I live I will ever reach a point where I can sit back in a comfortable chair

Today I started back on trying to get the dash A/C components out. I happy to say I was successful in that endeavor

I decided to create a new thread detailing the dash A/C rebuild: 1974 Argosy MH dash ac rebuild

Brad

[bkahler]

Last year on November 23rd I wrote the following:

Originally Posted by bkahler

The long term goal is to do the following:

1) Remove the interior so I can remove the wood floor to repair the bad spots.
2) Make new cabinets
3) Replace all appliances (stove, fridge, water heater, furnace, microwave)
4) Install the new motor that is currently sitting on an engine stand
5) Replace the Generac generator with an Onan 6.5 and mount it on drawer slides
6) Add larger more modern outside mirrors
7) Install a new Inteli-power Converter PD9245
8) New electric steps
9) Replace the TH400 transmission with a nice 4L80E
10) Replace the exterior door (mostly complete)
11) Make a more modern looking instrument cluster for the dash
12) All new upholstery
13) All new brakes
14) All new suspension & steering components
15) Zipdee awning
16) And lots more

Well, too date I've only accomplished two of them. The new mirrors and the electric steps are done. Everything else (plus more) is still a work in progress.

Peter, THAT is why I don't think I will ever have time for a comfortable chair

Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Darn, Brad, I just looked at your list and hate to be the one to inform you that you will not finish the 20' until Sept 17th 2014 at 9:42 pm
But on the other hand, don't be like I am and sell your Motorhome, when you think you accomplished what you set out to do, because the reward for accomplishing a difficult task is usually a more difficult task (says the man, whilst sitting his comfortable chair waiting for 3 Axles to show up...)
Let's face it, for some of us the fun is the road and not the destination.

[bkahler]

Peter, once I get done with this thing no one will want to pay what I would have to ask for it for me to just break even

Like the saying goes, the purchase price is just the down payment. In this case it wasn't even the taxes on the down payment

Brad

[GAArgosy]

But so much fun. I'm having a blast. Thanks Brad for posting so much info. I've found a couple of tricks that I need to post.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by GAArgosy

But so much fun. I'm having a blast. Thanks Brad for posting so much info. I've found a couple of tricks that I need to post.

The more tricks better. It's always helpful knowing that someone has already done something that I'm getting ready to do. Knowing that it can be done is half the battle. The other half is getting the money to do it with

Brad

[bkahler]

I've started digging into the dash wiring the last few days and boy is it a rats nest. The original GM harness is in good condition and usable but the Airstream installed wiring is just a mess. I have no idea how much of the mess Airstream created and how much is due to previous owners but I've pretty much made the decision to remove most of the add-on wiring and start over. I like neatness in wiring and there's no way I'm going to put the dash back together with wiring like this.



So with that in mind I've started mapping out all of the wiring so I know how things are wired and just where everything goes. My first task was to start mapping out the dash A/C wiring. I plan on making at least a couple of changes to the dash A/C system. One change will be to have the A/C turn on when the defroster position is selected and another change will be to use relays to control the blower fan. I may also just add a switch that enables the air compressor clutch so I can run A/C in any mode, similar to how a lot of new cars operate. Right now the power for low and medium speeds of the fan are ran directly through the small fan speed control switch. Since these switches are likely to be impossible to find I'm going to use the switch to turn relays on and off. This will keep the current passing through the control switch to a minimum which will hopefully allow the switch to last forever.

Oddly enough the power for the high speed winding of the blower fan passed through a starter style solenoid. Apparently Airstream realized the high speed current draw was to high for the switch to handle.

Attached is a sketch of the A/C wiring as found.

1974-argosy-20-mh-ac-wiring.pdf

[bkahler]

Well I feel better now, I just finished pulling all of the non-GM wiring out of the dash



As I removed each wire I verified where it was from and where it was going. I couldn't believe just how bad the non-GM wiring really was. There was some obvious Airstream added wiring and some even more obvious previous owner installed wiring. Hopefully when I get done re-wiring things the next owner of this rig won't have to say DPO about me

There was nothing mysterious about any of it and since I'm replacing most of the components (cruise, brake control, steering column, etc) with new I didn't bother making a sketch of the existing wiring.

Next up is to seal off the cockpit side walls so I can start re-installing parts of the dash assembly.

Brad

[wxbuoy]

Absolutely amazing! You have definately got to come to Moho's in May!

[gunner]

bkahler, what manufacturer/model cruise control are you putting in?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

Absolutely amazing! You have definately got to come to Moho's in May!

Which part of the Argosy do you want me to bring along...

[wxbuoy]

The multimeter of course!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by gunner

bkahler, what manufacturer/model cruise control are you putting in?

Gunter,

I will be using a Rostra model 250-1223. It has a lot of nice features one of which if it detects and over speed condition it disconnects from cruise mode.

Cruise module 250-1223 is about $175 (cheapest I found is from Amazon)
Stalk 250-2032 is about $35 (Summit Racing)
Speed sensor is about $50 (haven't bought yet)

If your coach originally had cruise with a sensor in the speedometer cable then this one should be a direct replacement for it.

The cruise module is an electronic servo style instead of vacuum style. The stalk fit's over your turn signal handle and the speed sensor installs in the speedometer cable close to the transmission.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

The multimeter of course!

That'll work as it will fit in my TR4

[bkahler]

First the good...

Finally got around to fabricating the aluminum handles for the cockpit slider windows. Thanks too Matt (JudgesArgosy) providing me with pictures and correct dimensions for the handles I now had something to go by.

I spent the morning on the milling machine and this is what I came up with.



All that's left to do is round the edges a little and drill the holes where it bolts to the window pane. I've been holding off replacing the cockpit window seals until I had these handles made because the slider has to be removed to get the screw in place to hold the handle. I'm hoping next weekend to tackle the cockpit window seals.

The seals really need to be replace and you'll see why in my next post

Brad

[bkahler]

And now for some of the bad...

I knew for quite some time that the was a problem with the 10" wide strip of flooring that made up the trailing edge of the cockpit floor. I had hoped that I only needed to replace that 10" section of floor and then I'd be ready to reinstall the cockpit walls. Unfortunately I didn't realize just how bad it was until today.

I started by cutting the top section of the floor out with a sawzall. That job actually went better than I expected.



I was a little worried on how I was going to remove the plywood vertical riser but that turned out to not be a problem due to the rot along the bottom of the board. I was able to pretty much just lift from one corner and it separated from the aluminum angle it was screwed to.



I had thought the floor rot was caused by the cockpit windows not closing all the way and I was half right. The other cause for the rot was the back wall of the wheel well wasn't designed very well by Airstream and the boxed in area filled with anything and everything that was kicked up by the wheels while driving. In the first picture you can look right down into the passenger wheel well The second picture you can see where the pop rivets failed allowing dirt and mud to get in behind the aluminum where it fastened to the coach structural shell. This allowed the steel to corrode heavily. I'm going to have to do some repair work there.



You can see on the drivers side that the wall was at least formed correctly but if you look at the second picture you'll see something that is probably the worst problem of all.



The worst is yet to come...

[bkahler]

And here's the worst of it...

The next three pictures show the shell just in front of the entry door. When the factory made the motorhome they built a grid out of 1" x 2" tubing and the aluminum shell fastened to that grid work and the whole thing was then placed on the truck chassis. These four pictures show that the vertical 1" x 2" tubing was left open to collect anything the tires kicked up and the aluminum channel on top of that runs up to the entry door frame. Unfortunately Airstream did a terrible job of sealing that channel and water literally had a perfect "channel" into the floor by the door and the step well. I belive this is the primary reason the floor in the entry way was so rusted and also why the wood on the floor above the entry way was so rotted.



The opening in the 1st picture was covered (ok, partially covered ) by the aluminum plate in the second picture. There was no real attempt made to seal the aluminum plate to the frame work. A lot less damage would have occurred if a generous amount of vulkem had been used in assembly. I wonder just how much water it took to corrode that piece of aluminum?



Looking at the drivers side I found the same thing. The wet looking metal (darker) was caused by the leaky cockpit window seals. You can see where the water from the window runs down the main structural rib that is just behind the cockpit window, lands on that channel (ok, aquaduct ) and runs right into the flooring area of the main coach floor. That particular area is where the bathroom floor is. I shudder to think what that wood floor looks like right now.



I had always planned on redoing the interior by replacing walls and cabinets but had hoped to not do to much to the bathroom or the floor. It looks like I absolutely have to tear out everything inside, especially the bathroom floor so I can replace any rotted flooring. I had hoped to postpone wall removal until later this year but I think what's going to happen now is I'm going to remove the entire interior, replace any flooring that needs to be replaced (probably all of it) and then figure out how to seal the front boxed area so this doesn't happen again.

To add insult to injury, I thought I had the roof leaks fixed only to find one coming from the windshield above the steering column and a second one somewhere in the back that is getting the floor wet under the left rear corner window

When it rains it pours...

Brad