'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[pullswitha40]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Just thought I'd post this picture. The car is a 1948 Triumph 1800 Roadster. It's a rusting hulk that is slated to be turned into a source for parts. I just thought it was an interesting contrast

Brad

Attachment 175711

What a shame to see this parted out....I once read in a hotrod magazine that if you can identify a metal car part you can fix it!!!!!

[bkahler]

But what if you don't have the part?!

Its actually being used as a parts car for one in a lot better condition. You its rusty when the jack goes through the frame.

[bkahler]

Ok, here's a few pictures of the broken screw. The screw has to come out for the dash to come out. The best option is if I can get a small pair of Vice Grips up in there to try and turn the screw tip. If that doesn't work I could be up a creek without a paddle.



I do have some long drill bits that might allow me to drill enough of the screw body that the dash will slide out but I think I'd have to be real lucky for that to work.

Since I don't have any decent Vice Grips I think I'll pick up a real good pair and hope for the best.

Stay tuned...

Brad

[wxbuoy]

Finally had a chance to catch up reading the forums..... any progress on the screw?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

Finally had a chance to catch up reading the forums..... any progress on the screw?

I haven't had a chance to stop by the hardware store to buy a GOOD quality pair of small vice grips. I may only get one chance at getting this screw out and I would prefer to use a good tool. The only vice grips I have are of the larger variety and they won't fit up inside the dash.

I'm hoping to attempt the extraction this coming Friday

Brad

[wxbuoy]

Good luck! needle nose vice grips are one of the best tools ever.

I may be taking my dash top or drivers side panel off to check a leak when I replace the side window gaskets. Figure the more I know about solving the problem the less likely I will have it

[Shacksman]

One of the most used tools I have since working on trailers is screw pliers. Great for rusted or broken screws.
Screw-Pliers Dot Com

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Shacksman

One of the most used tools I have since working on trailers is screw pliers. Great for rusted or broken screws.
Screw-Pliers Dot Com

Doug, interesting pliers. I definitely could have used those on the 10 Philips head screws that were on the upper front of the dash. I couldn't grip them well with channel lock pliers and my vice grips were worn just enough to make it difficult but I did get them out in the end.

I don't think these pliers would allow me to grip the screw body tight enough since I'll will have to be reaching up inside the dash with not a whole lot of room to maneuver.

Thanks for the link!

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

Good luck! needle nose vice grips are one of the best tools ever.

I may be taking my dash top or drivers side panel off to check a leak when I replace the side window gaskets. Figure the more I know about solving the problem the less likely I will have it

Dave,

Taking the side panels off won't get you inside the wall if that's what you're hoping to do. Under the decorative side panel is the aluminum skin. You need to remove that to get inside the wall. That aluminum skin is a bear to get out.

I'm not sure what is involved in removing the dash top on the later Airstream motorhomes. It would be nice to know because I need to run a cable from one side of the dash to the other for the electric mirrors on the 310.

Where is your leak showing up?

Brad
PS, got your PM. Glad the parts got there!

[wxbuoy]

Brad,

Yeah I figured I might have to do some surgery on the aluminum panel underneath.

The leak is the damnedest thing. After it rains there is a small puddle (2 or 3 Oz) on the drivers mat. Nothing else is wet! The carpet and everything else is dry! I am speculating that the drain tube inside the door frame is lose or leaking. It is than running down and exiting by the cb speaker in the door panel which is the only thing that over hangs that area.....

I need to do other things first, but am ordering a complete set of gaskets for the side windows since the prior instal looks like sh8.

Fel is also pressing me to do the interior. We are headed down south next week end to pick up my utility trailer with the tools I need to start the inside renovation..

[bkahler]

Before you tear into the side panels definitely replace the window seals first. While doing the seals you should find a small drain tube opening in the window channel. It should be a 1/4" opening. You can see the tube running down inside the wall in the attached picture. The big white blob is sealant around the drain tube to keep water from leaking down inside the wall.



Makes me wonder if your drain tube might be plugged. If the puddle is more where your feet are then it could be your windshield isn't sealed well enough. If you do try and clear the line I would use compressed air and blow upwards from below. Poking a wire down through could tear the rubber hose. I suppose if you're careful and don't force things a wire might work.

I know a lot of people worry about the overhead lights as being causes of leaks but from what I saw inside the 345 I dismantled is Airstream used a LOT of sealant gooped over the holes where the wires stick through. I guess I would be surprised if those things are the causes of any major leaks.

Brad

[bkahler]

Got the screw out

Bought a 6" long pair of needle nose vice grips, it took a couple of tries to get the pressure right but then the screw started turning out of the hole. Boy am I relieved! The dash top is now out and sitting on the shop floor



Here's some pictures of what's under the dash top. My ulitimate goal is to get the heater plenum out and cleaned up but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get that done. I'll do a closer evaluation this weekend and see just what needs to be done.



Here' is a good picture of the flimsy drivers side mirror support on the inside of the wall. No wonder Argosy owners complain of their mirrors vibrating a long. My goal is to remove that support plate and install a larger thicker one that is fastened to the two horizontal aluminum ribs. Fabricating the support plate won't be difficult, securing it to the ribs is going to be the tough part.



Here's a couple of pictures of the inside of the drivers wall and the easy access to the wheel well. I've going to wall off that opening like Airstream did in the later motorhomes. I still can't get the passenger side wall off. There is a rivet or two hidden behind the heater box. I may just use the Multi-Tool to cut the skin so I don't have to take anything else apart in that area.



Brad

[wxbuoy]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Before you tear into the side panels definitely replace the window seals first. While doing the seals you should find a small drain tube opening in the window channel. It should be a 1/4" opening. You can see the tube running down inside the wall in the attached picture. The big white blob is sealant around the drain tube to keep water from leaking down inside the wall.

Makes me wonder if your drain tube might be plugged. If the puddle is more where your feet are then it could be your windshield isn't sealed well enough. If you do try and clear the line I would use compressed air and blow upwards from below. Poking a wire down through could tear the rubber hose. I suppose if you're careful and don't force things a wire might work.

I know a lot of people worry about the overhead lights as being causes of leaks but from what I saw inside the 345 I dismantled is Airstream used a LOT of sealant gooped over the holes where the wires stick through. I guess I would be surprised if those things are the causes of any major leaks.

Brad

Brad,

Thanks! I am thinking it is the drain tube as well. I saved the picture after u originally posted it as a reference for future work. I am going to try a very fine wire first to see if there is any resistance. Pulled back the carpet in that area and the particle board along the window is wet and soggy. once i get the leak found and fixed i had planned on ripping it all up anyway and will split in new wood at that time.

No time to get into it this weekend, but will be getting all my tools from storage next week so I will be hitting it hard afterwards.

[Keyair]

I replaced my sidewindow seals last year and have not spotted any leaks since...

[wxbuoy]

Great news so there is hope! LOL

[bkahler]

Dave,

I stand corrected on the over head lights and the possibility they might leak. I just had a conversation with John (Shepherd57) and he informed me that the overhead lights most certainly can leak. He found on his 77 Argosy that there is a rubber grommet through which the wires pass and then covered with vulkem. Apparently the vulkem can shrink or harden just enough and the rubber grommet can harden and crack allowing water to enter. Once he resealed this area on his overhead lights the leak went away. Also the leak showed up in the same area on his motorhome as it is on yours and mine. So it looks like you will want to check out the overhead lights and probably do some sealing up there.

What I found this weekend on my Argosy is the seam along the top edge of the cockpit windows is also a good source for leaks. We had warm temps Friday so I spent the time removing all of the old black rubber sealant from around the windshield and resealed with some new sealant. At the same time I cleaned away all of the old vulkem and silicone that was on the top edge of the cockpit windows. Unfortunately I couldn't seal the top of the window because I wanted the windshield sealant to harden up so I waited over night and was going to seal the cockpit window on Saturday. Well guess what, it rained overnight and all day Saturday and I have more water in the cockpit than I ever did and its in the same area

That tells me that not only can the overhead lights cause a leak in that area, but so do the top of the cockpit windows. The rain looks to have stopped for a while this morning so I'm heading down to the shop and I'm going to seal the cockpit window with vulkem asap.

Brad

[wxbuoy]

Brad,


Thanks for info! Just made a note to look at those areas when I get home. Juggling my priority list again. will tackle leaks while doing forward furniture/carpet removal. Will also wait for food wx to climb up and check out and seal if needed roof.

[bkahler]

Spent more time yesterday and today trying to remove the aluminum top plate that resides under the molded plastic dash. To get the plate out you have to remove the rivets holding the aluminum channel that the plastic dash slips into, then you have to remove the 10 phillips head screws that are under the channel, then you have to remove the dozen or so buck rivets and then once the buck rivets are out you have to remove two 1/2" flat head screws. Airstream REALLY did not want this 3/32" aluminum plate to go anywhere

The Porter-Cable Multi-Tool is turning into a very handy tool to have around. I used it to cut the rivet heads off of all the rivets which then allowed me to use a hammer and punch to drive the rivets out. It's not a comfortable feeling swinging a hammer right next to the windshield. Baby taps got the rivets out

The Phillips head screws were much harder to remove and unfortunately I still have three to go. Seven of the ten came out by gripping the heads with large channel lock pliers. The last three are so rusted that I can't get a grip on them. Sometime this week I'll use a 4" hand grinder with a cut-off disc and cut the heads off. Then I just have to remove those two 1/2" flathead screws and the plate should come out.



If you're wondering why I'm trying to remove the aluminum plate, its because I need to get inside of the heater plenum so I can fix the dampers and replace the two vacuum actuators inside that are frozen. Hopefully later this week I'll have pictures of what the plenum looks like inside.

This picture kind of gives you an idea of what it looks like under the dash.



I also had time to paint the two rear brake drums and the left side brake parts. I'm hoping that later this week I can assemble the left side brakes and get them mounted back on the axle. I didn't want to pull the right side brakes until the left side was done. There are enough pieces and parts on each brake assembly that I wanted to leave one together so I had something to go by while reassembling the other side



If you're wondering why I didn't paint the upper half of the drums it's because I still need to replace the seals, clean and regrease the bearings. I figure its easier to wipe grease and oil off of paint that it is pitted bare cast iron. I'll paint the upper halves once the bearing and seal work is complete.

With any luck at all I'll have the rear brakes completed by the end of the month which means I can start on the front brakes. The master cylinder and hydroboost have already been replaced so once the front rotors have been turned or replaced the brake system will be ready to go. I figure I better get the brakes done before the motor goes back in because as soon as the motor is in I'm going to want to drive it

Oh yeah, it was almost impossible to find a shop that would turn the rear drums. I finally located a shop about 45 minutes away that could still handle the larger brake drums. Fortunately it only cost $30 to turn both of them. Everyone else kept telling me they don't turn the larger drums anymore

Brad

[bkahler]

As a follow up to the cockpit water leaks this morning I managed to get the tops and sides of the cockpit windows sealed with vulkem just before it started raining. I'm happy to say that I think most of the front leaks are now taken care of. I still need to check the wiring for the overhead lights to make sure they aren't a source for leaks. Hopefully it will dry out inside over the next few days so when we have another rain I'll be able to tell for sure whether the leaks have been stopped.

Once I'm sure the leaks are cured I'll work on replacing the wood floor in the cockpit area.

Brad

[bkahler]

Tonight I managed to get the drivers side rear brake backing plate assembled. Now that it's assembled I'll pull the right side backing plate so I can sandblast, paint it and then get it reassembled. Sure would be nice to wrap up the rear brakes before the end of the weekend and get the rear end off the jack stands and back on its wheels.



It's been raining since about 4 pm today so I checked out the cockpit area and didn't see any leaks coming from overhead. Since I haven't replaced the window seals yet there appeared to be a little seepage in the area under the windows. Not much but enough that I need to figure out where it's coming from. We're supposed to have sunshine and temps in the high 40s this weekend so I'll see if I can't do a little more vulkem sealing.

I don't want to replace the window seals and tracks until I have the handles made for the cockpit slider windows. The window has to be out to screw the handle in place so it would be ideal to do both jobs at the same time.

Brad