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Old 03-20-2015, 03:42 PM   #101
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Pretty slick solution Martin.
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Old 03-23-2015, 04:31 PM   #102
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Getting to crunch time.....the guys at the shop are saying approx 4 weeks work to 'get her back on the road' (that will allow us to start shake down trials before it goes back in for repainting etc)

But there are still 4 pages of 'tasks' left to do, and and that is with one line for things like 'install new dash AC', 'final installation of seats', 'refit new wind-screens' etc etc and as the current 'burn rate' is $6K per week (not incl parts), and with the shop techs having clocked over 1000 hours on the rebuild so far, it better only be 4 weeks!
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Old 04-02-2015, 10:12 PM   #103
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1976 28' Argosy 28
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28 1976 Argosy

Martin,
I saw your MH at Airstream NE on Monday. WOW! she is coming out beautiful. You inspired my friend and I to buy a 28' 1976 Argosy MH. We live on cape cod and would love to pick your brain a little? Please let me know if that would be ok?
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Old 04-03-2015, 05:03 AM   #104
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More than happy to chat, but there are many many more knowledge folks on this forum...all of which will happily chip in, so don't me afraid to ask.
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Old 04-04-2015, 05:44 AM   #105
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Originally Posted by martin300662 View Post
Getting to crunch time..... before it goes back in for repainting etc)
Martin,

One of my lessons learned on painting is to check the sealant in all of the window gutters, door gutter, and front window BEFORE painting. You want it all sealed up tight with fresh sealant before painting. I discovered a few leaks after painting that I wish were resolved prior to paint. I also replaced the original Argosy fiberglass fridge vent cover and tank vent with aluminum ones prior to paint. I also had my AC and vent cover painted to match the unit.

Also, if you are going to use the Argosy fiberglass panels (i.e. the rear tail light bar), you may want to somehow reinforce them while they are off. My taillight bar has cracked since the paint job.

Not sure what paint colors you are going with but the original Airstream paint codes from the 1970's had more yellow in it than we would have liked. I recommend bypassing the original paint code and going with the colors you are after. Even if you want that original look, a nice tan or beige might look better than the original beige with the yellow tint.
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Old 04-04-2015, 07:14 AM   #106
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All great points Fred, and some of the things that are still concerning me.

Just about all the 'clutter' has gone from the roof (no more roof-top AC or fridge/waste tank vents), and only the new FF remain, but that does mean some patching. All the window seals are new as well but that means a lot of new potential for leaks.

The guys had suggested rolling it straight into the paint booth (Airstream of NE are part of Baystate Ford, and located in the Ford body shop) but I would prefer to take it out a few times, get it wet, make sure everything is working properly and we don't want to make any changes before painting.

The guys have already reinforced the original dash, and plan to do the original cab cap before painting but I will get them to consider the taillight bar as well.

Paint is an interesting topic....and we seem to change our minds every other day. My current preference is a silver metallic base with a hint of green, but as I say it changes; I am sure it will be a silver metallic base + tint of some sort. The new pole and rope awning arrived from Marti yesterday (looks great), and we had a pair of matching windbreaks made by Beach Wind Breaks (beachwindbreak.com) all in Sunbrella Lankford Willow, so we have committed at least to some sort of green/beige tint.

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Old 04-04-2015, 08:22 AM   #107
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Maybe something like Willow Green metallic that was used on 1965/66 Chevelles?

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Old 04-04-2015, 08:30 AM   #108
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Sweeeeeet
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Old 04-04-2015, 08:31 AM   #109
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Now if you could get similar rims for the Argosy!
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Old 04-04-2015, 09:28 PM   #110
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1976 28' Argosy 28
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1976 Argosy 28'

Thank you Martin,
Well day 1 I ran into a problem that I was hoping someone could help me out? On my way home fro picking up the Argosy from the seller I hit a pot hole in the road or it was when I honked my horn, ( this happend seconds apart) I lost all my interior lights, dome lights and the interior clock. I checked the fuses under the driver side dash. They looked ok but I didn't actually pull each one. Does anyone have a suggestion where I should look next?
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Old 04-04-2015, 09:42 PM   #111
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More than happy to chat, but there are many many more knowledge folks on this forum...all of which will happily chip in, so don't me afraid to ask.

Great, Thank you again!

I was wondering what you used for the panels inside?
Do you have the cabinet door under your sink still?
Is it possible to buy your bathroom set up (toilet,sink and Shower) If so where can I order it?

Thank you for the help
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Old 04-05-2015, 06:18 AM   #112
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Great, Thank you again!

I was wondering what you used for the panels inside?
Do you have the cabinet door under your sink still?
Is it possible to buy your bathroom set up (toilet,sink and Shower) If so where can I order it?

Thank you for the help
Hi Fishizzle, I need to start with a word of caution.

Literally all the internal cabinetry was hand made from scratch. This been very labor intensive and much more expensive, and taken a lot longer than even using standard Airstream cabinetry. For example, on your 28ft if you could simply use all the cabinets from a 25ft modern trailer it is much more cost effective. Obviously we chose to go the custom route (and even now looking back wouldn't change that), because we have a very specific use in mind.

Our preference was to make it feel big inside even though it isn't; the interior skins are all aluminum (the shop ordered panels from the current Airstream range and made them fit), but we struggled to find a interior wood finish that we like (we wanted maple or light beech). In the end the shop had a company make a short run (10 8'x4' panels) of ply specifically with the timber surface we wanted on one side and white laminate on the other. Just about all of that got used so there is approx 300sqft of ply used in the interior.

Not sure I under you second question, could you please expand a little?

The wet room setup is a collection of parts, all of which are available, but are a pain to order as the cassette toilet, and drop down sink are only available in Europe. They can be imported directly (we simply purchased in Europe, and had them shipped) but can be bought via the guys at EuroCampers.com who are US agents for REIMO campervans who are one of the largest European RV parts suppliers. Again a word of caution, think carefully before going with a cassette toilet, we plan to use our Argosy in the US for a few years then take it back to UK to tour Europe; there camp grounds are not 'black tank friendly' and most are setup for cassette toilet disposal. The shower pan with the raised step is a standard part and available from Pelland, Panther, PPL and others (we got ours from Pelland). The overal concept is the same as used by 'Jim the Truck' in his conversion (JIM THE TRUCK: The Water Closet).

Lots of other folks have re-modeled there motorhomes so hopefully they will jump in a comment.

Hope this helps, Martin
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Old 04-06-2015, 11:03 AM   #113
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Originally Posted by martin300662 View Post
Hi Fishizzle, I need to start with a word of caution.

Literally all the internal cabinetry was hand made from scratch. This been very labor intensive and much more expensive, and taken a lot longer than even using standard Airstream cabinetry. For example, on your 28ft if you could simply use all the cabinets from a 25ft modern trailer it is much more cost effective. Obviously we chose to go the custom route (and even now looking back wouldn't change that), because we have a very specific use in mind.

Our preference was to make it feel big inside even though it isn't; the interior skins are all aluminum (the shop ordered panels from the current Airstream range and made them fit), but we struggled to find a interior wood finish that we like (we wanted maple or light beech). In the end the shop had a company make a short run (10 8'x4' panels) of ply specifically with the timber surface we wanted on one side and white laminate on the other. Just about all of that got used so there is approx 300sqft of ply used in the interior.

Not sure I under you second question, could you please expand a little?

The wet room setup is a collection of parts, all of which are available, but are a pain to order as the cassette toilet, and drop down sink are only available in Europe. They can be imported directly (we simply purchased in Europe, and had them shipped) but can be bought via the guys at EuroCampers.com who are US agents for REIMO campervans who are one of the largest European RV parts suppliers. Again a word of caution, think carefully before going with a cassette toilet, we plan to use our Argosy in the US for a few years then take it back to UK to tour Europe; there camp grounds are not 'black tank friendly' and most are setup for cassette toilet disposal. The shower pan with the raised step is a standard part and available from Pelland, Panther, PPL and others (we got ours from Pelland). The overal concept is the same as used by 'Jim the Truck' in his conversion (JIM THE TRUCK: The Water Closet).

Lots of other folks have re-modeled there motorhomes so hopefully they will jump in a comment.

Hope this helps, Martin

Ok great information!

More specifically, The aluminum panels. Did you get those through Airstream or another vendor? How thick are those and what size sheets do those come in? Approximate price per sheet?

Question 2. Sorry I should have been more specific. I was asking if the cabinets are still in your "Donor" Argosy? I am missing the bottom door that slides on my 28'. Also a couple of my running lights on the front "yellow" are missing as 2 are missing in the back "Red". Are those available on your donor? Does anyone know where I can find them if not?
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Old 04-06-2015, 12:44 PM   #114
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Yes Fishizzle the panels used in mine were all from Airstream but in reality only the end cap was pre-shaped, the rest were just aluminum sheet (available from Out-of-doors Mart and others), but installed with more than a small amount of skill. Having the materials is one thing, having the ability is what gives the quality of finish.

The end caps are two corners, pre-bent and then a straight strip. But I believe Colin Hyde (https://sites.google.com/a/colinhyde...ions.com/home/) (member ColinH on the forums) makes and sells end cap sets more like the traditional multi-segment trailers - maybe that would fit?

So far we have only taken the dash, and windows from the donor so the cabinets should still be in there - I will check with the shop, but I wouldn't bother with used running lights, they are available from VTS, Inland RV, Silver Trailer Supply or Out-of-doors Mart.....or Airstream. But there are also LED versions from Fastenal or even HarborFreight! I liked the heavy cast aluminum bases that were originally fitted, so I had the shop drill and tap them all to take the new LEDs/lens, rather than changing them totally.
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Old 04-07-2015, 01:57 PM   #115
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So.....I'm back to the subject of tires.....

The original equipment 8.75/16.5 wheels/tires had a circumference (C) of 106.76", but somewhere in it's previous life a set of 225/75R/16 on 16" rims got installed on my 20ft. These have an C of 91.96", or, look at it another way, increased the revs at a given speed by around 15%, as well as looking crazily small in the wheel wells.

The later Argosy (i.e. my donor) went to 8/19.5 wheels/tires which have an C around 111.47" which would drop the revs by around 5%. But, as mentioned on the forums the 8/19.5 tires are getting rare, and rare = expensive. So even though this was my 'Plan A', I am now discounting this option.

It seems the best/most straight forward choice is to fit a set on 235/85R/16 tires on the current rims (I already have 4 spares as well), which will at least get the revs back to 94% of the original and have a 7.9" sidewall height (vs the original 8.75"). Even if I replaced both the options I already have with a set of 17" wheels from a newer (but still using the 8 x 6.5 PCD bolt pattern) dually, the most common tire is a 235/70R17 which is almost identical C to the 235/85R/16 so seems a pointless exercise - or am I missing something? Especially as the LT235/85R/16 can carry 3000lb each, are class E load rated and available as low rolling resistance and are available just about everywhere?
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Old 04-09-2015, 07:49 AM   #116
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Ignore my ramblings....turns out the very first line of my message was wrong (wrong information from a tire supplier website!) and the original 8.75/16.5 tires are 29.5" dia not 33.5", so actually the LT235/85R/16 tires are like having a 7.5% over-drive vs originals.

Going to give them a go!
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Old 04-10-2015, 05:46 PM   #117
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Pretty slick solution Martin.
All mounted up and working great

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Old 04-12-2015, 01:44 PM   #118
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New dash A/C from Classic Auto Air going in, including relocating heater box from under then bonnet to under the dash, all new wiring, ducting and outlets. Means the dash had to go back in temporarily (still needs painting in final color).



Once that is finished the new captains chairs can go in. Aligned with the theme of the build these are 'multi-purpose', being able to be normal driver/passenger seats, rotate to be recliners, or collapse (headrests fold in, seat back folds on the seat) to be provide a usable surface when camping (the photo makes it look inclined, but it is flat); all thanks to the VW Audi research budget as they are new 'take outs' out of a VW Routan.



Then the dynomat and carpet can go in.....inching closer.
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Old 04-12-2015, 03:23 PM   #119
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And a first view of the cab area nearing completion. Aluminum skins extending around the driver and passenger sides with maple trims to match the wood work in the cab.



With panels easily removed for when (not going to say if) we need to get to the dreaded door hinges later, or if we want to change the existing mirrors. The master switch and interior/exterior light controls are also to hand inside the door (would have preferred them on the 'other' side of the door but there was no room with the wetroom location).
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Old 04-14-2015, 07:23 PM   #120
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I really enjoy watching the progress of your project.
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