Opportunity to buy an Argosy

[bkahler]

Update?

[Swillv8]

It was beyond gone......

With that being said I'm considering it still and if it gets snatched up I won't be to upset. I am wondering if there are many parts to sell that are worth much? This unit has past its expiry and the interior mostly gone. I started a thread about parts and after the huge list you wrote down it's sad to say there are a lot of xxxx

One more issue is the girlfriend is giving me grief also..

So bkahler if I wanted to add the skylights from argosy - airstream this should be a simple procedure? I'm a carpenter...... I should clarify, are there structural robe or can I almost literally put them in without removing inside paneling?

[Isuzusweet]

Hey, a fellow wood butcher! Look at us crazy woodpeckers taking on projects like these queens. We should be locked up.

As for installing skylights, or vent windows as some people call them; be careful as there can be wires running underneath the skin, but it can be done without too much muss or fuss. I personally would be loath to cut an additional opening in my skin, as it's just one more place to leak, but that's just me.

Cheers
Tony

PS You can call bkahler, Brad.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Swillv8

It was beyond gone......

With that being said I'm considering it still and if it gets snatched up I won't be to upset. I am wondering if there are many parts to sell that are worth much? This unit has past its expiry and the interior mostly gone. I started a thread about parts and after the huge list you wrote down it's sad to say there are a lot of xxxx

The easiest parts to sell would be the cockpit windows and the windshields. The issue with any of the windows is shipping. That can be a real hassle. Only you can determine if it's worth the hassle.

One more issue is the girlfriend is giving me grief also..

Can't help you there......

So bkahler if I wanted to add the skylights from argosy - airstream this should be a simple procedure? I'm a carpenter...... I should clarify, are there structural robe or can I almost literally put them in without removing inside paneling?

I'm with Tony on this issue. Adding more windows is a good way to ask for leaks. Martin added the small curved windows above the standard windows and the effects are awesome. However the work on Bella was done with the inner skin removed which had to have made things considerably easier to deal with. I considered adding them to my Argosy and decided that's just to many more places for water to enter so I've opted not to add them. Besides, I'm to lazy to want to do even more work!

Brad

[Swillv8]

I'm pretty lucky being a well rounded carpenter popping a few extra holes does not scare me to easily lol. I'd would imagine structurally all these coaches are " typical". So therefore no ribs would be in the way. I'm beyond selling this coach now and I will be committing money in the future to customize to my liking. ( thankfully I have damn good taste and have proven this time and again on house renovations with many unseen things I dreamed up and put into action)

Right now a couple things on my dream radar are:

Fabricating Roto dinette benches to be exact functionality as originals ( we want 3 kids so transportation is becoming an issue already with 1 child.

- build a storage slide out in bumped up floor where roto benches are

- I've said from the beginning I'm not a fan of the upper staorage cabinets in the Airstreams and would like to get rid of 2 per side at the front. When I seen the skylights in the argosy I was sold! They let the front be roomier also.

- I have observed the structural bump up on the argosy for the roto really cramps the floor. The fold down bed on the other side is 30"? My cabinets I would shrink to 18" ideally but probably 20" because of the curved walls. This would add substantial working space at the feet a full 12" extra vs original design.

- keeping close to original bump of approx 30" where sink is but coming into 20" for the stove( what a great design the 69 stove is also!! Head clearance is an issue for 6foot tall or taller but that's okay I'm shorter than that lol.

-shrink kitchen 12-16 inches ( towards drivers seat)on drivers side , utilize 3 burner stovetop from 69 sovereign international airstream able to utilize holes in exterior still for exhaust. Single bowl apron sink. And 60" of counter where fold down couch is. At lower elevation because of windows( basically be the height of bathroom counter 32" vs 36" for kitchen

-maybe Ditch the cabinets on side of fridge, move fridge away from door 2-3 inches. To give more "space". Wall panel that separates bedwill be beside fridge.

I'm pretty sure 99% ( tell me if I'm wrong?) the doors on an argosy are the same dimensions? I really like the door glass I would put that on the airstream also! So swap out door or install window either or.

-In bedroom get rid of the tall cabinets for hanging clothes. Use the upper cabinets from argosy so I can make bunks. ( I would need the two longer ones put in the airstream.)

I reallly really like the double bed slide out in the argosy!!! Me and my lady can fit on a twin but it's too crammed so A double bed would make all the difference.

- I also love how the bed folds up into a couch! So I'd like that on both sides too.
- a huge Tetris bed room to make couches and bunks on the one side anyways.

- the whole reason for shrinking the front is I feel the bathroom unexceptable in size and I'm a male.... I want at least a foot on the tub/ shower side extra. A 12-16" cabinet full height on opposite side can accommodate tall items or hangs some clothes from the lose in bedroom area.

One only has to be in a 1969 31' airstream to want that in the motorhome floorplan

[Swillv8]

So as it turns out this argosy dropped in price after many people came out to look and the general consensus was unanimous; a complete turd.

If I want to customize my airstream there are parts that I can utilize and without those I cannot do any of my dreams and ideas. Another solid 8 to 10 hour trip to drive to Saskatchewan and now I'm walking away with the bill of sale for $1000 for a 1976 argosy motorhome that's 28 feet long and will be purely be for parts .

[bkahler]

Good deal!

I'm sure you'll be getting requests from a variety of people looking for parts. When you get a chance post some pictures of your find.

Some things that are unique to the 74-76 Argosies would be the cockpit side panels, the dash top and the dash face, actually anything associated with the dash would be unique.

All of the front grille parts and bumpers would be unique as well. I'm not sure what your ability to store parts is like but the more you can stash away the better the odds are that you'll be sell the bulkier stuff.

Brad

[Swillv8]

Sounds like I get delivery possibly next week from flatbed so once I get it then I can upload many pictures.

I do have some storage space in a shed barn. I do not want to dedicate to much space tho..... maybe 150 sq feet of floor space. I can build shelving to stack pieces up too. Girlfriend is not too happy about this so it's going to sit for a year ( looks good the way it is.and once I start chewing into it it will have to be gone by that fall.... I promised this will be gone in 3 years( in the fall)100%.I'm in Canada so anything large would be cost prohibitive to ship unless someone desperately needs a part. I'm going to go for the easiest stuff most likely then I will unfortunately have to chop up and haul to the dump in a. CArgo trailer.

[Swillv8]

[Swillv8]

I took a few pictures to get me through till next week lol.

The passenger windshield has cracks the total are is over exclave dinner plate basically. Sadly my Airstream is 100x worse so I'm going to try to utilize this windsheild? I think it can be filled? And I'm going to attemp pulling the window myself? It's a preliminary thought but up here in Canada $2300 per side for brand new is swaying me; it's worth a try I figure

[bkahler]

From the outside it doesn't look to bad. You should be able to salvage a fair amount of parts from it.

I can think of one thing I need, an access cover possibly from the left side front area. I've circled what I'm looking for in the picture below.




Brad

[Swillv8]

I'm not sure the sixes of the doors but I will soon. They are different then my 280 diesel I know that.

This body was painted at some point not long ago and has a nice shine!. Being an argosy it has bubbles in the paint in a few places which on a car would signify rust, not sure how it looks so rough on aluminum? It's quite deceiving, but the whole chassis is shot complete rust through everywhere.

Not sure is this the same p30 chassis as a 82 airstream? I slide underneath 75% of this dragging myself in the gravel. I was confused with the rear set up. Is it only designed to run on bags? The leafs were only half and off them I seen bags to the crossmember between the rails? It was tight maybe I saw wrong. One thing for sure the axle is against the frame.

Because of this when it's been lifted for towing looks like structural damage with frame/ hitch area, all I remember is extreme tot and mangled metal in far rear.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Swillv8

I'm not sure the sixes of the doors but I will soon. They are different then my 280 diesel I know that.

Thanks. The length I'm looking for is a minimum 49-3/4" and maybe up to 51" or 52".

This body was painted at some point not long ago and has a nice shine!. Being an argosy it has bubbles in the paint in a few places which on a car would signify rust, not sure how it looks so rough on aluminum? It's quite deceiving, but the whole chassis is shot complete rust through everywhere.

It's not rust but I'm pretty sure it's corrosion of some sort. Some sort of oxidization of the metal.

Not sure is this the same p30 chassis as a 82 airstream? I slide underneath 75% of this dragging myself in the gravel. I was confused with the rear set up. Is it only designed to run on bags? The leafs were only half and off them I seen bags to the crossmember between the rails? It was tight maybe I saw wrong. One thing for sure the axle is against the frame.

Yep, only air bags hold the rear up. From what I understand the conversion from leaf spring to air bag suspension was done by Airstream. The rear 6" or so of the leaf spring is cut off so it only pivots on the front eye bolt and then the air bags hold the frame up to the proper height. There is an air leveling switch that is supposed to maintain the correct height. When working properly the ride is very smooth. If the air is to low the cut off ends of the leaf spring will bang against the bottom of the frame which also means your back end is really low and the ride becomes very rough.

Because of this when it's been lifted for towing looks like structural damage with frame/ hitch area, all I remember is extreme tot and mangled metal in far rear.

Lifting from the front with the air bags down could very easily damage the back like you're describing.

Brad

[Jjona5]

I can see quite a few parts I want on that thing...

[Swillv8]

So I just got delivery of the argosy today. I was a bit of a nightmare. The tow was 250 miles one direction, it came on a drop down flatbed semi trailer. They loaded up the night before without issue but when they arrived I noticed something peculiar right away. They used ratchet boomers from the rims to the trailer. Long story short it took 3 of us working like dogs to roll the motorhome off the trailer onto the pad. 4 hrs to unload. Then crumpled a tie rod on drivers side which ended up breaking. The tires kept going pigeon toed was a complete nightmare and of course my pitch bar 4.5feet long was at my friends jouse 1 hr away. Cand believe a tow company would be so stupid to bugger up the front end this bad. They also torqued on the rims to straighten the tires but ended up bendeing front end where tires are not plumb anymore.

I'm pretty exhausted working in the heat so I'm signing off for the day and on the weekend I can do a better inventory of what's what.

One thing I can tell you brad is there are no big compartments on this coach 3 small ones approx 24". The gas tank is center on drivers side and the passenger side has a duel propane tank( it's damn big 6' tanks and 2 of them. Looks like they modified the bottom with steel panels and they are pop riveted. Which is one question I have. Is there suppose to be ANY POP rivets besides the belt line trim?? .

Oh I never mentioned they put the motor on propane girl it appears to run on both?? Of course this is not running unit anymore.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by Swillv8

One thing I can tell you brad is there are no big compartments on this coach 3 small ones approx 24"......

Both the longer (33") and shorter (24") compartment door are still available from Airstream Supply if there is not one on Swillv8 new Argosy.

http://airstreamsupply.com/argosy-mo...%20door&page=2

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Both the longer (33") and shorter (24") compartment door are still available from Airstream Supply if there is not one on Swillv8 new Argosy.

http://airstreamsupply.com/argosy-mo...%20door&page=2

Unfortunately the one I need is 49-3/4" long

I suppose I could buy a 33" and a 24" and use them with my good 36" door cut down to 28" to come up with a combination that would probably work. What I really hope is that Ernie can straighten the one I have. He wasn't overly optimistic about it but I can hope for the best.

Brad