1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!

[Keyair]

I need to get over to the MH, and get some solid dimensions, to confirm my material needs, but I have:
1/ 3 x whole skins of Dark Brown... its like "Expresso" in artificial light, but I will take some more pics tomorrow in daylight. They measure 53.2sqft, 57.6sqft, and 60.1sqft, so thats almost 160sqft total.


2/ 1x Pecan/Creme whole skin. Approx 59sqft.(Background brown, is my home sofa, so ignore that.)



Together, the two colors look good to me, with a nice contrast.



My plan is to do the 2 Range Rover seats with brown bolsters/sides, and the Pecan as a center color... kinda like this...


I am concerned about how much material I ordered... I made a rough estimate of 42sqft for the sofa, 40sqft for the 2 Rover seats, and 48sqft for the dinette. But I need to check.
Can anyone chime in on how to be sure I have enough?

[Keyair]

Busy week..
The Subaru is looking better, and will be handed back..


This last week, I added a Lenco Spot/Stud Welder and shrinker to the roster...


Test pieces were encouraging!



Back to Airstream land!
Had time to inspect the leather, and begin planning...

Here is what I have...Dark Oak/Expresso x 3.





Pecan x 1.


I have more skins on the way...

[Isuzusweet]

Steve, I'm surprised you don't know someone at Crewe that could give you a hand and turn it into a Roller. Very nice looking material.

Cheers
Tony

[Keyair]

I wish Tony!

The contrast of these hides looks good so far...


I have 4 more hides coming..
2x that are describe as "Black Pepper, or Very Dark Brown/Black", 1x Chocolate Brown, and 1x Caramel/Golden Brown.

You might ask why I bought hides, sight unseen, of various shades...
My answer is...
Every hide is upholstery grade, and between 52 and 61sqft...
They were about $50 each inc shipping, on a closeout...
That is less than $1/sqft...

I figure, with 8 hides, totaling about 440 square feet, I should have enough to do all I have in mind...
All the hides are complementary enough to contrast in the various zones of the interior.
So, I can go with Pilot and Co-Pilot seats, dash, and side panels, in Zone 1(Blackpepper/Caramel)
Couch, Dinette #1 and Dinette #2 and any entrance trim(3x dark oak, and Pecan). Dinette #2 is in fact the current dinette behind the Co-Pilots seat... but will be moved to opposite the kitchen, to replace the wardrobe.
Bedroom trim would be chocolate brown leather and maybe some cloth.
All of the above subject to change!

[Vycan]

Very excited to see the finished product.

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by Vycan

Very excited to see the finished product.

I'm excited too.

So, today my #2 package arrived, containing 4 more hides...


Wasted no time in opening it up..

As soon as I pulled out the 2 dark brown hides, my heart jumped, and I rushed to grab the 3 hides I got 2 weeks ago...
My gut told me I might be right, and I am so pleased!

The 3 from before are on the right... and the 2 that arrived today are on the left..


That is 5 matching hides!
Difficult to show in a picture, and with some small grain/color variation across the hide, but...
They are so darned close, and the tags are written the same, so I have to assume they originated from the same batch! They are certainly close enough to be used on different parts of the seating or across the isle without issue.

So, I now have over 280sqft of that dark brown, and 60sqft of the pecan.
I will have some solid dimensions next week when I go to the MH, and then I have to decide on the design.
After going around and around on contrasting panels, diamond stitching, and other stuff... I am leaning toward just simple single color for most of the main living area, with maybe just a contrasting stitch...

CrazyVW and I have been back and forth on design for a week, and he brought this VarioMobile MH to my attention...
I like the simplicity of the sofa around 0.52..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAd1kCNPEIM

Or this Airstream...
http://rvlife.com/the-airstream-classic-33/

I did get 2 other hides today.
One was described as chocolate brown, but it has a purplish hue/hint, and the other was described as caramel... but its more mustard.
They are on the far left, and I really don't care for either of them too much under artificial light... under the flash they are really odd!




The Mustard one is a weird leather too... its kinda thicker/stiffer than the others, and has a oily/waxy feel to it, and it is distressed...
It also had a label on the back, that I will investigate..

[Keyair]

Test pieces...
The Brown leather with contrast double stitching..



Tried it in place on our home sofa to get a better idea of how it would look in reality on a joint/seam..


Then tried the Brown/Pecan leather with a single sided contrast stitch as I would do if it was a center panel..


Then tried some upholstery material I bought a while back..

[Boom Sounds]

Looks good Steve and good to see you back on the forum.

I shot for some moquette which was used on the old red London Routemaster buses. I had an old boy down in Fareham do the fitting; he did a cracking job. Pretty happy with it and indestructible against the kids. It was rated for thousands of journeys and your backside probably sat on some back in the day.

Merry Christmas everyone

Nick


http://www.lassco.co.uk/routemaster-moquette




Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[mayco]

What sewing machine are you using? Looking GREAT!!!!

[Keyair]

Thanks guys. The machine is a Consew 206RB walking foot industrial.

[Keyair]

Wow, that material brings back memories Nick!

My machine is labeled a "Cutsew", but is a rebadged Consew 206RB.
I got it some 3 years ago, and it is a very well respected machine in the industry, that is a workhorse and can sew pretty much anything.
Mine came with a 1/2hp "servo motor" as apposed to the old style clutch motor.




It has noooo problem punching thru thick leather, like this veg tanned stuff that is like 1/4 thick.



In fact I did a test with 2 layers of that... no prob.

Yesterday, I retrimmed some disintegrating sun visors for fun and practice...
Before...




Old crumbling material was stripped off.
New roof liner material glued on, and folded over.




Then I decided to stitch them... this was right at the limit of what would go under the sewing machine foot...




Not perfect but better than before, and I learned some new stuff... good practice!

[Gregsch]

Wow! That looks awesome. It never ceases to amaze me, There are so many incredibly talented folks on this forum. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by Gregsch

Wow! That looks awesome. It never ceases to amaze me, There are so many incredibly talented folks on this forum. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Just cos I will try anything, does not make me talented....

Oh, here is a funny one...
Found this video on YouTube, of a guy talking about his Kohler 7cm21...
Wonder where he got the idea and method for fixing the common oil leak....

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

[Keyair]

Spent a few hours over at the Airstream, Thursday and Friday.
We had a lot of rain the last couple of weeks, and I am annoyed to note that I still have leaks. I also found some areas that were damp/wet.
I think I will bite the bullet and plan to paint the roof with some elastimer/white coating sooner rather than later, but the caulking around the skylights will need doing first. I can see cracks..


This area at the rear of the awning rail, is above one of the damp areas, so will get a bead of Tempro 635, if that is the hot ticket still, soon... mine had gone hard.


My restoration of the headlamp castings was a mix of success and failure. The powdercoating is holding up great, but the areas I left brushed/polished have chalked already despite waxing... I should have added clear powdercoat. Add that to the list.


I planned to replace the external voltage regulator... but I put it somewhere safe, where I would not lose it...

I am pleased to note that the new doghouse insulation does seem to have freed up space... maybe 2"... perhaps I can squeeze the Edelbrock Intake under there now!


Back at home, I have been doing some light reading...


My sights are set on the Dinette seats first, as they are just so.... 80's!

[Keyair]

So, with the New Year, there is a renewed focus on the Airstream.
I have taken stock of everything done so far, what needs to be done, and made some decisions.

Here is my action plan, that revolves around having the Motorhome, up, running , smogged, licensed and usable by April at the latest. I am putting this out there so I can keep on track!
This will be a 2 pronged attack, with the Motorhome in Storage, 45 miles away. This storage is very insistent that "No work or maintanence" be done on property, I have to plan to do what I can do there, inside, out of sight, but focus on getting it home to do other stuff.

1/ Smog and drivability.
After much thought, discussion and hand wringing, I am going to get the engine and emissions brought back to stock. No TBI, or Diesel for now.
Today, I ordered a remanufactured Rochester Quadrajet Carburetor from Cliff Ruggles of Cliff's Performance, in Ohio. Cliff literally wrote the book on Quadrajets!
Numerous emails, and a long phone call later, he has educated me on what is the correct Carb and setup for the HD Motorhome Chassis(NOT what I had!). He says the MH, HD, Quadrajet, is a rare and special beast, and he has built many over the years. So, Cliff is building me a OEM, stock Carb, that will have every jet, needle, bushing, seal, and vac pod renewed. They also do some subtle mods to the APT(No clue..), and correct some factory weaknesses. Then the carb will be setup on an actual similar engine, started from cold and run for a minimum of 30 mins and adjusted for cold start, idle, mixture, power, economy, etc, and checked with a Fuel/Air meter. He assures me that it will bolt on, be right, and need no, or minimal adjustments. This does not come cheap($500), but I should be able to pass emissions. One thing I did learn, is that my plan to add the Edelbrock intake was not valid. He explained that for lighter vehicles, but for the HD lugger, the low rise cast iron manifold is best. He explained, it get hot, and so aids fuel atomization, and combustion.
Once that Carb arrives(3 weeks out), I will bolt it on, and see how it runs!
Aside from that, I still have some work to do on getting the Smog Pump Functional, and all of the vacuum pipework, and valves correct, but I am close, I hope.
Aside from that, I have 100' of 3/8 Silicon heater hose on its way, and intend to renew every inch of the cooling, HVAC, and heater system, as well as radiator hoses while I am at it. I will also replace the thermostat, and have a new high capacity waterpump on hand for an emergency. The radiator is on watch, but it is not showing any sign of leakage at this time.
I also have a alternator charging issue which I hope to cure with a new voltage regulator, but if that is not the case, a 180a single wire will go in. I am done messing with this!

2/ On days/evenings when I am not at the MH, I will be working on other stuff that is not mission critical, like the retrim, and some metalwork plans I have.

3/ Once I have the Motorhome road legal, I will be able to drive it home, to do some other essentials priorities, which include:
Sealing and painting the roof white.
Generator service, as I cannot seem to get it running, and I think its fuel related.
Renewal of the water system with dual water tanks, PEX Piping.

That's the plan...

[Keyair]

Front Centramatic balancer's arrived!
Thanks PeterH!



I will begin prepping and polishing the 6 Alcoa's I found last year, and the 2 steels, needed for the drive inners, will need paint or powdercoat too.
Pretty sure I am going with Cooper Roadmaster RM170 in 225/70 R19.5 Load F all around. Just dithering about putting some traction tires on the drive axle...

RM170:


RM253 that are M&S rated.



The interior retrim project is moving forward with the Range Rover seats I plan to use for cockpit seats up first.

I pulled apart the seat and removed the covers...






Some electrical testing proved that the seat heating was non functional...


Pulled off the scrim and found the broken wire!
Will solder and reroute it so it shouldnt happen again.




No turning back now!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

So, with the New Year, there is a renewed focus on the Airstream.......

....That's the plan...

Well, it's ABOUT time!

Glad you're back


Brad

[Keyair]

Thanks Brad.
I know, I know.
Watch this space......
I have lots to post, but will wait until I have something completed!

[Keyair]

As promised...

A refresher...
This is the saggy, soggy green velour seat that I believe was the OEM seat, fitted to the MH. Next to it, is the Black Range Rover seat I bought from the Junkyard for $50. I have loved the RR seats and completed many 6 hour drives without a twinge or issue. This is why I chose them.

[Keyair]

This weekend, it rained solidly, so it was perfect for inside work...


I learned a lot, and made some mistakes, but here is my first EVER attempt at a seat cover!
Copied the shapes of individual pieces from my previous post onto the new leather, cut them out and glued to the foam.



After doing the final cutting to size, which was kinda tricky as the original pieces were stretched and distorted somewhat, I joined the main panels.



Then I added the side panels, and did a test fit on the*foam.


Added the rear panel, which was tricky due to the fact the leather and foam was much thicker than the original velour part, but its ok.


I then decide to add a reinforcing stitch to the seam... Not perfect, but I am happy.
Sewed on the listings, and J clips, then test fitted it.

Here it is as it sits tonight, warts and all. Needs a little steam, and to have the loose ends stretched and clipped still.
Happy!






Plan to steam it a little tomorrow to ease some of the wrinkles out...

Here is the mistakes I made and what I learned:

1/ I used 1/2" scrim for the*face and bolster, and 1/4" for the sides and front. Original panels were 3/8 on leather and less on fabric and vinyl. Should have used 1/4" for it all, as the*thicker foam was less manageable.

2/ Copied the original panels exactly, including the original selvage, which was 3/8" on the leather, 1/4" on the other materials. It was tough with the leather and foam I used to hold the lines. I should have, and will allow 1/2 next time.

3/ Should have used a dark brown thread to join panels together. The joint thread is visible in some areas.

4/ #1 and #2 contributed to a less than perfect seam, which made following the joint tricky and I wander a little on the*contrast stitch.

Man, its hard work... my hand and forearms are tired tonight, but I am pretty pleased. The Backrest is next!