'62 GT Shell Off Renovation

[marzboy]

I also used a biscuit joiner on the subfloor of my 65 sovereign. It was a little tough but in the long run I believe it will keep the floor from buckling. Love your progress!!

[Cncampers]

We have been working away for the past several days. Slow progress. Mr. C got the gray tanks installed and plumbed together. We then started the process of insulating and wiring. All of the foam is in, but we need to carve out around the corners before installing the belly pan.

Friday night we had our 1st temps down in the 30s. I covered all of the veggies and now I am wondering why. Maybe we will get a few more tomatoes. We know the days are numbered before snow. Hopefully we can get the shell on first.

We did a run to Coates RV in Hugo this evening to pick up a valve. The man at the register indicated another person restoring an Airstream was in/called looking for a valve today. Hmmm, who are you?

Nancy

[dbj216]

I wonder how Mr. C mounted the gray water tanks. Did he make straps, clamps or something else. The tanks are resting on Styrofoam and a steel pan on my 86. There is no mechanical straps or clamps. Not the best in my opinion, but it has worked for 28 years.

It will be fun to see how you build the tank drain plumbing combining the black tank and gray tank with two valve and one outlet. Adding waste water capacity in these old Airstreams is a challenge.

David

[perryg114]

What is on top of the plywood that looks like thick craft paper?

Perry

[Cncampers]

David - the gray tanks are wedged into the bay with styrofoam. Mr. C will be using fiberglass panels to hold the tanks in place. They will be easy to drop if we need to access the tanks. We will not have a black tank because we will be using a composting toilet. The composting toilet seemed like a good fit for our lifestyle as well as simplifying the plumbing requirements and location of the toilet itself.

Perry - the craft paper look is the exterior coating on the MDO plywood, also known as sign board. "Medium density overlay (MDO) is an exterior-type plywood. It is overlaid (heat-fused) with a smooth sheet of resin on one or both surfaces. These surfaces can be painted and function as a water-resistant coating." We used sheets that were coated on both surfaces.


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[dbj216]

Okay, a composting toilet eliminates the need for a lot of plumbing. I hope they work better than my compost pile in the garden. I'm a bit skeptical.

A 25 gallon gray tank will weigh about 200 lbs when full. So it takes some support to keep the thing under the trailer and not on the highway. Having access to them in case of problems would be handier than taking the belly pan down.

You folks are making great progress.

David

[Cncampers]

Mr. C has been plugging away at the underneath of the trailer. We completed the insulation and he formed the shape with an orbital disk sander. He then started to add aluminum from the side rails wrapped around the bottom of the trailer and attached to the C channel. The area between the side rails is being covered with fiberglass panels.

[dbj216]

Very nice work on the rear corner pieces. They are difficult to make. It appears Mr. C fabricated an attachment point on the frame rail so he could rivet the rear corner pieces tight. Ref pictures 3 and 4 above. My 66 Trade Wind did not have anything to attach the corner pieces to. They just flop in the breeze.

It won't be long before you marry the shell to the new frame.

David

[Cncampers]

David - he attached an aluminum piece to the frame rail with VHB (very high bond) tape by 3M. This allowed attachment of the belly pan with rivets so it would not flap. We buttoned up the belly pan today. YEAH! Discussing what else we need to do on the bottom side - gas line, coat the inside of the wheel wells, and a few tweaks to the plumbing.

It is our plan to replace the exterior sheet of aluminum under the front window before we pair-up the frame and the shell. There are two other panels to be replaced, but we will do those after the pair-up. Hopefully before the weather turns.


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[dbj216]

Interesting application of the VHB tape. I've got to try that stuff someday. Adhesives are as good as welds anymore. There are a lot of modern adhesives used in auto manufacturing.

We're going to have a long, glorious fall season. You have lots of time, don't worry. You folks sure have come a long way since you bought the 62 GT home the end of July. It's going to be one very neat vintage Airstream!

David

[Cncampers]

We have been doing a few small things here and there. Two weeks ago a dear friend passed away from advanced stages of Lyme Disease and Parkinsons. RIP Mark! His passing slowed progress.

Today we were finally able to flip the completed frame and drop the shell. Well, it wasn't quite that quick. We flipped the frame and Mr. C trimmed the excess aluminum from the banana wrap and belly pan to the same length as the C channel. While he was doing that, I cleared out all of the things we had stored in the shell. We then decided we should clean off all of the old sealant on the shell prior to dropping it on the frame. That was a very slow task. Let's just say acetone didn't work as well as xylene. There were a few other things that we tried as well. Mr. C used a wire wheel on the areas with corrosion. The aluminum was then cleaned with xylene and sprayed with a primer. At last we dropped the shell into place. It required a little tweaking here and there. We couldn't get the back corner to drop all of the way. Mr. C decided to give a couple of cranks on the corner jack and it dropped right in.

Once the frame was in place we removed all of the interior cribbing. So nice to be able to walk freely from one end of the trailer to the other. Tomorrow we are hoping to drill the holes for rivets. Once that is done we will lift the shell slightly in order to add some sealant between the shell, banana wrap and belly pan. Lower the shell again and rivet.

[dbj216]

Our condolences on the loss of your friend. Never easy.

You can celebrate the recreation of an Airstream. All new frame, subfloor, insulation, tanks, belly pan, wheel wells, axle, etc, etc. It will have "good bones" to support the shell and the new interior.

I trust the riveting will go well. You guys will be like Airstream employees. Rosie the Rivetor? Someone has to hold the bucking bar while the other bangs the rivets tight. Two person job. I'm sure all the work involved in making the shell is one of the reasons why Airstreams are so expensive.

Thanks for the update. Congratulations on the all important, newly fabricated "bottom end" of your Globetrotter. Now on to all the wiring, fresh water plumbing, seem sealing, window repairs, cabinet making, and on and on. It's a huge project.

Maybe next summer you'll be camping on the shore of your favorite lake in your "new" Airstream. Others will stop by and ask to take a picture of your trailer.

David

[Cncampers]

At last we are working on the AS again. Before winter hit we got the the shell attached and three exterior panels replaced. We had a nice weekend in January when we removed the ceiling panels and end caps.

This weekend it was warm enough to open the windows and tackle the tar sealant. Citristrip seemed to work the best. However, as the sun was shining the chemicals were baking onto the shell. A little more Citristrip to keep it working. We got most of the seams sealed. The other seams will be sealed as we work on the windows and overhead vents. We might have rain tomorrow to test things out. Not too worried as the leaks were previously noted in association with the front and rear windows. Hopefully, Spring is really here and we can keep working.

Nancy

[dbj216]

Hi cncampers! We are emerging from another Minnesota winter. This unusual "heat wave" makes us think spring is here, but we all know Minnesota weather can turn on a dime.

I'm glad to see you folks back at it. Working on our Airstreams in the Minnesota outdoors is quite constrained due to the weather. I was lucky to find a garage for the winter and made some progress on my Trade Wind. But my project is much less involved than yours.

I came across some Airsteamers from Iowa that are rebuilding a 59 Trade Wind. Their project is similar to yours. Body off and frame rebuild. You might enjoy reviewing their thread.

Keep up your excellent posts. I enjoy watching you work from the comforts of home. Much easier than actually doing the work!

David

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f116...nd-100906.html

[Cncampers]

David - thanks for sharing the link. We were sure to check it out. Nancy


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[thumbelinadj]

David is the best. So helpful and always offering a positive word.