In Over My Head

[ProWelder]

I may be in over my head on this one. It started with just a simple rear floor repair. My wife calls me a perfectionest, i'm not, i just want things done right. So i kept going and going until all i have is a shell. I wanted to do the shell off so i can repair the frame and floor with easy access. What i found is that all of the rivets holding the outer skin to the c channel have pulled out. Just the ones on the very front and rear were holding it on. Less drilling i thought. But I think all of the wieght has been resting on the vertical channels and have them a little distorted. I also discoverd my cast aluminum door frame is broken in the bottom corner. Any advice on that would be great, i've never welded cast aluminum. with all that being said is it still possible to do a shell off or should i keep the shell on and do it the hard way?....more support. I have also found that the whole street side has been replaced at some point from the outside...leaving partial of the original skins....very ugly on inside but not noticeable on outside. I want to reseal all of the inside seams....what do i use? looks like it would take a large amount whatever i use.

[Wabbiteer]

Heyas, we're here for ya. Just one little favor please? Leave some white-space in those blocks of text!

I see four points you're asking about...

1. All of the rivets holding the (side) outer skin to the c channel have pulled out.
2. Weight has been resting on the vertical channels and have them a little distorted
3. Cast aluminum door frame is broken in the bottom corner.
4. Street side (skin) has been replaced at some point from the outside...leaving partial of the original skins.... What to reseal interior seams with?

#4 I can help you with - but know there is a lot of water-holding areas if the skins are doubled up - Tremco 636 caulk applied to solvent-cleaned and a quick scotchbrite scoured seams will cover and seal for another forty years. Being more North than you I've seen the vulkem/Tremco have problems from freeze-thaw cycles but you should be good to go...

[ProWelder]

Thank you for your response. lol,,,i did leave spaces and even paragraghs but for some reason it combined it all when i posted. my be this 90s laptop in the garage i'm usin....sorry

[tahoe_air]

Hey there prowelder. Nice year trailer! I have two '69 overlanders: one for parts (tree fell on the back end), and the other, well, to do a shell off restoration. Long story short, I bought the parts trailer for the door and four glass windows. Having said that, I have a door frame with no door and I am not planning on using it. I'm not sure what shipping would cost on such a thing, but if you are interested let me know and maybe we can work something out. I should be pulling it out within the next month. Let me know. Good luck with the rebuild!!

[rogerdodger]

Hey tahoe air, I could use some of the exterior metal moldings, the ones that hold the 1" blue strip. Are any of yours from the parts trailer any good? I'm picking up a 1975 Argosy and some are missing.
Thank you,

[GetOutDoors]

ProWelder,

You will want to find where the stress is coming from that caused your door frame to crack and figure out how to keep it from continuing, else, even if you have it welded by a professional (while you have the floor out - so it doesn't start a fire , it will crack again at some point down the road. Been there, done that ....

It can be the results of a prior accident (fender bender?) where the people that did the repair did not get the outriggers set right.

[Wabbiteer]

Is that from the years of a cast aluminum door frame??

[GetOutDoors]

Not sure I understand your question, but most cast frames do not have this problem. My limited experience is that if the frame is cracked, something not normal has caused it. It may be obvious once you get to the frame. Look for damage. Could be a bent or rusted outrigger; maybe some part of the step support has caused undo stress, or it could be that something ran into the front curbside and required repair, and the outriggers/frame was not repaired correctly.

[ProWelder]

I want to thank all of you for your advice and opinions. Tahoe Air, i would be interested in the frame. I will talk to a friend that works for UPS and see what shipping may be and i will work out a deal with you on that.
I also need the lower trim above the rear banna skin that wraps around the rear....street side....that's a long piece....so shipping would be crazy on that. I will keep in touch, just let me know what you are willing to part with.

[tahoe_air]

prowelder & roger dodger - I really only need the door and four windows. Everything else is going... to a new home hopefully. I am in the process of taking the WHOLE thing apart panel by panel (interior and exterior). I will look at the moldings tonight to check the condition. If they were to be shipped, I'm sure they would have to be cut down to an appropriate size. Just PM me so I don't hijack this thread anymore than I already have. Cheers.

[Aerowood]

I had a broke cast door frame on my 71Gt and I had it welded with no problem. Its somewhere on my thread below

[ProWelder]

Thank you Wabbiteer for the info on the sealant. I would like to find something in a spray.

Aerowood, i may try welding the door frame....if I goof it up TahoeAir has a spare. GetOutDoors got me looking at possible causes of the break. I have rear sag, front sag and side side.....so i figure it's from the wieght.

I didn't get the shell off this past weekend.....RAIN RAIN RAIN.
I Still have some bolts and rivets to drill.
I was on the fence over which rivets to use when i begin riveting it all back. I've read every post i could on this issue, but it comes down to what i can afford when i get to that stage. Would rather have the Buck but I do most things alone so that about solved which too use. And then there is the PRICE of the rivet shaver $1@!#$'/,.; Boy they proud of that tool. I looked everywhere trying to find a cheaper version....no luck. So saving n shortcuttin a few things to order the "goldenboy" of rivet tools.

[Wabbiteer]

You truly only need a shaver if you plan to take it to the fair - once the mandrel snaps there is a razor sharp protrusion that is easily cut, then ground-sanded down flush to top of rivet dome. That makes it safe with no jagged thorns and nearly invisible unless you study it for a bit. Then plan at some point in your future to cross paths with a rivet shaver.

Oh yeah... Psst... a rivet gun, trick multiple angle bucking bar and selection of rivets can be had for about half the price of a rivet shaver..

[ProWelder]

Went to the camping center and found some spray sealer....21 bucks a can...gonna do some testing tomrrow.

[ProWelder]

Will the floor c channel from ODM work on my 69? Only difference I see is it has a lip for the floor to slide into.

[Diesel1]

The cast door on my 67 Tradewind was cracked, I heliarced it no problem. Since your's is the frame that is cracked I would do as others have sugested and resolve the issue that caused the crack.

[tahoe_air]

Originally Posted by ProWelder

Went to the camping center and found some spray sealer....21 bucks a can...gonna do some testing tomrrow.

What kind did you get?

[ProWelder]

It's called "LEAKS SPRAYNSEAL"....sounds cheesy...but the only spray they have.

[ProWelder]

Well the shell is raised and I'm almost ready to pull the frame out. I have to raise it another 6 inches or so. I bought a set of stanely sawhorses from Lowes but still not sure about setting the shell on them....they were the most expensive ones they had but they still look cheap and i'm afraid they won't hold up. Any advice?

[Wabbiteer]

Heehehehe. Sorry, couldn't resist.

As long as you have the shell tautly strapped down to ground anchors, point the skinny end into the most likely prevailing wind, and avoid storm wind gusts the aerodynamic shell will shed most upsetting forces. I sat under my lifted shell in 45-55mph cross-wind gusts and was amazed how little the shell wanted to move. Nesting it beside a building and parking another vehicle alongside would hedge your bets.

$100 worth of lumber and $50 worth of screws bought the pylons I used to hold my shell up for nine weeks, I was expecting to be forced to have it separated all winter but we had an easy Fall weather wise.

Not saying this is what you should do, just saying 10-14 days separated is different than 10-14 weeks. Photo is the day I got to reinsert frame under shell - 20th Nov 2011.