Ask and you shall receive...1969 29' Ambassador

[missmarce]

Hello,
I am a new member and am so excited! I have been looking for a vintage Airstream to use as a 'guest house' at our tiny cottage by the water in Nova Scotia. On a whim, we called a fellow who is just down the 'street' who has had an old Airstream tucked back in his woods for many years. He was very open to us coming and having a look at it. We asked 'So if you were interested in selling it, how much do you think you'd want for it?'. He looked at us and without skipping a beat he said 'SELL it???? I thought I'd have to pay YOU to take it away from here. My wife wants nothing to do with it and she says it's cluttering up the yard!!'. That was last Friday and I haven't slept since!!! The poor ol' thing has been sealed up for many years and due to condensation there is TONS of mildew on the original walnut doors and woodwork and the squirrels have been living in the sofa...but we are up to the challenge. We are having it delivered by a professional mover on Friday morning. Pictures at a later date. Did I mention how EXCITED I am??????
Looking forward to getting to know the Airstream community.
Marcia

[Mel]

Hi Marcia,

Welcome to the forums, and congratulations on your new acquisition! Wish I had neighbors who would make offers like that! Sounds like you will have your work cut out for you on this project, but there's plenty of help here for you. Good luck and can't wait to see your pictures!

[Kevin245]

Congratulations Marcia,

Getting paid to take off his hands would have been quite a deal. Let us know how well it cleans up.

Kevin

[missmarce]

Thanks Mel & Kevin!! Today is the big arrival day! (I couldn't sleep last night!!).

[AtomicKiwi]

How awesome! Please post photos as soon as it arrives. I'd love to see it.

[sharbours]

What a great find - I'm not surprised you're excited! Sounds like you're ready to roll up your sleeves & get to work! Good luck, and we're looking forward to your pictures!

[Ronald D]

Nice find. I used to live in Chester and passed through Hubbards many times. A nice place to live. Not many Maritimers here so it's fun to hear from another. We will be traveling through Nova Scotia next summer when I finish our '65 Overlander. Maybe we can visit? Lots of information and sources here at Airstream Forums, I've bought many parts from members at quite reasonable prices. Looking forward to your pictures and pictures of your progress.

Ron

[Wabbiteer]

I keep hear the phrase 'look a gift horse in the mouth early and often' for some reason... Good luck with your newest cabana house!!

[missmarce]

Just a little update...we are making progress. I am attaching a pic of our 'diamond in the rough' before we brought it home. I dare not show the interior as it will confirm to many of you that I may very well have lost my mind!! However, since its arrival we have stripped the carpet, completely washed the interior with bleach and removed the gauchos (off to the upholsterer to work their magic on complete new units). Found some wonderful retro upholstery on eBay. A few minor rot areas need to be addressed in the plywood floor and then we decide on what to put down for flooring. All in all, the walnut cabinetry is coming up beautifully and a test area using Watco Danish oil in medium walnut stain has made them stunning. What did I do with my time before we received this trailer?????

(Hope the image works...haven't really had the time to check out the image-loading procedure on here).

(Hello to fellow Maritimer, Ron,....we must keep in touch).

[sharbours]

Very nice! Looks like the weather is cooperating as well; that will make things a lot easier! Don't be afraid to post pictures of the pre-renovation state of your trailer. Most of us have been there, and love to see the transformation from sad to stunning! I wish we had taken more pictures of ours when we got it.

Enjoy your new project, and hopefully you'll be camping soon!

Sharon

[missmarce]

Here are a few pics of my progress...If someone can give me a more user-friendly method of showing pictures, it would be appreciated. After looking at my pictures again, I realize that in just six days I've made SOME progress!!

This is a shot of the 'armoire' (need to find a terminology reference book!!), BEFORE cleaning off the mildew with solution of bleach/water and then applying a coat of dark walnut Watco oil.



'Armoire' AFTER


Got bored inside so decided to try cleaning the exterior door. Indicates that the outside should come up ok. Used a product by Rona (a Canadian hardware chain) called ECO - a general purpose environmentally friendly product. Worked great!




And finally, this area also looks a tad different now - this was last Friday. Curtains and gaucho have been removed (I can't imagine WHY!!) and all carpets have been removed. I am now on the search for a good, economical seamstress for the curtains. Saved the old ones for them to use as templates.


So much to do...so little time!!
Marcia

[CanoeStream]

Very nice result with the cabinets! It is so much more rewarding to bring back the '50s-'60s wooden cabinets than put shop equipment to use in making new ones. Just one opinion...

[wheel interested]

WOW what a tranformation from the old cabinets to the new, I never would have thought they would be able to become so beautiful again. Also the outside door really shows what someone with determination, vision and elbow grease can do! Congratulations on a great find, great story and great Airstream. You do sound like you will be enjoying every moment of the restoration and after seeing your fast results I can see why. Keep posting pictures. The metamorphosis is awesome!!!

[AtomicKiwi]

I can tell that your AS is going to clean up beautifully judging by what you've been able to do in just a few days! Congrats, I really think you've made a good decision to get it!

[JLGT5107]

Nice find on the Ambassador. Looks like your off to a good start. One thing I reccomend is investigating the possibility that you may have mold in there. After a couple of days of demo in mine I had respitory problems for three weeks. I ran an ozone producing air purifier in it for a couple of weeks to get rid of it. No more problems.