Introducing The Mercer's

[knowmercy]

Hello everyone. Figured I'd take the time to say hello. My family is mostly complete with a shell off restoration. We picked up a 31', 1973 Sovereign about 3 years ago knowing full well what it needed. As I sit here typing this up, insulation is going in and interior panels are being re-installed sans their vinyl and filth. We've done most of the work ourselves, but everyone knows that means we had a bunch of help from family and friends!

We've been camping frequently for about 5 years in a smaller camper that we built from the ground up. There are bunk beds and a composting toilet, and comfortable beds for mom and dad. The dog and kiddos have their own space as well. We knew we wanted to do a camper restoration, but we had no experience so we did a build on a shoestring budget before tackling the airstream. Now, we've 2 more kids and a bunch of things we've learned and put into the airstream restoration/renovation.

Anyhow, just wanted to say hello and introduce us. We've been mostly local camping to spend more time with our family. These rigs have allowed us to spend more time in the past 5 years than the prior 10 combined. Cheers!

[Kevin245]

Welcome

Congrats on the rig and on your progress to date. We like pictures, so add some when you are able so we can share in your labors.

Kevin245

[A W Warn]

Welcome!
My first Airstream was a 1973.
My children, now mid-aged adults, have good memories of our times in that trailer.
They still talk about the adventures we had 30 years ago.
I hope the same for you!

[knowmercy]

Here are a couple to show what she is. I hope it shows the potential and life i saw in this rig! These are from a while ago.

Our kids absolutely love going camping. It’s my desire that we do more of this and a lot less of the mundane grind that is all too common.

[Minno]

Nice! Welcome to the family!

Kay

[knowmercy]

Okay, so northeast Ohio weather has gotten cold so my attention has shifted back to the interior. Here are some pictures of the beds after we got them sealed with some wax.

You might be able to see the bumper almost ready to go back on!

I also started insulating the door and put in the bottom aluminum panel.

[knowmercy]

The fresh spring air and warmer temps have us chomping at the bit to get our rig going! We’ve been doing all sorts of misc interior work to get cabinets, walls and counters ready to be installed! The insulation installation has begun! I’m sanding and buffing the interior skins that my wife removed the vinyl from. Phew is this a bunch of time.

We started finishing the cabinets and walls with a wax polish. I’m really happy with how easy it is to work with and the results are fantastic! I’ve got the sink cutout in the counter and the paint on. It needs sanded and then several coats of wax polish. I love this color! My wife has a great color scheme for the interior. This is the big contrast piece that breaks up the wood and aluminum a bit! What do you all think?

[57Vintage]

Nice choice, we think its a good accent color too.

[knowmercy]

Hello again everyone! Thanks for replying to our little build here. We’ve made some more progress and we’re excited to see this thing come together! Here you can see we attached the exterior compartment doors with hinges and solid rivets. We’ve also got a bunch of the insulation in!

[knowmercy]

We put the skins in to see how well they’d line up with the holes that are in the rest of the shell. It looks like there is about 1/8” of interference with the floor. I cannot tell if that’s the floor or if the shell has settled over the past few years. My idea is to cleco the bottom first, and then lift the shell slightly to see if the upper holes line up better. Does anyone have any insight into this?

[knowmercy]

With a small order of aluminum from airparts inc, we have enough material to reskin the interior! I used the original parts as a guide to create new panels for the front and rear. I made a few modifications where i wanted to close up gaps and line up seams different, but for the most part they’re fairly similar. We’ve got the entire middle riveted in place up to eye level. We used double sided tape as a thermal break and 5/32” aluminum rivets. You’ll have to excuse the contrast between original (sanded to 1000grit), the new sheets, and the one panel i buffed to a mirror. We do have a plan for painting certain areas and buffing others. It’s much easier to do after it’s installed.

[Bubba L]

Y’all are doing a great job with a lot of thought put into the renovation. I’m partial to the turquoise. Keep us updated with pictures and the maiden voyage is just around the corner. Take care

[knowmercy]

I never know if folks want to see things in progress, but here it is! I have the windows cut out now and all of the upper insulation is in. I’ve been working on the endcaps and I’m really happy with how they go in, and how they’re turning out. Pictures!

[Minno]

Pictures are ALWAYS appreciated! In fact, we demand them!
Looking very good!

Kay

[knowmercy]

Appreciate the reply, MINNO! I'm ready to put in the long, ceiling skins sometimes today or tomorrow. Then I've to do the rear endcap down to the floor. We'll see how far I get!

[knowmercy]

I’m very happy with the result! These are all the off cuts from the rest of the front and rear interior skins. I know that the grain doesn’t match on the two just to the side of the center, but I’m okay with it. I didn’t want to waste material! This went very well for my first attempt and I’m glad i bought another 50 clecos! I missed the curve consistency between the two sides a little as well, but that’s not going to stop me from enjoying sleeping under it!

[knowmercy]

With the help of some friendly neighbors, the ceiling skins are cleco’d up enough that i can rivet them and adjust them on my own as needed. The channels helped hold everything in place so the sheet didn’t move around as much. We put up a few last patches, riveted the rear end channel, and installed the porch light. We may or may not use it, but it’s there. It’s on like donkey Kong now!!!

[Bubba L]

It’s looking really good and sounds like you’re having fun. Those are a couple of things that makes all this work worth the time. Good luck and have more fun.

[knowmercy]

Okay so we’re really checking things off the list now! I finished the solid rivets and repairing the damage from the read end sag we started with. The insulation and lower skins went in without much ado. I started on the rear end cap and had to start over again. I got my measurements backwards and put a top line where a bottom line was supposed to go. 4 sheets went to scrap. Oh well. In addition the entire top sheet is riveted with the exception of some seams and the track for the middle sheet. Pictures!

Oh! I almost forgot! We got the new awning fabric in, made some curtains, and cut the cabinet face for the mid bunks!!!!

[57Vintage]

Save the scraps, there's bound to be other changes requiring a patch panel. Really like the turquoise.