new member checking in

[65overlander]

hello, my name is dave pickhardt and i have recently registered as a member of this forum. currently live in central kentucky where i relocated from lake county illinois. have been carrying around a 65 overlander for about 5 years and am now getting down to the business of fixing it up. insides gutted except for the kitchen sink and stove top cabinet. going to remove inner skins, replace the floor, rewire, and all of the usual things to become frustrated and wonder why i didn't buy new. have glanced through some of the restoration topics and can see they will be quite helpful as i go along with this project. glad this forum is available and hope to post some of my trial and tribulations as i get into it all. regards, dave

[ColdEspresso]

Greetings from Nashville! Glad to have you Dave. Welcome!!! I'm sure you will get most of the info you need on your project. Post some pics so we can see how you are doing

[CaddyGrn]

Welcome to the forums! This is a great place to find all your answers!

Congrats on your project! It will be great! We have a 1963 Bambi and I am including a link to my hubby's thread that will give you an idea of what is to come during your restoration process...
http://www.airforums.com/forum...mbi-17925.html

He has lots of pictures and such and perhaps you may find it useful.

Good luck on the project, and post pictures, before and after! We love the pictures!

Mrs. NorCal Bambi (traveling in S Tardis)

[scf31]

Well,,,, Another Hillbilly !!!!! Welcome to the Forums, This place is a wealth of information !!!!! I am in Winchester Ky, Maybe our paths will cross one day ,Good luck and have fun with the 65 !!!!!

[65overlander]

thanx for the welcoming responses and encouragment on the overlander overhaul. have in fact started the project and hopefully will post some pics today or tomorrow. rain in the forecast so maybe a good day for indoor work. have been over winchester way so maybe paths will in fact cross.

wanted to start on the front area so removed skin under the door side window. had floor rot running to left and right of door at the wall/floor junction. insulation showed no signs of damage (threw it out anyway) and the inside of the outside skin looked very nice. the "c" channel at the floor did have issues and the through bolt holding the floor was very rusted. no evidence of mice (guess that will come when the floor is taken up) but that fiberglass a/s used certainly gets into the air quickly.

next removed the fresh water port, front window trim, a little crank handle to the lower right of the front window (presumably controlled an antenna at one point in time. the worm gear was in the external housing). if anyone knows what kind of antenna was originally there would enjoy hearing about it. also had to remove the front lateral trim from the front streetside window and of course many rivets to release the lower front curved skin. also pleasantly surprised with the condition of the inside of the outside skin at this point as well. very surprised to see all of the wood screws holding down the floor at the front curve. the "c" channel was wedge cut to accommodate the curve and each tab created by the wedge cut had a wood screw holding it to the floor. will also post some close up pics of that area as well.

the p/o must have been po'd at the time a new police whip style antennat was installed on the front streetside curve section. looks like a sawsall was used to cut through the inner skin to open up a portal to run wire. not very professional looking job so will have to deal with that later.

at this stage of the project, planning on a front to back work schedule so will take up a front floor section just to see what the guts look like. so suggestion on another post re: attaching a centerline "beam" to that the interior floor replacement could be done in mirror matching sections. will just have to evaluate that for myself as i slowly get in over my head.

will post again soon with pics. thanks again for the encouragement. dave

[gutsgolf]

welcome dave, i am a new member also , only about 2 weeks. i have found this to be a great place to get information. hope i can provide some in the future. i have a 71 sovereign. if i can help you let me know.
richard

[CanoeStream]

Welcome to the Forums Dave! These projects are always long-winded and do bring doubts. I was halfway through my Argosy project when two herniated disks in my neck brought it to a halt. Therefore I did buy 'new' so as to get on the road right away, retire with ability to hit the road this last year, etc. But I have Vintage Envy and frequent thoughts of how to get back to the Argo project. I'll probably just sell it, but keep a strong eye out for something from the 60s....

I think you're referring to this thread on a two-piece front floor replacement. That technique was developed to suit the unique floor support in the A-frame area only. Be sure and do a good inspection of floor at the rear of your Airstream -- they always seem to lose the caulking seal back there. I still owe the Forums a neat trick on how to template an irregular contoured surface (promised to Jim & Susan how long ago now?). Hang in there -- share what you find, ask questions, and pictures are fabulous!

[65overlander]

thanx to all for the welcomes and encouragement. and to bob, i have found the back floor to be totally wasted. it has been removed and will be taken care of as part of my interior overhaul. regards, dave

[Chaplain Kent]

Welcome to the forums from just north of lake County, IL. I have this mental picture of changing an address from Vernon Hills, or Crystal Lake to Gravel Switch. I love the town names in Kentucky. Good luck on your project.

[65overlander]

chaplain kent, while crystal lake and vernon hills are definitely familiar, my old haunt was waukegan. we settled on gravel switch because we just couldn't see having chicken gizzard ridge as a return address. regards, dave