Good morning fellow Streamers
As a newbie I'd like to say thanks for the warm welcomes I've received from various members.
We're not only new to this site but also brand new and wet behind the ears to trailer life - sooo glad I found the Air Forums site with all its great advice.
I was at an antique car show in June admiring an incredible
1956 Pontiac with matching colours slab-front style trailer. In the course of our chat the owner mentioned he had a restored Airstream for sale, and that it was painted the same colours as his Pontiac. He was selling the Airstream because it was a 1977, so didn't match the year of his
1956 Pontiac t/v. In my mind I was thinking "who in their right mind would paint over a gorgeous shiny aluminum Airstream???" He must have sensed my confusion as he went on to explain that it was an Airstream Argosy, and that it came painted from the factory.
The PO is an auto body mechanic. He fully restored the exterior, including installing a new aluminum belly pan and belly insulation, and polished the aluminum propane tanks. The body was repainted bright white/clearcoat with metallic blue trim - looks gorgeous without appearing garish. In view of her colours we've christened her the Blue Plate Special (for you youngsters, look up the name on Wikipedia). Pictures to follow.
The PO also installed a new axle, brakes, tires, hot water heater and tank, current converter, and refurbished the other systems. On the front he cobbled up chrome, curved checkerplate stone guards, to protect the body underneath the curved windows. The curved windows have very small chips in the Herculean glass. Given their rarity I'm going to make up snap-on travel covers for the front windows.
Apart from new upholstery and curtains throughout, the rest of the interior looks tired and will require refreshing.
As new traileristas, we appreciate the fact that she is a single axle 20 ft long Minuet Six Metre, six inches narrower than the usual 7' 6" - should be easier to learn on in terms of trailer pulling.
Had I known about Air Forums I would have checked on pricing prior to purchasing. At $10K CDN I, and especially She Who Must Be Obeyed, were concerned we had paid too much. However, after seeing the money that can be spent on body work and painting a trailer, plus the new parts the PO installed recently, I'm content we're getting reasonable value for the price. Besides, we always spend more for our toys, don't we? It'll be worth the many miles of smiles.
Looking forward to meeting many of you on the open road.
Remember to keep the shiny side up,
Will
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