Newbie starting '64 Overlander restoration...

[TennTex]

Really nice work on this thread; congratulations on the shell touchdown. We'd love to see the finished trailer sometime, since you're just a stone's throw north. Might cross paths at LBL someday.

Have fun,
Alan

[sophie18]

Welcome to the forums

[PaducahCat]

Havent posted in awhile but I have made alot of strides. Got the shell riveted back to the frame. Tore out all the remaining old wiring. Sealed all the seams on the inside with trempro 635. Sealed up the water heater and furnace inlets temporarily for weatherproofing. Put all new weatherstripping around the door and sealed the vent holes on the roof and where the marker light wires come thru with aluminum duct tape. Took all the windows out of the frames and cleaned them and put new butyl tape, new glazing strips and bought all new tinted glass as well. I even bought tinted glass for the jalousie windows. I've bought new vent covers for the refrigerator and stovebut havent installed them just yet. I also bought some nuvite polish to clean and polish around the marker lights begore I install them. I must say thats some pretty awesome stuff. I'm fixin to get some new wheels and tires as well. One thing at a time, lol.

[dbj216]

My you have made good progress since "shell touchdown". Keep it up and it won't be long before you're camping somewhere with your family.

David

[PaducahCat]

Put all the marker lights on and started some polishing. I have so much to do inside I decided to take a break from that and see how shiny I can get it.

[dbj216]

Polishing is so time consuming, but a worthwhile improvement. Making old aluminum look new again is fun in a strange way. I believe it adds value to your trailer, like about $100 a foot when polished. Keep track of your approximate hours spent polishing your Overlander. I'm curious.

What method are you using to polish your trailer? Wet sand first? Cotton buffers, or wool pads? I have about 160 hours in my 24' Trade Wind. I elected to use cotton buffers with Jestco gray polish. It may be faster, but I was not pleased with the result.

David

[PaducahCat]

Hey DBJ216! I am currently using Nuvite G9 polish with wool twisted buffing pads. I ordered a pound and getting close to using it all up. I do have some 3M rubbing compound that I'm gonna try when I get finished. Just to give you an idea on time, I have polished both end caps and probly have about 16 hours put in so far.

[dbj216]

I think G9 is good. Nuvite was out of product for quite a while as I understand they moved their factory. This is one reason why I tried the Jestco buffing kit. I did my 86 Limited with Nuvite with pretty good results. I did not have good results with the Jestco method. Live and learn.

You're going to have one sweet Airstream for your family when you're done. Do not expect to travel incognito, it will draw attention!

David

[PaducahCat]

I've had a little time to work on the trailer. I took the old tail lights and sandblasted and painted them and riveted the sockets back on the fixtures. Bought some new lenses as well. Gonna try and put them on tomorrow barring bad weather.

[PaducahCat]

Forgot to add I bought a new refrigerator vent cover and a stove hood vent. Painted them with rustoleum. Turned out pretty good. When I took the old one I realized why I was having to keep a bucket in the trailer to catch the water! That thing was destroyed!. Also didn't like how the sheet metal looked that forms the hole in the ceiling for the fridge vent so I made a new one and installed it all today.
On a separate note, found several leaks where the window attaches to the shell itself. It was either take all the windows out or caulk around them all. That would have been several hundred rivets to drill out and replace so I decided to caulk them all with trempro 635. They haven't leaked since.

[PaducahCat]

Dang, one last thing. I did get some new wheels and tires as well. Here's some before and after pics. What do you think? I love em!

[dbj216]

paducah cat is back! Yes, your new wheels look great. Your Overlander has sure come a long ways from day 1. Is it ready for traveling yet?

David

[PaducahCat]

Well David...I took it for a spin a couple of days ago just to check out the new shoes and it pulled like a dream. Of course it's completely empty on the inside lol. Seriously just wanted to make sure new axles, wheels, and tires were operating properly. I've been trying to stop any and all leaks before weather gets bad and before I start doing anything on the interior. Today I put weather stripping on all the compartment doors. Also started working on the Airstream emblems that are on the front and back of the trailer. Hope to get those painted and back on by next week. Thanks for checkin on me. I'll try to update a little more often but had a crazy summer with the 2 girls playing softball and we did alot of camping as well.
TTYS!
Brandon

[dbj216]

Family first! Someday you can take your family traveling in your new Overlander. It's a worthwhile goal.

You might like to try a pressurized leak test. It is fairly easy to do. I rented a high volume "floor dry fan" and taped it to one of my cargo storage openings. I taped up the fridge vent opening and turned on the fan. Then I brush soapy solution on all the window and segment seams and looked for bubbles. I found seven leak paths this way.

I'll repeat the test this winter in the shop. It is easier to focus on the actual leak paths than trying to "seal up everything". A day well spent.

David

PS My wheels ain't as neat as yours.

[PaducahCat]

Finally got a decent day so I put my refurbished Airstream emblems back in the trailer. What do you guys think of red instead of blue? I like to be a little different. Lol!

[PaducahCat]

Thanks to reinergirl for the great ideas to repaint the emblems!

[Hittenstiehl]

I like the red. Make it how YOU like it

[dbj216]

Hi PaducahCat, Happy New Year.

I think the red emblem looks terrific. Good choice.

David

[SonOfAnder]

I am liking the red look too!