Where do I start with my '73 Ambassador

[santina]

Hello everyone. We're excited about our new 1973 ambassador airstream. We don't know where to start. We could save significant cost by stripping it down ourselves replacing insulation and electrical.



we need help thanks for your input

[santina]

Need advice on where to start with my 73 ambassador. we like to tear down ourselves but how do we do that?

[J. Morgan]

Start by taking out screws and drilling rivets, taking care with anything you want to save or reuse.

It is a little bit of a PITA, but not hard overall.

[J. Morgan]

IMHO that roof SHOULD look more like this in a few months....



Less than a year ago my 72 Sovereign was a well used stock trailer.

Your interior looks rough, but what that offers you is complete freedom to make your trailer less of what was sold over 40 years ago, and more of what you want it to be.

Start with an empty shell, strip the interior to every last rivet and every stitch of insulation.

Plan out what you want and where you want your fixtures, etc ., and just do it and don't look back.


Or..... Bring it to my shop and we can work something out.

I would love to build another Airstream. Mine was my favorite all time vehicle rebuild.

[aquinob]

Welcome aboard, but not really sure what to tell you? Looks like somebody was less than kind to this trailer with these "Mods". What is your intention, to do all the work yourself or pay somebody to do it? Maybe if you could post some more pics of the current state of the interior then we could help a bit more. From what I can see you have quite a bit of work to pull down all the crap and start fresh. The plastic end cap is gone, you could replace it with aluminum sections, that is what I would contemplate.

[J. Morgan]

Perhaps a bit of inspiration here if my work is similar to your vision.

I started my initial build in March of last year and finished it well enough to make a one thousand mile one way trip in July. I changed some inside stuff and polished and worked on the outside for about two months after the trip.

It can be done fairly quickly if you are motivated.

[santina]

J. Morgan thanks for the input, this definitely gives us vision. So how do we remove the rivets. Does teardown and removal of appliances, countertops, etc. affect the structural integrity (i.e any bracing needed).

[santina]

What material is that by the way?

[J. Morgan]

The rivets are mostly 1/8 " pop rivets with a few 3/16" pop rivets thrown in here and there.

You can drill clean through these rivets with the same size drill bits but I mostly used a 3/16" bit and a 1/4" bit to quickly remove the heads.

Some rivets will require a sharp chisel to shear them off.

The trailer will be strong enough to work on even with everything stripped out, but the inner aluminum sheets do add structure to the trailer. No bracing is needed, it is pretty stout even as an empty shell.

The inside of my trailer is covered with 1/4" birch plywood. It is placed over top of the aluminum interior sheet sheathing.

[J. Morgan]

Disassembly is pretty straight forward, for the most part it is the removal of rivets, hundreds of rivets.

You and a helper should be able to strip to the bare walls in about a day or two.

You will likely find some floor rot around the front perimeter under the windows and floor rot in the bath.

I used a full sheet of plywood in the bath, and most of a second sheet piecing in around the front. This is all an easy fix.

[santina]

Thanks so much. I have some time tomorrow to look at it. Removal of rivets sounds easy, but time consuming. No problem. Hopefully we can keep in touch and you can guide me through this first stage. Question: why did you cover the aluminum with wood? Is it hard to re-skin for a DYIer like myself?I will tackle the disassembly this week and send more pictures.

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by santina

Need advice on where to start with my 73 ambassador. we like to tear down ourselves but how do we do that?


Attachment 206774

The interior skins are held in place with 1/8" rivets, so use a 1/8" drill to remove them. This will allow you to reinstall the original skins without much difficulty. It is a time consuming & filthy job, but not too difficult. You might want to check out The Vintage Airstream Podcast | Vintage Trailer Restoration for more details as all of this has been covered numerous times.
Good luck with your project,
Colin

[santina]

That sounds easy enough. How do I tackle removing the appliances and cabinets?

[santina]

Everything is riveted in? Once I am bare including removal of insulation, what's next? It has vinyl floors.

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by santina

That sounds easy enough. How do I tackle removing the appliances and cabinets?Attachment 206788

Just remove the screws & rivets, nothing secret there.
Colin

[santina]

Great I'm excited about starting from a clean slate. So I can strip everything out including the insulation?

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by santina

Everything is riveted in? Once I am bare including removal of insulation, what's next? It has vinyl floors.

Peel the flooring back & check all of the perimeter plywood, as you WILL find rot. Do not attempt a fudge fix with epoxy as it will not repair the root problem. Removing the plywood & replacing it is the only way to go & since the interior skins are already out, you'll have access to the top of the bolts. You'll then have to remove the bellypan in order to gain access to the bottom of the bolts.
Colin

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by santina

Great I'm excited about starting from a clean slate. So I can strip everything out including the insulation?

Yup, but wear a mask
Colin

[santina]

I will start with removing the walls, appliances first. I wanted to also replace the electrical, so when I strip the walls and I see a mess of wires, do I just cut them out? I assume they will be in the way.

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by santina

I will start with removing the walls, appliances first. I wanted to also replace the electrical, so when I strip the walls and I see a mess of wires, do I just cut them out? I assume they will be in the way.

It depends what your plans are for layout. The wiring in the era is good, but may not meet your restoration/refurb direction.
Colin