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59toaster · 01-01-2005, 06:30 PM

Well here it is Jan 1 2005. I thought it time I put this booger back together because it seems to be in the way of everything else.

The poor old gall has sat gutted for nearly 1.5 years and its guts fill half my garage.

I chose this forum because it covers the majority of what I will be doing with the rest of the interior restoration. There will be a section that will end up in electrical when I rewire but most of the next part will be restoring the cabinetry and reinstalling it.

The interior cabinetry is rough but complete. Since this coach has sentimental value to my wife it is her wish that it appear as it once did and visually be a restoration. So the cabinets will be retained were ever possible and anything that has to be replaced we will do our very best to make it appear as original components. The princess stove will be retained.

What wont be original is the sub systems. Plumbing will all be up to date. Gray tank will be installed just aft of the axle. Complete rewire to current standards. The goal is a brand new 1959 Caravanner.

Some background. In early 03 My wife and I inherited a 1959 Caravanner from My wife's fathers estate. Its been in her family since 1980. Once we got it home we found that it had some serious issues with rotten floor. It was decided the best course of action was to do a frame off. That is fully documented in this post.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...ead.php?t=6554

Shortly after the body was back on the frame I had some health problems that sidelined me for the first part of the next year (04). Late summer I started piddling around with it again but between My job going away and lack of cash flow it sort of stayed sidelined.

Managed to change positions within the same company and stay employed so now that I am not concerned about a job I can get back into this. Course the new position has suck hours (Retail sales) but looks like I may make a little more money then I was till I can find something better.

I always take the last week of the year off so I decided to put some time into it this week and get a plan of action.

Our first part of this part of the project is refinishing the walls. The interior had been painted twice over the years. First coat of white and second coat of baby blue.

It was not done very neat and the only thing we can do is strip it off.

First concern is we now have a new linoleum floor in the coach. It was put down before the shell was put on to form a envelope to hopefully protect the floor from any water getting too it. There is no removing it. I have been hesitant to use chemical strippers because of the enclosed area and the floor so I have been experimenting with other methods.

Or first attempt was a heat gun and putty knife. It gets a lot off and the two layers of paint over the Zolotone is about 1/16 of an inch thick. It became obvious that there is no way around using a chemical stripper because it doesn't get it all off. Scraping is not removing enough to get us to a suitably smooth surface to except a new coat of paint or zolotone. I don't want to use a power sander out of fear of taking the tops off the Rivets.

This is going to be a real time consuming task and the time of year is one of our worst enemy's. Seems paint striper's do next to nothing below 65 degrees. What we are finding is working the best is to use the heat gun to make a pass to scrape the top off without a chemical stripper. Then a coat of paint stripper warmed with the heat gun so it will do its thing. This is going to take a while.

Here are some pictures of our 59 as it sits today.

flyfshr · 01-01-2005, 08:39 PM

Toaster,
You guys are progressing nicely although it probably doesn't seem like it from your end. Looking good. Were ever able to get the end windows from the trailer in Colorado? I finally got my stuff and its all going to work out great.

FF

59toaster · 01-01-2005, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfshr

Toaster,
You guys are progressing nicely although it probably doesn't seem like it from your end. Looking good. Were ever able to get the end windows from the trailer in Colorado? I finally got my stuff and its all going to work out great.

FF

Got them but the windows in our coach are 1 inch taller on both and one is 1 inch wider.

I'm going to go talk to a custom camper top place up the road and see if they have a channel that is close and see if I can fabricate a frame.

Ken J · 01-05-2005, 04:04 PM

Toaster

I'm using a citrus stripper that seems to be working really well - supposed to be non-toxic although I will still wear a resperator.

Ken

flyfshr · 01-05-2005, 04:22 PM

Toaster,
I've located another set of front and rear windows that look like they're from a '59 Soveriegn. I should know more later this evening. What are the window sizes you need that are stamped on the missing Hehr window frames on your trailer? These aren't even red

FF

59toaster · 01-06-2005, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfshr

Toaster,
I've located another set of front and rear windows that look like they're from a '59 Soveriegn. I should know more later this evening. What are the window sizes you need that are stamped on the missing Hehr window frames on your trailer? These aren't even red

FF

YOU ARE THE MAN!

The windows are Hehr 1009 style. Front is a 2142 and the rear is a 2140. The 2142 is actually the size of the hole in the body. So 21 inches tall by 42 inches wide. There is a reveal line on the frame that you can measure and come up with that size.

The 60 that Trip picked up are actually a different style from our 59. They were close enough that you would really have top pay attention to notice they didn't match the rest. I know 58 was different also.

I think the CA and the OH factories were using two different styles.

Our coach is a OH and the one Trip pulled I bet is a CA.

The other thought is they only used them one year.

So at this point I'm exploring fabricating something if I can find the extrusions. I was going to take one of the windows out today (my one day off for the next 9) and take it up to the camper shell place and talk to them. Of course after 4 days of being stuck at work with sunny skies and 70 degrees it rains today.

I'd kiss ya if you found me the right ones and save me the trouble of making some.

flyfshr · 01-06-2005, 04:19 PM

Toaster -
There'll be no kissing, at least not in public anyway.

I'm still waiting to hear back on the style and sizes. I'll let you know when I do. Hopefully it will be on my home email when I get there later tonight.

FF

flyfshr · 01-06-2005, 06:03 PM

Here's the skinny on the windows. Both front and back are stamped Hehr 1009 1940 AE. There are also a couple of smaller windows labeled 1009 1924 A. I'll go and check mine 'cause I'll bet you don't know the stamped numbered size you need. I'll get back with you later tonight.

FF

59toaster · 01-06-2005, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfshr

Here's the skinny on the windows. Both front and back are stamped Hehr 1009 1940 AE. There are also a couple of smaller windows labeled 1009 1924 A. I'll go and check mine 'cause I'll bet you don't know the stamped numbered size you need. I'll get back with you later tonight.

FF

2140 and 2142 is the size we need.

flyfshr · 01-06-2005, 08:18 PM

Well, I should have known that you would know the sizes. Doesn't sound like these are going to work either. Dang it. I don't know how many more I'll come in contact with.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the idea that Ohio trailer windows were different from Calif. models. This is indeed a CA model.

Anyone else need these windows? They're outside of Bakersfield and won't last long.

FF

59toaster · 01-15-2005, 04:35 PM

Ohhh man this is taking FOREVER!
I did some experimenting
I finally found a way to make this work with the temps. I gave up on just heating and scraping. I kept scratching the metal and after a couple hours it was brutal on my wrist. I went with a coat of Chemical stripper. Temps are i in the 50's so its very slow to do anything. The trick is I have to warm it with the heat gun on low to get it to do anything productive. I can only work about square foot at a time.

The good news is it is not using nearly as much chemicals as I had feared it would. Still will take at least 2 passes to get it clean to metal on the large areas. 3-4 around rivets and seams. So far I have managed to do the center panel of the ceiling and down one side and removed the two coats of latex paint. I haven't touched the fiberglass end caps yet. That should be entertaining. They are a lot thinner then I had at first though.

I will have to remove the overheads for sure to clean them up. I hope to find they are 2024T3 Alcad. I think they might look interesting polished with the wood doors or do a CCD frosted door trick with back lights.

The scoop is concerning me. I had to remove it and its in terrible shape. I need to get the paint of it for sure before I can glass it. I am terrified the strippers will eat the plastic it is made out of.

I need to remove all the trim around the windows and overhead vents as well. Pulled the ceiling light and rewiring this in the ceiling is going to be a big time pain in the butt.

I'll update tomorrow with pictures of progress.

I want to get this down to clean metal and take a good look with the wife and decide on a finish.

59toaster · 01-15-2005, 04:37 PM

Give me thoughts on drilling the ribs to route the wires around the open walls that are already out instead of going through the ceiling. It would be a lot easier to do it that way but I have concerns.

Will I loose enough strength to be a concern?

59toaster · 05-28-2005, 09:51 PM

Time for a LONG over due update.

Spent another week working on it and actually made progress. Most of my wires are in. Most of the Blue paint is gone.

After stripping paint and cleaning up the skin we are starting to warm to the Idea of a 1959 CCD Caravanner. Paint the end caps silver. The pro's are it will never need paint again. Once the interior panels are mounted we will temporarily set all the interior cabinets back in and see what it looks like and make a decision then.

I actually put one of the lower panels in today. That felt great. its been out for nearly 2 years now. We left the Zolotone that had not been painted over that will be inside cabinets. The thought is that the raw aluminum might leave stains on clothing and fabrics.

59toaster · 05-28-2005, 10:26 PM

I elected to drill the lower ribs as little as I can. I was successful in fishing wires down to the floor though the inner end caps.

What I did is drilled any of the regular blind rivets down the center but left the bucked rivets holding the top three sheets together. I was able to drop down the inner panel enough to access where the factory wires are are ran the new wires along side them.

The original electrical had essential two circuits. One 110v and one 12v. There was no separation beyond that. What I did is left the factory wiring intact but only letting the overhead lighting stay on it. All the outlets have been run to new circuits. The reason for this is 40 years ago they didn't have Microwaves and high draw appliances. I found a nice small fuse box to replace the original. I will transfer the polarity wrong warning light to the new box.

I am running 12/2. Its over kill but right now the coach has a window A/C so I needed the better wire for that till we switch to roof. I also wanted the heavy wiring for the Curbside to handle the Reefer, TV and possibly the Microwave. Same deal at the Galley, Microwave may end up under the sink to hide it and then you also have Coffee pots maybe a slow cooker. So I just ran it all 12/2

The Circuits will now be as follows.

Overhead lighting
Curb side outlets
Street side galley outlets
Front outlets around Gaucho
Inteli-Power
Water heater
A/C prewire

I did the same with the 12V I ran a Future use 8 gage from front to the rear area where water heater and 110v fuse box is. I also ran 8 gage to the Curbside to handle a 3 way reefer if we get one. I will fuse separately.
12V circuits will be as follows.

AUX 8 gage front to rear unused at this point.
8 Gage to Curbside to handle Reefer. Will have 12v automotive Sony CD stereo on it and a 12v receptacle.
Pre wire for Winegard 10 gage
Galley counter lights 10 gage
Furnace blower
Galley Aux 12v receptacle
Gaucho 12v Receptacle.
Aux 10 gage left in ceiling unused near where Roof A/C will be located.

I may also put a fuse on each of the running light circuits to hopefully prevent total loose of lighting or blowing fuses in the Tow vehicle if something happens in the coach. I will also put a circuit breaker on the 12v Battery charge lead from the Tow Vehicle.

I wired for speakers as well. Ran a Coax from where the TV will be located to the storage compartment if we have Cable TV available where we stay.

59toaster · 05-28-2005, 10:34 PM

And after all the tedious pan in the butt wiring I was able to get a wall in. Its not riveted yet. Just held in with Celco's in case I find I need in the wall again when I meter everything out after the rest of the walls are in place.

While most of the upper walls are stripped of paint. The haze is just that. Its a little reside of Zolotone that wipes off fairly easy. You can see a few places where is clean.

I am using just regular old R13 wall bats. I am pealing them down to 1.5 inches in thickness.

59toaster · 07-03-2005, 08:56 AM

Update July 3 2005

Well I have not got much done since the last update. Took a week off to get some stuff done around here and on the coach. That got a little goofed up along the way. My Brother-in-law was stationed in Germany for a Year then A year in Iraq.

When he got sent to Iraq my Sister (his wife) came back and bought a house in Charlotte NC. Now god for bid the Army send their junk back. Their furniture and one vehicle sat In Germany for a year. Well he's out now and their possessions are slowly making it back to the states.

His Jeep wrangler that was in Germany made it to Atlanta (they would not send it to Charlotte) Thursday and it had SERIOUS problems. It lost a water pump while in Germany and since that time it was undrivable due to over heating. He managed to get it here and after 2 days of solid work we finally figured out that the German mechanics put a reverse rotation water pump on it. So I lost a couple days helping them out but thats OK. It was good to spend time with them even over a busted Jeep in my Driveway.

Spent a little time doing some work in the house that got some stuff that ended up being stored in the coach installed and out of my way. Few other project that needed wrapping up as well.

I have been doing is prep for the next wall to go in. Seems when the original Reefer was accidentally executed a second access panel was added to the side for the new reefer. Side was chewed up around the opening pretty good. The new panel was not installed very well and the wall was wavy from lack of bracing or bracing that slipped during installation and was left that way. So a few ours of making the hole the correct size and cleaning up that mes I was able to install a new brace and install the access panel square and flush to the body.

So depending on what we do for the 4th I may actually get two walls into the coach. Once this wall is in I can put the wardrobe and reefer in the coach and clear some space in the garage.

Ken J · 07-03-2005, 09:05 AM

Life does happen while we are rebuilding these trialers - oh well (sigh) - I have to stop working on mine too because we are moving...... really want to get it done - but things do get in the way.......

Ken

ALANSD · 07-03-2005, 10:25 AM

the Jeep was for sure a priority. Glad to see your updates, we look foward to seeing you all at a local forums rally sometime soon!

59toaster · 07-03-2005, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALANSD

the Jeep was for sure a priority. Glad to see your updates, we look foward to seeing you all at a local forums rally sometime soon!

I'm looking forward to making a rally WITH the coach because that will mean I am somewhat done with it!

You see we have a new member in our area?
http://www.airforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=17197

59toaster · 07-24-2005, 11:04 PM

All right I got some time to work on it....Sure was nice with the 97 degree heat index! Breaks often and I must have drank 2 gallons of water.

I did make head way today none the less. Curbside lower wall is in the coach with Cleco's! Again I don't want to rivet till I make sure my wiring checks out.

Played with ways to finish the Aluminum. I actually sanded it today in one direction to get a good grain and make it all look consistent. Hid scratches from stripping as well as scratches I found once I got it to bare metal. Really warming to the CCD look. Once I get the wires wrapped up I plan to load the cabinets in it temporarily and then Chili and I will take a good hard look at it and decide if we want to paint or not.