If you can find one, the older ones have a larger base to connect to the trailer. The one I bought to replace the original (ok, not the base plate and 1/2 of the pivot ball) had a pretty small base. The replacement spring wasn't as stiff as the original, so the antenna flexes a bit more than I really want, but it does have an amplifying coil.
__________________ Mark
72 Sovereign: L couch, mid-twin, rear-bath
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it"
"It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much."
"If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else." - Yogi Berra
My 63 has a hole hacked in the skin right there that looks like was done by use of a tomahawk. My fist fits into it easily....
Over this hole is a riveted aluminum plate, which holds the antenna base. Does not look like factory, but might be. Other access holes on the inside of the trailer have the same careless features...like my refrigerator roof vent hole.
I made a new plate from 032 skin material, and will mount this once the polishing is done. The plate gets polished as well. Should look nice when it's done.
Uwe, I went back and looked a your original photos of the '63.I can see what you mean.I really wanted to replace that panel but not available and the sheet metal folks at work said it would be near impossible to roll one with equipment we have at work.I really want to move this project along and the radio antenna with the coil base is very common on older units so may be a quick fix that still looks good.
Greg and Uwe -
I had the same thing but with a slight variation. My unit originally had the two mount radio antenna. That was removed and a patch with pop rivets installed with the base of one of those coil mount CB antennas but only the plastic base. i found a new one of the coil base type radio antennas at Radio Shack to replace the one on the trailer. Guess I'll have to live with the patch.
Got the inner door done yesterday.Today I cut the main door and installed the inner door.Got my new cyclo polisher so had to give it a try.The door is made from a sheet of .040" 2024-t3 that I got from the recycler so had to carefully cut around the scratches.When i was compounding there was a glue residue that would clog the pads and render them useless after one pass.Cycloed with a rag and F7.Kept moving the rag and it got things clean.Finished off with a pass with Nuvite A. I will give it another go later but looks great now.I bought 10 sheets from the recycler so far at about $48 US per sheet average.Thats less than the tax here on a new sheet.
Now that all the big exterior aluminum is replaced it is time to go back and clean up the details before installing the interior.The first piece I want to install is the front end cap(mostly to get that huge thing out of my way). I have a few details to fix like the antenna hole before the cap can go in.
Last winter there was a huge leak along the front left seam of the forward end cap to the upper streetside sheet.This is the one large panel I did not replace and also the one seam I did not redo.Started to drill out rivets and look what I found(see photo).This was done at the factory (must have been a Friday afternoon).Glad I decided to rerivet and not just edge seal the seam.
I've been following your progress, and it looks amazing! Your abilities and access to metal fabrication resources at work has me green with envy. When you say that you can't roll certain items at work, are you referring to compound curves? I would like to install new banana wraps on my trailer (badly rock damaged), but was hoping that I could have a local shop fabricate them rather than ordering from an Airstream source. Your advice is appreciated.
The panels with compound curves must be done on an english wheel.The sheet metal workers I work with do not get much experience on it as the large transport aircraft we work on are mostly simple curves.I saw them go through a couple of sheets to get one panel to fit a 737 below the cockpit window.The front panels on my trailer have more curve than that and would be more difficult to form.It would also be best to have the english wheel right beside the trailer to check fit.I may just build an english wheel when I retire and revisit those end caps.
The banana wraps on your trailer are a little beyond the english wheel.They are available in plastic from Inland RV.To make them you would have to make a form block out of wood then form some condition O (thats soft) aluminum.The piece could be heat treated after to harden.
great job! i'm about to embark on a major skin replacement as well on my 18 footer. a lot less riveting, at least! anyway, unless i skimmed over it somewhere in your post, did you state what type of aluminum you used? plain panels or alcalad (sp?) i know my 59 had the latter, and from what i've read, the thin coating of bare aluminum shines up a little nicer than the plain aluminum panels. my problem is that my trailer was sanded by a previous owner, who apparently was sanding off THEIR previous owner's exterior PAINT! (ug!) since it's been sanded, i assume the thin coat of pure aluminum is long gone, and that being the case, i guess i should use the plain aluminum panels? there is NO WAY i'm going to redo the end caps!
is the difference at all noticeable, or am i just worrying about nothing?
jordan
Yes I have been using alclad.I sanded at first in some spots to experiment in scratch removal (big mistake).The spots with no alclad shine up the same but will loose lustre faster. Do not use non alclad aluminum as it will corrode faster.I used 2024-t3 alclad.The original skin was .032# but Andy suggested using .040" and I found it much easier to work with.Also use Vulkem not sikaflex as it has a much longer curing time.The sikaflex dries in about an hour great for production but lousy for someone as slow as me.You want the sealant wet when the rivets go in.
Greg, on your 9/5/04 pictures it seems that you used tape between the panels and around the window. I saw a posting where Andy mentioned the tape technique. I just can't figure out how to use the tape in replacing panels. Could you explain it in greater detail. Thanks
I may just build an english wheel when I retire and revisit those end caps.
I've enjoyed the heck out of watching this project from a safe distance! Watching is the key word! Have you ever checked ebay for an english wheel? Or maybe an industrial salvage company?
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anyway, unless i skimmed over it somewhere in your post, did you state what type of aluminum you used? plain panels or alcalad (sp?) i know my 59 had the latter, and from what i've read, the thin coating of bare aluminum shines up a little nicer than the plain aluminum panels. my problem is that my trailer was sanded by a previous owner, who apparently was sanding off THEIR previous owner's exterior PAINT! (ug!) since it's been sanded, i assume the thin coat of pure aluminum is long gone, and that being the case, i guess i should use the plain aluminum panels? there is NO WAY i'm going to redo the end caps!
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