1946 Spartan Manor

[DavidsonOverlander]

We just picked up this 1946 Spartan Manor in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The exterior is in pretty good condition. The rear panels look great, but there are a few dents and scratches on the front. The interior is partially there, but there's a lot of water damage. The original stove, fridge, and bathroom are there. The front plexiglass windows show a lot of crazing as would be expected for being 65 years old, but the rest of the glass is good.

The trailer had been sitting on a property where it was used as a cabin for decades, which explains the chimney on the top and metal siding inside where the wood stove had been added.

I towed it about 40 miles to a friend's house where we replaced the old wheels. I was amazed to find that the brakes worked once I ran new wire to them. I didn't even try the lights, but strung temporary lights on the back.

The serial number is 2546-369, which I believe indicates 25 feet long, built in 1946, and the 369th unit built. 1946 was the first year of production for Spartan. Is there any record of the oldest Spartan still around?

This will be a big project which I probably won't get to for a few years, but the owner was advertising it as a hunting camp and speculating on it's value for scrap, so at least now I know that it's not destined for the scrap heap.

[Silverwanabe]

Looks like a fun project.
You should see how great the skin shines when it is polished.

Congrats

[oh2bcarefree]

I think those are awesome trailers - they are beautiful and I adore those front windows - the curves are great!! I've always had a fondness for the spartanettes, much more manageable than their bigger sister -the spartan. Dan at Vintage Campers in Peru, Indiana has lots of spartan parts and windows so when you are ready, check out his site of items. His collection is cool too. www.vintagecampers.com

Good luck, it will be hard to resist the urge to tinker with it.

Tina

PS - if you aren't storing it inside, you may want to reseal the seams and stop the flow of water to the inside, but I am sure you know that. :-)

[VIKING]

That is awesome. Thanks for saving it.
Rich the Viking

[TouringDan]

Glad that you found it and it will be saved from the scrap heap. At 25 ft, it will be much easier to tow than the typically longer Spartan trailers. There was a beautifully restored Spartan at the 2011 Georgia Spring Fest. I will post pictures when I get home in a couple of days.

Dan

[SmokelessJoe]

Grant! What's next!!

You're going to have to organize a family barn building bee and erect a big shed or a large pole barn for this growing collection.

I saw the Spartenette belonging to David and Julie Felver at the same North Georgia gathering last April that Touring Dan spoke about.

It was really beautiful. You may want to make contact with them so here's a link:

Felver Design Sign Studio - 1952 Royal Spartanette

Congratulations


Sergei

[Eric H]

It's funny to see this post, as I'm going to check out the exact same year and model this Sat as yours (and hopefully buy it:-). Yours is the 25' I'm almost certain. I've been looking for this model for a while and I'm super excited. I love my Safari, but I have to admit that I like the look of the Spartans even more (sacrilegious I know:-). I like the look of the recessed wheels and the deco style. Anyway, more pics would be great to see. Vintage Campers is a great place to check out on the web. Congrats.

[DavidsonOverlander]

Here's a little more to the story. When I went to look at the trailer I couldn't find the serial number, mainly because I didn't know where to look. I was thinking it would be on the outside near the door like on an Airstrem. After looking at the trailer I returned home and did some research and found that the serial number plate should be on the inside of the curb-side door frame. Since the trailer was 4 hours away it wasn't practical to look for it myself, but I asked the owner to look for me. He was unable to find it. When I went to pick the trailer up we were able to find it, but I can understand how he could miss it as it's quite small.

The other problem was that the seller had no title. I knew that I would need something more than just a bill of sale to import the trailer into Canada and register it in Ontario. Getting a title in New York with no existing paper work was going to be complicated (if not impossible), but I learned that Maine allows trailers to be registered by out-of-state owners, they don't require an inspection and have no requirement of a title for trailers more than 15 years old. Through the Staab Agency I was able to obtain a Maine plate and registration. Dealing with the missing serial number and lack of paper work was a bit of a hassle, but it did give me leverage for getting a better price.

For the past 3 weeks the trailer has been in storage at an RV park just over the border near Niagara Falls, NY. Today with the new paperwork and plate in hand we went and picked it up and brought it home. I had a bad moment at the border when the customs agent looked up requirements for licensing a trailer in Maine and told me that I was supposed to have a title in addition to the registration, but he took my word for it when I told him that a title wasn't required after 15 years.

I'll still need to obtain a license in Ontario as the Maine plate won't be legal for use here, but now that I have the paper work there shouldn't be any problems.

[Aage]

WTG, Grant! The herd grows steadily.

So glad you saved that TT, the Spartons are such a classic look, and with that shape, it should turn out to be a roomy interior once you get it cleaned up.

[aircooled4]

Very nice! I love the shape of the front and back...the curved glass is quite cool! (about 30 yrs ago i had a friend that full-timed in one while his house was being built)

[Tucumcari]

There was an estate sale at "Balsters" in Scotch Grove the middle of September. At that time, there was a 1949 Spartan that looked like in premire condition. The son is an attorney in Monticello and if interested, one might call and see if it was sold yet. When I saw it, there was still a "for sale" sign and that was after the main sale.

[Silverhobby]

I had to take a second look because your first picture looks so much like my 1946 Spartan Manor. Does your trailer have the fender skirts?

[DavidsonOverlander]

Originally Posted by Silverhobby

I had to take a second look because your first picture looks so much like my 1946 Spartan Manor. Does your trailer have the fender skirts?

I have the fender skirts. What's unusual is that they are not attached the same way on both sides. On the curb side the skirt slides up under the skin and is attached by a bolt at each side (front and back) near the bottom. On the street side there are fasteners around the curve of the skirt. I'll try to post photos to show the difference.

No idea why they'd be different. Maybe they were in the middle of switching from one system to another.

Grant

[LittleJohn]

We Also have a 1946 Manor. #800 and something. We call it Little John because the 1949 R. Mansion we also have is 33’ named, you guessed it, Long John. They are truly extraordinary. Anyway, I wondered if anyone knows of a good and reasonable source for new lovely, curved, front windows and the gasket to install them. The previous owner did a bit of a hack job and I would like to correct it.

We have done much in the restoring of this old guy but really it was in pretty good nick from the start as it was parked for almost all of it’s 73 years of life. As we do stuff in it, I am reminded of the soldiers that came home from the war (back to Tulsa anyway) and began pulling rivet, nail, and screw gun triggers instead of M-1’s. I also notice a huge improvement in the quality of woodworking from 1946 to 1949. Anyway, windows and gasket please.

[DavidsonOverlander]

I haven't done any work on our 1946 Spartan yet, but I see that Vintage Trailer Supply has the front windows for it. It doesn't say what they're made of, but I'll probably see about sourcing them locally from polycarbonate as I think the price will be a lot less.

[LittleJohn]

Thanks, I’ll do a little local searching.

[aliceblois]

Hi there. We have recently discovered that our old Spartan trailer is something of interest to people who restore trailers. We are going to have to remove it from our property in about a year from now. How would we go about selling it or finding someone to at least haul it off for us? It would be great to see it go to someone who would restore it. I'm new to these forums, so sorry if I'm asking something that should be obvious.

[PaulnGina]

I LOVE Spartans!! They were built in my hometown....Tulsa, OK!!!! Not far from where I grew up.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by aliceblois

Hi there. We have recently discovered that our old Spartan trailer is something of interest to people who restore trailers. We are going to have to remove it from our property in about a year from now. How would we go about selling it or finding someone to at least haul it off for us? It would be great to see it go to someone who would restore it. I'm new to these forums, so sorry if I'm asking something that should be obvious.

Welcome to the forum!

The sister "Classifieds" site can be reached via the grey tab at the top above.

https://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/

Your user ID and password should allow you to post there, but you will have to log in again. The search function at the top left works fairly well IMO. There is a category for "Other Collectible Aluminum Trailers" which may be of interest.

https://www.airstreamclassifieds.com...n-airstream-37

FYI the search function here, in the blue box above [using the desktop version of this site], also works well. Here are some "Spartan Manor" search results FYI:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Spar...=airforums.com

Good luck,