1971 T-28 Avion turned coffee shop

[Rideout]

Hi folks. I've been asked by a friend of mine who currently operates a small, drive-thru coffee shop out of an 18' 1950-something Airstream to take on the project of converting an already-gutted Avion into the same as a potential replacement. After a general once-over, he and I have decided to remove the flooring and subfloor, address any frame issues and proceed from there with whatever else pops up.

Well, as of today I've removed about 95% of all the subflooring. Some of the frame pieces that attach to the walls are a bit decrepit. The Avion is in a large building, but unlike most of these fantastic rebuilds where they provide lovely photos of what appears people with very deep pockets, we'll be doing this on one very tight budget. I do have photos of this daunting task and will post them in the next few days.

I'm hoping to garner a good bit of interest from some of the members here, as I've read many posts written by some very knowledgeable and very helpful members of this forum. Looking forward to any and all comments, even if some of them contain phrases such as "You don't know what you're doing!" I can take it.

Rex

[Rideout]

Hi again. Still cleaning up the mess that was the floor. In the meantime I thought I'd share a photo or two of the mess I have made.

[Rideout]

She isn't in too bad a shape.

[atheos]

I have nothing useful to add, but that does look like a cool trailer!

[NJtoNC]

id be interested to see the floor to shell attachment.in an airstream, the subfloor sits on the frame, and theres a C channel on top of the floor and the body attaches to the C channel. So to put a new floor in an airstream you need to slip the sub floor under the C channel or take the frame off.

could you take a close up photo of the floor/ frame / body area?

I'm about to get an Avion with no floor and I'm wondering if the avion is assembled the same ay.

You might not get a lot of enthusiasm here b/c i think folks on the forums aren't too thrilled about seeing a vintage trailer tuned into a coffee shop / cafe/ traveling showroom / etc.

Personally I'd rather see the avion get the chop than an airstream though

[Rideout]

NJtoNC,

I have almost all of the flooring removed, but I will take some photos to give you a better idea.

The flooring slides under in interior skin and there is no C channel involved.

Shame about the limited enthusiasm regarding the coffee shop. My friend already has one that has been serving locally roasted coffee for about 6 years now and people here love it. It was nowhere near a high dollar rebuild, but every morning there are at least 6 vehicles in line on each side getting their morning fix. Some people like to haul their campers around and actually camp in them while others like to use them to support their family. To me, either way is good use of a great item.

Atheos,
Thank you for your comment. I'm hoping.

[Rideout]

I'd like to readdress the cause for turning this Avion into a drive-thru coffee shop.

When my friend bought this Avion, there was not one piece of original furniture sitting on the floor. No bathroom appliances, no gauchos, cabinets, nothing. All had been removed and relocated to God knows where. What was left inside were three overhead storage compartments. So in essence, we really had no hope of restoring this to original condition. I will say that this fact made it much easier to get the flooring out. Hehe.

With that in mind, I'd like to continue by saying I am not very far away from the stage where the frame needs its issues addressed. I've seen only minor rust mainly on the outriggers. I know I need to level up the frame before I have my welder weld on new ones, but this thing has a full belly pan. Someone please tell me that it isn't really necessary to remove it, in whole or in part, to shore up the frame. I'll do it if I must, but it seems very daunting. Thanks.

[SeeMore]

Can't add insight into belly off work, but can add that there are many who find your project of interest. Yes, most here are travelers with a focus elsewhere but that does not include all. Watch the "viewed" number to measure interest. We have gawkers who appreciate your enthusiasm, tribulations, and victories. Keeping iconic aluminum in service and away from the scrap yard is treasured by all.

[ventport]

My 64 Avion was built much like an AS with a C channel, and the floor between the shell and the frame. With the floor removed from your Avion, has the shell dropped down onto the frame? I think you may be mistaken in thinking that the floor buts the walls. I believe that the floor goes under the walls and the shell sits on top of the floor. Please post some pictures of how the shell is connected to the frame. Good luck, Brian.

[Rideout]

Seemore,

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I'm sure it takes some time for some gawkers' interest to be piqued enough to add to the conversation. I'm also happy to see the "viewed" number gradually rising.

Ventport,
The shell has not dropped.... yet. The top and bottom pieces of plywood both ran up to the outer shell and straddled what I am going to call a wooden runner which ran along the whole perimeter of the shell. This runner was tied in from every side imaginable, and except for the really rotten pieces where there was substantial water damage, was a beast to remove. I'm not worried enough to place some similar thickness blocks here and there for "support". Yes, I mis-spoke about the floor butting up against the walls. Definitely ran under. Taking some photos later today and will post.

thanks again for your comments.

[NJtoNC]

rideout,
i actually love the idea of a avion coffee shop. I think there are a number of instances where folks have ripped apart perfect or near perfect condition rare trailers and that is where there is "limited enthusiasm". I'm so glad to see you have found one that was already in bad shape. And an Avion .

Thanks for reporting on the walls to floor connection. I will be picking up ours (that has NO floor at all) his weekend sometime. I'll report back too.

I read an old brochure for an avion and i was impressed to see they had spray foam insulation in the walls. Did yours have that? I think it's much more sensible (closed-cell Spray foam) than the fiberglass in airstreams.

[eljay]

Very exciting project! I hope that you'll keep posting. I'm a peeper. Look in, see what you're up to and then pop back out. Keep up with the pics. We all love photos. Nice work space by the way.

[Rideout]

NJtoNC,

Photo 1 - That piece of wood runs along the perimeter of the floor. Secured by screws every 8 inches or so that also holds the trim on the outside. Also there are elevator bolts tying it to the frame at the end of the outrigger. And in some places you will find some wretched twist nails coming in from the outer shell, but not visible standing outside of the trailer. I need to look deeper into that mystery.



Photo 2 - This would be one of your four curves in the flooring. Apparently they well berserk with the twist nails. Thanks to the powers that be these spots were mostly rotted.



Photo 3 - This is what you'll find with all of the sub-floor removed. No C channel to speak of.



Photo 4 - Here is a view of where the sub-floor met with the fender wells.


I had written a much longer and more detailed post earlier today, inserted the photos and accidentally closed the browser. I will gladly answer any additional questions you have about the sub-floor.

eljay,

Here are a couple photos for you as well.

[Rideout]

Yes, a bit of a lull, but progress nonetheless, albeit sluggish. Yesterday I had the helping hands of the owner. We took out the roof A/C, skylight and the two roof fans. Goodness, she is a grimy gal, though. We spent more time discussing her cosmetic appeal. After pouring through Bob Thompson's thread on painting, which looks wonderful Bob, I have pretty much convinced him that is the way to go. Color is still up in the air. He wants it military black (while painting the roof as white as white can possibly be obtained) while I'd like to keep with the silvery effect. And then there was the mural idea... Since it's his Avion, I can only offer input.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has followed in Bob's footsteps since he painted his and if there are any new revelations/developments in the art. I am on hold while the owner rounds up an electrician and welder, so I figure I can at least keep moving on some of the more mundane tasks. Today she's getting a sponge bath and I'm going to round up some wet/dry 220 grit sandpaper and potentially start prepping her hide for primer adhesion. I did catch where Bob stated he'd skip the aluminum cleaner and alodine steps and being that she's anodized and Bob's A/S wasn't seems all the more reason to not fiddle with the anodized coating any more than I have to. Logical?

[Rideout]

Well today was fun! I managed to thoroughly clean the street side from about eye level down to the belly pan with a scotchbrite pad, a 220 grit sanding pad and two versions of degreaser. The anodized coating came off in some places and clung stubbornly in others. No matter as the decision to paint has already been made.

She's been officially named Sadie after my girlfriend's Pug who passed away recently. I think it's fitting. So I have my process down of cleaning, which is more than tedious, but must go on nonetheless. Tomorrow I hope to wrap around the rest of her with the eye-level down process whilst checking inside for potential leaks.

Thanks to all who've been viewing and as things are rather ho-hum at the moment with what's being done, I won't expect many comments as I am merely getting acquainted with the old dirty gal.

[Rideout]

Hi all. I have to check for leaks on this Avion. From what I've read thus far, it is best to start near the bottom outside (with someone inside) and work my way around the shell dousing with water, then once around, move up and repeat. It's still sitting in that building, so I'm not really able to use streaming water from a garden hose, so I'm just going to use a five gallon bucket and dip and pour, dip and pour.

If anyone has ventured down this road before and found a much better way to check for leaks, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Rex

[jacksway1]

Hi, how did this workout? Currently evaluating the front and year floors on my 1964 Avion T-21. Thanks

Originally Posted by Rideout

Hi all. I have to check for leaks on this Avion. From what I've read thus far, it is best to start near the bottom outside (with someone inside) and work my way around the shell dousing with water, then once around, move up and repeat. It's still sitting in that building, so I'm not really able to use streaming water from a garden hose, so I'm just going to use a five gallon bucket and dip and pour, dip and pour.

If anyone has ventured down this road before and found a much better way to check for leaks, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Rex

[PaulnGina]

I just ran cross this thread because of the recent comment.... Regardless of what anyone says, I really like the fact that you are taking that Avion and making it into a coffee shop! Good luck with the project, and to your friend's business. I wish I lived closer, I'd make very frequent donations to the business!!!