Hi all. I joined in the spirit of sharing and learning. I recently aquired a 1953 Spartan Aircraft Spartanette Tandem 131. I saw a lot of support here for others who have purchased Spartans so I thought I'd join too.
The basics. This trailer was sitting on a recreational property for the last 40 years and has never been used full time. People were starting to pick at it and I convinced the out-of-state owners to sell it to me so I could bring her back to full glory. With a few exceptions it is probably one of the best preserved Spartans I've seen. It's original right down to the mattresses and couch,water heater and refrigerator. I'm really thrilled to own this jewell and hope to learn as much as I can. The Spartanette Tandem 131 was only built in the last half of 1953 which was also the last year of production for all Spartanettes. I have yet to find another one like it but I do hope one will turn up. Who knows.. maybe I'll find one here!
Anyway, here are a few pics I took when it breathed fresh air for the first time in many years. These are "as-found" pics. I brought it home over Easter weekend and we have already started working on it. First thing was to remove the nasty shag carpet to expose the original flooring. We're currently working on removal of the ancient window tint and beginning a thorough cleaning. If there is interest here I'll post progress pics from time to time. Glad to be part of the group! Don.
Obviously things tend to photograph better than they really look but I'm pretty thrilled to have found this old girl in the shape she's in. It has had a couple leaks over the years but I'm amazed at how it held up under the four foot snow loads of the central Oregon Cascades as long as it did. It had been sitting in the same spot since approx. 1969. Thanks for letting me share and feel free to share info if you know something I don't.. (highly possible) DD
Thanks everyone.
I'll post more pics as soon as I have a chance to get them hosted and size them down. To answer a couple questions.. Though it was set on blocks and skirted, it had it's original suspension, axles, and even tires. It was really in a hole and it was a job to get it out . Even with two of us we snagged the sewer outlet and probably broke a pipe up in the underbelly. The trailer was only about four inches from a large shed on one side and we managed to avoid contact using planks on the soft ground. I put a set of new tires and wheels on it as soon as we got it pulled off the property. We also packed the bearings and replaced the seals on site. It was a 30 mile trip home and she towed like a champ. It was equipped at the factory with Linco torsion axles, which is a rarity among Spartans. Anyway, it's home now and I just got the shore power rewired and she lit up the yard a couple nights ago. now I can get some real work done. More to come..
Don,
That's a real breath of fresh air, after looking at only Airstreams for so long (no offense to our brand, of course.)
I too can't wait to see more photos of your resto. It was lucky you came along when you did... as nobody who was "picking" at it got very far. Just some missing lights, it looks like.
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