Day 2 with our '71 Safari pics and problems

[MrJim]

Sorry for the new thread, but this appears to be the only way to add photos from my PC, which are needed for this.

First, if anyone wanted the 3 old tires and rims I mentioned yesterday, here's a photo of the one I kept as a spare. The others are at Airstream of Chicago until disposed of.

Second, if anyone wants the mouse-eaten front couches I removed today, let me know soon, before I put them in the trash.

Third, my first big boo boo. I had no trouble opening my rear window today, but when I tried to close it, several of the rivets on the top hinge failed, leaving the window hanging on by just a few rivets, and me still unable to budge the window to close it. Other windows open and close easily, so I have no idea what's wrong, but really want to figure it out before the next rain or windstorm. See the photos, in case that helps.

Fourth, I need to fix some tambour doors, but have no idea how to get the existing tambour out of its track short of breaking it free.

[MrJim]

Update: The rear window problem resolved itself this afternoon as my wife tried to help me coax the window down after cleaning and lubing the top hinge. Unfortunately, it did so via the remaining rivets failing, so now the hinge is off the window, and the window is held in place at top via aluminum tape across its top and sides. Here's hoping that lasts until we can have the window and its hinge reunited and reinstalled.

[aquinob]

You can use standard pop rivets just to reattach the hinge, make sure you bed it with a polyurethane sealant (not silicone caulk). If you want it to look factory than you will need to get some olympic rivets and rent or buy a rivet shaver to get that nice clean rounded look of the originals.

The tambour on these trailers if pretty rinky dink if you catch my drift. Its made of some type of composite wood material like mdf and can crack at the edges. Best thing you can do is try and manipulate it back into the track. Sounds like you have a bit of a project on your hands.

[Cyquest]

Hi Mr.Jim. Sorry to hear about your rear window. We had the same problem with our curdside front window. Nothing like a heart stopper to pull up in your driveway during a rain and seeing the top of your window open and no hinge.
Thankfully I found the hinge inside the trailer. So for a quick fix, I popped and few 1/8 rivets threw the back. So the mushroom was on the front. Not a pretty sight but at least it kept the rain out until I could find a permanent fix.
So the next day went to my local farm co-op and found a nice small 1/8 aluminum buck rivet that was a perfect match.
If you need a few send me a PM with your addy and how many you need.

[MrJim]

Thanks much for the offer of buck rivets. We ended up letting our Airstream dealer reattach the rear window.