WilsonArt Airstream

[wildcat455]

A friend of mine invited me to look at an old airstream that his company is preparing to sell. He had been placed in charge of assessing it, cleaning it up and preparing it to sell. I had heard about a wilsonart project done in conjunction with the designer Christopher Deem so you can imagine my surprise when i saw the original CCD Airstream. It is an early, circa 1955-57 16 or 17 ft model. There was no remaining id on the body. It did have the pre 1958 segments. The exterior had been polished at one time, needs it again, there is signs of pitting and several tears, dents. The underpan is gone in some sections from frame repair. The interior was completely redone in the Christopher Deem fashion and the bathroom fixtures were gone. It looked like it had been converted to showcase the wilsonart laminates, and had the same upper cabinets with clear lucite doors with interior lighting that is still in use today on the CCD Internationals. The interior would not take much to clean up, and the unit certainly has value to an Airstream collector for it's historical significance. It appears that it was set up as a photo shoot opportunity for the marketing dept to showcase WilsonArt's laminates. Don't know if they ever toured with it, or where it was shown. I'll try and post some pictures when i view it again after it's cleaned up. I dont have any information yet as to pricing, or how it is going to be sold and marketed.

[Safari Tim]

This airstream was shown on the tv show The Genuine Article last month.

That tape is being circuilated under a thread with the same name.

Neat looking interior. It's making me research working with laminates...

[fireflyinva]

I just pulled up the video of Genuine Article up on Tivo, and I regret to say that the trailer shown there is not the one described here. It's a new Bambi--though that doesn't mean that the one here isn't a prototype (I really don't know the history of his designs). Deem mentions that he was only concerned with the interior appointments, so working in an old shell sounds possible.

[fireflyinva]

I think I found it--there was a prototype--is this the trailer?

http://www.designboom.com/eng/funclub/airstream.html

[wildcat455]

Yep, that's the trailer. It definately needs repolishing. But the interior photo's are the trailer I saw. Mike


QUOTE=fireflyinva]I think I found it--there was a prototype--is this the trailer?

http://www.designboom.com/eng/funclub/airstream.html[/QUOTE]

[Safari Tim]

Dreadful mistake on my part.

I have all this stuff tivo'd.

Its on the Christopher Lowell Show that aired on 3/24/04.

It looks pretty neat inside with all the cool laminate. The crazy laminate used on the door is the same one used by the guy who did the motorhome on The Genuine Article.

Bryan Burkhart is also interviewed.

Sorry about the mix up.

[59toaster]

Is it actually still servicable as a camper or is it just a desgn study?

Where is it located?

[wildcat455]

It should be still serviceable as a camper, but appears to need retrofitting. I don't recall seeing a toilet, and the shower bath area had been removed. The entire rear area was set up as a bed, and the front was the dinette. The original appearing stove and fridge were intact. In the storage compartment was the original furnace which had been removed. It looked like there had been some rewiring done, and the trailer wiring connector had been replaced. It is currently in the Temple Tx area. The are not taking offers at this time, only assessing and determining the best way to dispose of it. Mike

[swebster]

Maybe they should gift it (or sell it) to Airstream. After all this is a pretty significant prototype. Sure would be nice to ensure that it was preserved for its impact on the company.