Hi Everyone. I've been lurking this site before making my purchase and I've found the contributions from the member base outstanding. That being said, I bought a 1971 Excella 500 a week ago for a good deal (at least in my area). I noticed some rear end separation, but not too bad. It had newer carrier AC, fridge, re-done electric, toilet, furnace, HW heater, and plumbing. It also has a custom couch in the salon and wood floors. The rest is original. I was only able to test shore power and AC before making the purchase, but I figured I could get the rest going as I'm pretty handy. The guy who had didn't use it long and didn't fully understand the operation as they just used it as a hunting camp/tent replacement.
I started off on a bad foot and got a flat tire on the way to my land, but my brother had a spare so it delayed me about an hour. My 1st pass on the systems was that the gas regulator was shot and the
12v water pump was popping fuses. With a little help from my friendly RV dealer, I was armed with the parts to get it running. So with about 2 hrs of my time and a few bucks out of my pocket, I have a pretty nice Airstream that's fully functional for $2700. The longest time was spend figuring out all the valves out for the water (they were 9 installed).
I plan on retiring the old girl under a roof over and using it for family getaways (for now) so it will stay dry and preserved.
I've spent 2 nights in it so far and I'm so pleased at how comfortable the Airstream is. I'm very pleased with my purchase and I can't wait to get to it again to enjoy it. I love the layout and I can actually fit in the bathroom.
My main plan right now is to enjoy it. At my leisure, I will replace the bad tambour under the sink as I had to rip it out to get to the water and then shore up the rear end a bit. I have a few tambour panels stuck so I have the silicone in hand for my next visit. So far so good!
I'll post pics the next time I go.
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