Check out my Smoking HOT Deal on a 2009 FB Flying Cloud

[duncans]

Hello All,
Picked up this sweet little number at an insurance auction.
It was in a storage building that burned down. The exterior got hot and melted the plastic parts. The interior looks pretty okay, except for all of the soot. Hoping for the best, wish us luck.

[rmkrum]

but you can probably replace the exterior bits easily. There are forum threads on removing smoke odors from AS, so have a look at those threads. If the shell is not too toasted you can probably clean it up with a bit of hard work.

Any broken glass?

[Becky B.]

Wishing you luck!

[duncans]

No broken glass.

[rmkrum]

With intact glass, you are taking doable if you have time to do it yourself. Lots of data on forums for part sources, techniques, etc. Welcome to the world of AS owners!


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[duncans]

We passed our 31ft along to our kids when we became strictly backpackers. Now that we have grandkids we wanted to be able to go camping all together and wanted a replacement trailer. However, sticker shock made us look to more inventive routes to returning to the AS world. If we get our $5,700.00 worth of fun, it will be worth it.

[rmkrum]

Hope it works out well!


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[PaulnGina]

I bet you can resurrect that one and you'll have a very nice trailer for the price

[Foiled Again]

I normally say RUN from a salvage buy - but this is the 1 in 1000 that I'm going to say "great deal" on. To make a substantial savings I'm sure you are going to have to do a lot of the work yourself just because there are so many irritating little jobs to do. The only big downside you have to worry about is whether the clearcoat is dirty or discolored. Five minutes doing a "sample cleaning" might resolve that - and I have a last ditch suggestion. I let my water heater get pretty dirty once - and all of a sudden I had a propane soot problem on the outside. It wouldn't wash off with any car wash chemical, or windex, or Formula 409. As a last ditch effort I used Clorox Sink Tile and Tub cleaner. I feared it might scratch the clear coat, so I dabbed it on with a sponge, dampened the sponge and super gently working in one direction sort of wiped it around. 95% of the crud came off easily, the rest came off with a second application again wiped off carefully.

Even if the clearcoat is permanently discolored, fix the rest and enjoy for 5 years or so, and only when the clearcoat starts to fail, take it to a good refinisher and have it stripped and recoated.

I suggest that you name this unit "Phoenix" for the legendary bird that once every thousand years burns then rises from it's own ashes.

Hope you have a roofed area to keep it dry while you're working on it. My second worry, other than all the melted components on the top, would be seams and rivets leaking. At the plant they slather a lot of caulk on the inside of the shell, but the heat may have damaged it. They say it's a good idea to re-seal the seams once a year, but I never get it done in one day or even one weekend... lots easier to make it a 2 hour chore while hiding from direct sun! May I also recommend Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. I got obsessive and started going over every rivet on the roof. About 1 in 12 let the stuff leak through. I put a little piece of painters tape next to any rivet that leaked, and made a second application after the first had dried - only one needed a third application. That's a job I haven't finished because the weather turned to S*** (a four letter word for white stuff that falls from the sky), but I've only got one major seam left.

I hope you'll post with the progress - this will be an interesting thread. Can the A/C be salvaged with simply a new cover or have the boards melted too? What about the fantastic fans? Hey, go ahead and replace the skylights with good Maxim ones - you'll never regret that. Here's a thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f455...hts-53517.html

Ditto for replacing the plastic bathroom vents for metal ones (if you can find them).

I've got quite a few customers who are in the fire and flood restoration business - if you LIKE the current upholstery take the cushions to one of those companies - it's infinitely simpler and better to have a pro get the burnt smell and soot out than trying to do it yourself. If you don't like the current stuff, get a good upholsterer to replace the foam and fabric in the cushions.... Airstream doesn't use the best foam, you got a bargain on the A/S, and you should get what you'll love for the next 10 years.

Curtains - I've never particularly liked the look of the Classic (especially the heavy curtain upon curtain with boxed valences) BUT the new 2015 has a system that is revolutionary AND has great privacy plus insulation. There's no reason the new Classic look won't fit in any other trim level - so if you like the look - consider it.

The hard surfaces inside should clean up pretty well. Again, BUY the right detergents/deoderizers from a fire & flood restoration service. (They all want to do the work and charge big bucks, but many will sell you the chemicals if that's all you're willing to pay for.) Cleaning up isn't rocket science.

You're going to have a huge bill for all of the bits and pieces you'll have to order from Airstream. At Alumapalooza a couple of years ago, the factory offered a discount on all parts bought during the event. On a big order like yours - ask for one - all they can do is say NO. Also UPS shipping is expensive - see if they can get everything crated and sent LTL (less than truckload) freight.

[Jaxon]

I second the advice Foiled Again offered, especially on seams & rivets - rarely does a leak appear at the point of entry. Seems to want to travel a bit before dripping inside at the most annoying/damaging place.

Also check anything of rubber - gaskets, seals, grommets, electrical wiring, connectors, switches, etc. both inside & out. Solder fittings on plumbing, both water & gas line would be a needed review. How does the sewer/discharge fittings look - melted, warped? Sure don’t want surprises there! It’s a good idea to also check how things close once opened. Heat can cause metal & plastic to warp (not only melt), some thus messing with any tight fit...

Looks like the AC unit is toast as well as any of the plastic on the roof. Something to think about once cleaned up and everything is resealed is to repaint the painted portion of the roof with a product called Bus-Kote. Great product schoolbus tops are painted with - seals, reflects and insulates. Also helps prevent streaking on the sides of your ‘stream from water coming off the roof. I’ve used it on an Airstream and a Foretravel motorhome we’ve had. (http://www.hytechsales.com/download/...ta%20Sheet.pdf)

I’d bet the clear-coat is pretty well fried and that once everything is fixed, a stripping & recoating will be necessary.

All this sounds like alot but considering an initial buy of $5700, even with 10-15K more added, you still have a helluva deal and the best thing is, you’ll know this baby inside AND out!

Good Luck!

[moosetags]

Best wishes on your endeavor. Please keep us posted on your progress and issues.

Brian

[Britbat]

Good luck with the new find, I'd be tempted to leave the outside discoloured as a badge of honour for rescuing her and fix the seams etc as needed.

[NavyCorpsman]

Cool. You have a REAL Toaster now. Did the wiring take a hit?

[duncans]

Yes, the AC is majorly toasted. The roof took most of the heat. The side do have some significant warbling. My daughters analogy: "looks like a roasted hot dog that has cooled down". How far will we go in the clean up? TBD. I have stripped a lot of architectural parts and one entire 1885 2 story house using methylene chloride. I am not afraid of it, but had hoped to have left it in the past! Thank you for your input, much appreciated!

[duncans]

We hooked up the brakes lights for transport, haven't yet tried anything else, but do not expect the wiring within the roof to work. Not sure how we are going to progress on that yet.

[duncans]

Britbrat: I am tempted to leave it, too. However, roofing tar (from the storage facility) has melted into the clearcoat in numerous spots. I think we will worry about that Last. I just want to get this AS cleaned up and rolling down that road, once again. I have the rest of my life to focus on the details that aren't functional.

[Foiled Again]

Here's a link. look at post #4.

We want to see more.

Paula

[J. Morgan]

Gut,,,, clean, rewire, re plumb, and a custom cool paint exterior....


1/2 Ton 4WD Truck, 72 Sovereign Hensley Arrow

[rodsterinfl]

Well, best wishes. Hopefully it will transform into what you hope for "Silver Swan"

[Foiled Again]

Pictures please please please. Voyeurism thrives here.

Please show us the inside too. I did notice that while the window stone guards Lexan had melted, the frames looked intact. Since they are aluminum with a fairly low melting temperature, I hope that means most of the panels and segments aren't too severely damaged. On the other hand, looking at the stainless steel rock guards, the one on the roadside looks warped - or maybe that's just smoke and clear coat damage. I'd test all the lights inside and out very early on. Ditto for the plumbing. If both are good you shouldn't have to pull the inside skins for repairs. Propane lines - Most of the system runs under the belly pan. Fire tends to burn UP, but I'd inspect every INCH of those lines with exceeding care (and NEW propane tanks and regulator). Looking at the smoke damage on your tanks convinces me that they are really built robustly - if they weren't - KABOOM - nothing to salvage. Even so, I doubt if anyone would refill them again, and they aren't too expensive so trash them.

Making an inventory of the parts that need to be replaced. Post it here and we can all double check it.

BTW, the Fantastic fans will be less expensive if ordered directly from the manufacturer, ditto for the awning.

Paula