1956 Bubble Restoration Start to Finish

[bolerama]

Originally Posted by the544man

This will not be my main tow vehicle but since the bubble is only 16' and will weigh less than 2000lbs I'll still be able to tow it with my vintage Volvo for shorter trips to the coast. I'll put this up for inspiration. I even have an OEM 544 Volvo hitch I can install that came from Sweden. So here's a pic of "Sven" my 1964 Volvo PV 544 Sport.
and I'm working out a name for the airstream project: so far, since it has a quartersawn oak woodie interior and the cabinetry will be a mission style, i think a good name might be the "Bubble Bungalo"

This pair is really great! I love the idea of mission style for the trailer. Can't wait to see more.
Lisa

[the544man]

safari62--yes you're right. the last owner painted it if you can believe that. he said he didn't want to buff it out every year. i almost didn;t buy it because of that. but i saw pics of the before paint and the body is in excellent shape. and it's a quite rare trailer being the bubble version--and it was only an hour form my home. too hard to pass up. so--with a lot of elbow grease or (a lot of money)--it can be stripped in the future. since the exterior still looks presentable--i'm focussing on the interior and systems rebuild--and plan to use it as soon as i'm done. I'll leave the exterior for as long as it looks nice--or money drops down out of the sky for a strip job on the exterior.

[the544man]

My original propane set up was 1/2" copper tubing--which is completely torn out. I assumed i should go 1/2" again--but the fittings for the princess stove, norcold fridge, and catalytic heater are all 3/8". do you know if there is a flow proplem if you "T" off the main feed 3 times with 3/8" from the tank regulator back to the appliances? i don't want to overbuild if it's not necessary and if 3/8" line is sufficient i won't have to use extra reducer fittings. Any help on this is appreciated.

PS--the marmoleum flooring was installed and it looks great! I've been doing the parts scavenger hunt and picking everything up that's necessary for the electrical, plumbing, and propane rebuild.

[the544man]

Here's a shot of the marmoleum floor in--it looks great. I ended up putting a coat of paint on the wheel wells and lower section of the walls just to clean things up (the old paint was making a mess flaking off everywhere) . All of this will be under the rear bed and cabinets so color is of no consideration. later, i'll put a nice piece of 1/2 round trim around after the cabinets are in.

I also made a step guard using 1 1/4" alluminum and attatched with stainless finish screws.

I'm picking up the quartersawn oak materials monday and the cabinet build starts asap.

[the544man]

WANTED--the shaft and hardware that goes with a bargman H20 door lock. Let me know if you have one. This is what they look like. I will also need the hardware that keeps the shaft into the lock. Cheers.

[bolerama]

Beautiful flooring. Painting the lower shell is a great idea.
Lisa

[Sugarfoot]

Catching up on the forums and just found your thread. You've got a fabulous looking project going there. Love the Mission oak and the flooring.

[the544man]

I painted the tongue black a couple weeks ago inspired by the incredible Wee Wind on vintagetrailering.com. I hooked up the new dual regulator and propane pigtails and I installed a marinco 30 amp outlet and have the wiring run into the interior. Yesterday, I performed a scary task by cutting a hole in the skin to install a vintage style single external electrical outlet near the door (a vintage guru said--just do it--everyone loves having an outlet for extenal uses such as putting a light on a picnic table and other things). So i have it installed nicely and i needed to do it now while i have good access before the cabinets get put in. And here's a shot of a computer fan installed to increase airflow for my fridge. I used a copper water line holder and it works just right.




And the cabinet build has begun.

I'm lucky to have a friend (Murray) who's and excellent cabinet builder and he happened to be available--so i'll be able to progress my project faster than i thought. Here's a shot of the frames--note the curve that's required to join the sloping trailer slides. There's nothing square in an airstream. I have some beautiful quatersawn oak which will be the sides and face frames, doors, and drawers.

[the544man]

Yesterday we got the cabinet frames in. We (Murray and I) left all of the doors and drawers off so I can do all of the plumbing and electrical runs through easily. Starting to look like a trailer interior now isn't it. To the right of the fridge is where I'll install my all in one progressive dynamics poser converter that handles both the shore power and all 12 volt needs. The electric wire in the back will run through a top cabinet (yet to be installed for my original hehr vent fan I got on ebay--(yet to be installed as well)--the gauge of wire will satisfy any future desires for a rooftop ac unit. I think they are a bit ugly and bulky on small vintage trailers but i understand their place for those who live in the hot humid midwest or east coast. Oregon has some natural 50 degree nights even when it gets in the 90's in the day.

here's a look in the door.
here you can see the discreet vintage outside power outlet i put in last week by the door too.

And just today, the princess stove and elkay bar sink was roughed into the countertop. I won't drop the units in for good until the laminate is put on the top near the end of the project--to minimize scratches during the process. Good job on the cabinet build Murray--they're are looking great. Wait till you see them with the drawers and doors on--I think it's some quartersawn eye candy.

[the544man]

It was fun pulling the trailer out of the shed yesterday to have the room to load the cabinets through the door (the rubber gasket on the door is so you can sqeeze everything in with scraping it right!) we had less than a 1/4" clearence side to side to work with on the larger cabinet). while i had it out I took some other angled pics. notice the hole in the door--i'm still looking for the original bargman H20 lock to finish that off. help please.


I like a black bumper and hitch. Hopefully you purist out there won't object to the change i made. I think it adds a bit and gives the trailer better definition. And I have new baggage compartment cam locks coming to install all the way around.

ps--that's a power converter mis-spell above in the last post--my eyes are getting bad and my typing is worse

[the544man]

I made up a mock dinette table (the one on the bottom) out of scrap plywood so i could get all of the hardware installed correctly on the trailer wall. I was able to catch 2 support alluminum braces for the lower section and attatched the top hardware just below the window for the strength from the bracing offered there. it is very sturdy. As you can see, i decided to go with a more agressive radius (see the example on top) to make getting into the seating area easier. I'll take the hardware off the mock up and re-attatch (without trim and laminate yet) soon. then I can finish the details for the dinette seating/bed to the specs where the table drops down. I have the foldable leg that will be intstalled on the finished product. the one there now is just for trial purposes. Anyone who has had a lot of experience building dinettes--send me your advice. I'm thinking about squaring off the seat backs (by 4 inches) so i can have a squared off 18" x 24" seat back coushin which will also serve as the bed portion over the table when dropped. The curvature of the front is a challenge to work with. Even if i do this i'll still have a 6' 2" bed--which will work fine for kids especially. Any suggestions?

[jimlars]

I agree with your thoughts about the air conditioner. Last year I had the 5 year-old, low profile dometic a/c removed from our 1966 Caravel. We like the new look.

[toastie]

Originally Posted by the544man

Attachment 101536 WANTED--the shaft and hardware that goes with a bargman H20 door lock. Let me know if you have one. This is what they look like. I will also need the hardware that keeps the shaft into the lock. Cheers.

the544man

You can get the handle, spring at Bargman H20-2 Handle the square stock can be bought at any local hardware, then cut to size.

Very nice picture of handle..........

toastie

[the544man]

yes--steve at vintage supply--has the handle and spring--but i'm told there is a host of other items i need--mainly the special keeper pins at both ends of the shaft to hold everything in. I'm more comfortable finding a replacement setup as I don't want to rivot the door all back together and find that it doesn't work properly a year later. And i don't want to red-neck the trailer and put a lock on the outside from a closet door. I'm still hopeful I can come across the parts or an entire lock setup? cheers

[n2batr]

I've rebuilt a couple of these H2O-2 door handles as I have a 58 double door. Toastie is correct about the VTS stuff. I used one of their handles it comes with one metal pin for the handle but you would need a second metal pin. The square metal post is a hardware store item. Do you have all of the rest of the door lock that resides inside the door? Not clear on what pieces you are missing. I have seveal components including a rechromed handle. Your welcome to PM me. N2batr

[the544man]

N2batr--yes i have the internal lock, a new oem lock cylinder, an extrerior garnish (pics on page 2 i think_) or cover plate, and the internal handle, so i just need an external handle, the shaft, spring, and the pins and any other hardware necessary for keeping it attached to the internal lock at both ends of the shaft. do you have all that i need--if so what condition is it all in and what do you want for it? do you have a picture of how the shaft is held into the lock itself? cheers--ted

ps--vintage trailer has a complete setup but won't sell it as he hopes to someday have everything copied and cast so he can manufacture the whole setup. that could be a long time?

[n2batr]

Ted, Got your PM. I'll contact you to see if I might have what's needed. I may have photos from when I broke the doors down. Ed

[Melody Ranch]

Got some photos for friends and Forum members. Can these help/ Believe me....it was not easy to do it right.n

[the544man]

excellent--i see i need everything to the right of the coverplate on the upper right picture. (main shaft, pin, washers, pin for handle, spring, handle). I talked to Ed tonight--it sounds like he might have the parts i need.

[n2batr]

Ted, Checked my box of lock parts and I believe I have what you seek! I want to check my local hardware and see if they carry the correct size square center post( I need a backup for my 2 doors) Hopefully your door dilemma is close to an end. Ed