The '57 Overlander project

[lonewolf1977]

Well, folks...let the renovation begin!!! Just towed home a 1957 26' Overlander yesterday. We are keeping her at my parents home, as they have a huge barn we can work without concern about the elements. We are looking at a major renovation....feel free to follow along on our blog!
The Overlander Project

[perryg114]

It should be a fun project. Looks like most of it is there and intact.

Perry

[Globie64]

What a cool rig! More pictures!

[NJtoNC]

i hope you update this thread too. i subscribed! Agree, more photos please!

[lonewolf1977]

Here are a couple of pictures from her abandoned state. Will be taking more this weekend as we either begin the washing process or the gutting process.

[lonewolf1977]

As you can see, the AS was used as a storage facility/catch-all. The PO cleaned out all the stuff....my hope is to somehow keep the fridge & stove. Not sure if they even work (I seriously doubt it). If anybody has any suggestions on that, I'm all ears. That part is way down the road, though. Maybe I can upgrade the appliances but use the facing to make it look original??

[NJtoNC]

HA. i was going to say, if you plan to get rid of the stove / fridge i'd take it. I would absolutely keep. They are each a restoration project in themselves though. Maybe a local shop can handle it for you.

[lonewolf1977]

Well, the gutting has commenced. We are trying to preserve everything...quite a tedious process, but we're getting there. So far, the gaucho is out, the twin bed frames, the furnace and the air conditioner are all out. This weekend, we hope to get the kitchen completely out.

Two mice were discovered living under the gaucho, in the storage drawers. Fun times!

[Sum75]

Good job,Lonewolf!

Did you have much trouble getting the furnace out?

[lonewolf1977]

It was a dirty ol beast, but once we finally got it loose it went pretty quick.

[Sum75]

Cool! That's one thing I haven't tackled on my trailer. I was nervous about forcing it out because i wanted to salvage it, but then at the vintage trailer academy I learned that old furnaces are not really worth saving (too dangerous).

I've stalled on my project temporarily- finally pregnant after trying for what seems like forever (hooray!). Once I'm out of this darn first trimester, I'm going to get back to it! By then you'll no doubt be far ahead of me! So anyway, I'll be following your thread with great interest, since following along is all I can do right now. Keep up the good work!

[lonewolf1977]

Well congrats on your pregnancy!! And I'm not so sure we won't be in the same spot by the time you feel up to tackling the 'stream again. We are only able to work on it on the weekends...so it's going to be slow going for a while until we get an extra day off or something. This Saturday we hope to completely remove the refrigerator section, and hopefully start tackling the stove & sink section. We are leaving the bathroom for dead last, because frankly....it scares us.

[Airslide]

What a beauty! I will for sure be following your progress..

Congrats.

[Sum75]

lol, I hear you on the bathroom! It really can be scary, on multiple levels! For example: when I removed the toilet, about a pound of petrified poop fell out of the base. No, I'm not joking (though I wish I was)! Then when I took out the sink cabinet, I discovered some pretty nasty floor rot... Which I found fascinating, so I kept agitating it... That is, until a small army of what looked to be fire ants began pouring out! After that, I decided to work on other things for awhile!

[reinergirl]

Congrats on the pregnancy! Be careful, there's asbestos and lead paint in many of these trailers. Safety first!

[Sum75]

Thank you, Shelly! I am playing it very safe right now, I have done little more than gaze longingly at my trailer since I found out. I will have to get my airstream fix from threads like yours and this one (thank you, Denise!)

It's hard because I just went to the Vintage Trailer Academy!

[lonewolf1977]

Yesterday we finally got the refrigerator section out. Whew...that was not easy. We were trying very hard to salvage the entire section...but the wood was very brittle and thin in places...it eventually started splintering and coming apart. We saved all the pieces, but it did not come out of the trailer as one piece...that's for sure. We also managed to get the countertop out and the cabinet under the sink. All that's left now in the kitchen is the stove. We are hoping that next Saturday we can get the stove out, and then conquer the bathroom! It's slow going--but I am absolutely thrilled with the progress.

[lonewolf1977]

Shots of the missing gaucho & fridge section!

[SL4BLLT]

Great find! I bet you are glad you waited and took your time as at times it may have seemed like there was nothing out there.

For being as old as this coach is and only finding the two mice, I think you guys did great in the find. There should be plenty of sites within the forums to help you guys keep the refer and stove, hopefully getting it back to a safe working condition. Take your time as this may take a few years to do.

I have found out many times doing it once right the first time ensures you have that time and now additional resources to do the other things down the road.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing this thing come back to life! I hope you are listening to some of that road music, as rebuilding or restoring is all part of the adventure

SL4BLLT

[NJtoNC]

so it sounds like we are three (early 30's / late 20's? ) women with a thing for 57 overlanders? sum and lonewolf and i? (31 here).