1959 Overlander Restoration

[65CV]

Still, James is doing a great job helping her lose a few ounces...

[reinergirl]

Where can I get a James?

Have fun in Vermont!

[Lothlorian]

It looks great on the inside and outside! I have been absent from the forums for awhile and I am getting back to see what people are posting. I saw you polishing your trailer skin. I know the feeling. I am finishing my second polish this week on my 1960. The more I polish the more imperfections appear. I will finish the second polish this week and start my third polish. I will have to take some pictures and post them. Question??? How do you handle an area with heavy oxidation? The oxidation that looks like a scab on the metal. I am using a dewalt polisher with a wool pad with Nuvite 7 and it won't budge it.

Brian

[65CV]

Brian,

Thanks -- your thread was a great inspiration.

We used Jestco to tackle the corrosion. I picked up the black and grey bars, using the aggressive black sparingly. We went through nearly a full bar of grey doing two passes with it. Hiring a strong young guy like James is highly recommended.

This thread has a lot of good advice.

The picture above is the first pass of Nuvite F-7 with the Dewalt buffer. That's as far as it will get this year and it probably needs another pass or two with that.

It looks good from a distance, but there is plenty of skin damage to account for the 50+ years of age. Someone on the forums coined the term "she's a 10 at 20". That's my goal.

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by 65CV

Brian,

Thanks -- your thread was a great inspiration.

We used Jestco to tackle the corrosion. I picked up the black and grey bars, using the aggressive black sparingly. We went through nearly a full bar of grey doing two passes with it. Hiring a strong young guy like James is highly recommended.

This thread has a lot of good advice.

The picture above is the first pass of Nuvite F-7 with the Dewalt buffer. That's as far as it will get this year and it probably needs another pass or two with that.

It looks good from a distance, but there is plenty of skin damage to account for the 50+ years of age. Someone on the forums coined the term "she's a 10 at 20". That's my goal.

John,
A blind man on a fast horse will never see those problems
Colin

[Al Uminum]

In one of your earlier posts you talked about using a BlueSea Systems power panel. Where were you going to install that? Is it hidden or "marine mounted" ?
Thanks
Rob

[65CV]

On the Overlander, I built my own "'59 vintage control center". I got a kick out of the ball end toggle switch that turned on the porch light. So, I bought 8 of them on eBay and made up a panel with punched labels that is mounted on the right side of the cabinet over the galley.

I'm not home now, so I can't post a picture of the finished version -- I'll try to remember to after the weekend. In the meantime, here it is under construction. After taking the photo, I took a punch set and marked above each switch with a 3 character code like "LIT" for lights, etc. The picture attached is without those labels.

I did use the Blue Sea Systems panel on our '65 Caravel. See post 120 or 150 on this thread for the best shots I can find online.

You'll also notice the Trimetric mounted there too. I've hidden monitors and panels on the aft side of the galley cabinet, down below counter height so they aren't so obvious on the Overlander.

Blue Sea Systems stuff is really good quality. That said, I like the ball switch panel better -- especially the price. It fits well right where it's located and is more period correct.

[65CV]

We are now settled in our new home and are finally turning to the last mods before our winter trip.

Galley overhead cabinet is on the new workbench, sporting the new pegboard tool hangers. The workshop is a major improvement over the low ceiling, dirt floor from our old house. The house itself is a downsize, but we hope to be on the road more often.

The galley is getting new wiring and lighting as well as a new interior paint job.

More to come on prep to head to Austin for January.

[mutcth]

Wow! That is a nice shop. So organized, too!

Tom

[65CV]

I posted a question about "Flying Astradomes" to see if there were many warnings about lost Astradomes. I didn't get any bites. I installed the one from VTS and decided to attempt our Texas delivery with the Astradome installed.

I put a strong tie-wrap on each Ladeau lifter and hope to put a strip of Aluminum tape over the front edge to reduce windage and potential leakage. That said, it lets in so much more light than the metal temporary cover and lets lots of air in when wide open.

Still open to hearing warnings for multi-1000 mile deliveries with Astradomes.

It is a very cool accessory. I'm nervously hoping it lasts the trip.

[65CV]

The overhead light is now rebuilt and installed. We kept the 110v and 12v lights.

The attached pic shows a 60 watt 110V bulb. My favorite is when it runs the 12v LED light.

There are two pics -- one with all the parts from the original light and the other installed and lit.

[65CV]

Lights above the former gaucho, now the dinette.
2 before and one lit after.
After is without a shade. See Lynette's (Someday'59) posts for shades.

[65CV]

The original Overlander had a heater aimed at the gaucho, with a vent that ran through a stack on the galley. We repurposed the stack to be the Grey Tank Vent, using Marine Grade flexible vent hose. We also ran 8 switch lines up, tied to the flexible vent line, to make a '50-ish control panel. Attached are two pics, one showing the vent hose and one with the cover on.

The best thing about running the vent here is that we could use the existing roof opening and cover to minimize penetrations and leaks. As mentioned earlier in the thread, switches are simple ball-end toggle switches.

Pics show Vent uncovered and covered, as well as Switch panel.

[65CV]

Aaargh. Pics.....

Pics show Vent uncovered and covered, as well as Switch panel.

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by 65CV

I posted a question about "Flying Astradomes" to see if there were many warnings about lost Astradomes. I didn't get any bites. I installed the one from VTS and decided to attempt our Texas delivery with the Astradome installed.

I put a strong tie-wrap on each Ladeau lifter and hope to put a strip of Aluminum tape over the front edge to reduce windage and potential leakage. That said, it lets in so much more light than the metal temporary cover and lets lots of air in when wide open.

Still open to hearing warnings for multi-1000 mile deliveries with Astradomes.

It is a very cool accessory. I'm nervously hoping it lasts the trip.

The main culprit that I've always associated with flying 'domes has involved the "while I'm at it" syndrome. 'I'm installing a new dome, while I'm at it I'll lube up the lifters so they work smooth as silk'

Which also means they can vibrate open and let the dome depart company.

I've considered fabricating a tube that would span from handle to handle and lock them in place for travel but my lifters are as crusty as me, they can be a bit 'cranky' to open.

Your progress is looking great!

[Someday'59]

Originally Posted by 65CV

I posted a question about "Flying Astradomes" to see if there were many warnings about lost Astradomes. I didn't get any bites. I installed the one from VTS and decided to attempt our Texas delivery with the Astradome installed.

I put a strong tie-wrap on each Ladeau lifter and hope to put a strip of Aluminum tape over the front edge to reduce windage and potential leakage. That said, it lets in so much more light than the metal temporary cover and lets lots of air in when wide open.

Still open to hearing warnings for multi-1000 mile deliveries with Astradomes.

It is a very cool accessory. I'm nervously hoping it lasts the trip.

I hate to admit I haven't been keeping a very close eye on this thread. I noticed this post pop up in my email and thought I would replay.

We haven't had any trouble with our Astradome whatsoever. We've had it for several years. It most recently survived a 5,000 mile trip. (It's already been 1,000 miles since then, too.) I can't say the same for our door! I don't think you have anything to worry about with your Astradome!

[65CV]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

The main culprit that I've always associated with flying 'domes has involved the "while I'm at it" syndrome. 'I'm installing a new dome, while I'm at it I'll lube up the lifters so they work smooth as silk'

Which also means they can vibrate open and let the dome depart company.

I've considered fabricating a tube that would span from handle to handle and lock them in place for travel but my lifters are as crusty as me, they can be a bit 'cranky' to open.

Your progress is looking great!

Vernon,

Good point -- I just scratched oiling the lifters from my to-do list.

Progress on this one is kinda slow. I'm on the 5 year plan. It's very usable, but there are a lot of details I'd like to improve upon. First priority is using it!

[65CV]

Originally Posted by Someday'59

I hate to admit I haven't been keeping a very close eye on this thread. I noticed this post pop up in my email and thought I would replay.

We haven't had any trouble with our Astradome whatsoever. We've had it for several years. It most recently survived a 5,000 mile trip. (It's already been 1,000 miles since then, too.) I can't say the same for our door! I don't think you have anything to worry about with your Astradome!

Lynetta,

I have to admit that I missed all your 2014 posts. Great stories and trip.

Thanks for the deadbolt reminder. I wish these old Overlanders didn't come with a suicide door. You were lucky to have access to tools (and paint) for the temporary door. Will that door become part of an airstream-shaped playhouse in the future?

[Al Uminum]

I too have had really good luck with my VTS replacement Astradome. In one of my (too infrequent) posts I detailed how I disassembled and rebuilt my lifters. When I installed my new Astradome I added a small aluminum plate on the exterior and ran longer rivets through to the plates on the lifters.

Now a word about gaskets. I'm not a fan of self-adhesive gasket material for a number of reasons. From my experience in the marine industry I became a fan of Trim-loc trims and seals. I used a bulb seal around the metal flange of my Astradome (and factory roof vents) opening that perfectly seals to the dome. The Astradome to compresses the seal keeping the lifters from vibrating open.

[65CV]

I like that seal. I do have the press-n-seal gasket installed, but probably won't lift the Astradome on this trip. If I have any issues later, I'll give that a try. Thanks.