'59 Pacer Shell-On Renovation

[worldinchaos]

Thought I'd give an update. We haven't been spending much time actually working, but we've spent a lot of time planning.

We finished pulling down all the interior panels and insulation except for endcaps (to maintain some monocoque structure until we remove and replace the floor).

We removed the small curbside window as a test of what it takes to restore one to full polished and sealed glory. This led us to a huge shopping spree on VTS, starting with the glazing and backframe gaskets and ending with aluminum sheets for repairs, replacement trailer lights, etc. The reassuring part of this was that in looking on the threads for details of restoring Hehr Standards, it seems like many of the 1950's windows are heavily oxidized, pitted, rusted, and many are non-operable. All of ours are fairly clean and operable, just some holes in the screens and leaking gaskets. This is reassuring as to the trailer being cared for.

As for the planning, I've made a list of all the >$100 items that we need to buy and we've selected our choices. I also made a complete diagram of the plumbing and propane, with electrical in the works. We even went through some big box stores to get an idea of finishing details even though that's many months away.

And the other reason we haven't been doing a lot is we are in weekend trip mode. Two weeks ago we took the ferry to Catalina island, Avalon side, on a groupon. Last weekend we sailed my Coronado over there with a bunch of friends, but to the Isthmus harbor side. And this weekend we leave for a weeklong trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. Next update in 2-3 weeks....

[worldinchaos]

Everything we ordered arrived within a 7 day period!!! I now have Cleco's, and olympics, and a shaver, and polish, and 2024 T3, and a 42 gallon freshwater tank, and Bargman 99's, and teardrop markers, and galvanized screen, and Trempro 635, and ......... Ok I'll stop.

But the cleco's mean that we can re-hang the ceiling (only piece of aluminum we couldn't figure out how to store during the floor removal), and start pulling out subfloor.

And when I'm not at the trailer, I'm polishing window pieces in our patio. As for the post title, I knew that people said each Hehr Standard window took a full day, but 23 pieces of aluminum per window!?!?!?! Why?

[worldinchaos]

Woohoo! First weekend home in a while, and it went great for the trailer. I spent 5 hours yesterday and 5 today on her, and got the front endcap out, all the elevator bolts, screws, nuts, etc. out from the C-channel and subfloor, and then cut out the front two sections of plywood (our short little 18er only has 4 sections of 4x8 sheets). And don't forget about the Carlson in-floor heater unit, which probably took 10% of that time alone--by yourself: put channel locks on a nut above, then crawl underneath and unscrew. Swear incessantly. Repeat.

It was certainly difficult, being a shell-on, bellypan-on job, which as I may have mentioned before is due to space constraints of the densely populated area of Redondo Beach. However, with some scratches, prying, and pulling, all the subfloor came out from the wheel wells forward.

The really good news: Absolutely nothing so far shows evidence of any significant frame rot/rust/corrosion. Everything is extremely minor and no welding has been warranted on the front half of the trailer.

My goal this week is to clean up the inside seams of the exposed shell, i.e. minus rear endcap, and paint on a layer or two of Henry brand #209 Elastomastic metal roofing sealant. If I'm really feeling aggressive, I'll clean up the frame and put a coat of primer on, but it's doubtful.

[worldinchaos]

Spent my free time this weekend on removing all the exterior lights and polishing with gray bar and red bar. Also did the same to the starboard window area. Now that we got our glass tinted we can go ahead and install the whole assembly. Hopefully I'll have time to do that after work this week before we head to Maine for 9 days!

Also been wirebrushing and painting the front section of the frame. I know I'll get some strong opinions against this, but after lots of careful research, I decided not to go with POR15. Most of my frame has very little rust and some was still painted metal, so I wirebrushed and used Rustoleum Bare/Light Rusty Metal Primer on those areas, and for the small 2' section in the front that was slightly rusted I used Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer which is the POR15 equivalent, i.e. bonds to the iron oxide. After 2 coats, I will be adding 2-3 coats of Black "Stops-Rust" Rustoleum topcoat.

Oh and I also added that elastomastic and sealed the inside of all the exterior seams.

Check out Picture #2 below: My Airstream is a free funhouse mirror. I got dumbo ears and a mohawk!

[worldinchaos]

If anyone is looking for a good source for Reflectix, I have been looking for foil-bubble type for awhile, and this is by far the best price I've gotten for the low volume that I need (4 rolls): Hardware City


Anyway, off to Disneyland for work tomorrow, then Maine for vacation

PS If any mods are reading this, I should probably change the title of the thread to '59 Pacer Shell-On Renovation or something along those lines.

[worldinchaos]

UPDATE 8/14/11

Can't believe it's been so long since I last updated. I guess I've been distracted by actually working on the trailer. List of items I've been doing:

• Modified 4 teardrop lights and Bargman 99's for LED. Installed on pre-polished areas.
• Finished painting forward section of frame, insulated with reflectix and foamboard
• Patched outrigger chafing holes and old floor heater hole in bellypan (and Olympic Rivet test run)
• Completed and installed small curbside window. Removed front window. Ordered replacement Lexan
• Finished stripping more zolatone on assorted pieces. Very little left
• Polished front window area and Hehr vent cover. Starting to get some shine!
• Cut and used router on new 3/4" plywood panel. First couple coats of resin are applied.

It's been lot's of fun.

[GREENovaters]

I just stumbled across your renovation and am really impressed by your patience, thought and good ole effort! I am currently looking to purchase an 18' Pacer to tow behind my moho for additional living space. Keep up the excellent work and please, please, please continue to post! All of your ideas (good or bad) that you try or are thinking of trying are appreciated!

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by GREENovaters

I just stumbled across your renovation and am really impressed by your patience, thought and good ole effort! I am currently looking to purchase an 18' Pacer to tow behind my moho for additional living space. Keep up the excellent work and please, please, please continue to post! All of your ideas (good or bad) that you try or are thinking of trying are appreciated!

Well thank you very much! That's exactly why I'm documenting this rebuild. That and in a year or so I can look back and be even more impressed with my work, saying things like, "Holy COW I forgot about all the Zolatone!"

You should definitely get the Pacer, and be sure to put some pictures online and on the vintage airstream photo archives. We've got to document these short-lived models and all their leftover-production-part quirks.

[GREENovaters]

Yes, one can forget about all the effort that was required to get it to the current condition. We humans have a tendency to put the pain out of our minds....

You're right about documenting the quirky units that were produced so long ago... back when Airstream really was customer oriented!

I'm including some pics for your thoughts such as:

1. How much work do you think it might take to fix/replace the segments on the left front side that are damaged?
2. Does the bottom look okay to you?
3. Do you think the body, overall, looks in good shape?

Anxiously awaiting your reply!

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by GREENovaters

Yes, one can forget about all the effort that was required to get it to the current condition. We humans have a tendency to put the pain out of our minds....

You're right about documenting the quirky units that were produced so long ago... back when Airstream really was customer oriented!

I'm including some pics for your thoughts such as:

1. How much work do you think it might take to fix/replace the segments on the left front side that are damaged?
2. Does the bottom look okay to you?
3. Do you think the body, overall, looks in good shape?

Anxiously awaiting your reply!

Is that a 1958 Ohio model? Less than 100 were made, right?

First off, I would check the interior for the soft floor first. You can always take advantage of the "inspectors" on the forums here. I didn't, but only because the person I bought it from, Bruce, is one of the most trustworthy people I have ever met, and gave me a lot of info on what needed to be done and what he might be concerned about. On to specifics.

1. Not much work with some rivet bucking and a patient friend. This is how much my buck rivet system has cost me:
$20 bucking bar
$50 used 3x rivet tool (w/ adjustable regulator) from Ebay
$10 rivet set
$5 bag'o'rivets
$65 used Craftsman 125psi air compressor

Of course, for the cost of aluminum, I would probably opt to just replace the forward curved panel and either patch or leave alone the flat panel. Then again, my body looks much worse than yours.

2. Hard to tell from picture. My worst section was the forward crossmember just below the front window, at the back of the A-frame. The wood looks 10x better than mine was, but then again I didn't have many noticable leaks under teh belly skin, they were all from the appliances and poorly cut vents that leaked onto the top of the floor. I'm not an expert at that. I will say that my frame was lucky enough to have the original paint on most of it, so I couldn't even see rust on the sides.

3. The body looks incredible. I would kill for your shell. I have so many cut out vent holes that I am going to have to patch because they are in the wrong place for my interior configuration. You have none. That's amazing. It's like a blank slate to do whatever you desire. She will look great polished.

[worldinchaos]

8/23/11 UPDATE:

1. Finished resin coats on first floor piece. Installed into front section in single piece with lots of kicking and shoving. Learned to make roundover on edges much bigger as I caught the C-channel (U-channel) on the plywood in at least 10 places. Of course, straight sections should be easier.

2. Polished, cleaned, and installed front window. Repaired cracked window frame best I could. Used 3/16" pre-smoked polycarbonate plastic for resistance to rocks and chips. Removed rear window to do identical work, will use same plastic material out of convenience since current pane is plastic there as well, and not glass. Tint ended up matching perfectly with professionally tinted glass pane on curbside.

3. Finished wirebrushing A-frame. Will remove next section of subfloor and wirebrush frame this week so that I can prime and paint the next big section and install another section of flooring.

Also, we settled on the official name for the trailer. We had only taken ZigZag as a temporary name so that I didn't have to say "the trailer" all the time at home. Now she is the "Knight in Shining Armor" which I'm sure has been done before but we love it. Also, that way I can still call her a her--yes, female knights are possible in my book.

Lastly, I have decided how I want to do the rear interior endcap, the problem is convincing the boss. Also, convincing myself that it is worth the cost.

[worldinchaos]

9/8/11 UPDATE:

1. Second plywood sheet coated and ready for installation on primed, painted and insulated frame. Just awaiting arrival of graywater tanks. One will be going in the rear bay of this second section, and the other in the forward bay of the next section, such that the 4"x20"x36" tanks will be in the two bays in front of the axle.

2. Front, curbside, and rear windows are all finished. Waiting for a good "window" of opportunity to pull out the streetside set, since it will take a significant more amount of work to finish.

3. Ran out of Olympics while doing the door! luckily I had enough to complete the outer edge, so only the frame around the inner door is cleco'd. (see picture). I also took the opportunity to install a deadbolt below the L-77 handle for more security while in the trailer and also while travelling on the road. I used a patio door-style deadbolt with a small backset but large throw. I chose this one so that the outer appearance would be mortise-style and inset, thus being unobtrusive to the vintage style. Also, re-insulated the door with Reflectix and foam.

4. Finally, I polished the other remaining 20 or so trim pieces from windows and other various places that I had left. Now it is simply a matter of all the big panels and the overhead locker unit.

[bredlo]

It's looking great! Fun thread to follow, and you've set an enviable pace (esp. with all the other irons in your fire).

Keep up the great work, you'll have that rolling tent in "blank canvas" shape in no time.

[worldinchaos]

Just got word that my graywater tanks are still another 3 weeks out! Ay carumba. Looks like I'll have to just continue with floor replacement, but not bolt in the center sections. My motivation to do so is that I want all the floor reinstalled and supporting the shell so that I can drive the 400 feet in the storage yard to the wash bay where I can spend a day checking for and fixing leaks....so that I can begin insulating the shell....so that I can install the electrical....so that I can have some visible progress.

Small update:

Finished stripping the overhead storage locker, and almost done polishing it. Beginning to purchase appliances and electrical items. Now have a fridge, the entire 110V system, and all the LP supply items (regulator, tanks, tank cover, rack, etc.)

It's been awhile since I had some good detailed pictures. I'll work on that.

[Aussie]

Looks like it really is coming along! I can't believe you stripped the whole inside. I just did the front nose cone and that was enough. Keep up the great work!!

[worldinchaos]

OK the last few days have been pretty great Airstream-wise...

My gray tanks arrived on Thursday. I've been installing the sensors, harnesses, and testing the tank level monitor panel before I hide them under the floor forever. Also got to play with the dump piping arrangements and settled on something simple.

Went to Lake Elsinore (2hrs) to pick up a new Dometic 2-way compact fridge I bought off a guy on ePay. Even with the round-trip gas cost, great deal. On the way back, guess what city I passed? Corona.... And we all know what's in Corona!

That's right, I got to visit Inland RV. Andy seemed pretty busy, so I'll have to say hi and thank you next time. But the ladies there were extremely happy to help the random stopper-by and chatted with Marie and I for quite awhile. The biggest unknown so far aside from what the condition of the frame would be was how to replace and obtain new vented access doors. I think I've got some ideas now after seeing so many Airstreams there. Anyway, back to the grind. School tomorrow, and hopefully installing the final pieces of the floor on Sunday.

[slowmover]

Going along nicely!

[worldinchaos]

First off, thanks for the positive encouragement from everyone! It sure helps when I look back on days like yesterday, where I was at the trailer for 11 hours minus a one hour trip to HD and lunch-- a day wrought with pain, frustration, anger, more frustration, fatigue, and ultimately, success. Now:

Update 10/10/11:

• Assembled the LP tank/regulator/pigtail system
• Polished, resealed, and installed rear storage door
• Installed support straps for tanks, had to use 1/4" spacers
• Wired/installed level sensors on gray tanks, and harnessed together in waterproof conduit.
• Finished riveting bellypan to frame and finished insulating bellypan with Reflectix and styrafoam.
• Installed rear sheet of plywood.

Now I need to go find a small right angle drill to rivet the bellypan back up to the frame member right above the axle. Oh, yeah, and I need to put the floor on top of the middle two sections, which means I need to remove (2) 8" lengths of C-channel and pry back one rib. Objective is to finish this week.

Happy Streamin!

[3Ms75Argosy]

Why the new drill... is it too tight in there for your regular one? Can you jack the trailer up and put some blocks under it to give you more room?

It occurred to me that you're putting the bellypan on first before the floor? Maybe with the small trailer it's easier to get away with this, but does this make the shell harder to lift to get the wood under it? Also, how are you securing the wood to the crossmembers with the bellypan in the way?

Just wondering?

You're making great progress!
Marc

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

Why the new drill... is it too tight in there for your regular one? Can you jack the trailer up and put some blocks under it to give you more room?

It occurred to me that you're putting the bellypan on first before the floor? Maybe with the small trailer it's easier to get away with this, but does this make the shell harder to lift to get the wood under it? Also, how are you securing the wood to the crossmembers with the bellypan in the way?

Just wondering?

You're making great progress!
Marc

As for the drill, it's because of the placement of my reverse drop axle (50's leaf spring setup) being directly under the frame crossmember that the bellypan is supposed to be riveted to. It makes it difficult to drill out the old rivets from below and due to their placement on the frame crossmembers of being on the inside of a 1" lip, with a 2" lip on the top of the crossmember, it is difficult to drill them from above. I was able to agressively punch out a couple, but stopped and decided a right-angle drill bit would be so much easier. I thought about jacking it up, but short of removing the axle entirely, I just don't think it will make enough room to get my hammerdrill in there. I could try a long drill bit I guess?

Either way, at this point there are so many wide-head 3/16" bellypan rivets everywhere else that I doubt it will move too much. I can wait until I find a good solution or eventually get a new axle (~75% chance within a year).

As for the floor being secured, I am not purely using elevator bolts--The self-tapping floor screws are being used, along with a couple 3/4" plywood splices that go 6" under each section of a joint.

This is due to a variety of reasons, but ultimately because of my bellypan-on, shell-on renovation. If I owned a house or had some space, I would opt for the shell-off. And yes, the smaller shell makes it incredibly easier from what I've seen on here. For instance, of my 4 floor sections, the wheel well one can be installed by simply removing two 8" sections of J-channel on the side of one of the wells. The one in the front was slid in by rotating then "gently urging" it to get into place. The only real difficult one was the rear, which I have already dry fit and had to cut down the middle to get in at all.

My answer is getting real lengthy, but ultimately I will have LOTS of screws from floor to frame, and each piece of floor will have at least one row of elevator bolts with nylon lock-nuts. So I feel comfortable. I only say this to proactively prevent any shell-off/on debate on this thread That and I Love talking about Knight...