1967 Airstream Restoration

[Grossy]

Day 6,
May 22, 2022
Hours Worked: 2
Total Restoration Hours: 31

Not much done this weekend.

Swept up the floor, mocked up the bathroom.

The dust in the trailer is real bad and probably toxic, so I hosed down the interior with a garden hose and peppermint soap out of a lawn sprayer.


Dan

[dbj216]

Well, I lost time rearranging the 16" of heavy wet snow we got Saturday. It was 24f this morning. When will winter end? Maybe this photo will cool you off a bit.

Yep, the dust in an old Airstream can be hazardous to your health. You are wise to knock it down. I am not as careful as I could be when dropping a belly pan and raking out the old insulation. But I guess I am lucky I didn't get sick. I now use a filtered respirator mask.

David

[Grossy]

Day 7,
May 28, 2022
Hours Worked: 5
Total Restoration Hours: 36

Starting the removal of the internal walls. This is something that I did not want to do but learned that it was something that I had to do.

All-in-All its not to hard, and it does not take very long.

I am still hopeful that I do not need to remove the end caps.

The insulation was in really good shape, almost. When I removed the last panel for the day, I found where the mice got in next to the furnace and they borrowed into the insulation like an ant colony.

[Grossy]

All cleaned out, ready to remove the internal walls.

[Grossy]

The insulation was in surprisingly good shape, considering that it is 55 years old.

The plastic coverings over the wheel wells were pretty busted up, I removed them, they are heading to the dump. I may build replacements or buy the replacements. Time vs money. I think I have more money than time, we will see.

[Grossy]

Expected, but not happy.

The mice have borrowed into the insulation, it's like an ant farm, but more disgusting.

[Grossy]

Everything OK in here?

Some of the locals checking things out.

[Jimroll]

Your insulation looks much better than mine did. Be sure to mask up when you remove the insulation. The mouse remains can be toxic. If all your marker lights in front and back are in place you may not have the problem I did with birds getting in the end caps. Also check all the lights and wiring before you start to reassemble. I'm just trying to keep you from having to do things a second time, not telling you what to do.

I would also advise you to seal the inside seams of the outer skin while it is open.

[Grossy]

Jimroll, Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

I will do a full wiring test of all systems before I button this up.

Dan

[dbj216]

Making good progress. Your trailer looks a lot better than some of the mid sixties Airstreams I've seen. The seventies might even be worse, but what the heck, it give a guy something to do.

The snow has melted off now and we are back to spring time. That is a good thing.

David

[Grossy]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Making good progress. Your trailer looks a lot better than some of the mid sixties Airstreams I've seen. The seventies might even be worse, but what the heck, it give a guy something to do. David

The Airforce mothballs their planes out here in Tucson at the Davis Monthan Airforce Boneyard.

This airstream has been in Arizona for at least 40 years. The frame has some surface rust on it, but that is it.

Dan

[Grossy]

The Bone Yard.

[dbj216]

I had the pleasure of visiting the museum at Davis Monthan, but didn't get a reservation for the bus tour of the bone yard. There is a reason the Airforce stores old planes there. Little moisture.

Moisture is the bane of old Airstreams. Most of them leak rain water or are going to leak rain water. My 75 Overlander 27' was a southeast trailer that had considerable moisture damage. Rusty frame, rotted subfloor, mold and mildew, warped cabinets and the like. The photo shows the rusty rear frame member I had to replace.

My son's 69 Globetrotter 21' spent most of its years here in Colorado. We are not a dry as Arizona, but we are drier than Florida.

So you have good bones to work with in renovating your 67 Trade Wind.

David

[Grossy]

Day 8,
May 29, 2022
Hours Worked: 5
Total Restoration Hours: 41

Took down more wall sections and removed the insulation.

I used to work for Sutherland Lumber company back in the '80s, I have hauled hundreds of bales of insulation, up into warehouse stock, and down into customers trucks.

Thers is a huge difference between the pink insulation that we all know today and the yellow insulation from 1967.

The pink insulation is not too bad, the yellow insulation from 1967 is glass needles burrowing into you exposed skin and lungs.


Dan

[Grossy]

Day 9,
May 30, 2022
Hours Worked: 6
Total Restoration Hours: 47

Removed the black water holding tank and pan, and another section of floor plywood.

I think a previous owner replaced the floor, before 1987.

So far each section of floor plywood has been cribbed to the nest section of plywood. While I appreciate the structural integrity that this creates, and I will most likely do it myself when I put the floor back in, I have not found one post on this forum and not one vid on YouTube that warned me of this.

It really makes pulling up the floor very difficult.

Dan

[Grossy]

An extra piece of plywood is placed under the plywood joint, and then glued and screwed together, this makes a very strong lap joint.

It is also very difficult to remove if you do not know about it.

Dan

[Grossy]

The floor is coming up. This has been surprisingly difficult.

[Grossy]

Black Water Tank and Pan.

[TurkeyRun]

Great progress and great photos. I am definitely re-living the dream/nightmare of my similar gut job.
A couple thoughts/suggestions. Earlier in the thread there was discussion of where best to locate the power and water hookups. I ended up removing the reverse lights. (Did they ever really serve much purpose?) I cored larger holes where the lights had been, and installed a Marinco 30amp shore power outlet, and a Shurflo water pressure regulator/backflow preventer on the other side. They look great, work great and are easy to access. And the power cord and hose stow nicely in the bumper compartment. Freed up a lot of room where the rear hatch opened into the bathroom. The rear hatch that always leaked. The rear hatch that is now permanently sealed...
If I was as handy with tech as I am with tools, I would even upload a picture! But I'm not. Maybe one day...

[TurkeyRun]

2nd thing I noticed in your great photos was that you may be missing an access door for yotheu street side compartment just behind the wheel well. I lost one during a road trip, and they are $$$ used if you can find them.Vintage Trailer Supply had a stock of the extrusion used in the frame, and I was able to build a new one, using the right aluminum. You can't tell the difference, except that I did not put in a keyed lock, which is what I figure failed and lost the old door. If I need access to the storage, I just lift up the mattress.