'63 Tradewind for $600 and not arrested!

[3Ms75Argosy]

Thanks last week to Lee (Silverleeper) we got most of all the interior rivets out. So yesterday, I went to the trailer for a couple of hours to take the skins out.

A couple of "a ha's!!" 1) It's definately more fun to work with someone else who shares that AS enthusiasm! Thank you SO MUCH Lee... it goes so much faster with a friend. 2) Ugh... mouse urine smells so bad! Pulling the wall insulation by the door just was rank... yuck! 3) Now I can really see how much the floor has rotted... all the way around the perimeter.. I was doing the whole floor anyway, but it's amazing that the shell is still standing!! 4) Yes, the belly pan is really coming off.. but the shell will stay on.

A couple of other developements... I was about to have my new Maxxis tires installed, when I happened to look up the DOT code on the tires... they were manufactured in 04/07!!!! Being the nice guy I am, I just called and inquired about what could be done... it took some polite bugging, but Maxxis did good and is shipping my tires back to them, and returning me some new tires made in March of '09. That's some customer service... although I wish their estore would have shipped me fresher tires to begin with. Lesson - I think for tires it makes sense to talk to someone to find out how old those "new" tires are prior to ordering.

Work has a "biggest loser" contest to see who can loose the most weight in 8 weeks. Exercise and diet is getting me through... I'm planning on using the winnings (think positive here!) on a new axle.

The biggest lesson has been about tools. You see, I've read Marcus's thread about the belly pan. He mentioned a right kind of metal putty knife to cut rivets.... Lee showed up with said putty knife. That thing is magic! I bought two different ones this week... what a difference! Between that knife and proper sized bits for those exterior rivets (5/32... thank you Marcus!!) I probably will embark on a panel replacement on the street side.

Have a great weekend all!
Marc

[utee94]

Great progress, Marc. I'm happy that my mistakes have helped others...

Buying two of the putty knives is a good idea. I pounded the heck out of mine so hars shearing off rivets, that the corners are actually bent up a bit, so it won't slide easily between the layers anymore. If/when I have to do that again, I'll need to buy another one.

-Marcus

[utee94]

Hmmm, I received a thankful reminder that I was indeed NOT the one to originate the idea of the metal-handled putty knife. I believe it is appropriate in this thread to give credit to Frank aka 62Overlander for giving me that hint, otherwise I would have suffered in plastic-handled Hades for an eternity.

Of course, I did profusely thank him on my blog, and on my thread here on the Forums...

-Marcus

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I only informed you to not buy the plastic handled ones and to walk over to the drywall section and get the one with the metal butt so that you could beat it with out mercy. Now I am going to need to beat you without mercy next time I see you.

[3Ms75Argosy]

This week I spent another couple of hours at the trailer...
Great luck! I was able to get the black tank away from the wall into the trailer!

Bad luck! What's that sloshing sound??? What's that brown water coming out of the vent hole....?????? Oh CXSW@#!$%%!! So there's a "rememberence" of the P.O still here with me....

I set aside the tank, as it was cracking at the top... gotta dump it first!

Off to do more fun things... like wash the interior skins off of the mold and mouse pee that was on them.....

Today, I was able to visit Silverleeper as he's doing a shell on of the "rear" (well, almost 2/3's) of this trailer.... a huge shout out to him for teaching me some valuable lessons on using air snips, chisels, and just great AS talk. I was excited to see more on how the thing goes together.. so I too had to check my pics to see if I had an extruded C-channel in the front like his.... sadly, I do not.. BUT... I learned today how to make my own, and I think this will be a great solution to my corroded c-channel that I have currently.

Other news... Maxxis agreed to send my some newer tires (the others I ordered where 2 yrs old!!) that were made in March 09! Yeah!! As an aside, Maxxis had a new order come in their GA warehouse.. if you want them, specify in the order that you want the tires out of the GA warehouse. However, I get the impression that no - one else has noted DOT dates on tires they've ordered before.

That's it for today! Happy Easter everyone!
Marc

[2333]

I think I check my subscribed thread list everyday and it's always inspirational to see when someone posted something new. Even if it's amazing or mundane, doesn't matter, it makes me feel like we're all just chugging along together.

[3Ms75Argosy]

Ok, maybe mundane, but still working...

I went to the trailer today to mount my new tires / rims. In the back of my mind, I had stories of people having issues with new rims not fitting due to the old axles... my plan was to make the trailer rollable, and bring it home on the weekends so I could work on it more... the drive to the trailer takes a LOT of time.... EVENTUALLY I wanted to replace the axle, but I wanted to finish the shell and floor first.

Well.... guess what... they don't fit! The axle is pretty much frozen in place slightly up... it just needs to drop about an inch, which would allow the rim to fit over the hub and slide past the outside shell. SOOOO... it seems I need to buy a new axle sooner rather than later. I don't want to buy another set of tires for the old steel rims now, and then use my alloys later....

Besides, I'm surprised that the trailer made the trip to the storage site intact! The hubs roll with LOTS of friction, the tires are more cracked than I thought! Yikes! Won't be rebuilding these axles....

Frank posted 57.875" inside to inside the frame rails, which seems like my 57 7/8" on mine. I didn't pull the wheels yet, but again, Frank posted 74.375 (what is that, 74 1/3 inches?).

So, time to get serious and order them axles!
The floor will probably be done long distance it seems....
Oh, and I washed it again.. amazing how much moss seems to come off of it each time I wash it.

Marc

[Frank's Trailer Works]

.375 is 3/8", but Colin said 75" was the usual width of the hub face so I went with that. I run on stock rims, so I am not sure how the alloy ones work with that width. You west coast guys are into those hot rod rims. Out east, most of us run on steel rims. Mine will be going to the powder coater soon to be turned deep red to match the lettering.

[Aerowood]

Just a gentle nudge here, don't assume somebody else's dimensions are what yours are. Measure 3 times then write it down. When I measured hub face to hub face I clamped two pieces of angle iron on the hub faces, letting them protrude past the hubs to the ground and then measured the distance between the inside surfaces of each.

[utee94]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

.375 is 3/8", but Colin said 75" was the usual width of the hub face so I went with that. I run on stock rims, so I am not sure how the alloy ones work with that width. You west coast guys are into those hot rod rims. Out east, most of us run on steel rims. Mine will be going to the powder coater soon to be turned deep red to match the lettering.

Mine will eventually go burnt orange, with re-chromed baby moons.

Eventually being a word that means "in the far, distant, future."

[nmbosa]

Originally Posted by utee94

Mine will eventually go burnt orange, with re-chromed baby moons.

Eventually being a word that means "in the far, distant, future."

Nice, I was thinking purple and gold for my steel wheels.

[3Ms75Argosy]

Uh oh.. them's Husky fighting colors... I won't tell you that my Alumni colors are Cardinal and Gold... it's a So Cal thing...

Just like West Coasters like whale tails....... sorry, couldn't resist Frank!
I do like just a bit o' bling on my trailers! BUT, I do have a thing for the steelies as well.
Marc

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

Just a gentle nudge here, don't assume somebody else's dimensions are what yours are. Measure 3 times then write it down. When I measured hub face to hub face I clamped two pieces of angle iron on the hub faces, letting them protrude past the hubs to the ground and then measured the distance between the inside surfaces of each.

Very sound advice there....

Some levels are magnetic, and I just snapped them onto the hub faces and measured between them. Measure three time and be sure of that measurement. Never assume anything. You want them to fit as if they were made for it. Oh, wait, they will be made for it. What brand are you going with? Dexter? Axis? Henchen? Kind of surprised Andy has not posted something about how if you don't go with his brand your trailer will fall apart and burst into flames and kill a family of twenty coming home from a family reunion.

[3Ms75Argosy]

Ha! Well, he did have a sense of humor with my lawnmower trailer attached to my bike, so I'll give him that!

No, Dexter's here. Free shipping from my retailer tips it this direction. 4500 pounds, 12 brakes.

I'll measure again next week when I get up to it.
The rest of the specs? #11 ... Reverse orientation, backward facing? 22 degree down. Shock option (033-086-01 and -02 for those wanting them)
marc

[pbearsailor]

Frank, you made my laugh so hard it almost made me want to put steel wheels on mine.

cheers,
steve

[nmbosa]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

Ha! Well, he did have a sense of humor with my lawnmower trailer attached to my bike, so I'll give him that!

No, Dexter's here. Free shipping from my retailer tips it this direction. 4500 pounds, 12 brakes.

I'll measure again next week when I get up to it.
The rest of the specs? #11 ... Reverse orientation, backward facing? 22 degree down. Shock option (033-086-01 and -02 for those wanting them)
marc

Well I guess we shouldn't have expected a Trojan (I assume that's your Cardinal and Gold) to give a care about that poor family of twenty you are sure to run down with your cheap axle.

Are you getting your Dexter through Six Robles? Ryan had a very good experience with them.

Norm

[3Ms75Argosy]

Well, I HOPE my kids want to continue to go to UW in about 4 years.. I can't afford them to GO to USC! All the money's in the trailer!

Yup, I'm going to go to Six Robles as well. I'm assuming Ryan ordered from the Everett branch? I called them a while ago, seemed like nice folks.
Marc

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

...
Bad luck! What's that sloshing sound??? What's that brown water coming out of the vent hole....?????? Oh CXSW@#!$%%!! So there's a "rememberence" of the P.O still here with me....

I set aside the tank, as it was cracking at the top... gotta dump it first!
...

You might be able to fix the tank. My fix on my black tank seems to be holding--two 3500+ mile trips, over a lot of rough roads, and still no leaks. I finally decided on the Scotch Weld.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f444...nks-38379.html

Zep

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

...
SOOOO... it seems I need to buy a new axle sooner rather than later. I don't want to buy another set of tires for the old steel rims now, and then use my alloys later....
...
Frank posted 57.875" inside to inside the frame rails, which seems like my 57 7/8" on mine. I didn't pull the wheels yet, but again, Frank posted 74.375 (what is that, 74 1/3 inches?).
...

You can see how I did my axle in the Caravel. Used an Axis axle--they don't deal with end users any longer. I have to agree with AEROWOOD, your measurements may vary--always measure to fit to your frame.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f437...xle-21438.html

You'll notice excessive hand-wringing in my thread regarding shock absorbers. Take it or leave it. But I can now remove mine without having to either remove the axle or bend the mounting tab.

Zep

[Aerowood]

If you want a little more ground clearance you can get the 1" offset, and the longer brake leads are a plus. I offset my shock mounts so I don't have to bend anything to install the shocks. I also ordered a #11 4500 lbs for my GT.