1975 Tradewind gut and remodel.

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I bought a 75 Trade Wind in December from a guy in Oxnard Ca. He delivered it to me, for a price, on January 9th. It was dark outside when he delivered it. With my flashlight I could see the exterior was as it looked in the pics. The inside was all there and in good shape except the front sofa is missing and all the cushions are gone.

The smell inside was majorly offensive. A decaying animal! I paid the man with his promise that the smell was not human remains.

The next morning I promptly went outside to inspect closer. First thing I noticed is the dirt in the window sills about 6 inches high in all the windows. The same dirt line went all the way around the interior. Hmm? A flood? But the interior seems so clean otherwise. The floor is not buckled or damaged except for a small area of rot under the front streetside window.

I was hoping it would be a quick "clean and use" trailer, ha ha.

I've got to clean up the rodent refuse. It's everywhere. It's a guy job!! Oh well, I'm gonna have to do that modern retro look I've admired that others have done. Darn it! Ha ha.

Here are the beginning pics.

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Before

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Dents and belly

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Thank goodness I decided to gut. There was mud, dirt, and rodent stuff in every nook and cranny. I feel better now that I know it will "all" be cleaned.

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Oh the things you can't see when the cabinets are in place.

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What I'm doing while I wait for my manuals and rivets. Oh and cash flow!!

I figure I should strip the vinyl while the interior panel are still up. Jasco makes it easy work.

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I popped out one of the dents in the back by removing the shower area interior skin. I popped right out except a small area of dimple. I read somewhere that a roller might work on the dimple. Anyone know about that? What kind of roller?

Pics later today of this.

[JohnE]

...I'm going to be gutting my '76 TW in a couple months when the snow disappears, and I'm desparate for ideas...Good Luck, I'll be watching (creepy, huh?)

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I've got to clean up the rodent refuse. It's everywhere. It's a guy job!!

I meant to say " it's a gut job." ha ha.

[ddstech]

I'm replacing my entire floor because even though I pressure washed the plywood, it still had rat odors in it. The only sure way to get the smell out was a shell off restoration. It's getting very expensive but in the long run I think it will have been the best way to go.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by mattkroff

I'm replacing my entire floor because even though I pressure washed the plywood, it still had rat odors in it. The only sure way to get the smell out was a shell off restoration. It's getting very expensive but in the long run I think it will have been the best way to go.

Good luck.

Wow! Im hoping that dropping the belly and replacing the insulation will do. The smell in mime is the decay so far. I don't notice a urine smell yet. Although, I did saturate the floor with Pinesol. Now all I smell (from 20 yards away, lol) is the clean fresh scent of pine! Ha ha. Oh, and Jasco.

I think my floor was covered with mud and dirt. That absorbed all the scent. The PO cleaned all that up before I got it. The floor is amazingly in decent shape for all that it's been through. I am keeping the idea of a shell off if I have to. Luck is what I need, thanks.

[RichHog]

It takes a while to remove 35 + years of goop. Did a lot of work on my 72 Tradewind. You'll have a blast once you get past the cleanup phase!

[AirEPotter]

Wow I really admire the guys who can do these kind of restorations. Wish I had it in me!

[ddstech]

Be aware that a little rot spot that shows up on the top of the plywood, may very well be twice as big on the bottom side. Once the water rots a hole thru the wood it tends to run under the plywood and rot the bottom side. The underside of my plywood was twice as damp as the top. I'm sure yours is fine.....

[Breadbug]

Originally Posted by mattkroff

Be aware that a little rot spot that shows up on the top of the plywood, may very well be twice as big on the bottom side. Once the water rots a hole thru the wood it tends to run under the plywood and rot the bottom side. The underside of my plywood was twice as damp as the top. I'm sure yours is fine.....

Words from a wise man. Thanks. I will be dropping the fresh tanks and belly. I know I'm gonna find even more "toys" under there to play with.

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Today I removed all the interior skin except the bath area. No more places to hide for the vermin for now.

I found my leak sources. One was from the kitchen sink stack, one from the furnace exhaust, one from the streetside vista, and one from the curbside wing. I also found evidence of all the exterior seams leaking. I'm sure I read that Vulkem along the inside and outside of these seams will seal everything. I'm gonna power wash the exterior to get any mud and mildew out of all the places it's hiding. I may even power wash the inside too.

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I can see the channel at the floor now too. Things don't look as bad as it could have been. I can see that the bolts are rusted but the channel isn't corroded yet.

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Now that I'm in so deep, I'm definitely gonna do some changes. One change is gonna be lighting. Since I'm not gonna use the original lights I gotta figure out how to shorten the crank shaft for the vents. Anyone ever do that out there? Got some hints?

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Another job in the future will be to re-skin the door and get it reshaped to fit. I gotta see if I can get the handle re-chromed. This handle is sooooo expensive to replace. Anyone ever re-chrome a handle like this? How expensive was it? Any prep ideas is appreciated.

[ddstech]

Great progress. The inside skin looks so clean!