Newbie Help

[MHS_IA]

First I would like to introduce myself and this project. My name is Ryan Woodham and I am an Industrial Arts teacher in Central Illinois. We were given a grant to something “unique”. We decided that we would buy an old airstream and let the students remodel it over the next few years. This will be a student lead project with plenty of support and guidance from myself and fellow teacher. I know that this is a monumental undertaking but here we go.

We found one for $1,000. It’s a little rough but we’re excited. There are some ghost numbers on it and I would love it if someone could help us find a little history. Even if that’s just the name of person, or people that have owned it before. Would anyone be able to look up the numbers for us? They are either 15289 or 15259. I’ve included a picture. Let me know if you see different numbers.

Thanks in advance for your help. This will be really cool for the students.

[Bubba L]

Welcome and sounds like a great project. When time allows, you could post o picture of the ID tag next to the door on the outside, it it’s still there. That will let us know the year, make and model. Joe is the WBCCI historian and may have an idea of the member numbers. He is 66Overlander on the forums. Get a plan, start a thread and keep us up to date on your progress. Good luck

[overlander64]

Greetings Ryan! Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstreams. While I can't pin down the exact model year of the Airstream in the photo, my suspicion is that it is a 1963 or earlier, but not too much earlier as that front mounted fresh water tank fill wasn't used after the 1963 models if my memory is correct.

Your students will certainly experience a wide variety of skills as they work on this Airstream. It is a creative piece of curriculum that I suspect will prove popular with students as well as parents. I am a retired Business and Computer Science teacher having taught in Tamms, Joy, Decatur, and Cullom in Illinois as well a schools in Northwest Kansas and Southwest Wisconsin. I know that I always enjoyed observing the creative projects that the Vocational Departments provided for their students over the years.

Don't hesitate to ask questions if you run into anything that doesn't make sense as someone has always encountered a similar situation here on the Forums. There are a number of us on the Forums who have owned our Airstreams for many years. I have owned my 1964 Airstream Overlander Land Yacht International for nearly 29 years, and my 1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre for nearly 22 years.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

[dbj216]

Welcome to these Airstreams Forums. Many of us enjoy the vintage Airstream travel trailers (older than 25 years.) There are folks here who will be more than happy to answer questions concerning your upcoming big project. It will be a great learning experience for your students. The skills typically used in an Airstream renovation project include mechanics (axles and brakes), welding (frame repairs), well organized tear downs identifying every part, drilling out old rivets, electrical both 12v DC and 120v AC, plumbing, appliances, design of improvements, carpentry for floor repairs and new cabinets, heating and air conditioning, insulation, sheet metal work (fix or replace damaged aluminum panels), and most important shop safety.

I bet it will make a great project.

David