'63 Safari - It 'Bee' Traded (#8671)

[flyfshr]

Guys ~

I'm just catching up with this thread and have to say you're making great progress. I DID want to mention one thing about the AC drain line. It could quite easily be plugged into one of the upright roof vent tubes so you wouldn't need to run a drain line all the way to the bottom of the trailer. After all, the AC condensate isn't that much, it just looks like it running down the side of a polished trailer. Its not like its going to fill your waste tank. Just make sure it will flow with gravity. Those are my plans anyway, one day I get a drain pan installed. You know, one of these days.

Brad
FF

[goransons]

Awesome Marc!! Looks like I'll get it street legal sooner than later. Let us know what we owe you!

Brad that is a great idea on a retrofit. I figure I have about an hour's work to put in a drain tube as far as I have things apart now,so I'm going to go ahead and got he distance, but may use that idea on our 69 which is polished and has no drain tube. We do have the carrier low profile but do get condensate when its humid and over 100 degrees..

[utee94]

Yeah, I get a ton of condensate here in Central Texas, where it seems it is pretty much always humid and 100 degrees.

(Except for this morning of course, where it is 31 degrees and a little bit icy! )

On the drain line, aren't there a couple of horizontal rib-like support members that will be in the way? So without removing the mid and upper panel, is there a way to move the drain tube through those members?

Aside from that, I really do like Brad's idea of using the refrigerator vent to route the line. That would give me a much shorter distance to go "blind" without removing upper panels.

[47WeeWind]

Originally Posted by utee94

Yeah, I get a ton of condensate here in Central Texas, where it seems it is pretty much always humid and 100 degrees.
(Except for this morning of course, where it is 31 degrees and a little bit icy! )

Ice is just solid humidity.

[goransons]

I don't know that there is a great way, other than you could run vertically just rear of the back rib/bow since there are no horizontal channels in the end cap area then angle over. You'd have to ensure a little slope so you didnt have standing water in the line, but should be doable. For me I only need to loosen abou 2 1/2 feet of ceiling just to get my drill in there. I have a nice little right angle attachment that I can drill the hole, pop in a grommet and slide the tube through.

[mikmilr]

Scott, Lights on the way. Parcel post 8 to 10 days. Covering a lot of real estate.

Mike

[goransons]

Awesome Mike, send me a total! Much appreciated!

[goransons]

Ok Toilet connoseours..

After 63 toilets, at least up through 68 were mounted with the fiberglass bench surrounding, but were the toilets themselves simliar. Or to rephrase the question, would a 66 toilet be accurate for our 63. I've never seen one out of the fiberglas but was guessing there wasn't much different.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by goransons

Ok Toilet connoseours..

After 63 toilets, at least up through 68 were mounted with the fiberglass bench surrounding, but were the toilets themselves simliar. Or to rephrase the question, would a 66 toilet be accurate for our 63. I've never seen one out of the fiberglas but was guessing there wasn't much different.

Since you are realistically adding an AC (Airstreams get hot in the sun in surprisingly low temperatures) vs. none, may I suggest that a newer toilet with a china bowl would be another slight deviation from original? Much easier to keep clean. I prefer the foot flush (china bowl) model in my ’83 Excella over the hand flush (plastic bowl) one in my ’67 Trade Wind. I can’t see anyone faulting you for going with a toilet that you can, and will be able to for some time, get parts for. The one in my ’83 Excella is old enough that I can’t get a replacement seat and had to patch a crack with fiberglass on the underside. Working well so far, but a new one would use a standard seat like a house toilet. No special parts required.

[overlander64]

Greetings Scott!

Originally Posted by goransons

Ok Toilet connoseours..

After 63 toilets, at least up through 68 were mounted with the fiberglass bench surrounding, but were the toilets themselves simliar. Or to rephrase the question, would a 66 toilet be accurate for our 63. I've never seen one out of the fiberglas but was guessing there wasn't much different.

I believe that a Sani-Ware china bowl toilet would have been standard on your coach as it was on my '64 Overlander. While the bowl and seat are nearly indestructible, the base mounting plate is not, and most of the valves/fittings/etc. can be a bit difficult to find in working condition. There are new china bowl toilets that will fit within the original fairing with minor modifications as I learned from someone at the Lansing, MI International Rally. Since my Overlander received extensive modifications to that area prior to my purchase I can't say precisely which of the china-bowl RV/Marine toilets will fit within the original enclosure.

Good luck with your search for the appropriate toilet.

Kevin

[goransons]

The weather was halfway decent today, and the trailer has to leave the driveway Thursday for the power company to do some work, so decided I better get the plywood bolted down before then and a few body mount bolts in.

My plans changed a bit and instead of dropping the belly pan I drilled from above, then carefully measured and marked underneath. I cut small holes to access the bottom of the bolts, got it all down tight (used nylon lock nuts) then bent them over (between the two I don't think they are going anywhere). The rivets had pulled through the majority of the body of the belly pan so I will be cutting a 6" wide strip to run down pan below each frame member then rivet the belly pan to it, and it to the frame. This will cover all the old holes from the pulled out rivets and the small holes I cut.

We stopped for some football and I was tired of crawling around on my back (the trailer sits so low I can't use a creeper). I also had to remove the stabalizer jacks since they either need repair or replacement and they were in the way of the next crossmember's bolts.

Also helped recover a donor vehicle for Wally's 64 globetrotter so in return I ended up with a nice magic chef vintage range that will go nicely. Burners are very clean obviously barely used, even has the original broiler pan.

[66Overlander]

I will note the the stabilizer jacks were not original to that trailer. They must have been added some time since returning from Around the World. But they are a "bolt on" that can be removed later for originality, if desired.

[goransons]

Started getting the lights on the rear from Marc. Nothing is sealed yet, just attached with screws to start. Will finish polishing around the lights tomorrow, supposed to be much warmer out, then will seal and install them perminantly. Also removed the rear awning rail and airstream badge, and confirmed the original badge holes are present. Will be sealing and riveting the rail and raised badge holes tomorrow at the same time. Didn't want to get the vulkem out twice. I did remember to take it inside so it will be warm enough to come out of the tube tomorrow.

Lights are working anyway, which was the goal since Thursday it will be on the road briefly while the power company does some work outback for us.

So happy to have the semi truck lights gone!!

Here's before, and during photos (after to follow in a few days)

[3Ms75Argosy]

Woo Hoo! Cool - looks like my trailer! Just fyi, I've seen those lower reflectors (lens only) for sale at local autopart stores... I think if you just popped out the lens, you can vulkum in a new one.

Glad you got the lights up and running!
Got my new LED's this week for the rear of mine (Grote... found on Ebay for 1/2 price).

How did the awning rail come off.. .was it riveted on?
Marc

[goransons]

There was enough clear and white silicone on the awning rail (plus some sealant tape) to seal a 3rd world country. Was installed with 8 rivets, 4 of which will be behind the airstream sign, so 2 rivets will show on each side. Also will have rivets showing where the lower awning arms were attached. It's "character" though.

I'll be polishing behind the other light, seal those in, polishing the airstream plaque area, awning rail area, and over the rear window, so I can seal those areas and install rivets to fill holes.

Are you going to share some pictures of those LED units once you get them on? Figured out the wiring A-Ok and very happy how they look. Still have to repair the one lense, will have that drying while I polish tomorrow.

Oh and the missing reflector, I have one from autozone, just need to clean up the layers of tape, yep you guessed it silicone, and various other sticky substances used to hold reflectors in there.

[66Overlander]

It looks so much better with those lamps on there than the obvious replacements that were there when you got it.

Did you rivet a filler panel behind the big round holes or are you relying on the lamp bases to cover the holes?

[goransons]

There is a filler panel back there, not yet sealed, just dry fitting everything first. Hope to finish weather tight assembly tomorrow, but will see if I get away from work when I think I will. I thought about just covering with the lamp but there were too many places for water to potentially get in.

[goransons]

We're due again later this week for another blast of bad weather so I'm trying to get the rear area sealed up, but don't want to have to do it over again...

Today I spent several hours removing the layers upon layers of clear silicone from around the window frame, along the segment seams, and above the removed awning rail. I'm also buffing the area so that the metal is cleaned up for rivets and reinstalling the airstream plaque on the rear.

A Couple things, I noticed a fair amount of debris behind the airstream plate when removing it, which resulted in some skin pitting. Would it hurt anything to run a bead of vulkem along the back (on the top and sides, not the bottom) of the plate before installing the rivets? This would help keep stuff out from behind but still let water drain out in the even a leak occured in the future.

As soon as I finish buffing out the area there and cleaning it up, will reseal the window frame. The second photo shows the faint lines of the silicone, should have taken a close up of the before.

"8671" on the front and rear are an interesting font, so I'm tracing them onto paper and having a friend create some vinyl stencils for me so it can be repainted (faintly) in the same location with the same font. The existing paint is so powder dry that it rubs off.

Polishing this far has been done with just a polishing wheel on a drill, but if it is again warm enough tomorrow I might break out the cyclo and hit this area, certainly would go faster.

[georgezink]

Scott...

How did you get the tag light to look so new and shiny? The one on our '63 is dull, rusty, and pitted...

[goransons]

I went ahead and painted the end cap of the fixture with a ppg bright silver paint I had. I only painted the steel parts, aluminum casting for the base I've done a fair amount of polishing on with a buffing wheel on a drill and some aluminum polishing rouge from Harbor Freight.