She's Cheap and Trashy

[Bambified]

Picked up this Bambi for a few hundred bucks. She's cheap and trashy, just like I like 'em. I was glad to get it for very little money because I'm no purist and this one is gonna be however I want to do it.

I just had to take the polisher to it to see what it would take to get it shiney. Looks like it's gonna take a few of cans of F9 to get through the deep pitting on this one.

Most of the trailer is there, but its all in very poor condition. Somebody slapped a few coats of latex over the entire interior (yikes!!) My plans are for a vintage custom. I'm thinking of rebuilding and dressing the whole interior in Number 2 varnished birch, even the interior panels. In order to bump out all the dents and dings, the entire interior including the interior panels and insulation is going to have to be removed anyway.

I'm thinking I'll give this one the full upgrade, new tanks including fresh/gray/black water, converter, inverter, 12 and 120 volts, four 6-volt batteries, hidden A/C (I hate rooftop units), new axle with brakes, new water heater, new shower with aluminum finish, new vintage-look toilet, new vintage-look fixtures, polished propane tanks, custom tail lights, custom chrome rear bumper. Basically, I hope to replace everything with new upgrades while still targeting a vintage look.

This one will be a challenge, but should be a lot of fun.

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

What a deal! That little guy has some great possibilities.

Brian

[Bob Thompson]

What a great project! I hope you'll post lots of pics!

[Yhottys]

Congratulations and welcome to Bambi Club!

What year is she?

[Lily&Me]

She's adorable!

Congratulations and good luck.



Maggie

[blmitch5]

She's going to go from "cheap and trashy" to OMG how classy! I can't wait to see your progress!

[Bambified]

Originally Posted by blmitch5

She's going to go from "cheap and trashy" to OMG how classy! I can't wait to see your progress!

Hey I like that idea!!!

I had a nice 1960 16-foot Pacer and sold it because I wanted a Bambi. The Pacer was small, but had no shower arrangement. I prefer the Bambi's layout. It is also a little smaller and more cute than the Pacer. I will be pulling this one behind my vintage woody station wagon.

The Bambi's are fetching insane prices these days. I was lucky to find this one. Its a '62. Really rough. Half the belly pan is missing and a tire blowout resulted in a piece of tire poking a big hole in the shower pan. There are bullet holes, initials carved in the side, missing lights, lots of dents and dings, and a couple of spots where somebody took a disc sander to the outside. The pitting is so deep in the skin that I am sure I will not be able to polish it all out. None of the mechanicals or appliances are salvagable. The door is trashed. The windows are broken and missing. Somebody cut a whole in the roof. Nothing on the trailer works.

A Bambi this cheap and in such poor condition allows me to do whatever I want to it with no guilt. That is why I am so enthused by this project.

[utee94]

Sounds like your plan is going to be very cool, and I love the look of birch interiors on an Airstream. You might take a look through these two threads to see how others have tackled this challenge:


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f321...ari-15592.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...ent-17197.html


Good luck!
-Marcus

[blmitch5]

Here is a cool example that might give you a few ideas.

http://www.orvis.com/TimelessAirstream

[Bambified]

Originally Posted by utee94

Sounds like your plan is going to be very cool, and I love the look of birch interiors on an Airstream. You might take a look through these two threads to see how others have tackled this challenge:


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f321...ari-15592.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...ent-17197.html


Good luck!
-Marcus

Wow! Thanks for tuning me into those threads. That will save me a lot of brainstorming and a whole lot of mistakes. And the results in those threads look great.

This a big long term project for me, and I work full time so progress will be slow unfortunately. I'm moving my workshop to a bigger space this Saturday, with air-conditioning (Florida Summers can be brutal, you know).

After scanning those threads, I'M TOTALLY PUMPED!

Started gutting the interior. I'll try to get some photos this weekend. This is one dirty trailer inside and out.

[Bambified]

Originally Posted by blmitch5

Here is a cool example that might give you a few ideas.

Airstream Trailer Auction 2011

That's a beauty, for sure. Thanks. Saved the images for future reference.

[BradS]

Originally Posted by Bambified

Hey I like that idea!!!



[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]

A Bambi this cheap and in such poor condition allows me to do whatever I want to it with no guilt. That is why I am so enthused by this project.

This is how I ended up looking at the Overlander Im working on. It was in tough shape and I didnt think I could make it any worse. Im loving the project and looking forward to the finished trailer.
I look forward to watching yours progress. Pics please

[webspinner]

Looking forward to pictures.

I love a good Ugly Duckling story.

[utee94]

Originally Posted by Bambified

Wow! Thanks for tuning me into those threads. That will save me a lot of brainstorming and a whole lot of mistakes. And the results in those threads look great.

This a big long term project for me, and I work full time so progress will be slow unfortunately. I'm moving my workshop to a bigger space this Saturday, with air-conditioning (Florida Summers can be brutal, you know).

After scanning those threads, I'M TOTALLY PUMPED!

Started gutting the interior. I'll try to get some photos this weekend. This is one dirty trailer inside and out.

Yes, I always find those threads to be extremely inspiring. No matter what you're tackling, there's probably someone on these forums who has attemped and made all the mistakes for you. Standing on the shoulders of giants has its merits of course.

I'll give you links to two more of my favorites-- thiey're not birch interiors but they're both very cool and pretty non-traditional, which sounds like the direction you'd like to go.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...ler-11687.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...ler-11687.html

And after those, here is the "Links To the Major Renovations" which has a ton more of them, all full of great ideas and authors who fully disclose all of their challenges, triumphs, and occasional failures as well. Personally, I consider all of the below major renovations to be required reading for anyone undertaking a frame-up project like yours. Lots of inspiration and great ideas. I re-read most of them at least once every 6 months.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ons-35399.html


Good luck!
-Marcus

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by blmitch5

She's going to go from "cheap and trashy" to OMG how classy! I can't wait to see your progress!

That's a good point!

Sounds like you should name your trailer Vivian after the character in Pretty Woman.

Make sure to update us regularly!

[Becky B.]

Looking forward to following your restoration! My Bambi II was a sad thing too, but she's coming along! Another Bambi saved!

[Bambified]

Well I've got her into my workshop and we've removed the entire interior, but I keep inturrupting progress because I just can't keep myself from putting some polish on her.

As I stated earlier, this Bambi is full of dents, dings, and scratches, so I'm removing the interior panels and insulation so that I can attempt to work the panels out from the inside.

Because this Bambi will be a "custom" and not all original, It's value will be somewhat less than a fully restored "all original" Bambi when I am all finished with the restoration. As such, replacing exterior panels is way too expensive for my budget and would put me too far upside down in my investment even though I do not intend to ever sell her. I'll just bump out what dents and dings I can, polish her, and leave it at that.

The skin on this Bambi is the worst I have ever seen. The oxidation is extremely heavy and there is even some disintegration of the aluminum clear through along the bottom of the trailer. F9 Nuvite has proven insufficient to remove all of the oxidation, so I've had to resort to wet sanding with 400 grade metal sandpaper, then polish. As you can see from the photo, this has proven to work very effectively and is fast.

[JazzDad]

Originally Posted by Bambified

There are bullet holes ...

Bullet holes. I love it!

[Bambified]

The previous owner of my Bambi slathered silicone all over its windows in an effort stop leaks. I spent 3-hours removing silicone from just the small window frame at the rear of the Bambi.

I hate silicone. Nothing will dissolve it. It is impervious to everything and you can't just sand it off either. Its so pliable, it just moves and shape-changes, but remains stuck to whatever surface its glommed on to. All you can do is pick away at it until it is all gone.

I used razor blades, a scraper, and a various sizes of flathead screw drivers to get the rubbery globs of the stuff off of the windows and out of the window frame channels. I then painfully sanded away the tiny remaining bits and fragments of silicone that remained begrudgingly wedged into every nook and cranny of the window assembly. ARRRGGGHHH!!!

[Becky B.]

Dental picks are a great help in removing silicone from crevices. Harbor freight has some that came in handy when I was in your nightmare!