Little Girl Refurb 1972

[RenoV8AS]

Kudos to the two of you! I literally just binge read this whole forum and I am amazed at the talent the two of you have. Little Girl is a special project. I'm literally jumping into a major renovation of my 72 and will be referring back this to one for hints/tips/ideas.

[dbj216]

It's me again RenoV8AS: By reading the Lil Girl Rehab project thread I bet you learned a lot about your Sovereign and maybe garnered some ideas. These Forums are full of very useful information.

David

[Bauxter]

Chris/Kay, In looking back, Do you have any regrets with using Olympic rivets on the roof? I am working on A/S #2, Antenna patch, and I am weighing using those as opposed to waiting for help from the family on bucking solid rivets in...seems that my 2 boys have an aversion to that activity, and the dog can't hold the bucking bar



all the best
mike

[Minno]

Hi Mike! Good to hear from you again!
We have no regrets about using Olympic rivets anywhere in our trailer, and have had no known leaks from them. We received advice early on in our reno from Andy at Inland RV to use Vulkem/Trempro to seal each rivet with a squirt in the hole before adding the rivet. We have faithfully done that and have had no issues. It's a little messy, but carb cleaner cleans it off. If you're using a patch, put it on with Trempro around the edges. We've masked off with masking tape around spots we're sealing before shooting Trempro in to make a nice line too. Take off the gaskets that come with some Olympic rivets before use. They're useless, and fail quickly.


Kay and Chris

[dbj216]

Happy Holidays all: I have not researched the topic but I should. I understand marine blind rivets can be had that are solid on the bottom, meaning you can't see the "bulb" on the end of the pull rod like you can a "pop" rivet. I knew a fella back in Minnesota who repaired pontoon boats and used these rivets for patches below the water line. No bucking bars allowed.

There is a whole assortment of aircraft rivets to look at too. Olympic rivets may not be the only option.

David

[Minno]

I know Olympic rivets have gotten a very bad rap, here on the Forums. However, it's interesting to note that when we excavated our trailer (as in gut job), what leaked was buck rivet lines, and not Olympic rivet areas. There were 2 replaced panels in the front lower area of our trailer under the front side windows. They had been replaced long before we bought the trailer. Those Olympic rivets still have not leaked, to date. Neither have any of the ones we used. We think it's all in how they are sealed when applied. Definitely use Trempro to seal when you put them in, and take off the rubber gasket that comes with them before use.
We stand by our use of Olympic rivets. But that's just our opinion.


Kay

[aaryno]

I haven't read through this but am looking forward to reading it a few times. Amazing transformation and incredible work. I just got a 72 Sovereign as well and I have a ton to learn.

[Minno]

The plastic (ABS?) headliner we bought for the front of Little Girl developed a couple of cracks two years ago. Ever since then, we have been trying to figure out the best way to replace or cover the plastic headliner with something different. Last Summer, we read in the Airstream Life magazine that Colin Hyde has headliner kits for early 70's Airstreams, so we contacted them and ordered a kit last Fall. Finally had nice enough weather (well warm enough - it was raining most of the days I worked on this), and I installed the headliner.



This is how it arrives. 11 segments shipped in a wood box. The segments are pre-drilled thank goodness.



The kit has instructions showing how the segments go together. The recommendation is to rivet the headliner together and then install it as a unit.




Being the dutiful person that follows instructions some of the time, I tried to cleco the three middle panels together. Unsuccessfully I should add. I have no idea how you would go about assembling this without a jig to hold it in place! So, after giving it some thought, and thinking about how others on the forums have build aluminum headliners in place, I decided to try that.



Here's a trial fit of the 3 middle segments. Hmm... this might just work ok!




Trial fit with two more segments added. Figured out that the curve in our trailer might be slightly different than other trailers, maybe in part because I was installing the new headliner over (under?) the old plastic one. Anyway, this trial convinced that this method will work ok.



Here's the center segment cleco'ed in place. I did need to cut both ends off a bit - a total of about 6 or 7 inches. But, it's in place and holding the curve.



Here's the rest of the Starboard segments trimmed and cleco'ed in place. Getting back to the curve being different, about the bottom foot of each segment no longer aligned with the pre-drilled holes in the previous segment it is overlapping. So, new holes were drilled in the overlapped segment using the exposed segment as a template. I did the drilling in place, so the holes all lined up as I installed the rivets.



Here's the Starboard side all riveted in place. To the left of the center panel, you can see one of the cracks in the plastic headliner right above the window frame. The aluminum strips cover the cracks as they extend up the headliner.




Port side all cleco'ed in place.



All 11 segments riveted in place. The two bottom segments on each side have about 5 inches cut off the bottom (basically split in half long-wise) as I didn't need them to extend down the walls any further.



Everything all back together. Stereo shelf and good luck broom are re-installed. I covered the rear edge of the new headliner with 1/2" wide aluminum trim. We opted to not paint the new headliner, but I'm not going to polish it to a mirror finish either. We cleaned and waxed it and love the look.


So, if you want an aluminum headliner, contact Colin Hyde! It took me the better part of 2 days to install, once I decided to install it in place. Trying to assemble it in my workshop was another day of frustrating work.


During the installation, I about used 60+ clecos and about 380 pop rivets. I should also note that I did this by myself while Kay was at a quilt retreat. A second pair of hands would have been helpful a few times - mostly when installing the first center segment. But, the deadman worked well (rag covered 2x2 shown in the trial fit pictures).


Chris

[Hittenstiehl]

Wow guys, what a nice job and a very good write up on the how to. And impressed that you did it alone. It turned out beautifully.

(After all these years we still talk about your layout being so nice. If we ever go to a wider trailer year we'll likely copy yours)

[Aerowood]

Nice job Chris. I'm sanding my panels before I'm riveting them in as Susi told me that I wanted to paint all the interior skin panels white.

Sent from my Lenovo YT3-X90F using Airstream Forums mobile app

[Minno]

Kay showed me the bathroom vent handle that Jeffmc306 made (in the "What did I get for my trailer today" thread), I thought what a cool idea! Especially since our plastic handle cracked last year.






I made ours out of a scrap piece of walnut, and took the opportunity to make it larger (as in hang down lower) so that Kay can reach it easier. Pics above show it in the closed position.





Vent open.


I was able to remove the two screws that hold the handle in place by removing the inside trim ring. I did not need to remove the entire vent fan like Jeff did. Thinking that's a thickness difference between the inner and outer skins on our trailers.


Works well! Thanks for the idea Jeff!


Chris

[Bauxter]

Chris
1. where did you source the aluminum trim that you put on the ends overlapping the painted aluminum?
2. If I have a 14" powered vent fan in close proximity to the bath, with a reversible motor, do I really need the bath fan? It seems redundant. Heck, given the small gray tanks, dont we need to take short showers anyhow?



I was following a thread of a guy in Texas, Millers Garage, also on YT. He has a nice video on the install process, as well as a cut list. I ordered the cuts, and they are waiting for installation...cmon down, its seasonably mild this week in Columbus. Only 99 predicted for Wednesday

[Minno]

Hey Bauxter,


I bought the aluminum trim at Fleet Farm. It's 1/16 x 1/2 inch aluminum bar.


We put the bath fan in so we can use it when not using the roof vents. Just seemed like a good idea at the time, and we use it every time we shower.


I suppose I should have noted on my headliner post what I said on the MN Airstream Club Newsletter article I wrote about it: "This falls into the same category as replacing axles. No, I will not do your trailer."



Besides, it's supposed to be 98 here today, and muggy. Then storms tonight and a high of 79 tomorrow. I'd rather head North than South!



Chris

[Harrysheets]

Hello Minno,
I finnally "finished" my 29' 86 Sovereign last August, well at least to get her back on the road. Of course I still have projects (axles, solar, antennas, roof coating, + many misc.). I noticed in your postings you used the Dicor white roof coating. I was considering the same to reduce heat and further help seal the roof. My plan was to do any of my roof related upgrades first (solar, antenneas, probably AC unit).
Questions:
1) Are you happy with the Dicor product (Heat reduction, sealing, durability)? 2) Would you change the process you used to apply it?
3) Does it handle the extreme temp swings we have here in MN?
I attached a couple photos of my current AS.
Scott

[Minno]

Hi Scott,


Nice trailer! Yes, I would do your roof modifications before putting the coating on. To answer your questions:


1) Are you happy with the Dicor product (Heat reduction, sealing, durability)?


Very much so. When we first put it on, we noticed a drop in the heat inside the trailer the next day. The seam it covers above the patio awning is still sealed.



2) Would you change the process you used to apply it?


Nope. Worked well.


3) Does it handle the extreme temp swings we have here in MN?


So far, yes. It's been through several winters without cracking or peeling. And we haven't had any bleeding or wash-down that we have read about with come other roof coatings.



Chris

[Minno]

Well, after 14+ years, it's finally time to reskin and fix the door. Final prompting was the Alaska Caravan last year that did a bit damage to the door latch and screen door. So, we are going to repair the door frame, the door jamb, and reskin the door so we can replace the KT lock and separate deadbolt with a combined newer style latch and deadbolt. Going to follow Aerowood's recommendations on how to re-arch the door with the new skins.






Step 1 was to remove the inner skins and screen door.





Damage to the screen door. Biggest problem is both horizontal braces have broken welds on the latch side. Going to bring it to a welder that can weld aluminum. He's going to fill the holes and gouges as well, although he said he will leave the finishing touches (i.e., filing and sanding) to me.





Bought 10 feet of 48" wide Alclad from Airparts, Inc. Based on Aerowood's recommendation, I bought the .040" thick stuff. Checked it today, and it does fit into the groove around the perimeter of the door frame. However, it's really shiny, and we need more of a mill finish. So, I sanded it with 400 grit sandpaper. Did some experimenting first to figure what grit will look the best. The 400 grit does a nice job, and once we wax it, it's a very close match to the rest of the trailer. To avoid swirl marks, I sanded it using a car body flat sanding pad with long single strokes going the full width side to side. No stopping in the middle as even doing a slight stop leaves a visible line in the middle of the panel. This is the bottom outside skin (rough cut) for the door with a non-sanded piece of Alclad to show the difference.





Top outside rough cut panel for the door.



Now, we just need some cooler less humid weather so we can continue.


Chris

[Aerowood]

Don't weld the screen door frames until you install the new latch, you may have to adjust the location of a cross frame to clear the latch. Depending on which latch you buy.

[Minno]

Thanks Aerowood! Yes, we had already thought of that, and bought a latch that will fit in between the crossbars. The fiasco with the deadbolt taught us that!


Kay

[Aerowood]

Humidity has been high here too at 60%, we're used to it being less than 20%. We have gotten more rain in the last 2 months then we get all year.

[Minno]

And we're in a drought.... again.



Kay