'67 Safari renovation

[LuminumTraila]

Mel -- thanks for the new pic. I like the oak finished with Danish oil. My grandpa, a hobby woodworker, used Danish oil on just about everything and it always looked so nice. You've given me some good ideas.

-J

[moogie32]

Mel, That's gorgeous! That's the route I'll go as well with my wood. Two questions - Did you also get your danish oil at Home depot and it looks as if you have gotten rid of the dreaded plastic cabinet latches. Have you replaced all the wood on the cabinet doors in order to mask the hole left by taking them off? I absolutely love the look! Great job! Can't wait to see more progress because it's getting me psyched. How much veneer did you end up replacing? Thanks!!!! Diane Here's what mine looks like right now...

[eljay]

Way to go Diane! Wreck and roll!

[Creampuff]

Originally Posted by moogie32

Had several hours at my disposal Sunday to do more yanking and probing...Plugged her into 110 for the first time to see what works and what doesn't...the good news is most of my lights and my fan work. Most of the outlets work but the Dolmetic ...nothing! At least it doesn't work on electricity which is a big drag because I really wanted to reuse it. Does anyone rebuild these things? Will anyone even recharge ammonia?

Go to this site which will walk you through the frig. issues
www.gasrefrigeration.net
Keep on trailerin' !

[moogie32]

Thanks for this site, Creampuff! Unfortunately gasrefrigeration won't allow you to ship a unit to them but it does generously list other dealers in the country who do. Now I just need to figure out whether mine is worth sending out to be fixed. This is a great place to start - if anyone can answer these questions one of the vendors listed on this site would. Diane

[Mel]

Originally Posted by moogie32

Two questions - Did you also get your danish oil at Home depot and it looks as if you have gotten rid of the dreaded plastic cabinet latches. Have you replaced all the wood on the cabinet doors in order to mask the hole left by taking them off? I absolutely love the look! Great job! Can't wait to see more progress because it's getting me psyched. How much veneer did you end up replacing?

Hi Diane,

Home Depot and Lowe's has the Danish oil (look in the paint section). We didn't get rid of the plastic latches, but we did switch to the brown latches (just barely visible in my last picture). We kept white in the bathroom, though.

We ended up replacing several pieces of plywood - the wall between the bathroom and the bed, the end of the kitchen counter (where the magazine rack attaches), the overhead cabinets over the table, and we will also redo the pieces on either side of the refrigerator. As the new pieces age, they seem to blend more and more with the old.

I like your picture - that's a trailer ripe for possibility! Keep up the good work -

Mel

[moogie32]

Hmmm - maybe I'll switch to brown too. I have never been wild about the latches being so visable - your brown ones blend right in! Is it like that in person or does the photographic image make then more invisable?

You're too kind with your "ripe with possibilities" comment. It's ripe, all right, but I suspect that's cuz of the mold!

I can only dream of having an interior that looks like yours! Did you make some sort of a jig to cut down your tiles?

Thanks! Diane

[Creampuff]

Originally Posted by moogie32

Thanks for this site, Creampuff! Unfortunately gasrefrigeration won't allow you to ship a unit to them but it does generously list other dealers in the country who do. Now I just need to figure out whether mine is worth sending out to be fixed. This is a great place to start - if anyone can answer these questions one of the vendors listed on this site would. Diane

D.
I would try the refer on gas before anything. The heating element could be bad on electric but the frig work well on gas. Level it first - clean the burner orfice, get a good flame and check it after 6-8 hours. Don't give up yet!

[C Johnson]

wreck and roll ! I love that statement !! Its just what I did :-p

[eljay]

Brief moment of brilliance...

[AYRSTRM2]

I dunno, having driven by a big nasty 5th wheel wreck within 1 hour of starting out on our maiden voyage with the Safari, thoughts of wrecks and rolling give me the creeps.

John

[eljay]

Now that's a whole different connotation and NOT a pretty mental picture...

[Mel]

Originally Posted by moogie32

Hmmm - maybe I'll switch to brown too. I have never been wild about the latches being so visable - your brown ones blend right in! Is it like that in person or does the photographic image make then more invisable?

You're too kind with your "ripe with possibilities" comment. It's ripe, all right, but I suspect that's cuz of the mold!

Did you make some sort of a jig to cut down your tiles?

Thanks! Diane

Hi Diane,

Don't worry - the ripeness will go away as you clean/refinish/replace/reupholster!

I'll find another pic that shows the brown latches up close. They are just barely visible on the last picture I posted. I originally toyed with the idea of finding another kind of latch (metal) but couldn't figure out how to do it with the existing cutouts in the doors. I didn't want to have to replace all of the doors!

We rented a tile cutter for our tiles - it's like a heavy-duty paper cutter. I set up camp in a shady spot and cut one tile at a time (cool drink by my side). We kept all the leftover bits, and they have come in handy for filling in hidden areas. We haven't begun to use all the bits, though, so are brainstorming ways to use them up. Ideas anyone?

Mel

[BIGED52]

Diane, I too just bought a 1967 Safari 22' and am in the process of checking it out to restore. In one of your previous posts I noticed you mentioned that you were anticipating the arrival of some Corning Glass windows. Did you get them? I also need some glass for my trailer and was wondering where you were able to get some from? Any help would be great! Thanks Ed

[moogie32]

Originally Posted by BIGED52

Diane, I too just bought a 1967 Safari 22' and am in the process of checking it out to restore. In one of your previous posts I noticed you mentioned that you were anticipating the arrival of some Corning Glass windows. Did you get them? I also need some glass for my trailer and was wondering where you were able to get some from? Any help would be great! Thanks Ed

Hi there Ed! Congratulations of you Safari! Aren't they great trailers? You have to post pictures of it so we can commiserate! As far as the Corning replacement windows I just received an email from AirstreamDreams that my windows are being shipped as we speak. This is very exciting- now I better get myself in gear and order all the gasketing I'll need. There's a whole thread devoted to the new replacement windows. If I were better versed at this I could patch a link in here but for now I'll just tell you where to go - Look under the Airstream Restoration, Repair, & Parts Forum/Interior Restoration/Windows, skylights, and vents. There's a sticky at the top of the list that is "Glass Replacements for Corning". I think that should answer all your questions. You are very lucky that you aquired your Safari this year because up until now the only thing you could replace your missing curved glass was plexiglass or lexan. Where did you find it and what shape is it in? Diane

[moogie32]

Originally Posted by Creampuff

D.
I would try the refer on gas before anything. The heating element could be bad on electric but the frig work well on gas. Level it first - clean the burner orfice, get a good flame and check it after 6-8 hours. Don't give up yet!

I'll have to give this a try! I am willing to start over with pretty much everyting else in the trailer but I really do like the Dometic. Right now I can't try it with gas since the lines in the trailer have been breached and it'snot a closed system. Is there a way to hook up a tank of propane with a regulator directly to the refrigerator to test it out? Actually, that way I could test everything I have before I start to assume nothing works...Thanks Creampuff!

[moogie32]

Well...it's all out. Okay - maybe not all of it but most of it is tucked away in the garage awaiting some rehabbing. I spent most of Sunday pulling out the galley and both of the closets. I have kept most of the mechanicals in place just to make sure I totally understand how they're hooked up so that I can either hook them back up again at a later date once I'm sure they are worth keeping or so that (better yet!) I can just replace them. I also want to take exact measurements of their size and locations for the same reason. I didn't have time to remove the overhead galley bins with the exhaust fan due to a very stubborn screw that seems to be impeding progress. Why is is always the screws that are stubborn? I started to gather items necessary to start working on the interior on available weeknights so that it doesn't start putting down roots in the basement.

Mel - I took your advice and looked for the boiled linseed and danish oil and came up empty on the Danish after looking in two places - a local lumber store and a Home Depot. Wasn't able to locate Varathane either (the guys at Home Depot stared at me like I had two heads when I asked for both!). I'll keep looking but I do have a quick question for you - the people at the local place who seemed to know their stuff questioned following up an organic treatment of the wood with the oils with varathane. They said that it would seal it and you usually didn't do this with oil treatment? I also checked out tile but wasn't able to locate solid colors. I didn't look too long because my 9 year old was starting to complain so I'll try again later. The really good news is that I found an exact match for all the cabinet hinges in the trailer at Home Depot for the princely sum of $2.09 for 2 including screws!!! That made my weekend because many of mine are either rusted or broken. I'll attach photos of the front and rear progress and also the hinges. The one on the right is the new one - it really is shiny, you just can't tell from the photo! Thanks for all your encouragement....!

[BIGED52]

Diane, Thanks for the info on the Corning replacement windows. I will check out that thread shortly! I haven't really had time to do much to the trailer since I brought it home at the end of July last year as I have been busy with work. I remove Asbestos in Coal fired and Nuclear power Stations and am on the road a lot! I can tell you that my trailer is in very good condition, all the interior is intact and so far I have only had to replace two dryrotted tires and the Univolt. I haven't yet hooked up my new Parallax 7455 converter/charger yet as the weekend was very cold weather wise here, and I prefer to work without gloves on whenever possible.
The interior needed a good cleaning as it had been used for storage when it was first parked and had not been towed since 1983. I am only her 3rd owner and I was amazed to get her so reasonably from the PO. I saw the trailer parked near a barn on a farm near my home Nuclear plant in Cordova, Il. and contacted the older gentleman who owned her. He was willing to part with her if I could get her moved off the farm by July 1st. I said I would do that even if I had to dolly her, so he sold her to me for only 1,000.00! I'm really happy about that!!! Well, very long on story so I'll get off for now...thanks again for window info. Ed

[Mel]

Originally Posted by moogie32

Mel - I took your advice and looked for the boiled linseed and danish oil and came up empty on the Danish after looking in two places - a local lumber store and a Home Depot. Wasn't able to locate Varathane either (the guys at Home Depot stared at me like I had two heads when I asked for both!). I'll keep looking but I do have a quick question for you - the people at the local place who seemed to know their stuff questioned following up an organic treatment of the wood with the oils with varathane. They said that it would seal it and you usually didn't do this with oil treatment? I also checked out tile but wasn't able to locate solid colors. I didn't look too long because my 9 year old was starting to complain so I'll try again later. The really good news is that I found an exact match for all the cabinet hinges in the trailer at Home Depot for the princely sum of $2.09 for 2 including screws!!! That made my weekend because many of mine are either rusted or broken. I'll attach photos of the front and rear progress and also the hinges. The one on the right is the new one - it really is shiny, you just can't tell from the photo! Thanks for all your encouragement....!

Hi Diane,

I feel your pain! You have just described why I have a love/hate relationship with Home Depot. In most cases, I will do whatever I can to avoid asking for help there! I'll try to give you more info so that your next trip there will (hopefully) be less frustrating (although, you got the hinges, so there's a victory!) The brand of Danish oil I purchased is "Watco Danish Oil" and is made by Rustoleum. Here's a link to that site so you can see what the can looks like:
http://www.rustoleum.com/product.asp...t_id=112&SBL=1
That site also has store locators. From there, I jumped to www.woodanswers.com. They verified that it's okay to apply an additional protective finish over Danish oil as long as you wait at least 72 hours. The spray varathane is called "MinWax Fast-Drying Polyurethane" and comes in three finishes - gloss, semi-gloss, and satin.

Good luck!!
Mel

[Mel]

Originally Posted by BIGED52

I can tell you that my trailer is in very good condition, all the interior is intact and so far I have only had to replace two dryrotted tires and the Univolt.

Ed, do you have pictures? What a great find!

Mel