1964 Safari Twin

[64Lincoln]

It's been over two months since I bought the Safari off eBay. I probably should have started this thread back then, but I was too busy working on the Airstream. I posted some pictures last night and then today figured out this was how I was supposed to do this. I love my Airstream. It's beautiful. But, it's been a whole lot more work than I expected.

I bought it off eBay, sight unseen, from a dealer in Kansas who told me he had bought it in Arkansas. There's a sticker inside from a trailer dealer in Virginia, so that may be where it was from originally. I'd love to know the history. The old WBCCI number 12477 is still quite visible. Maybe someone can look that up. The dealer I bought it from told me there were probably a few plumbing leaks as there usually are and there's a bit of dry rot by the door, but otherwise the floor looks good. I guess if he really never looked at it for more than a few seconds, that may be all he knew, and that is possible. Unfortunately, it needed a whole lot more, and still does.

Seeing that the Airstream was to be delivered about a week and a half before he Spring Rally at Marina near Monterey, and having never been to a rally or met any streamers, I signed up. When my little Safari showed up, and as I dug into it, I started to realize this was going to be a bit difficult.

Here are a few pictures from the day I got her.

[m.hony]

Love the big ole residential attic vent.

[64Lincoln]

It was gone within 24 hours of the Airstream arriving!

[m.hony]

Good place for a Fantastic fan or skylight.

[64Lincoln]

Before the Marina Rally I replaced all the plumbing with PEX. That stuff is actually pretty easy to work with. I would have hated to have done it in PVC like the last guy. I replaced the water tank which was split down the middle. I replaced the pump, the toilet and the water heater. There was a very bad installation of a Mono-Matic recirculating toilet. It was dead and the water heater was rotten. I wasn't even worrying about the heater. I just figured I'd light it when I went camping. Silly me.

I replaced the water heater with an Attwood On-Demand. The first one was DOA so I ended up going to Marina without hot water. I survived. The second one seems to be working great. I've had an on demand hot water heater in my home for over twenty years. They're great.

Also before Marina, I had to reinstall the black water tank, weld a new outlet into it and replace all the ABS, outlet, valve etc. There's a picture showing after I removed the old toilet and oversized bench and installed a piece of sheet metal over the dry rotted floor to try and stabilize everything. Yes, this is temporary, but it's working pretty well.

The refrigerator was dead too. I tried to get it repaired but was told parts are no longer available. So it got replaced. If anyone needs any of the plastic parts in it, they were all nice, and they are free for the asking. I hate to throw them out.

I replaced most of the clearance lights, the tail lights, the AC cover, and of course the astrodome. That turbine vent was just too much.

I finally got to Marina, a day late and dead tired from working on the Airstream, but I got there. I met a lot of nice people who were very welcoming and helpful. On the way there, somewhere along 101, my trunk bottom opened up and the sewer hose left. Someone in another car let me know. I pulled over and ended up zip tying the whole back underbelly to the back bumper so it wouldn't drag. When I got to Marina, one of the streamers loaned me a sewer hose! I couldn't believe it. They were wonderful.

Besides finding out what nice people the streamers are, I found out I have rear end separation. I also found out my axle was shot. I replaced the axle. The rear end separation on the other hand is a bit bigger job. The whole floor needs replacing and that will be left for another day.

[64Lincoln]

I planned on getter her polished. I figured I'd get around to it eventually. I had a little teardrop for years before I had someone polish it. But, the Airstream looked really bad all grey and dingy so I started looking around for someone to do it. The guys that did my teardrop years ago were long gone and I heard what it was likely to cost. I started thinking. I need the exercise. I've buffed out many cars. This can't be that bad. I have the time, and I don't want to spend the money. So, I started in on it. I've burned up two Harbor Freight buffers. I've gone through ten bottles of truck box polish and five buffing pads. It was a lot of work, but it's looking pretty good. I still have to go back over it a lot, but I'm kind of proud of myself.

[64Lincoln]

I finally got the new cushions back from the upholsterer. He drove me crazy, not showing up and not being findable for days, but he did a very nice job. The old cushions weren't original and they didn't fit so we had no patterns to go by. We just made them to fit. I think we did it right. They look great. They were made to be reversible. They are vinyl on one side and cloth on the other. There are straps around the dinette seat back cushions that snap onto the original snaps on the wall and hold the seat backs in place. Having never seen an original, we kind of played it by ear. I suspect that as nice as the cloth is, the vinyl side will probably be up most of the time.

I also cut a new board to go at the end of the dinette bench near the door and one for the top of the toilet bench. The board next to the door was done by looking at pictures on this forum since mine was missing. The padded toilet bench is to hide the destruction caused by someone in the past.

[64Lincoln]

This isn't how my table is supposed to work, is it? There are remnants of wood tracks under the table. How is it supposed to work? The way it is looks really hokey.

[64Lincoln]

This was my first Airstream and I've sold it to someone who is going to take it to the next level. He's gutting it, replacing the floors, a lot of the aluminum, and a whole lot more. I can't wait to see it.

I haven't abandoned Airstreams. I just bought a better one. At least I think so.