shell off restoration of '54 Cruiser

[Stanley29]

leaving the end caps on. the top panel came down on top of me…..knocked over the light and i fell through the floor. the piece was 20feet long. a bitch to get out the door

[Stanley29]

panels off

[Stanley29]

thought Id put a shine on the old girl so it would be nice to look at while I tackle the tough issues. Nuvite F9….came out ok…I will need to go over some areas again that have deep scratches. I plan on finishing the polish when she's done

[Stanley29]

rigged up a couple of 2x6 x 16's to lift the shell. Was going to lift from the 2 far vents but didn't have enough room to run the straps to the com -along since I needed to lift pretty high to get over the wheel wells. I ended up pulling from the center vent. Of course I drilled out all the rivets I could see and most of the blind rivets. That was not easy

[Stanley29]

beam in place ready to lift the shell

[Stanley29]

Shell coming off….you figure out pretty quick where the hidden rivet are located. The tough ones seemed to be around the wheel wells. Lifted easily…slow a little at at a time. Came off ok. The shell is definitely heavier in the front. The girl wanted to tip forward. I will secure 2 more straps on cleats for and aft to even the load when I have to lift her again

[Stanley29]

I can now get a good look at the rotted floor and rusted out frame

[Stanley29]

nasty rotted floor. It was tough to get a good template of the front and rear corners. I layer out some heavy paper and traced it best I could. Didn't work well. I will have to try some other ideas on getting an accurate cut for the new floor. Lots to do before that happens

[Stanley29]

started pulling off the old floor. Put it in the burn pile. Was nice to get that nasty smell out of my hangar. With the floor off I can see all the work Im going to have to do on the frame. The main frame members look sound but most of the cross members are shot along with the outriggers. I plan on welding on new ones. Thats where Im at now.

[Stanley29]

Decided to save the belly pan just in case I need extra measurements

[Stanley29]

Now that I have the girl broken down to parade rest its time to start on the frame. I have quite a bit of welding to do. Before I begin I was wondering if anybody has any advice on grey and black water tanks. Just in case I need to replace the cross members in order to fit the tanks. The last tank in the trailer was a big iron monster bolted to the side of the trailer as you can see. Not sure what setup will work best. Any ideas would be great. Mike

[HiHoAgRV]

Saving the bellypan is a good idea, the corners are much easier to re-create from a pattern.

I used new 4x2x.125 thick rectangle steel for new crossmembers on each side of the tanks, they give you much more meat to attach straps and won't twist like the flimsy formed steel original stuff.

I've used the VTS in-bellypan tanks and also some that hang below the frame. The hang down version has a sloped bottom and the outlet hangs just below the frame rail, no need to blow a hole in the main rail for a dump pipe to go thru.

Good looking work!

[toastie]

What a great looking Airstream, your doing it the right way, the forum will not let you down.........


toastie

[toastie]

[QUOTE=Stanley29;1736827]started pulling off the old floor. Put it in the burn pile. Was nice to get that nasty smell out of my hangar. With the floor off I can see all the work Im going to have to do on the frame. The main frame members look sound but most of the cross members are shot along with the outriggers. I plan on welding on new ones. Thats where Im at now.[/QUO

decontaminating a 62 year old trailers is one of the most important things you can do, health wise you will not regret.

toastie

[Stanley29]

Thanks for the encouragement. Have to wire up a 220 plug in my barn for a welder….then I need to figure out how to weld. My neighbor(4 miles away)is an expert. He said he'll teach me. Ive always wanted to learn how to weld and this is a great opportunity. A trip to Hawaii this week then I'll be back at it.
Any suggestions on Tank sizes? I understand that the crapper has to be directly over the black tank. Makes sense. Also got a number from Colin Hyde on an axle. Torsion axle already assembled, shipped and ready to go for around $800. Seems reasonable. I guess I'll have to weld a few plates on the frame and then Ill be good to go.

[Stanley29]

Does anybody have a good suggestion on how to plumb this baby? As you can see the old tank is positioned on the outer side of the main frame rail which allows the waste to make a straight shot(good). Don't think I can fit a new tank in that position without it being seen(eye sore)which leaves the main frame to deal with. I don't see how I can go over it with the floor in place which means I have to go through it. Guess I could try and build the shower pan up and slide the pipe over the rail. last thing I want to do is drill holes in the main frame rail. Tin man is helping on this but I thought Id throw it out to the forum for more ideas. Thanks, Mike

[calais66]

That's what I did. My shower pan sits two inches above the rest of the subfloor. Lost a couple inches of headroom, but better than weakening the frame.

[Stanley29]

I'll probably do the same. No problems with clogging? You must have run a 2" elbow over to the other side of the frame. Thanks, Mike

[toastie]

Originally Posted by Stanley29

Thanks for the encouragement. Have to wire up a 220 plug in my barn for a welder….then I need to figure out how to weld. My neighbor(4 miles away)is an expert. He said he'll teach me. Ive always wanted to learn how to weld and this is a great opportunity. A trip to Hawaii this week then I'll be back at it.
Any suggestions on Tank sizes? I understand that the crapper has to be directly over the black tank. Makes sense. Also got a number from Colin Hyde on an axle. Torsion axle already assembled, shipped and ready to go for around $800. Seems reasonable. I guess I'll have to weld a few plates on the frame and then Ill be good to go.

With your new axle will it raise your trailer.

[calais66]

Originally Posted by Stanley29

I'll probably do the same. No problems with clogging? You must have run a 2" elbow over to the other side of the frame. Thanks, Mike

1.5", but yeah. We're still waist-deep in our restoration so hasn't been put to practice yet, but it passed to old hose test.