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MJMarkhams70 · 06-21-2009, 08:09 PM

Well we brought the AS home on Wednesday and decided to not let things sit around. We cleaned out the interior of the debris that was left over from the PO's attempt of removing the front floor. We have decided to replace the entire floor. We removed the cabinetry all the way back to the fiberglass in the bath... It was a crazy busy weekend for us. Next weekend should have more work in store. I am going to repaint all the glass and hope that it all goes back in with not a whole lot of hassle. The potable water tank will be replace, as I am not quite sure if I want to use an almost 40 year old water tank... The frame will have some metal work done and then the whole thing will get treated with POR15... lots to do...

**azflycaster** · 06-21-2009, 08:42 PM

Looks like you are off to a great start. You might want to think about a few other upgrades while you have everything apart. I would replace the Univolt with a modern 3 stage converter. I recently installed an Intelipower 9245 in my trailer and I am very pleased with the new unit.

I would also take a good look at your copper water lines and think about replacing them with PEX. It looks like you have at least one patched area, most likely from a freeze, there could be more. You will never have a better time then now to make the swap to PEX.

MJMarkhams70 · 06-21-2009, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Looks like you are off to a great start. You might want to think about a few other upgrades while you have everything apart. I would replace the Univolt with a modern 3 stage converter. I recently installed an Intelipower 9245 in my trailer and I am very pleased with the new unit.

I would also take a good look at your copper water lines and think about replacing them with PEX. It looks like you have at least one patched area, most likely from a freeze, there could be more. You will never have a better time then now to make the swap to PEX.

Good thought on the PEX. I am most likely going to replace all the water line and the gas lines as well. I would just feel at ease that I would have a better chance to not have a leak... All of the sub-floor is getting coated with epoxy paint on the bottom before being screwed down then the top will get it as well. I have been reading quite a bit over the last week and i will paint all the edges of the floor as well. it wont rot again in my lifetime...

dieseleagle · 06-22-2009, 05:41 AM

Good luck. Its not just an adventure, its a heck of a job. But, keep in mind that its just the sum of a lot of little very doable projects. One day you will wake up and it'll be starting to look like something to be proud of.

MJMarkhams70 · 06-22-2009, 05:54 AM

I am already proud to be a young member of the Airstream family... I really love projects like this. I hope that in the end, we have a fun, usable and comfortable camper that's better than original, that we can use for many years to come...

AIR-Quarius · 06-30-2009, 07:58 AM

well at least you can say that you know exactly where everything is located when you get finished...thats pretty neat-we were sitting here looking at how our bathroom looks without walls....cool. If you ever need any photos of our interior for reference, look me up. Bill

MJMarkhams70 · 07-06-2009, 06:17 AM

quick update: floor is gone and we are almost ready to separate the body from the frame...

**moosetags** · 07-06-2009, 06:24 AM

It looks like you're making great progress.

Brian

MJMarkhams70 · 07-06-2009, 11:59 AM

we are finding that we have a few more things to deal with than we would have liked, but in the long run, the AS will be all the better if we do. I will be doing some fab work on some new outriggers as well as the outriggers with the slide groves for the step. I am sure there are technical names used for these things, so bear with me... I am no stranger to the restoration process so I know the wife and I can do it... here is the last project I went through
before:

after:

this is gonna be fun...

danalee · 07-06-2009, 03:54 PM

You sure have talent! Its going to be fun to follow your journey!

MJMarkhams70 · 07-06-2009, 08:55 PM

well, I appreciate that.

After some serious thought, the first major purchase will have to be a pair of drum to drum axles... after really looking at what i have, I cant put this thing on the road with what is there. too many issues. I would say that i have about 10 degrees of negative angle on the trailing arms. and the brakes and drums are gone. If it's worth doing might as well do it right. the frame will be blasted in the next few weeks and new metal welded in where needed (outriggers mainly). then I will treat the whole thing with rust preventative paint. Lots to do...

I was thinking of a few things that I want to try to do that will make things a little more functional. One of the things is to add an outside shower where the current door for the 12v converter is, since access to water is a very short distance away. I would create a shelf for the new converter that would be above that in the closet to be above any water that could possibly leak. thoughts?

MJMarkhams70 · 07-12-2009, 08:57 PM

it was a great weekend for the AS... The shell is separated from the frame. Now the cleaning, cutting and welding of the frame is now the next step in the process.

The wife found a great combination of two Bio-Friendly products that are doing a fantastic job at removing the paint that a PO put on the interior panels...

It's HOT these days, temps hitting 100, so I get to sweat my gut off while getting work done...

let the stuff in the jug sit for 10 minutes, then spray it down with the spray bottle and it lifts right off. Arms still get tired doing a whole panel buy it's not bad if your trying to save the original stuff...

utee94 · 07-12-2009, 09:05 PM

Looking good MJM. The work on your bug is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to seeing your Airstream renovation.

I like the idea of the outdoor shower. Looks like you might surf, and an outdoor shower would be a great help in keeping the sand out of the trailer.

Good luck and keep us posted.

-Marcus

sempi2 · 07-12-2009, 09:48 PM

OMG, we went with a newer-used A/S.I am working on just replacing the cushion covers and bedcover. But do admire all the work you are doing, along with all the other vintage streamers. So much work, so much rewards.

MJMarkhams70 · 07-15-2009, 09:43 AM

p.s.....thanks "insideout" for the recommendation for lift off, i saw it at WalMart then the gel....if you let the gel sit for 10 min then scrub it all into a paint "soup" with the spray, then you can spray it down with water and get 90% off, then rinse/dry/repeat....once the paint is removed, whatever "patina" is left is staying, my arm is numb from scrubbing!

MJMarkhams70 · 07-19-2009, 08:31 PM

it was a great weekend for the AS... We were able to get the frame into the shop and strip it down... It was better than I was expecting for the most part. I will be ordering the parts to rebuild the step brackets and the surrounding outriggers. The two out riggers that were under the tub (curbside) will be replaced as well. I did find something that will be another "cha-ching" item to the pile. The black-water tank exit flange is cracked about half way round. I don't think that it can be repaired. I didnt like what I was seeing with the angle iron that hold the water tank up so I cut loose the welds so that I can treat the rust that was traped between the frame and the iron... I will feel much better about putting it back...

the axles are definetly going to need replacing. They are really bad. That will be the first "big ticket" item that we order in the very near future. We are deep into it now...

MJMarkhams70 · 08-02-2009, 05:22 PM

made more progress on the frame resto... got a lot of the welding done as well as treating about 90% of the frame with POR 15. The rest will come next weekend. All the parts to completely rebuild the step outrigger section should be here on Tuesday. I plan on getting all the metal work knocked out then as well and finish off the rust treatment. I was able to source the 18mm Hydrotech MGP for the subfloor for 76.00 a sheet. WAAAHOOO! I will end up gettin 8 sheets in order to have one for under the water tank. anybody see any reason why I shouldnt use contact cement to hold the aluminum to the bottom of that piece o that it will slide in and out easier?

After the frame, floor and belly pan are back together the new axles will be installed. I just hope I ca get them befor the body goes back on, but it may not happen that way.

I God be willing I will be setting the body back on in 3 weeks...

the section marked in the red boxes will be replace next weekend. I also plan on working on the fram to take out the rear sag and box in the rear of the frame.

87MH · 08-03-2009, 05:59 AM

MJM70 -

Great documentation and great craftsmanship!

Any idea on how much time you have in the project to date?

MJMarkhams70 · 08-03-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87MH

MJM70 -

Great documentation and great craftsmanship!

Any idea on how much time you have in the project to date?

If I had to guess, I would say that it has been about 50 hours spread over 4 weekends so far... I would like to think that when I get it back together, structurally, it will be better than new.

On that note, I have an idea that I would like to throw out. I was thinking that I will put jack stands under the front and rear of the frame, then I will "load" the center of the frame. Using a string line, I will load it to where there is about 1/2" of curve in the frame from front to rear, after which I will box in the rear half of the frame. When the "loading" is removed, the frame will straighten out to a great degree, but leaving the rear with a very slight upward curve. I would suspect that when I bolt the body back down, it will be flat and give me some future insurance against rear end sag.
Thoughts?

Thanks for the support...

MJM

MJMarkhams70 · 08-04-2009, 08:38 PM

another small step forward for the Overlander...the outriggers and step pieces arrived today. I am very impressed with the quality of the items we received from Out-of-Doors mart. I was contemplating trying to fab this stuff myself, but decided to buy them because the prices were so reasonable.

I am also going to order the blackwater tank from INCA next week. they have the exact replacement and will install the necessary fittings... I received a quote of $240.00 for the H4 holding tank...

I also found a local source for elevator bolts. I can get them zinc coated so they should last a little longer. the plan is to use nyloc nuts as well as bending the bolts.

We also brought the windows home with us so we can start cleaning them up. I want to replace the scrathed up plexy. I will do some searching for window R&R threads...

small steps forward add up...