'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[bkahler]

Got the side panel removed this evening. Oddly enough there was no sealant on any of the seams. I'm debating weather to lay the old panel on top of the new to trace the wheel well opening or hang the panel temporarily, trace the curve and then remove the panel to cut the curve. I think I'll have better luck if I have the panel mounted first and then trace. It would likely be a lot more accurate.







Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Got the side panel removed this evening. Oddly enough there was no sealant on any of the seams. I'm debating weather to lay the old panel on top of the new to trace the wheel well opening or hang the panel temporarily, trace the curve and then remove the panel to cut the curve. I think I'll have better luck if I have the panel mounted first and then trace. It would likely be a lot more accurate.
Brad

Nothing oddly about that, i have found many seams, I could stick a butter knife in. Yes, buck rivets are superior in strength, but they dont do anything for sealing a seam without goo. Vulkem and tempro are super strong adhesives, when they are applied in between uncoated clean aluminum. I would trace the old and make an identical copy, if you liked the way it was

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

Nothing oddly about that, i have found many seams, I could stick a butter knife in. Yes, buck rivets are superior in strength, but they dont do anything for sealing a seam without goo. Vulkem and tempro are super strong adhesives, when they are applied in between uncoated clean aluminum. I would trace the old and make an identical copy, if you liked the way it was

All of the seams appeared to be tight. As you mentioned buck rivets definitely hold tighter than Olympic rivets.

In my case I think tracing is going to make things more difficult unless I cut the curved section off of the old panel. I'd have to drill out a whole lot of rivets to remove a compartment door and a few other patch panels in order to get the whole panel to lay flat on top of the new panel. I'm still thinking about it!

[bkahler]

One thing that always bugged me about how my Argosy was constructed was the rib that was cut off where the furnace was placed. Instead of sliding the furnace left or right a few inches they just hacked off 15" at the bottom of the rib and stuck the furnace in place. These old Argosies have half the ribs compared the the later classics. There's a reason Airstream added all the extra ribs in the Classics so anything I can do to the Argosy to improve the shell strength is worth doing.

Since I'm relocating everything I decided to replace the missing section of rib. Oddly enough I just happen to have a complete rib hanging on my shop wall

So I cut off 15" and set it in place. I still need to add the fasteners but I'm quite happy so far without how it's looking so far.




This morning I picked up a 4' x 10' section of 0.040" aluminum sheet and cut it down to a 32" width. That left me with a 15-1/2" x 10' section of aluminum sheet for future needs. I had the option of buying a 32" x 10' sheet for $145.01 or buying a 48" x 10' sheet for $145.01. I opted to get the whole sheet and cut it myself



Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

..

This morning I picked up a 4' x 10' section of 0.040" aluminum sheet and cut it down to a 32" width. That left me with a 15-1/2" x 10' section of aluminum sheet for future needs. I had the option of buying a 32" x 10' sheet for $145.01 or buying a 48" x 10' sheet for $145.01. I opted to get the whole sheet and cut it myself

Attachment 393336Attachment 393337

Brad

Did it almost kill you when you cut the tape on the roll or did you bring it home in 4'x10' flat sheet?

Nice straight cut!

[martin300662]

Are you tempted to TIG to rib extension Brad?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

Did it almost kill you when you cut the tape on the roll or did you bring it home in 4'x10' flat sheet?

Nice straight cut!

I carried it home flat. I stopped at Lowes to buy a couple of 2x4-10' and was floored by the price, $11.62 EACH

I hadn't bought lumber in over a year and was totally shocked by the prices of lumber. You read about it in the news that lumber prices are going up but this is absurd. I'd hate to be building a house right now.

Anyway, I lay the 2x4s in the bed of the truck with the tail gate up, lay a sheet of 1/2" foam board insulation on the 2x4s and then lay the aluminum sheet on top with another layer of 1/2" foam board on top of that. Then strap everything down. Seems to work ok this way

I really like the electric shears that I have. Bought them from Eastwood. They seem to cut really well.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Are you tempted to TIG to rib extension Brad?

I thought about it but my TIG welding skills are not all that great yet. Also, these would be vertical welds which from what I understand is more difficult with TIG. In the end I took the cowardly way out and just use nuts and bolts

[bkahler]

I had a rather productive day today working on the Argosy. I started out by talking to Peter about using buck rivets instead of Olympic rivets. The net result of that conversation is I will be reinstalling all of the panels using buck rivets as much as possible. Peter was also kind enough to point out what tools I should buy and where to get them. So, I now have on order a rivet air hammer kit with bucking bar, proper rivet anvil and a pair of rivet cutters. I'll be ordering the buck rivets shortly.

First task was to get the corner panel fitted. The replacement panel suppled by Airstream is fabricated way oversized and it's the installers task to properly trim the panel to have it match the curve on the coach to the curve of the panel. So somewhere inside that big oversized panel lurks the panel that will fit the Argosy!

I think I spent about an hour and a half trimming the panel to fit and getting it properly set in place. The trickiest part was getting it to fit the curve at the bottom of the window.














Ernie stopped by today to do some work on Peanut and before he left I had him help hold the 32" x 10' panel in place so I could get a couple of holes drilled for some Clecos. Once I have the panel firmly Clecoed in place I'll trace the fender well curve, remove the panel and cut that section out. I also have some minor repair work to do that is more accessible with the 10' section off so I'll deal with that before riveting everything in place.









I still have a lot of holes to drill on both panels prior to actually being able to rivet them in place but overall it was a good day.


Here's a different view of how I managed to shear off the Jack Antenna




Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Curved panel looks great, Brad. Quite a shock to realize that they just provide an over size panel that needs to be fitted. On the roof panels they at least give you pre drilled holes along one side that helps with alignment.

[kidjedi]

Why is it that a panel full of clecos makes me so much happier than a panel that's actually bucked and complete? They are just so cool looking!

And $12 for a 2x4?! I've been doing only Airstreams for two years (no houses), so I had no idea just how bad it is. Last 2x4 I bought was two something! I was going to remodel the bathroom soon. Guess I'll be waiting.

FWIW, on the topic of cutting... when I first started, I tried everything everyone suggested, pneumatic shears, electric shears, air saw, electric saw, etc., etc. I have gotten really good at just using the thinnest cut off wheel I can find (with the safety guard removed). After watching a friend of mine give it a go (and fail miserably) on a very expensive piece of aluminum I had , I realize not everyone will have the same experience. But I have been able to cut everything, even rounded corner radius vent holes, with just a cut off wheel. I actually keep the 4" wheels that I have worn down to 2 inches or less for use on tighter curves (though it doesn't seem to make *that* much difference).

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Thanks for the tip. Ordered some today. Aside from the hinges, I have plenty of locks around my place that are getting stiff with age so maybe this will help

Not sure if you have tried the Lock Ease yet, but FWIW today it worked great on some stubborn old eyeglass hinges, as one example of the powdered graphite working its way into small spaces.

BTW it sure is fun to watch you guys take care of these old classic MH . . . nice work!

Thanks.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Not sure if you have tried the Lock Ease yet, but FWIW today it worked great on some stubborn old eyeglass hinges, as one example of the powdered graphite working its way into small spaces.

BTW it sure is fun to watch you guys take care of these old classic MH . . . nice work!

Thanks.

I didn't receive the Lock Ease until Saturday. It will be put to use this coming weekend when I have some free time.

It may be fun to watch but it sure is a lot of work!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

Curved panel looks great, Brad. Quite a shock to realize that they just provide an over size panel that needs to be fitted. On the roof panels they at least give you pre drilled holes along one side that helps with alignment.

Are you referring to the segmented rear panels at the top rear?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by kidjedi

Why is it that a panel full of clecos makes me so much happier than a panel that's actually bucked and complete? They are just so cool looking!

Kinda gives things the Mad Max look

And $12 for a 2x4?! I've been doing only Airstreams for two years (no houses), so I had no idea just how bad it is. Last 2x4 I bought was two something! I was going to remodel the bathroom soon. Guess I'll be waiting.

I know at least one person that has put off building his new garage because of prices. He poured the foundation and slab last fall figuring to build this spring. Pretty sad.

FWIW, on the topic of cutting... when I first started, I tried everything everyone suggested, pneumatic shears, electric shears, air saw, electric saw, etc., etc. I have gotten really good at just using the thinnest cut off wheel I can find (with the safety guard removed). After watching a friend of mine give it a go (and fail miserably) on a very expensive piece of aluminum I had , I realize not everyone will have the same experience. But I have been able to cut everything, even rounded corner radius vent holes, with just a cut off wheel. I actually keep the 4" wheels that I have worn down to 2 inches or less for use on tighter curves (though it doesn't seem to make *that* much difference).

I've never had much trouble cutting sheet aluminum with shears, manual or electric. The electric shears are the only way I can cut a straight unmarred edge on sheet aluminum. The only thing I don't like about using manual shears is I'm always scraping my knuckles on the edges of the sheet metal

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by kidjedi

And $12 for a 2x4?! I've been doing only Airstreams for two years (no houses), so I had no idea just how bad it is. Last 2x4 I bought was two something! I was going to remodel the bathroom soon. Guess I'll be waiting.

I was going to build some shelves for the shop last fall. In the spring I priced it out at $400. By fall it turned out to be cheaper to buy $800 professional industrial metal units, even after $200 shipping. Insane.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Are you referring to the segmented rear panels at the top rear?

yes

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

I was going to build some shelves for the shop last fall. In the spring I priced it out at $400. By fall it turned out to be cheaper to buy $800 professional industrial metal units, even after $200 shipping. Insane.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

yes

That would certainly make installation easier although I'm sure it's still a challenge.

[bkahler]

Since I'm replacing the two panels already I've decided to also replace the upper middle panel with the two small windows at the same time. The front window will be a close interference for the fridge that is going in that area and the rear window is being replaced with a full size slider. If the rear window had been placed farther to the rear I might not be replacing the panel but it's moved just far enough forward to make fitment of the slider not to my liking.



I wish I had made this decision last friday while I was at Metals Depot. It would have saved me a trip and $14. Surprisingly, the price on Friday was $145.01. On the following Monday the price was $169.18. Over the weekend the price jumped 15%. Just my luck

The riveting tools and supplies have started to arrive. With luck I'll have everything by early next week. Once the panels have been replaced I'll move to the roof where I need to do something about the broken antenna and I plan on reinforcing the roof around the air conditioner. An early Argosy has half as many ribs which means the roof wasn't really meant to support anything let alone an air conditioner.