The only 32' Argosy in the world, what's it worth?

[pillageTHENburn]

First, I fully realize that saying this is the only one in the world could be a stretch, read on to see why I think it is. After many years of wonderful service we need to sell this motorhome, we took a loan from my parents to buy it and don't really have the cash flow to pay them off in an appropriate time frame. So I come to you asking for advice on an asking price.


As far as I know this is the ONLY 32' 1974 Argosy in existence on the entire planet. “Why” you ask? Here’s the story:
I am the third owner, the person I bought it from bought it in a fundraising auction held by the original owners and only drove it once from Central California to Gardnerville NV (130 miles). He used it for a few months as an office for a small hotel he was running. The original owner is really the guy with all the great stories, I will retell the important ones as best I can. He bought it new in 1974, it had a Chevy 454 on a P-30 Chassis. In 1974 Airstream’s longest Argosy was 24’. It lived for 10 years as a 24 footer and in 1984 Airstream started making a 32 foot motorhome; the original owner wanted one, but he already had an Argosy. What to do? Why turn the 24 footer into a 32 footer of course! So he gutted it and took it in to the nearest Airstream factory where he had them extend the chassis, add an air-ride tag axle, and re-skin the newly added tail end (and add a new, longer zip-dee awning). It was now a legitimate 32’ Argosy! The owner was a cabinet maker and he completely designed and built a brand new, gorgeous interior. He used a lot of original Airstream parts (overhead compartments, lights etc.) but the floorplan and everything else was his design. I have the original, hand drawn plans and all manuals and paperwork for all the interior hardware.

So that is basically how it became the only 32 foot 1974 Argosy motorhome in the world (as far as I can tell).

Now some details about the amenities. It has beautiful oak woodwork and a cedar closet and two cedar lined drawers. LOTS of storage space. Generator (works, fuel line could use some help but the generator is good), Gas/Electric fridge (works great), Gas stove (works great), Single roof AC (works great), Forced air heater (works great), Water heater (I’ve never used it), City water hookup (I’ve never used it), Shower (never used it, eventually removed the shower head/hose because we used the area for storage while driving), toilet (the blackwater tank is rusted through so we never used it), bathroom sink and kitchen sink (all sinks worked fine until we had a cold snap where the pipes didn’t get cleared so there was a leak; wanting running water I bypassed the rest of the plumbing so the kitchen sink works fine but the rest has been bypassed. Haven’t gotten around to re-plumbing it with PEX), Original Airstream AC power supply/inverter, newer battery charger, Air-ride tag axle with gauges in dash and auxiliary air tool connections, two 30 gallon fuel tanks (with dash mounted changeover switch and guages), Newly rebuilt (see below) Chevy 454 on a (modified) P-30 chassis, Zip-Dee awning, fold out couch (I designed and built the fold out part, my wife re-upholstered the couch), Long slide out table in back, dinette with two swivel bucket seats in front, custom curtains for windshield and rear corner windows, mini blinds for all side windows and rear window, carpet throughout, “command center” dashboard with guages for water, lp, batteries, ammeter, generator, water pump.

There are a few other important details: it has three axles one of which is dual - so it has 8 tires. 4 of them are very new (see picture) and two more are semi new (less than 3 years) and the last two are probably due to be replaced in the next few years. 4 years ago when driving from Los Angeles to Reno a valve broke off and wreaked havoc on the engine, at which point we had the entire engine completely rebuilt, so the engine is quite new. The paint job is peeling pretty badly in some spots, the end cap on the back is almost completely peeled which has revealed a bondo job on one of the back corners. I think it’s a little leaky but I’m not entirely sure where, we live in Reno Nevada so it’s usually quite dry but once we had it in central CA and it rained for 4 days straight and when we went to leave water was dripping from around the sun visors. I assume it pooled while we were parked and ran out when we drove. The generator runs but it doesn’t seem to get fuel through the built in fuel line anymore (which draws from the main tanks), I connected it directly to it’s own fuel tank recently and it ran fine. It has a “star heart” logo on the driver’s side but this is a decal and can be removed. The smog pump recently failed (siezed) but since we were in the middle of the desert between Las Vegas and Phoenix I simply removed it so we could continue on, so it might not pass smog at the moment but that’s a super easy fix (it has always passed smog with zero problems!). The wiring under the dash is a pretty big mess, the engine AC works but the wiring for the fan uses the wrong gauge wires so the connectors overheat - the dash wiring needs some work.

I have extensive notes, drawings and diagrams for everything from electrical wiring to plumbing to fan belts. I have an extremely intimate relationship with this machine and I’ve tried to document everything I work on or improve.

[pillageTHENburn]

Note, in the pictures above the tag axle is deflated, it does not normally ride that low. Also I have all hubcaps, not sure why I don't have them on...
Also some more pictures:

[PuffinPotter]

I'm sorry you have to sell it! Coincidentally, I have been reading a lot on the forums here over the last while and yesterday I read your whole thread about purchasing your vehicle. (All 5 pages!) It was good reading and when I had to stop in the middle because a customer came into my shop I almost couldn't stand the suspense; will he get it?!! Can't help you with the value, but hope you get a good price for it. My husband and I will be picking up our new (to us) 1979 24' Excella on Wednesday, just made the offer on it about an hour ago. I am excited and terrified!
Best of luck to you!
Sarah

[pillageTHENburn]

Thank you Sarah! Oddly enough I recently re-read that thread as well. Made me even more sad about selling it! It has been an exciting adventure and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I hope your adventure with the Excella goes as charmingly as mine has! I don't want to scare you but if you want the exciting story of how we came about re-building the engine you can read the whole thing here: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f159...ine-19631.html

I would give just about anything to not sell this right now. I hope it provides someone else with as many awesome memories as it has for us!

Thanks for reading!
-Logan

[PuffinPotter]

I actually already read that too! Sounds slightly stalker-ish, but once I read the purchase story I wanted to see how things went. Plus I am reading everything I can find on here, the good, the bad and the reeeeeeallly bad!! I'm hoping I don't have too many stories to share, but I'm sure there will be some!

Yes, I wish you could keep it too. Hopefully it finds a home with people who will love it as much as you did. Or maybe you'll win the lottery?

Sarah

[GREENovaters]

You should contact AIRSTREAM directly and see if they want to buy it - unless you have already sold it!

[Khaosinc]

actually there is another one in atlanta

Vintage Airstream Argosy RV-1978 ***MUST SELL**MAKE OFFER***

[Phrunes]

Is that the length of the coach with the bumpers and a tongue or without? LOL

[pillageTHENburn]

Originally Posted by Khaosinc

actually there is another one in atlanta

Vintage Airstream Argosy RV-1978 ***MUST SELL**MAKE OFFER***

By the time I got to your link the CL post was expired... Curious was the one you linked to 32' feet long?
-Logan

Edit: Nevermind, I found a copy of the listing. It's a '78 not a '74 and it does not list the length anywhere, my guess would be it's a 24' since I believe that's what they were making then (and it has only one roof AC which would be typical of a 24'). So I stand by my theory that this is the only 1974 32 footer!

[cymply]

So, how much have you sold it for, do tell!!

[pillageTHENburn]

Originally Posted by cymply

So, how much have you sold it for, do tell!!

Well I've been dragging my feet on this as hard as I can. I really do not WANT to sell it, it just appears that it might be the most logical (economically) choice... So I have not sold it, I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to get rid of something I love so much!

I still may though, and when I do I will post updates!
-Logan