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Keyair · 10-06-2011, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazeevw

Wow Steve, maybe we could 'hire' you out for work on our Airstream when you get done with yours???

You have confidence in me when you say when its finished...
I think its more of an "If"!

Didnt even get time to visit my little baby today... But I did get some stuff done today.... But not all forward..
I shot another and I thought the final coat of Krylon Yellow on the Electrical Cable Reel...
And it reacted and bubbled up..

crazeevw · 10-07-2011, 04:31 AM

I spent an hour in mine yesterday, picking up the stuff that's been accumulating in there since bringing the ol' girl home. Few projects this weekend. Funny thing though, I went out to do my cleaning, and the Kool-O-Matic is working again. I try it each time I've been out there. Guessing a shot of WD-40 on the motor, if not, pull the motor and head to NAPA, or just spend the bucks and get a Max-Air or Fantastic Vent.
Stinks about the Krylon bubbling!
Derek

Keyair · 10-07-2011, 09:30 AM

The bubbling was all my fault.

When I cleaned up the reel, it was greasy, so after that was washed off I wiped it down again with Acetone... and the paint came off on the cloth... So I dont think it was powdercoated.
When I tried to gently peel off the manuacturer sticker, it started to rip, so I just masked that.
My logic was a good coat of Krylon just to cover the chips and bare patches.
I put one coat on, and let it dry for a couple of hours. I put a good coat on the second time, and the high solvent content of the Krylon, just reacted with something under.

Now I will have to sand out the "Wrinkle Finish", and get a nice coat of Rustoleum Sunburst Yellow on there... which is what I should have done to start with!

My distraction for the next week will be this Jeep Cherokee Transmission...
She drove my Black Jeep 5.9ltd back to LA to use, and the text I got said "OMG, this thing is a BEAST... scary fast!".
I did tell her she would notice the difference between a 4.0 6cyl, and a modded 5.9 V8!
Need to drain the ATF, and see what is in suspension... then I will know if its a pull and replace the front seals, or just pull and replace the whole thing!

navyspook · 10-08-2011, 06:46 PM

Well I finally found my floor rot...both driver and navigator floors are shot. Probably from windshield/side window leaks. I'll drive into it next week. This weekend at Barber's in Birmingham for Vintage Motorcycle races...great weather and even better, 3 other classic Moho's...another 345, a gas 310, a diesel 310...hog heaven...old bikes and AS's.

Steve, on the way to fix Derek's in Clearwater...stop in Pensacola. I need adult leadership, and adult beverages, of course.

crazeevw · 10-08-2011, 06:48 PM

Steve, sounding like you're 'pimping' yourself out. Shame that Navy and I are on different coasts from you. Oh well, you sure are providing some great insight as to what to look for in our Airstreams, and how to do all repairs correctly, following your guidance!
Thanks, Derek

Octane · 10-08-2011, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by navyspook

...This weekend at Barber's in Birmingham for Vintage Motorcycle races...

Hope you enjoy it.
I was just talking to my friend a few hours ago
about how much we wanted to go see that.

Here's my vintage racer, a 1941 Indian 741
that I supercharged:

Keyair · 10-08-2011, 08:44 PM

Octane,
Simply stunning!

streamquest · 10-08-2011, 09:39 PM

Octane,

What an AWESOME pic!!! We all dream of seeing ourselves out on the Flats standing behind such a machine. Magnificent.
Was that Speed Week of this year? I hope it ran as fast as it looks.

Charly.

streamquest · 10-08-2011, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by navyspook

Well I finally found my floor rot...both driver and navigator floors are shot. Probably from windshield/side window leaks. I'll drive into it next week. This weekend at Barber's in Birmingham for Vintage Motorcycle races...great weather and even better, 3 other classic Moho's...another 345, a gas 310, a diesel 310...hog heaven...old bikes and AS's.

Steve, on the way to fix Derek's in Clearwater...stop in Pensacola. I need adult leadership, and adult beverages, of course.

Navy,

I ran into exactly the same condition with my 325.

You've got your work cut out for you, and you may be somewhat surprised to find that your Silver Bullet is constructed more like a covered wagon. There are some rather odd wood to metal details to see. These coaches do not employ contemporary automotive assembly techniques. You basically have a truck frame, with a wood floor built onto it, with an aluminum trailer fastened on top of that.

Pull out the seats, pedestals, seat belt mounts, carpet, padding, dynamat, and then the floor. You might also have to remove the upholstered inner door panels, and the sheet aluminum panels behind them to finally get to the edges where the floor meets the outer skin. Removing the metal panels will get you a good look at the bottom edges of your window tracks. This may be a good time to rehab the fuzzy channel and give the window seals a tune up. It's possible that your window channel drains are blocked and perhaps a source of the water damage. The old fasteners are most easily removed with a cut off wheel on an angle grinder. This repair will get even more interesting once you start getting into the driver's side footwell, and the heater box on the passenger side. The heater box has a plenum that allows fresh air to be drawn in through the floor from below. Hopefully you'll be able to stop short of getting too far into this area. Are you looking at plywood or flake board? Beneath the floor you will encounter a layer of either sheet metal or aluminum that is supposed to protect the floor from the road outside. I believe it is this metal layer below, and the dynamat above, that prevents the floor from ever drying out thoroughly once it gets wet.

On the positive side, as you become more intimately familiar with your Airstream than you'd ever hoped to be, you will have the opportunity to add a better layer of soundproofing to your new floor, and perhaps the engine cover as well. Look to the people that supply sound dampening supplies to the boating industry. I also sound proofed the outer skins while the door panels were off.

Good luck.

Charly.

Keyair · 10-09-2011, 10:21 AM

When did I become an expert on Airstreams!
LOL, I am just a keen shadetree Mechanic, with a Masochistic streak!

You gotta love Airstream... They put a house, ontop of a Muscle car!
You get to fiddle with Carbs, Headers, AND plumbing, without going outside!

Octane, I want to be up and running by next year so I can come watch you rip up the salt!

Octane · 10-09-2011, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keyair

Octane,
Simply stunning!

Thank you !

Quote:

Originally Posted by streamquest

Octane,

What an AWESOME pic!!! We all dream of seeing ourselves out on the Flats standing behind such a machine.

Yep....and I did it

.-)

Quote:

Magnificent.

Thank you Charly !

Quote:

Was that Speed Week of this year?

No this pic was taken at the BUB Speed Trails this year
(basically the same thing as Speed Week , except
it's only for motorcycles.)
I did run it at Speed Week as well

Quote:

I hope it ran as fast as it looks.

Well, it ran slightly over 98 mph, which isn't too bad
for a 70 year old , 595cc , side-valve engine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keyair

Octane, I want to be up and running by next year so I can come watch you rip up the salt!

Please be my guest !

Thank you both for your kind words.

Octane · 10-09-2011, 05:19 PM

PS: ( bragging: )
I build it myself and brought it over from Copenhagen Denmark
....and back again.

Sorry about the thread hi-jack.
Now back to the programmed schedule.

navyspook · 10-09-2011, 05:50 PM

Truly great bike...spent the weekend surrounded by similar, but road racing, bikes, not as good as yours. My 18 year old son fell in love with them. I certainly didn't feel hi-jacked.

Derek,
Steve's not a pimp, but a professor...I just envy his energy level. Frankly, I usually look for reason not to find work...he is just the opposite.

Streamquest,
Thanks for the menu...I think you're right about knowing more than I wanted to. I pulled all the bad wood out on the navigator's side and it doesn't get all the back to the seat mounts. When I pulled it out I could see daylight between the aluminum floor panel and the outside shell. I wonder if some of it is coming off the front tires. I'm gonna follow your sugeestion tho and start with the windows...all the fuzzy stuff is shot.

crazeevw · 10-09-2011, 07:46 PM

Derek,
Steve's not a pimp, but a professor...I just envy his energy level. Frankly, I usually look for reason not to find work...he is just the opposite.

Professor 'Key' Steve, I like that!......

Keyair · 10-09-2011, 10:37 PM

Oh, Man... You guys...

Back to Business...

The Jeep Trans is toast...
Lots of metal shavings...

Meanwhile, I continue working on the leaking storage bins.
I still have no ABS lid in place, but that was fine, and allowed me to test this little D seal $4 mod.... and thats for enough seal to do both drawers 4 times over!
It did a great job...

Before I did this, you can see where the water ran down the bodyside, and is drawn into the gap... and pools on the top of the drawer lid.
It was wet, but you can see where it dried.
After, no water got in at all!

Make sure you drop the ends of the seal to allow the water to run off..

Keyair · 10-09-2011, 10:59 PM

Oh, if we are gonna digress into Motorcycles...
Here is my recently painted Tank and Sidepanels for my "Backburner" XS650..
The pic does not do them justice at all!

crazeevw · 10-10-2011, 05:52 AM

I still have no ABS lid in place, but that was fine, and allowed me to test this little D seal $4 mod.... and thats for enough seal to do both drawers 4 times over!
It did a great job...

Before I did this, you can see where the water ran down the bodyside, and is drawn into the gap... and pools on the top of the drawer lid.
It was wet, but you can see where it dried.
After, no water got in at all!

Make sure you drop the ends of the seal to allow the water to run off..

[/QUOTE]
Steve,
Really liking the 'D' seal, where did you find it? Think I'm going to head to West Marine today, seems like every time I google something, they are listed as a supplier. Being on the 'West Coast' (Florida) we have all of the boat supply houses you could want. Guess those guys are all about LED's now too. Love to get new clearance lights and back-up LED lights for the Airstream.
Thanks, Derek

navyspook · 10-10-2011, 07:31 AM

Steve,
You may not view yourself as an expert, but you're about 18 months ahead of me on the newbie learning curve and what you've found the hard way has allowed me the easy way. Didn't mean to hi-jack the thread, but everything your unit has needed, mine has also.

Derek,
You're right, West Marine has become my second stop after the RV shop, altho I can usually find it cheaper on the web, once I find it there. Led's are the way to go and the boat suppliers seem to push weather proof more than RV guys (no surprise).
Bill

Keyair · 10-10-2011, 07:50 AM

Weather seal strip was from Home Depot...
Looked at the website, and could not find the same, but here is one very similar... It is "D" or "P" Shaped, and grey... the strip tears down the middle making a single seal... I am sure mine was about $4 for the roll... Will look at the bag or reciept... left it in the AS.
3/8 in. x 17 ft. All-Climate P-strip Weather Stripping-02576 at The Home Depot

What I have learned, others before me have also....
When you start digging into the Forum here, you will find the same names popping up... Robfike, Bkahler, Kempro, AlanSD, to name just a few.
They have blazed the trail that I am just widening, and in 18 months, you guys will be doing the same for the next set of new owners coming onboard.

If you look back at the first page of my thread, its clear how green I was!

Smartstream · 10-10-2011, 07:51 AM

I still have no ABS lid in place, but that was fine, and allowed me to test this little D seal $4 mod.... and thats for enough seal to do both drawers 4 times over!
It did a great job...

Before I did this, you can see where the water ran down the bodyside, and is drawn into the gap... and pools on the top of the drawer lid.
It was wet, but you can see where it dried.
After, no water got in at all!

Make sure you drop the ends of the seal to allow the water to run off..

[/QUOTE]

You may want to think about running that D seal down the front edge and maybe the back also. It may work fine sitting in the storage lot but on the highway in a good rain water travels in directions other than down. Just a thought.

Cheers, Dan