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Old 04-13-2010, 06:21 AM   #1
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1982 31' International
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Unhappy Pan Am Edition?

I just bought a 1982 airstream, called Pan Am Edition on the side...airstream does not recognize this, trying to figure out what model this 31ft. trailer is...vin# 1STTBAR26CJ500729
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Old 04-13-2010, 06:59 AM   #2
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also, asked airstream people about vin# and they did not recognize the extra "T" in first four numbers
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Old 04-13-2010, 07:03 AM   #3
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Well, you certainly seem to have something unique there! How about a LOT more photos, inside and out?

We love unique...!
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Old 04-13-2010, 07:08 AM   #4
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I don't know anything about it either, but I sure would like seeing more of it.

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Old 04-13-2010, 07:09 AM   #5
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Sounds like a custom job!
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Old 04-13-2010, 07:18 AM   #6
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Pan Am Edition

here are more pics
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Old 04-13-2010, 07:33 AM   #7
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That WBCCI number 126 on your trailer would indicate that it belonged to someone high up in the club.

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Old 04-13-2010, 07:46 AM   #8
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thanks brian...but new to airstream, what is WBCCI number and what do you mean "high up in the club"...sorry, but just learning the ropes here...impulse buy!
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Old 04-13-2010, 09:50 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gecko333 View Post
thanks brian...but new to airstream, what is WBCCI number and what do you mean "high up in the club"...sorry, but just learning the ropes here...impulse buy!
One of the thousands of VPs they seem to have; a "high mucky-muck" of some sort.
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Old 04-13-2010, 10:48 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gecko333 View Post
thanks brian...but new to airstream, what is WBCCI number and what do you mean "high up in the club"...sorry, but just learning the ropes here...impulse buy!
It's the big red 126 on the front and back of the trailer. It represents the owner's member in the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (Airstream Club). A number that low would have been assigned to a national officer of the club.

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Old 04-13-2010, 12:10 PM   #11
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I'm not finding the VIN .pdfs over at Airstream -- they move it now and then. And for that reason we have recorded them here at AIR.

post-1980 VIN sheets: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238...tml#post445047

What's your bath location? And you're confirming this VIN in at least 2 of the 3 known locations?
  1. Title
  2. Badge to right of entry door
  3. Embossed in 1/2" tall letters on the roadside of A-frame

1STTBAR26CJ500729 reads really haywire. No wonder the factory had a problem. It only begins to make sense starting with the 'A' (sixth digit) in your VIN.
  • 4th position normally is bath location and T is just "not used."
  • 5th position? Should designate model type. And B means 'Classic' - not made until 2001.
  • A designates "Semi-monocoque, 96" narrow body.."
  • R designates a 31-footer; up to 31' 11"
  • 2 = double axle
  • 6 = check digit
  • C = 1982
  • J = Jackson Center manufacture
  • the rest is your sequential production number
Yes, we have seen human errors in making up the steel dies for the badge & A-frame stamps. That's why I ask about having the VIN match in as many of the normal locations as possible.

Should the B have been in position 4 to designate rear corner bath? (if that's what you have) Understanding the T in position 4 is probably unknowable. The factory has been known to make custom units but I haven't heard that explain any reason why they'd deviate so far from the codes for position 4 & 5.
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Old 04-13-2010, 02:29 PM   #12
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Okay, it has a rear bath if it's this one:
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[that's a Google dead link; already been taken off Craigslist]

I don't worry much about the 32' listed in the ad. gecko333 is calling it a 31' -- so he probably heard a similar analysis from Jackson Center. They'll sometimes give a different length just to denote a completely different model; eg, today's 27' FB Int'l is 28' even; the 28' Intl is 27' 11". meh...
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Old 04-13-2010, 09:45 PM   #13
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pan Am Edition

it does have the rear bathroom, and i found the VIN in front by trailer hitch and propane tanks, it matched the certificated of destruction title vin, it was on metal plate, didn't see a plate by the door....
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Old 04-13-2010, 10:49 PM   #14
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Sorry for the goofy question - but what do you mean by a "certificated of destruction title vin"?

Was your trailer at one point "written off"?
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Old 04-14-2010, 05:50 AM   #15
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I guess its like a salvage title, basically the trailer got flooded by a river at a campground in florida and the insurance company considered it unroadworthy and paid the owner off, where it was purchased by someone else directly from the insurance company who gave them a "certificate of destruction", meaning it could be parked by not taken on the road. The trailer is in good condition, the appliances work, electrical, etc. but the floor is rotted and has to be replaced, and it smells moldy so the insulation may be bad also...but i wanted one that could be redone inside, and also driven cross country...so getting a real title is going to be hard, that is why i have posted another thread about the certificate of destruction...thanks to canoestream for all the info...the plate said manufactured in aug. 1981, but i guess they call this a 1982?
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Old 04-17-2010, 10:46 PM   #16
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yes, it was deemed unroadworthy....
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Old 04-18-2010, 12:45 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gecko333 View Post
I just bought a 1982 airstream, called Pan Am Edition on the side...airstream does not recognize this, trying to figure out what model this 31ft. trailer is...vin# 1STTBAR26CJ500729
Hi, I could be wrong, but I think some-one custom/personalized this trailer. The emblem with all of the flags on it, looks exactly like the ones used on Oldsmobile Cutlass's. [mounted on front fender or close to the front edge of the doors on this car] Don't know about the lettering, but it looks good to me. I would leave it that way.
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Old 04-18-2010, 08:18 AM   #18
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Some numerology . . .

Quote:
Originally Posted by moosetags View Post
It's the big red 126 on the front and back of the trailer. It represents the owner's member in the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (Airstream Club). A number that low would have been assigned to a national officer of the club. Brian
I think Brian is correct. WBCC member number 126 initially was issued in 1955 to Bill and Anna Bihl of Los Angeles, California. They went on 2 club caravans, the 1955 Winter West Coast of Mexico Caravan and the 1956 Winter Mexico Caravan. By 1960 they had moved to Glendora, Calif. Only Bill appears in the 1964 and 1974 WBCC Directories, still living in Glendora. But he does not appear in the 1985 WBCCI Directory, so likely was then deceased.

In 1988, number 126 was reassigned to Eugene and Marion Lillis of New Orleans. Before 1988, they had WBCCI number 9559. But in 1988 Eugene was elected 3rd International VP, and so was given number 126 upon attaining that national office. However, by 1989 Eugene had left office and was listed as a Past International VP. Edward Minty was listed a 2nd International VP for 1989, the position Eugene would have held in 1989 if he was still climbing the national officer's ladder.

The Lillis went on one caravan in summer 1981, caravan # 133 to the Calgary Stampede and Western Canada.

Given the trailer's 1982 year of manufacture, I think it was purchased new by the Lillis and was given # 126 in 1988. So I believe your trailer was owned by a 3rd International VP in the WBCCI, Eugene Lillis.

Decoding the nautical flags on your trailer might provide an additional clue to its past ownership.

It's a neat trailer. I imagine the certificate of destruction was issued to put subsequent purchasers on notice of its flooding and decrease in value due to condition. You might look into obtaining a bonded title for it. But I don't know whether any state will issue a bonded title for a vehicle that had a certificate of destruction issued for it. In any event, Good Luck!
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Old 04-21-2010, 06:04 AM   #19
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pan Am Edition

thanks so much, that was really helpful...so I wonder if my airstream is actually an "international" or a "classic"?
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