Restoring a 1955 bubble

[BB 55 Bubble]

I removed a section of the interior panel today. I had started with one of the windows so that I can start to overhaul them, so I said what the hell what is a few more rivets! So what am I looking at, is the C channel the one that looks more like a U? For reference this picture is on the port side just forward of the wheel well. There is a bold that attaches to the frame just to the left of the rot hole. This does not look to be all that difficult! (If I start to whine latter just remind me I said that)
Thanks all have a great day!

[59toaster]

Originally Posted by BB 55 Bubble

I removed a section of the interior panel today. I had started with one of the windows so that I can start to overhaul them, so I said what the hell what is a few more rivets! So what am I looking at, is the C channel the one that looks more like a U? For reference this picture is on the port side just forward of the wheel well. There is a bold that attaches to the frame just to the left of the rot hole. This does not look to be all that difficult! (If I start to whine latter just remind me I said that)
Thanks all have a great day!

The difference between a C channel and a U channel is the length of parallel sides. Shorter then the width then its a C if they are longer then the width then its a U now here is the odd part. The Channel on a Airstream is 1.5 wide. One leg is 1 inch and one leg is 1.5. hahahahahaha C or U we get it LOL.

If you have that much damage you are not much more work to just separate it. A coach that small is pretty easy to handle. 2 people could easily handle that body as long as it doesn't have a Roof A/C on it.

Where this will make it easier is when you are installing the elevator bolts to hold down the new decking and the U/C channel ( ) it will be a lot easier.

Here is my posts on my restoration.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...post-6554.html

http://www.airforums.com/forum...her-15048.html

[BB 55 Bubble]

Mickey Mouse got an eviction notice today! I got a kick out of this so I took a picture of it for prosperity sake, thought I would share it with everyone. It appears that the little bugger had gotten up through the belly pan near where the bumper goes through it. Then it got into the frame for the rear accesses door. Then it made a home in the insulation, I found a pile of its nesting material as it poured out of the void. The pile in the picture is about 4-5 inches deep. Even more “interesting” it had some sort of pebble and some weed seed in its nest, it had separated in to two neat piles side by side. Any way thought someone would get a giggle out of this.

[NorCal Bambi]

I discovered that all forms of like love Airstream. Here a couple of pictures of the live ins I found.
Take a look at my thread. http://www.airforums.com/forum...mbi-17925.html
Don

[BB 55 Bubble]

It has been a long time since I have updated this post so here I go.
The inside - gutted
The interior skin - removed and in storage. The dome end caps do fit through the door!
Shell - braced and OFF
Frame - Striped and ready to go to the welder.
Pictures are worth a few words here.
I would like to note that I usually have the garage and shop spotless. Nothing like a "small" project to keep the floor full of goodies, and the tools out for on gong jobs.

[BB 55 Bubble]

I addressed the need for rivets first, I ordered a whole mess load of riveting supplies used from The Yard Store http://www.yardstore.com/ I got a 4X Ingersoll-Rand buck riveter with a tip, and a buck bar. I got a whole mess load of rivets from Aircraft Spruce, their link http://www.aircraftspruce.com/
I ordered a new roof vent form Vintage Trailer Supply here is their link; http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...Code=VTS%2D280. They have all sorts of goodies and add new ones every day. I keep on looking and they keep adding.
One of the first things I started to address for the interior was the appliances. My refrigerator worked great on 110 but the gas was less that spectacular. I found several resources in the attempt to fix it;
The Old Appliance Club (TOAC). Great bunch of people, which have a passion for the old appliances. More of an antique home appliance group but was able to steer me in the right direction. Their link is http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/index.htm. The one guy who was the biggest help and has the parts that I need to have fixed and had the rarest of parts was http://www.snydersrvrefrigeration.com/ AKA RVCool here on this site. Another good source for parts is http://www.rvdoctorgeorge.com/ he has a ton of used parts in general.
Now the stove in the trailer is also in great shape mechanically but just needed some cosmetic work completed, and the man of the hour was John Ballantyne at Custom Ceramic coatings INC his web site is http://www.customceramic.com/. I had a hell of a time finding some one who could remove and replace the porcelain coating on the stove. The biggest problem was the removal of the old material. DO NOT EVER TRY TO REMOVE IT YOURSELF!!! What a pain in the rump, it does not come off with normal abrasives. Sandblasting with normal media will only warp the thin sheet metal, this guy has some blast media like soda ash that is so fine it removes the old porcelain and will not heat up the thin sheet and warp the metal. YES!
That is it for now some pictures to follow!

[BB 55 Bubble]

Here are the pictures for the last two postings. Enjoy

[Aerowood]

This is just a suggestion so here it goes, The 4X rivet gun is a little overkill for shooting 5/32 rivets in thin skin, a 3X would give you a much better job. You can still do it, but I would suggest that you turn the air pressure down to 80 or 90 psi. Learn how to shoot with some scrap first. One can easily pucker the skin using to large of a gun. If you already know how to shoot and buck rivets then just disregard this message. I just don't what you to get into trouble right out of the gate. The regulator on the gun is not a true regulator and will give you full line pressure for a nano second on the first pull of the trigger before it settles down. I do not use this type of regulators on any of my guns but control them by teasing the trigger. I have the following guns: 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, and a 7X, with the 3X the one I use the most.

[BB 55 Bubble]

It was a tough decision between the two. But when it comes to riveting two pieces of skin and a large rib with it Aircraft Spruce suggested the 4X. I did dial the PSI to about 80 and the inline valve is at the 4 out of 5 position. It worked like a champ! My first attempt doing the rivet after considerable practice, went better than expected.

[Fyrzowt]

Looking good Bubble,
So much $$ and time involved. Isn't shift work great?

Dave

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by BB 55 Bubble

It was a tough decision between the two. But when it comes to riveting two pieces of skin and a large rib with it Aircraft Spruce suggested the 4X. I did dial the PSI to about 80 and the inline valve is at the 4 out of 5 position. It worked like a champ! My first attempt doing the rivet after considerable practice, went better than expected.

If you can find some Tungsten, It works much better then steel for bucking bars.

[BB 55 Bubble]

OK first my computer died here not to long ago, I live and die by the spell checker and of course the new computer does not have Word. So please ignore the poor spelling.
Well since my last update I have taken my frame into a local guy who builds custom smowmobile trailers. He completed a re-weld and repair of the frame, most of the center cross members where roten with rust from the old insulation, a few of the outboard members where replaced due to a previous accident. The frame was to my suprise and to the guy doing the repair was very straight and square. A new axle was also ordered and installed. My old hitch on the trailer was done, so I went with a different style of hitch that has a greater weight max.
I had the frame sandblasted and decided on having the frme coated in Speedliner, the stuff you can put in truck beds. A local shop did it for $100, and it looks great! Most of the moving parts area was taped off and spared the lining, I used a hammered texture paint with a coat of primer.

Pictures are below.
MORE TO COME!!!!

[Fyrzowt]

Hey looks great!

[safari57]

BB

I like the look you ended up with. Nice and clean.

Barry

[BB 55 Bubble]

Well I have some money in the bank and have started up construction. I placed the new wheel wells I had made coated them inside of the wells with a rubber coating and then primed the outside with a galvanized primer and wrapped it in insulation. I have a huge glob of buttle in between the two metals. I put in a marine grade plywood floor. I put a layer of aluminum foil sealed bubble wrap insulation between the frame and the floor. Should work. I attempted to place the shell back on. Turns out after getting the frame straightened and painted the geometry was a bit off. I had some new U channels made at a larger height. After 2 days of lifting and shaving, I got it to fit just right. I fixed a mess load of faulty buck rivets. I also have decided to repair and spiffy up my old windows. New glass and gasket with some paint and polish. I had a new battery box made and had it fitted to the biggest battery I could find. All new tanks holder and regulator on as well. My poor rear hatch hinge was so hammered I had a new one made at my local roofing Co. I figure ghat 48 bucks was cheaper than a new door. I will get some pictures posted here soon. To show my progress.

[VIKING]

It's good to see you are still in the game.
Cheers,
Rich the Viking

[marzboy]

Frame looks great! Trying to get motivated to bend up c channel in my garage, probably 100 degrees out there!

[BB 55 Bubble]

I wanted to walk through my window restoration.
First I disassembled the entire window.
I started with the exterior portion that held the glass
I gross removed all of the old silicone with a razor blade
Then I used a silicone remover to finish the removal
I then removed the worst of the oxidation with brasso and a metal finishing pad.

[BB 55 Bubble]

The finishing pad left some surface scratching. I used a drill and a 3M product to buff out the worst of the scratches. I got the idea from a local body shop that deals with polishing of high end auto restoration. The 3M product code is 05973 and I got it at Napa Auto. You can see the pre and post polishing pics. I used the compound to also remove the lighter oxidation. As a final touch I finish polished with Neverdull to remove the residue.

[Wabbiteer]

Be wary when intensely buffing - on soft metals like brass and aluminum (esp. cast) you can expose 'the grain' of the internal crystalline structures, meaning leaving a pebbly or gritty surface texture. I don't know if a '55 has cast frames etc. but if you notice a textured 'relief' coming out stop and regroup!