Our new '66 overlander ($500)

[goransons]

This project is going to be longer than our first one, but should turn out to be a fun project. Stumbled upon it on craigslist. It is located about 40 miles from home, and will make its voyage back to the driveway tomorrow. Today we went down and recovered about half the removed cabinets, the smaller sections of interior skin, and all the original interior lights, trim pieces, etc.

Located half the yellow jackets and wasps in Eastern Washington within ten feet of the trailer and inside. Photos show the water heater opening (WH removed) and missing glass sections taped off so we could bug bomb the inside to hopefully kill the interior nests by tomorrow. We managed to pull it out of the brush to a cleaner place (where the photos were taken) to inspect for any major issues before we tow tomorrow.

Tires are pretty old, but hoping if I take it easy they will make it home. Have AAA RV Plus so if they look like they aren't going to make it, we may need to call that one in. We'd rather not start replacing tires yet since it will probably sit for two years while we do all the work. Going to do some electrical work (temporary) to get lights etc working.

When we go back, we have to load end caps, bathroom tub/sink, as well as a few roof lockers, bathroom cabinets and the rest of the interior skins.

NW Overlander replaced all the rotten plywood in the back and pulled all the old wire.

Does anyone have spare original plastic outlet boxes they'd be willing to part with? The new wiring is done with metal household boxes and I'm not sure I really want to keep it that way.

Here are a few photos. Ulimately its going to get polished, new axles, tires, AC, appliances, plumbing, electrical, and semi-custom interior in keeping with original style with modern updates. We figure, even after reassembly we'll have a trailer we're not upside down in for the price we paid (and we'll do all the work ourselves).

Here's a few photos from today

[utee94]

Exterior looks really nice, and you're living the Dream now with multiple Airstreams.

I'd call you crazy for taking on such a big project after just finishing your TW, except for two things-- 1) You know what you're getting into. 2) You have a wonderful, campable trailer already, so you don't have so much pressure to do the newer (older) one so quickly.

Looks great, and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

Good luck!
-Marcus

[soldiermedic]

Hey Goransons,

Did you end up in jail for stealing that beautiful trailer? Some guys have all the luck!

Steve

[goransons]

Actually we feel really lucky that we stumbled on it, and even more lucky to been working with a forum member to purchase it. He's been great, very reasonable on everything and included all the parts he removed, down to all the screws for all the fixtures etc were all there. He did get rid of (or we haven't found) the electrical boxes, which seems to be the only hard-to-find parts missing. We have some significant repair to do on the tub/sink combo, but it is already removed. I'll probably take it to my friend in the Seattle area who is really good at body work and does custom carbon fiber work for aircraft and have him help me fix it.

This project won't be quite as quick as our first one, mostly because we have a pool project in the beginning stages, in fact I was looking on the area craigslist for any pool stuff, and found it, contacted him and made the connection.

The only thing we are having to do that we haven't done before (but my dad did many times with classic cars) was apply for a missing title. It was from Idaho, and have the plate. Did call Idaho DMV and they were helpful, but needed the plate number. Of course that was between trips and I wrote down all info but the plate number so will call them tomorrow to hopefully start that process.

[utee94]

If you run into any stumbling blocks, there are title services that can take care of things for you. They cost some bucks, but will get the job done. You can PM me or Steve "thebyamcaravanner" if you get to that point.

-Marcus

[Silver Threads]

Congrats on the new Airstream! Im sure it will be beautiful when you two get done with it. You do great work!

[Rog0525]

Please do not part it out although you could make several k$. Keep the legend alive!

[tphan]

Wow- what a fantastic shell to work with, and what a great price!! Some people do indeed have all the luck! Have fun with her- tim

[goransons]

DANG!!!!

SOOOOO Close. So my wife Megan (the daredevil) battled the wasps (I'm allergic) without getting stung and we got all the cabinet parts recovered. Most will only serve as templates. Loading of interior skins, end caps and parts took a total of 6 hours over two days not including travel time. Luck would have it a Les Schwab tire store was about 2 miles from the trailer's original spot so we stopped, checked the temps of the hubs and had them air the tires up to correct pressure before starting the 40 mile trip home.

Trailer pulled well, but definately felt the difference in the old axles versus the new ones our our 69. 3/4 of a mile from our house (not even turns to make) right in the middle of downtown we stopped at a stop light and went to move forward, drove a few feet and heard rubber skidding. We quickly discovered and had confirmed by a fellow motorist that we had a locked up tire on the front drivers side. I had a rehearsal to run with 100 kids in only 45 minutes and no way to get it home. We checked with AAA-RV Plus, and they wanted 3 hours to come help us.

Called a friend who ran me home to get more tools, backed the trailer onto blocks and removed the one tire and drove 10 mph or less the 3/4 of a mile through town to our house and got to rehearsal just as it was starting. Trailer is out there in the dark, the with my truck in first (had to save every minute I could) sitting on 3 tires. Tomorrow I'll have to turn it around (pull our 69 to storage) and back the 66 into the driveway and see if we have a locked up bearing or some brake parts that came apart. With it locked up I could put my hand on the hub and it wasn't more than 90 degrees or so (it was in the high 80's outside) so I'm guessing its in the brakes. It won't leave my driveway for sometime, so if the brakes are the issue I'll remove the guts and put it back together. New Axles (loaded) will happen later in the project.

tomorrow after getting the axle figured out I plan to clean the trailer inside and out, and figure out what all needs to be done to get it weather and bug/rodent tight.

[goransons]

Rog, we don't intend to keep it forever, it really is a project that my wife can have me working on (I like to do projects) that isn't in the house making a mess. We're doing it as a fun project, and ultimately as an investment. We've had several very serious offers for our 69 at well over triple what we have invested in it, and figure when we're done in a few years we'll sell it and use the profit to jump start our son's college fund. Our plans at this point are to stay very close to the original floor plan, finishes etc as possible. We plan to use original lighting, latches etc with modern upgrades. We'll likely change the front (missing) goucho to a small dinette/couch design to make good use of the large windows and skylight. All cabinet frames are in good enough condition to reuse, with new counter tops. Almost all doors will have to be refaced with new oak, since most woodwork spent nearly a year in the weather.

[Aerowood]

Wow, another project. My wife would cut me deep and let me bleed out slowly if I picked up another.

[3streams]

Sorry to hear about the mishap on the way home- but at least she is at the house parked next to her sister and has found a good home! We just "stole" a trailer for $500 this weekend also- a '56 Overlander (all original and sitting under a pavilion for 25 years). People are starting to give up on projects or move things they aren't using- there is going to be an influx of the started project trailers going up for sale- hopefully like yours the PO's have retained the original "guts" to work off of. Good luck with the project and keep us posted.

[goransons]

Progress!

Did the trailer shuffle. TW is at a nice storage place on a paved pull through spot, and the OL is backed into the driveway. I straighted and reassembled the rear access door, which has seen better days and have that hole covered. A scrap of aluminum is temporarily sealing the water heater opening. The trailer got a good cleaning on the outside, and removed all the misc hitch parts, repaired the propane tank frame, and started cleaning up the tongue for paint.

Goal number one, clean up the outside to a presentable state so the neighbors aren't too cranky.

Second, took the locked up wheel apart. Pulled the grease cap, lots of grease, pulled the pin, took the nut and washer off, wasn't too tight, front bearing slid right out. Pulled forward the drum and all sorts of pieces of springs fell out. The rear shoe retainer springs had broken free. Rear shoe shifted, was touching the drum, but the issue was that the star adjusted had fallen and wedged between the drum and backing plate. I'll post a picture of what is left of that. Since 2 new axles are in the future, and all I need the axles for is to move the trailer forward and back in the driveway to work, I removed all the guts of that wheel's brakes and reinstalled with new grease. Wheel turns great now.

Couple other questions.

1. The front mount TV antenna - The bottom bracket, the top bracket, and part of the gear box remain, everything else is gone. More than likely I assume parts for those have been long since unavailable. Is it worth finding parts for?

2. Curbside stationary window by the door was removed I presume to get into the trailer. I have the original corning glass to go in, but not sure exactly how it is supposed to be installed. I think somewhere in the pile there are some trim pieces not installed. Do these go in with doublesided tape the rivet trim in place, or the buetall (sp?) tape or what. It is the only major opening in the trailer I don't have sealed up yet.

Any help appreciated. Hoping to get it closer to water tight before next week.

oh and question #3.

I read some old posts about original corning windows being worth $500-$700 apeice. Is that still the case or has the availability of reproductions driven the cost down. The reason I ask, is simply math to us, we could sell an original at that price and replace it with reproduction and have money left over to replace the window currently covered with plexiglass.

#4, - the front window is also a piece of plexi. To me the window appears to be flat glass. Does anyone off hand know what thickness glass we would need to have a piece of safety glass made for that?

Thanks for your help

[64airstream]

Must have been a good weekend for buying aluminum. We picked up our second project as well. It's a '68 Overlander (Twin). Not quite the steal you each ran across, but an excellent buy. (Turns out Marie's a gold medalist when it comes to shopping. Doesn't matter what she's shopping for.) So far, it looks very solid. No soft spots on the floor, towed great, brakes and lights work, new tires, and I think the axles are good for few more miles. The PO stripped the clearcoat and started compounding, even included 3 lbs of Nuvite. He started removing the interior, but kept all the pieces, most will go back in without issue.

Roy

[hampstead38]

Congratulations.

[goransons]

Spent the day today cleaning out the trailer and removing non-original cabinets etc. I have little to no garage space to store parts, so I went ahead and temporarily reinstalled the end caps so they would be safe (besides, very little electrical etc passes behind them). They'll come back down for insulation and final wire running. Started laying cabinets in their original spots to make sure I have all parts for templates and all hardware accounted for. Once I finish that I'll carefully stack all that at the front of the trailer and start working in the bathroom and work forward. Have some small leaks where the window weatherstrip is bad, but had two big days of rain and have found no other leaks in the trailer. With the mess cleaned up (mostly from us packing the trailer full of salvaged parts) it is finally start to look like a trailer rather than a crime scene.

Can anyone tell me where the stock speakers for the stereo were located?

Also curious if anyone knows where I can get a stock radio antenna that has the correct mount for the skin (the round black mount). The ones on VTS etc seem to be different. Has anyone else found a good source for bulk 12v wire in various colors and guages?

Also, am I correct that ceiling vent fans are supposed to be wired 12v (non-stock wires going to them are 12-2 romex, never powered up).

[utee94]

Quick work, I wish you were my neighbor!

Yup, as far as I know, both OEM vent fans, and modern replacements like Fantastic Fans, take 12V. Not sure why some PO ran romex to those openings, but POs do the darndest things (not my PO of course! ).

-Marcus

[goransons]

Wow, forgot how much I missed the hum of the cyclo and the smell of nuvite. Decided with all this 70 degree weather I'd start doing the pleminary polishing of the shell before starting on the interior. The plan is to polish each section, while I can still remove things like the airstream letters from the inside, pull wires for clearance lights to the interior etc. Did grind down all the surface rust and get a coat of paint on the step also.

Still have to replace the small panel just in front of the door (below the window) which has several damaged sections from attempts to break into the trailer. I have to figure out how to get the door hinge apart so the door itself can have its frame welded to repair two cracks. My hope is to go over the entire trailer with F compound and finish polish around all lights, vents, letters etc so I can finish sealing up any potential leak sources before installing insulation and getting the interior skin back in.

[goransons]

I'm encouraged that the initial cut of polish is going a lot faster on the 66 than the 69. I think a lot of that is because our 69 lived a lot of its life on the wetter, more often coastal side of the region, and the 66 appears to have lived a lot of its life in the state of Idaho.

Had to stop, not because of the weather but used up my last couple pair of clean bonnetts, so they are soaking before getting washed out.

[jerrypeterma]

my wife would kill me. ya'll are lucky stiffs
Congrats