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fotochop · 01-19-2010, 03:41 PM

It's pretty cool seeing you guys get the fever! I must say your progress is impressive in such a short period of time and the satisfaction you're getting comes through in every post. Here's the thread of my similar bath repair if you haven't seen it:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...air-38434.html

arcamedies · 01-19-2010, 09:01 PM

BRAVO
The talent that you both have is very impressive. You will enjoy your Airstream for years and have a great investment to cherish.

When can you do one for me ;O)

bwaysteve · 01-19-2010, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSTOTT

Working on fixing the tail lights. Going to use fiberglass and epoxy to try and piece it back together as recommended on some of the other forums. So far so good but it is going to take a while to piece it all together. I'm already a couple of iterations into it and still not done. I glassed the whole back and it really stiffened it up and pieces are no longer falling off. This seems like a good way to go.

Russ

Hi Russ,Were the shells riveted from the inside?

65CV · 01-20-2010, 04:19 AM

Great job. Good to see another '65 come back to life.

I need to add this thread to my watch list.

John

JSTOTT · 01-20-2010, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwaysteve

Hi Russ,Were the shells riveted from the inside?

They were buck riveted from the outside. There was a small strip of aluminum on the backside to act as a backing plate for the rivets to squash down on. I picked up some longer rivets so that I could rivet the lights back on. I attached a photo so you can see a little better what the backing plates look like. This was a photo I took before pulling it apart.
Russ

JSTOTT · 01-20-2010, 05:01 AM

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. Yes, it looked terrible when we got it. Russ and I sat there and laughed at the initial pictures. Then the price was so low, we quit laughing and bought it! We still have such a long way to go but we are hoping to be a "hard tent" by the end of March, with a new floor, all exterior repairs done, new tires, insulated and interior walls back on. That is keeping us on a schedule of sorts. I think we have decided to go all electric as well.
In answer to the post about the age of people buying these, I would be curious too. My hubby just hit forty and I am well on my way

. We specifically looked for an older airstream (pre-1966 was my criteria). We had just sold our 1968 Serro Scotty that we loved but with the addition of a Great Dane pup, we no longer fit in it.
I appreciate everyone pointing out pertinent posts too. I thought I had combed this site well but find new and useful threads every time I look again!
Attached a recent pic of the airstream from last week with a dusting of snow on top and 3 out of the four pups running a muck.
Jenn

ltenbrink · 01-20-2010, 06:41 AM

Hi guys! Looks amazingly like what I'm going through now - just change the dogs to Labs and throw some kiddos in...have to admit, though, I'm not taking out the windows - jus don't have the guts

Your aluminum work looks great - gives me some ideas for issues I've got...and to poll, I'm 32, my husband is 34...but he's gone lots so most of the work is mine! Are you planning on replacing the axles? My 68's axles are toast...

utee94 · 01-20-2010, 07:00 AM

I can't believe I missed this thread-- great progress guys. I'm a fan of the shell-on floor replacement. In many ways it's more difficult, but when workspace is limited (or, zero in my case), there's really not another option.

Keep up the good work!

-Marcus

utee94 · 01-20-2010, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSTOTT

I appreciate everyone pointing out pertinent posts too. I thought I had combed this site well but find new and useful threads every time I look again!
Attached a recent pic of the airstream from last week with a dusting of snow on top and 3 out of the four pups running a muck.
Jenn

Hi Jenn,

Yes, when I first started out I found all of the "Major Renovation" threads to be incredibly useful both for information, as well as inspiration. You might have run across a few of them, but you can find a fairly complete listing of them linked here:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ons-35399.html

Many of them are lengthy and will be time-consuming to read through, but they are also very rewarding. I've probably read through each of them 2-3 times, and a couple of them 8-10 times. Every time I read through them, I find something new that I had missed before, that usually applies to the tasks I'm working on at that particular time. I always tell new Airstream Renovators that these threads should be considered "required reading," but the good news is they're a lot of fun.

Also, feel free to read through my blog and/or thread linked below in my signature. I've completed the back-half renovation of my 1963 Overlander including shell-on floor replacement, and will be doing the front half next winter. For now, I'm taking a break to actually enjoy it.

Good luck!
-Marcus

Bo&Susan · 01-20-2010, 07:43 AM

Hi all, Jenn and Russ your work looks great! I am 53 and my hubby Bo is 52. We rolled our 61 overlander home 10 days ago. Searched for a long time on ebay, craigslist and classifieds etc. early December Bo came home one afternoon and asked me to go a quater mile up the road and look through the shrubery that had thinned by then, and there she was. She is gutted and had been used for storage prior to storage she had been used by same owner as a workshop to restore window frames for historical buildings. The front window space had been enlarged to hold some kind of fume extractor and the back has a door in it so they could shower and walk right out.(Something to do with the lead paint on old windows). She had been pulled around to work sites until he retired a few years ago. We bought her for $950 and pulled her home with our tractor. I had my husband wait in the driveway while I ran and got the camera. We had not joined the forum yet but had sneaked in enough to know that that was a picture I wanted to post lol. and Jenn we are about 3hrs south of you. Susan

flyfshr · 01-20-2010, 08:05 AM

I, too, must have been sleeping as I totally missed this thread. Congrats on the hard work and the continued refurbishment of your Overlander. You have really transformed her. I second Marcus' comment on required reading and I find myself rereading all of these restoration threads myself. Plenty to learn. Keep up the fantastic work, we'll be following along and soon we'll be able to add this thread to the required reading list.

Brad
FF

tkasten · 01-20-2010, 08:23 AM

Great work! I wish I had read this when I started ours. I like 65's....Tim

bwaysteve · 01-21-2010, 03:11 PM

Hi Jenn and Russ,
Making great progress I see!On post 15 you pointed out the screws for the sink accessed through the door.The bottom skirt came off and I am working on the bath and panel.Does the top piece of the sink stay attached to the panel?Or did I miss some rivets?Thanks,Steve

JSTOTT · 01-23-2010, 05:46 AM

Steve,
I left the top part of the sink attached. I just needed to cut the copper tube to the faucet and the drain pipe to slide the whole thing out. We had the sink wall out so it was easy to slide it forward. My wife likes the look of some of the older ones so we are not planning to use the same sink arrangement.
Russ

bwaysteve · 01-23-2010, 10:53 AM

Russ,Although I would like to stay mostly vintage(cabinets ,oven ,cook top etc).considering a shower pan and ss or aluminum shower stall with sink in small cabinet.Look forward to seeing what you come up with for yours.

JSTOTT · 01-24-2010, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo&Susan

The front window space had been enlarged to hold some kind of fume extractor and the back has a door in it so they could shower and walk right out...
...we are about 3hrs south of you.

Glad to hear about another airstreamer nearby. If you are going to need materials I've found that Aircraft Spruce and Fastenal are good resources You can go to peachtree city and just pick up sheets of aluminum, epoxy, odd size rivets, polishing compounds, etc and not have to pay shipping. Fastenal carries the elevator bolts and other odd fasteners at a good price. They are both on dividend drive. The rivets I still ordered the standard size from vintage supply because they don't have any stamped marks on them...didn't see pictures and don't know how much work yours needs but based on your short post it sounded like yours was heavily modified to begin with and just in case you needed supplies. Look forward to seeing pictures!!
Russ

JSTOTT · 01-24-2010, 08:48 AM

Steve,
My interior was in such bad shape, it definitely won't be proper "restored" vintage but we would like to maintain a retro / modern look I'm told by my wife. I'm still trying to figure out what that means. I think it means all modern appliance but maintaining an old look and feel. She did say that she likes the look of the recessed lighting in the cabinets.

I like the idea of an aluminum or SS shower stall. I plan to install a SS sink in the bathroom with a cabinet base. I think this will be difficult because of the space constraints. What was in there was actually very efficient. I'm not sure how this would work and I'll be honest I haven't really thought through the details yet because I'm mired in fixing the frame, replacing the floor and patching holes in the skin. I can't wait to start working on the interior though.
Russ

JSTOTT · 01-24-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkasten

Great work! I wish I had read this when I started ours. I like 65's....Tim

Tim,
I like the 65's too. I've been having a lot of fun with this, I noticed that you were running a Honda 3000 in your posts. Right now that is the direction that I think I'm going. You mentioned it can run your Air and everything else in the trailer, I pondered the 3000 verses a couple 2000 paralleled. Glad to hear you were happy with the 3000. Right now the generator is not in the budget but I'm going to set up the wiring so that I can plug right into the front of the camper since I'll be rewiring. I would like to be able to stop and fire up the generator easy because we have dogs.
Russ

utee94 · 01-24-2010, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSTOTT

Steve,
My interior was in such bad shape, it definitely won't be proper "restored" vintage but we would like to maintain a retro / modern look I'm told by my wife. I'm still trying to figure out what that means. I think it means all modern appliance but maintaining an old look and feel. She did say that she likes the look of the recessed lighting in the cabinets.

I like the idea of an aluminum or SS shower stall. I plan to install a SS sink in the bathroom with a cabinet base. I think this will be difficult because of the space constraints. What was in there was actually very efficient. I'm not sure how this would work and I'll be honest I haven't really thought through the details yet because I'm mired in fixing the frame, replacing the floor and patching holes in the skin. I can't wait to start working on the interior though.
Russ

I built an entirely new cabinet base in my rear bath, and installed a SS "sink" in it.

utee94 · 01-24-2010, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSTOTT

Tim,
I like the 65's too. I've been having a lot of fun with this, I noticed that you were running a Honda 3000 in your posts. Right now that is the direction that I think I'm going. You mentioned it can run your Air and everything else in the trailer, I pondered the 3000 verses a couple 2000 paralleled. Glad to hear you were happy with the 3000. Right now the generator is not in the budget but I'm going to set up the wiring so that I can plug right into the front of the camper since I'll be rewiring. I would like to be able to stop and fire up the generator easy because we have dogs.
Russ

I also use a Honda 3000, the "Handi" version. It does just fine running the AC and pretty much everything else in the trailer, simultaneously-- except for the AC and microwave of course.

I wrote about it some here if you're interested:

http://austinaluminitus.blogspot.com...max-results=36

-Marcus