New to us 1970 Safari 23

[Dennis T]

My wife, son and I recently purchased our AS and thought we bought a 1970 21' Safari. Now we are not sure if we have a 21' or 23' AS. Is there anthing on the AS that will confirm the size? Dazed and confused!

[streamer23]

Originally Posted by Dennis T

My wife, son and I recently purchased our AS and thought we bought a 1970 21' Safari. Now we are not sure if we have a 21' or 23' AS. Is there anthing on the AS that will confirm the size? Dazed and confused!

Hi Dennis and welcome to the forums.If you can provide a serial number someone here will tell you what you have.

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by Dennis T

My wife, son and I recently purchased our AS and thought we bought a 1970 21' Safari. Now we are not sure if we have a 21' or 23' AS. Is there anthing on the AS that will confirm the size? Dazed and confused!

Dennis,

If it is a Safari, it is 23' overall length and about 20' body. I belive that it says Safari on the ID plate next to the door.

Bill

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by Dennis T

Now we are not sure if we have a 21' or 23' AS. Is there anthing on the AS that will confirm the size? Dazed and confused!

If it is indeed a 1970 Safari, the official length is 23'. The confusion comes from Airstream using the "tail-to-tongue" measurement rather than the body length.

You may want to check out the Trailer Archives for additional information.

Shari

[Dennis T]

Vin# 023tos107

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by Dennis T

Vin# 023tos107

Dennis,

Yep, a 23' Safari, the 23 in the VIN tells all.

Bill

[Dennis T]

Thanks for clearing that up. We are very pleased with our new to us AS. We are just beginning the restoration process. Lot's to be done with limited time. We have tested the electrical using an extension from the house: interior lights, radio, refrig, hot water all work. We have not tested the propane system yet - any suggestions are much appreciated.

We found lots of wood rot hidden under recently installed cherry wood flooring. So we have begun tearing out the old/new flooring. The frame looks to need repair in a few areas - again, any suugestions are appreciated.

What's the best way to remove rivets. Special tools?
Where can we find wiring and plumbing diagrams?

Can ya tell we are new to this:0)

[85MH325]

Dennis, What memories! My very first Airstream, in 1987, was a '70 Safari Special (the lightweight version). Had that trailer for six or seven years. Loved it! Of all the Airstreams I've had, it's probably still my favorite. Plumbing and wiring diagrams will be pretty much non-existant; the bright spot is that everything is linear, done pretty simply, and for the most part, is really easy to follow.

I would seriously consider junking the old Univolt power converter and replacing it with a newer model. The old Par water pump is a really cool piece of engineering, but the later model self-primers are significantly better, and once installed, don't really require any service at all.

The easiest way to remove rivets is to drill them out.

Have a ball!

Roger

[Road Ruler]

Front to rear our 72, 23' Safari is very close to 24'. A measuring tape tells it all. If you are not going polish it get a coat of wax on it ASAP to stop further weathering of the external skin. Many like walbanize, I prefer car wax.

I also blew "Rust Check" solution up inside the main frame rails to stop intermal frame rust. It works.

Check my photo gallery. Your 23 should look pretty much the same.

Can you post a pic so we can see what you have.

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by Dennis T

Thanks for clearing that up. We are very pleased with our new to us AS. We are just beginning the restoration process. Lot's to be done with limited time. We have tested the electrical using an extension from the house: interior lights, radio, refrig, hot water all work. We have not tested the propane system yet - any suggestions are much appreciated.

We found lots of wood rot hidden under recently installed cherry wood flooring. So we have begun tearing out the old/new flooring. The frame looks to need repair in a few areas - again, any suugestions are appreciated.

What's the best way to remove rivets. Special tools?
Where can we find wiring and plumbing diagrams?

Can ya tell we are new to this:0)

Dennis,

Check with Airstream and see if they have service manuals for a 1970, the manuals are very detailed. If not try Helen Davis, Secretarial Services, PO BOX 484, Sidney Oh. 45365, 1-937-492-8885.

Bill

[Ganglin]

Congrats on your "new" A/S.

The first service manual is 1972. We have a 71 Overlander and the only change we've found so far - is the light fixture style and battery location. The manual is still a huge help and has a lot of good tips. Another source is EBay - a guy from Canada sells them and that's were we got ours.

[Dennis T]

We've pretty much gutted our Safari and have decided to replace the entire floor. The frame needs extensive repairs which we will have done in stages. I think I read somewhere that you can only remove sections of the floor before the whole shell falls down; is this true? How much of the floor can be removed without compromising the integrity of the shell. Other than removing the shell is there any other solution to repairing the floor and frame?

I'm into this project and having fun although it is a bit overwelming at this point! Advice is welcome:0)