Welcome to the forum.
System wise (plumbing, heating, major electrical components, Reefers) are no different then anything of similar vintage.
Where the difference is an Airstream is built like an airplane and has a Monocoque structure. The body is as much of the strength as the frame.
The Achilles heel of the Airstreams is the floor. Its wood...it rots. Often minor leaks go unnoticed because the water will run between the inner and outer skins. Since the inner skin is aluminum you never get any indication there is a leak till you find the rot in the floor. SOB's (some other brand) you will see the water damage on the walls right away.
If the floor is damaged it weakens the whole trailer. The floor bolts to the frame the body bolts to floor.
Your Airstream start out life upside down. Understanding this will help you understand how to take it apart.
Assembly starts with the floor laying on a jig. Floor insulation batting is laid out. Then the frame is lowered on it and centered. The "U-Channel" is held up into place and bolted to the frame through the floor through the outriggers on the frame.
Plumbing drains are run and then the belly pan is installed. The pan is buck riveted in a few places to keep it in place till the body is attached. The suspension is then fitted and the whole assembly is flipped onto its wheels.
The main frame work of the body is built along side the frame. Its comprised of aluminum ribs and your vintage should be T2024 T3 Alcad aircraft grade aluminum sheet for the exterior. All the wiring is installed and run through the ceiling. The End caps are completed as well as the ceiling panels. The lowest exterior and interior side panels are left off till the body meets frame..
The body then is set onto the frame/floor assembly. The ribs are riveted to the U-Channel (this is the tricky part because you have to sheer the rivets from inside the coach to get the body off if you don't remove the lower exterior skin). Then the end caps are riveted along the lower lip to the U-Channel as well. The remaining exterior panels are then fitted and buck riveted to the ribs and U-Channel on the exterior.
The last of the interior panels are then installed with all the wiring in place to match the floor plan. The flooring is also installed at this point.
The interior cabinets are framed with 1x2 and then covered with a Luann Plywood. Several different types of wood veneerer were used, some are now considered exotic by todays standards. Hope your is oak as its the easiest to match.
A couple things to be aware of is the cabinetry is fixed to the floor and the top most part of its assembly. The rest of the cabinet is allowed to have some movement by only being in a slot along the walls.
Most of us find this site to be very helpful. They have a wonderful collection of photos of nearly every model for every year from the very beginning to the end of the 70's.
There are a LOT of great posts about floor repair here. Most of us are click happy with our camera's so you should be able to find a lot of visual aids as well. Since this is a museum I would think you would want to look for the "frame off" threads.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/
Welcome to the forums. PLEASE start a thread here to document the restoration of this coach. We love reading about them and seeing peoples progress.
Suzanne, Museum of Family Camping
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