1977 Safari restoration

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

Where you getting the ground, through the mounting screws?

Yes, these bullseye lights are universally designed with one mounting hole as the ground--the 40 year old ones and the new LED ones.

zep

[Zeppelinium]

Whoa, way too many holes in the dome! You can see the new connectors for the three middle marker lights and the flush rivets for the backing plates and nutplates (anchor nuts). But that's not all--the holes below are for the "AIRSTREAM" letters and below that are the mounting holes for the window awning. The window awning holes were all buggered up, so I installed nutplates for them, too.



The connector for the corner marker lights was installed in the middle of the casting--there's just enough depth to allow for the banana plug under the marker light. The casting is vulkemed around 80% of its circumference, with a small gap at the bottom center to allow any water that gets in, to get out.



Vulkem is not used uner the middle marker lights, except for the small relief at the corner that is intended as an exit for the power wire.

As I said in an earlier post, the LED marker lights are very bright when powered directly from 12.5V. I'm limiting the current to approximately 100ma total for the five forward marker lights by using a 1/2W resistor. This reduction in current from 65ma (see post above) to 20ma per unit will greatly extend their expected life.

Once it get the truck hooked up and I can measure the nominal voltage in the 7-pin connector, I'll settle on a final value, which will be close to 47 ohms. (With a total draw of about 200ma for the front and back marker lights--diodes can be used to keep the tail lights on a separate circuit--you can illuminate the marker lights as decorative lighting while parked, even if you're dry camping.)



I will eventually separate the running lights into three circuits--front markers, rear markers, and tail lights, each with suitable series resistor and diodes.

Now that they are installed, I've noticed something peculiar about the LEDs. Previously, the bulb units, although not bright, were relatively easy to see in the daytime. Not so the LEDs--they are just barely visible before sunset, yet after dark their little points of brightness are significantly brighter in appearance than the bulbs. (I don't like the small, bright dots--the bulbs gave a much more pleasing diffuse glow. However, they are effective.)

Next step--fixing the studs on the "AIRSTREAM" letters.

Zep

[Zeppelinium]

The weather has been really warm for a week, so I've taken advantage and been out working the belly pan as much as possible. Further work will have to wait until temperatures are consistently above 50° F, so I can POR-15 the frame. What's great about Colorado is that you can often work comfortably outside when the snow is still deep!



JB Weld seems to have done the trick on fixing the mounting studs on the letters. The top/left photo shows a round-head screw, but in the end I used #6 flathead machine screws for the studs. The flat head screw fits into the recess in the back of the letter perfectly. It's impossible to get them in exactly the right place, because as soon as you put the epoxy in the back, you obscure the stud location. Anyway, you can get close enough.



I was ready another post where the color recommendation was either the Walmart medium blue craft pen or HD Sail Blue Rustoleum spray. I like the Sail Blue--it might be a tad darker than standard, but it's pretty close. All I have to compare it to are 35 year old weathered plastic trim bands, which might be faded themselves. Anyway, I'm very happy with the Sail Blue color, I just wish the paint went on thinner to preserve the beaded look of the interiors of the letters.

While I have the inside front skins off, I'm putting nutplates on just about everything. In order to mount the Zip Dee window awning hook with screws, I had to machine the hook base flat. I had an old spiral end mill bit in the tool chest that I hadn't used for years and was a bit heat damaged, but it did the job in the drill press just fine.



Zep

[Zeppelinium]

Reducing the current through LED lights will increase their already long life. In addition, I think the SUPERBRITELEDS marker lights are too bright, anyway.

My 1977 Safari had a large fuze panel that fused all the circuits from the tow vehicle. Since all my tow vehicles have separate fuses alaready, got rid of them since I considered them an additional failure item in a safety-related circuit. Once I decided the marker lights were too bright and that I wanted to add a resistor in those circuits, it became easy to add some other features, eg, adding a Party Lights brightness to the marker lights and to combine the stop/turn with running lights on one wire for each side. (You can see the modified fuse panel installed on top of the curb side battery box and the relocated 7-pin connector to the right of it. The battery cables are not installed yet.)



The circuit is simple and probably very reliable. The 1 Amp rectifiers are protected by the series resistors, so they will never see more than .5 Amps, even in a short circuit condition. The 27 ohm resistor brings the marker light total current down to 100 ma for the five front lights and the 220 ohm resistor brings the "party light" current down to 25 ma for all five lights. This very low current still provides surprisingly bright light--if you left the party lights on (including another cirucuit for the rear marker lights, for a total of 50 ma) 24 hours a day for a week, you'd use less than 8.5 amp-hours, or less than 10% of a fully charged 115 VA battery. So leaving them on a night during a rally might cost you 3-4% or so of your battery charge. Party on. (BTW, hats off to BARTS for his suggestion that it's easy to illuminate the marker lights with a blade-type auto fuse stuck right into the 7-pin connector--his tip gave me the idea for this circuit.)



If you want to change to LED markers but leave bulbs in the tail lights, you'll need to isolate the circuits for the markers and the tail lights. You don't need to take the whole skin down to do this--the splice for the forward marker lights is accessible just aft of the forward dome.



Zep

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

While I have the inside front skins off, I'm putting nutplates on just about everything. In order to mount the Zip Dee window awning hook with screws, I had to machine the hook base flat. I had an old spiral end mill bit in the tool chest that I hadn't used for years and was a bit heat damaged, but it did the job in the drill press just fine.

Attachment 148448

Zep

You should have mentioned that you needed to spotface that bracket when you were over last week. There is a tool to do that with and it only requires a handheld drill motor to accomplish. Its call a Reverse Piloted Spotface Cutter, I even have one at home. Takes about 30 seconds to do it.

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

You should have mentioned that you needed to spotface that bracket when you were over last week. There is a tool to do that with and it only requires a handheld drill motor to accomplish. Its call a Reverse Piloted Spotface Cutter, I even have one at home. Takes about 30 seconds to do it.

Maybe I like a challenge! R

PS--thanks for the info.

[Zeppelinium]

I want to salvage my vintage Ausco disk brakes and put them on a set of new Dexter axles, but at the same time want to be able to bail out and stick on some Kodiaks if the salvage operation doesn't work. Can I order the axles so that this is possible?

To that end I'm going to divert the brakes and axles discussion to a new [and exciting] thread, here.

Zep

[Zeppelinium]

While I'm thrashing around with the axle issue, I thought I'd work a bit on the Sovereign and Overlander cabinets above the sink. I'll eventually use the same chamfered end on the cabinet here in the Safari.

Zep

[Landshark]

If I'm off-topic here, someone move this, please, but my search showed yours as the best thread match.

I have a 77 Safari in excellent condition, well-used but cared for as much as I can tell. My question is about under the sink--it's the angled counter with the sink facing obliquely toward the front gaucho--were there originally some plastic sliding bins under the sink for silverware and utensils? Mine has nothing anywhere for flatware and that seems unlike A/S. I've checked the photo archives and there are no photos for a 77 Safari; the 22', 24', and 26-7' all have the angled counters and one shows, dimly, what looks like 3 plastic bins on the right side of the under-counter space. Can anyone tell me definitively and please send some photos? I would like to restore properly. Thanks!

Vivian

[Zeppelinium]

70s Airstreams are poorly outfitted when it comes to the kitchen--no drawers, only sliding bins that are not very efficiently designed. Here's what my Safari looked like originally, including the trash left by the previous owner. You can see that there were only two small sliding bins.





Zep

[perryg114]

My 81 has a little more space than that but it is basically the same configuration. It will have to stay that way for a while till I get the rest of the trailer in shape. I expect I will start in the front and move back as I renovate. This process may take years because we plan on using the trailer.

Perry

[Zeppelinium]

(this post is copied from another thread)

Originally Posted by Chuck

I don't know the answer to the question, but the original axles were rated at 2600lbs (x2 +600lb tongue= 5800lb gvw) .

Well, duh. I still have the '77 axles sitting in the back yard, so I took a look. They have 2600 lbs on the data plate. So I went down to my storage area and looked at the '73 axles that are still installed. Yep, 2600 lbs!

From my weight estimates in post 52 in my '73 Safari thread, I don't see how the axles would ever have to support more than 4100 lbs. That means that the axles, spec'd at 5200 lbs total, provide a margin of 27% at max gross. But the actual traveling weight is probably 200 lbs lower, which would be a margin of 33%.

Some background: when I used an Axis axle on my Caravel, I spec'd them for what I thought was the max gross supported on the axle. As I recall, it was about 3600 lbs. When I installed the axle, the arms were up high, with almost no travel remaining. I sent it back and they sent me one that was in the mid-5000's! This was way too much and it repeatedly broke the door shelves in the refridgerator. So if that second axle provided about 52% more carrying capacity than my calculated max weight, I wouldn't want to over-spec that much.

I think 25% over what you calculate as your max weight on the axles is sufficient and safe.

So I'm going with 4800 lbs, or 2400 each axle. Now I need to think about disks versus drums...

Zep

[Zeppelinium]

I contacted the Axis representative--they are a bit pricey compared to Dexter. One surprise is he recommended upgrading from 2600# (5200 lbs total) to 3000#. Considering the damage I'd had to the fridge with the strong axle in the Caravel, I would have suggested decreasing the axle specs to 2400#.

Axis has two advantages--larger axle spindles and flanges that are supposed to fit the original mounting holes exactly (my previous Axis axle had one of the two holes fit exactly, but the other one only overlapped about 60%). I'm not sure the increased cost is justified by these two advantages. I have four Dexter axles installed on my Overlander and Sovereign and I'm happy with their performance. Drilling out the new mounting holes wasn't that hard (see my Overlander thread for details on an excellent steel hole drill).

Pondering....

Zep

[Zeppelinium]

Meanwhile, the weather is wonderful, so it's time to work under the Sarfari--more solid foam insulation in the back end. I've changed the design slightly, using 2" and 1/2" (instead of 1"). The 2" is more than enough, but because the longitudinal floor stringers are 1-1/4" thick, you need a second sheet to seal off the whole cavity.

First step is installing the 2" foam between the stringers. They are held up with panel adhesive and a few drywall screws.



Second step is carving out a channel for the disk brake line. This line is then pushed back up into the channel and the 1/2" sheet is installed over (under) it.



The 1/2" sheet is installed with longer screws and aluminum "washers." With the 1/2" sheet in place, the edges are foamed for a complete air seal. A small plywood plate is screwed in place to provide additional support in the area of the brake line. Note the wires for electric brakes. I am divided on which way I'm going.



Getting a grip with the long drywall screws is problematic in the 5/8" flooring (I should have done a Full Monte and replaced the floor with 3/4"). I elected to make sure I got a good grip by screwing through the flooring. The ends of the screws can be removed with a cutoff wheel and then ground down flush.



Zep

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

I contacted the Axis representative--they are a bit pricey compared to Dexter. One surprise is he recommended upgrading from 2600# (5200 lbs total) to 3000#. Considering the damage I'd had to the fridge with the strong axle in the Caravel, I would have suggested decreasing the axle specs to 2400#.

Axis has two advantages--larger axle spindles and flanges that are supposed to fit the original mounting holes exactly (my previous Axis axle had one of the two holes fit exactly, but the other one only overlapped about 60%). I'm not sure the increased cost is justified by these two advantages. I have four Dexter axles installed on my Overlander and Sovereign and I'm happy with their performance. Drilling out the new mounting holes wasn't that hard (see my Overlander thread for details on an excellent steel hole drill).

Pondering....

Zep

Zep.

Decreasing the axle rating to 2400 pounds will result in having 10 inch brakes, which is OK, since you have a tandem.

The 10 inch self adjusting brakes are good for 3500 pounds per axle.

Smaller spindles are OK too, since the Safari doesn't weigh that much.

Andy

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

...Decreasing the axle rating to 2400 pounds will result in having 10 inch brakes, which is OK, since you have a tandem.

The 10 inch self adjusting brakes are good for 3500 pounds per axle.

Smaller spindles are OK too, since the Safari doesn't weigh that much...

Thanks, Andy. I'm sure the Dexter axles are fine with the smaller spindles, I just wanted to be able to install the Kodiak 12" discs, which require the larger spindles. I had the original disc brakes on one of my Safaris and I like the ease of inspection and pad replacement of discs compared to drums. I'll probably stick with 2600 lbs axles, too. Z

[Zeppelinium]

Now that the insulation is installed, the mid- and aft-belly pans can go on. These were originally one piece, but I don't see any reason that the belly pan can't be segmented. The mid-pan is above the axles, so I'm installing access doors to allow maintenance of the electric brake lines--three small doors (big enough to maneuver a snake across the pan to the main terminal block) and one bigger one that will allow access to the main terminal block.

The doors are slip panels in a formed frame. Making the frame requires a small mandrel (a piece of the original paneling, which is very hard), clamps, a hammer, and a piece of hardwood. The frames are riveted onto the skin with a backing plate on the other side of the skin. Each of the doors is held in place by a machine screw into a nutplate. Once I install the wiring, there will be a grommet at the frame end of the door.







Zep

(Kip, I KNOW you have a tool that would make this easy, but that means I'd have to plan ahead.)

[HiHoAgRV]

Thats a great demo of forming Aluminum. Did you consider forming the inner lip instead of the outer? I'm thinking by reversing the form, the shape may be 100% stretch and help eliminate some of the wrinkling. Thats how we designed draw dies for stamping. Of course it means the forming frame is a PITA and ya gotta hammer inside the square...

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

...Did you consider forming the inner lip instead of the outer? I'm thinking by reversing the form, the shape may be 100% stretch and help eliminate some of the wrinkling. ...

nope, intuitively the form, and even more so the clamp, would have been miserable to make.

Most of the wrinkling is because I beat down one section pretty much before moving to the next. I wasn't too concerned, since this is belly pan and I'm not competing with INSIDEOUT for the next Grand Prize. I just wanted reasonable functionality and not too ugly.

If you take a little more time and build the right form, you can get wrinkle-free shapes, a la this outlet cover.



Zep

[Aerowood]

If you make the joggled piece radiused it would be easier to form, and yes I do have a tool that goes on a rivet gun to make those joggles.