1969 interior worth anything to anyone?

[iceburg]

Hey! I'm a new airstream owner as of a few weeks ago. I've been reading your forums for a few years now. Finally pulled the pin! I picked up a 1969 31' Sovereign and overall its in pretty good condition. Everything is in tact. My intentions with purchasing an airstream has been to remodel the interior. I just started gutting it out and I am trying to keep everything so that its reusable. Now to my question: is it worth it? I was hoping to try to sell everything to someone looking to restore, but i dont know if there is a good market for it. I would rather not store a full interior of an airstream in my garage for the slight chance that someone may want a door latch 6 months from now. How high is the demand for original interior airstream parts? Thanks for the help!

--Nick

[dbj216]

Welcome iceburg. 69 Sovereign, nice indeed. The first year of the new body style, and yours has the rare square corner windows in front. It was the top of the line trailer in 69. You gotta post some pictures.

There are folks who may want a piece or two of your interior. Fiberglass bathroom parts are called for now and then, same with the 4 burner stove and oven. Try running an ad in the classified section of these Forums and see if you get a response. There are folks who "restore" their trailers so they look just like new. They covet these old parts.

As you know, rebuilding the interior won't do you any good if your trailer has "bad bones". You better do a thorough assessment of your trailer from the ground up; tires, brakes, bearings, axles, frame body, windows, doors, roof vents, plumbing, wiring, appliances, et.al. Most folks find the interior remodel is the last thing on the list, just before the polishing starts. It is likely you will find the rear frame cross member rusted, and the floor rotted, and then the frame sagging. It is typical for old Airstreams, especially long ones of the new body style. Maybe your trailer is a long time California resident and didn't have much exposure to moisture. Minnesota trailers rust.

Maybe you have read Minno's thread on the rebuild of his 73 Sovereign. It's a great thread. He built a beautiful camper out of his old Airstream. Riveting so to speak!

David

[thesignlady]

I am looking for a replacement light lens from the interior roof fixtures, if yours are the kind that are gold and round and you have any intact plastic light lens still.

[Isuzusweet]

Word of caution....Do not sell or give away anything UNTIL your project is finished!! You may find as I did that it is cheaper and faster to RECOVER interior gables with new vinyl or REUSE certain interior items that would be difficult to replace with anything lighter.

Taking apart an Airstream is the easy part.....putting it back together using products and procedures lighter than what Airstream originally used, is very tough indeed.

Weigh your trailer BEFORE you rip it apart and then be mindful of not only what things weigh as they go back in, but how the weight is distributed in the trailer.

There are thousands of ads every year selling gutted Airstream that people ripped apart, selling bits and pieces, only to find that they didn't have the know-how, sold or threw out something irreplaceable that was going to be difficult if not impossible to replace.

Cheers
Tony

[gdod25]

Welcome, your location will have influence on what sells. Here in Montana trailers and parts are tougher to find and shipping can be costly.

[Ladylongwing]

I am in Montana, near Ennis. I have a 27' Safari twin that I had customized a few years ago before I did some full-timing. The parts I had left over have been in storage and now that I have a house, I am considering selling them if there is any interest. I have a left-side twin mattress in good shape (in plastic), and the wood surround and storage bins that used to be under it. I replaced it with a computer desk....I sold the front sofabed before I left VA, but there are some original curtain shirrings in a blue print I have no use for. It appears to be the standard issue print for that vintage. Anyway, if anyone has a burning desire for any of this stuff, message me privately. Thanks!

P.S. I might be selling both twin mattresses if I can find a double that would work and a way to install it on the curb-side of the rear.

[kmuinch]

I am just getting ready to start restoring a 1964 Streamline Empress. It's a cousin to the Airstream product. It is complete except the front living area, and I may be interested in a sofa or fold-up wall-mount table. I can wait, as this is a year-plus project. OK, maybe two.

[Silverflames]

You will want to keep as much as you can for the reasons noted above, but also to use as patterns for walls, cabinets, ETC. AS have lots of curves!

[Gdickison]

Hey Nick! Congrats! I was in your EXACT same boat a year and a half ago. I have the same trailer and like yours is totally intact. I have, like all others considered the pros and cons of using the existing cabinetry, hardware, fixtures, etc. Apart from having sold the oven, I think I'll keep everything. The bathroom is something I'm still waffling over. This is based on a few realities that over a year of research and head scratching has not really solved 1) despite my efforts to fix the plumbing, none of it works and my trailer requires a complete overhaul when it comes to waste water and hot water. 2) As you are aware, I have the dreaded bottom sag (I meant the trailer). I have decided to remove the bathroom completely to fix the chassis and the punky floor back there. I understand the bath fittings don't re-install well. Just in case, I will be taking everything out as delicately as I can. The third reality I've learned is that although there are many super-clever airstream interior designers out there, I'm not one of them. Very little of what I can do can match the light weight, space saving cleverness that airstream designed 46 years ago. I can only improve (slightly) on their work. So, like you... Do I keep the interior hoping someone else (in Canada) might want the bits and pieces? Or do I work with what I've got? How many trailers out there are clean AND original? Not many, I suspect... Everytime I step foot in my rig, I'm taken back in time, and I love it! If your interior is in terrific shape, please, for the love of all this historical... Preserve it! Your pocket book and nostalgic nerds like me, will thank you!

[iceburg]

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice! I've been moving forward with the project and now have a 90% gutted airstream. I've decided that im ripping it apart down to the bones and am going to rebuild everything custom to new. plumbing, wiring, lp, everything. With that being said, I am not going to save anything from original. I feel that the original layout would not work well for my family, and want to make it all work for us. Once i really get into it, i will start a thread with the progress of the build and rework. Right now i have a garage full of the whole interior of the trailer. I'm going to be posting an ad to get rid of everything, but if nothing moves fast, im going to get rid of it all. Kind of sad, but I need the garage space to keep going with the build. If anyone knows anyone looking, send them my way. I'm not looking to make money on this stuff, but more put it to use for people restoring to find parts that aren't easy to come by.

@thesignlady it does seem that you are describing the lights that i have. Ill try to get some pictures to you to verify. I have 4 of them in tact.

[thesignlady]

Ooh, that would be awesome, here is a picture of my one surviving one (at night)

[CaCraig]

Aren't those light covers available new? They look the same as my '71. I was going to but new light covers but I do need 3 knobs.

I'm still looking for the interior plastic shroud for the Armstrong AC if you have it.

[thesignlady]

The ones that Vintage trailer supply and Inland rv sell are more angled and flare out and too wide by about an inch and a half. In the 69 light fixtures the sides are more squared and there are decorative flutes in the sides. Oh and the fixtures bases themselves are gold anodised aluminium :-)

[CaCraig]

My '71 has gold anodized aluminum bases

[CaCraig]

Now I see what you mean. It looks like they are the same from '69-'71. Looks like I need new ceiling fixtures.

[Silverflames]

Here is the light cover. You can also buy the three way switches for them.

http://airstreamsupply.com/New-Airst...iffuser-200039

[CaCraig]

thesignlady said those don't work. You can see in her picture the sides are more vertical than the reproductions.

[Silverflames]

Could be, mine were mostly gone when I got my AS. And I have not tried them so don't know for sure if they fit.

[CaCraig]

I'm going to Inland next week and I'll measure before I buy them.

[Silverflames]

Let us know if they do! I need something to cover my lights.