1948 LINER - A 70 Year Journey

[57Vintage]

From the little bit I know about it, when they went to the 7 panel end cap for 1958 (late 1957 build) they rolled a small bead onto the exposed side edge of each cap piece (center piece is beaded on both side edges).



In my case it was also done on the door skin edge.



Mr. Rivet has the same feature, not sure which panels.

I've only come across it on one other 58, a Bambi in CA. Like mine it was a fall 1957 build date. His was built in LA, mine in OH. So I'm not sure what the year/model range is. When I talked to the owner of a local Airstream renovation business he had never seen it before. Who knows, maybe 66Overlander has the answer.

[MrRivet]

Harold, we are using .032 Alclad 2024T3 and I did find out that the more pressure that I put on the adjusting screw, the dies would cut through the material. At 3 turns it was completely cutting through the material. I was surprised that it only took a small amount of pressure to form the profile that I was looking for. The profile is more of a raised ridge and not a true bead. I would try running a scrap piece through with about 1/2 to 3/4 turns and see what your results are. I was able to get a bead that was close with the dies that came with the bead roller but I am trying to match the panels that I’m not replacing so I had to have the new die turned. If your not trying to match anything else on the trailer you would probably be fine using your existing 1/4 die set. The door edge on our 63 Safari has the same bead on it but the door in the Liner only has a rolled edge as you would get with a flanging tool that looks like a straight bar with 2 small rollers. That might be an option for you as well.

David, I’m not an engineer but my speculation is the bead is for strength and maybe appearance and for water diversion but of course these are speculations. If only Wally were here! He could answer that question. On the Liner, the beaded edges only appear on the end segments.
Safe Travels!!
Tim

[dbj216]

Thank you. The seam bead would add some strength and maybe act like a drip cap. I wonder if it was an early aluminum aircraft metalworking technique that got carried over to Airstream. I wonder if the early Bowlus trailers (pre war and pre Airstream) used this technique. Maybe I see seam beads in the front endcap.

I now understand that it was early on and no longer used.

David

[MrRivet]

Another option for someone who needs to replace a panel(s) and does not want to go to the expensive of buying a bead roller and rolling their own is to contact Colin Hyde at Colin Hyde Trailer Restorations. I heard recently that he is currently producing end cap segment kits for vintage Airstreams and could probably fabricate the needed panel(s). I would think he could possibly fabricate the panels needed to rebuild a door as well.

Safe Travels!!
Tim

[MrRivet]

We’ve been working this week on getting the Liners rib structure into square with the frame and inspecting for damage. It has been like trying to straighten a crumpled beer can. We have the front and rear ribs in place but have discovered that the rib base placement is not consistent with the middle 3 rib sets. The center rib on the street side is twisted out about 2” in relation to the curb side. My guess is they were using the LAR(Looks About Right) method of construction. The attached picture shows a 4’ level that is plumb and gives an indicator of the twisted rib. When viewing the length of the trailer on the outside, a noticeable dip can be seen where this rib is located. If it weren’t for the visual deviation in the body line, I would leave the rib placement alone. I’m pretty sure this has existed since it was built since the exterior rivet line on this and the other center ribs are not plumb with the vertical panel edges. We also found two ribs that have stress cracks that will need to be repaired.

Safe Travels!!
Tim

[57Vintage]

The LARs method was still alive and well when mine was built in 57. Most of the crossmembers were not perpendicular to the frame rails. Distance between crossmembers, side to side, varied as much as 3/4"

[islandtrader]

L A R S

When I had my wheel wells rebuilt I only had one good one(the other one rusted out). No problem right, just make two from the original.

The picture shows lars at its finest... nothing is square or the same side to side.



Keep on Truckn'

[steinVT]

That is so funny. When I put the Safari together, I encountered the same thing with the wheel wells. I thought it was the way I was putting it together, but it may have been LARS.

I was always amazed that they never bothered measuring and marking the rivets going into the C channel. Their spacing is all over the place.

The good thing about LARS as a restorer, it does give you some latitude. - Mark

[TouringDan]

The LARS method was also still alive and well in 1966. When looking at the rivet line where the left rear panel joints are it looks like our Tradewind has rear end sag, except it doesn’t (or at least I don’t think it does). The only problem is that if they thought that looked about right they needed to have their eyes checked. It doesn’t look right to me.

Dan

[MrRivet]

The same with the wheel wells on the Liner and there is several rivet lines that are curved to match the curved rib on the inside. I guess a person learns from the person that trains them and then pass it to the next. It was still in play on our 2004. The bedroom windows are the same on both sides but reversed. Check out the gap difference between the windows.
Safe Travels!!

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by MrRivet

The same with the wheel wells on the Liner and there is several rivet lines that are curved to match the curved rib on the inside. I guess a person learns from the person that trains them and then pass it to the next. It was still in play on our 2004. The bedroom windows are the same on both sides but reversed. Check out the gap difference between the windows.
Safe Travels!!
Attachment 373291
Attachment 373292

The reversed position of the windows on opposite sides is on purpose. I can't explain the different spacing though.

Window openings, rivet holes, etc. on Airstreams for the last few years have been cut by a numerically controlled machine, so what ever you get was done by design. This is a little different that when your 2004 was built when the openings were cut by and by a human being using a router and hand placed jig/template.

Some things are still unexplainable, though. The spacing between the tires our dual axles on our 2016 Classic is different one side from the other. The axles cannot be bolted into the wrong position by accident. The spacing is determined by the slots cut into the axle mounting plates, which I assume are cut by machine rather than by hand, so should be exact. This, I believe means that the spacing differs from side to side on all 2016 dual axle Airstreams. I wonder if this has been corrected in the years since 2016? BTW, we had the alignment checked and everything is OK despite the spacing difference.

[MrRivet]

Thanks Joe! That’s great information on the dual axle installation. I always assumed on the 04 window installation that they had one worker cutting on one side and a different worker cutting the opening on the other side and their methods of placement varied the spacing gap between the windows from side to side. I probably never would have caught it if we hadn’t changed the blinds out in the bedroom and noticed the difference from the inside.

I don’t necessarily look at these deviations as defects but as features that you get when something is hand crafted and not created by a machine. I think these differences add character to the Airstreams and when you notice them you know it was built by hand. When we as restorers come across issues from the original construction we can see what was thought be proper construction practice at the time and can tell that sometimes that practice didn’t work out. That’s when we make corrections and improve what we find. I can’t help but to think of Wally’s saying “Make improvements not changes”. I’m sure that when our Liner was built that the craftsmen would have never thought that it would still be on the road after 72 years.

Safe Travels!!
Tim

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by MrRivet

I’m sure that when our Liner was built that the craftsmen would have never thought that it would still be on the road after 72 years.

Tim

72 years! That's truly incredible, and many thanks to those like the Rivets who have restored these babies to their original glory and are making sure they will still be on the road after another 72 years.

Good grief! When this Liner was built, I was three years old and had just moved from Arkansas to Miami, FL, with my family. I don't think I have aged quite as well as the Liner...

Vivian

[MrRivet]

Thanks Vivian for those words of support. I’m sure that most people on these Forums that ended up restoring an Airstream(s) didn’t originally plan on undertaking such a task. It truly is a passion that overcomes some people once they purchase their first Airstream. I think without the knowledge that can be obtained from the threads of this Forum and the support from its members like yourself it would be a tough task to undertake for most people. I know that I have spent many hours combing the threads here for information that is helping us to complete our Liner. Without this information it would make the restoration process a lot more difficult. We just hope that we can pass on our experiences and what we have learned with this project along to the next person. That has been our main goal with writing this thread in hopes that we can give back to this Forum community and help that next Airstreamer that is struck down with Aluminitus and wants to take on a Liner.

Safe Travels !!
Tim

[MsRivet]

Hello everyone! I decided to make these direct access links for easier viewing:
(Enjoy!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJcnYkztFKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN4MEjluhoY

[Camper Crazy]

Good job MsRivet! Now thats the way to see that stage of restoration.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and it looks like your girl is getting a solid foundation to build on.
Thanks,
CC

[steinVT]

Your frame is so beautiful, it seems like a shame to cover it up. A real piece of art. Congrats on getting her back together. - Mark

[MrRivet]

After a couple of months away from the Liner, we were able to start the replacement of the exterior skin panels that are severely damaged and corroded. Our plan all along was to try to save as much of the exterior skin as possible but after inspection of the interior surfaces we found that some of the panels were worse than what we thought in the beginning. We are going to work through this panel by panel so we will see how it works out. The first panel has been clecoed into place this past weekend. The panel was a bit of a handful at 12’ long and wrapping around the entire front of the trailer. I’m really glad I’ve been buying clecos as I’ve found them on sale over the last couple of years. We put a lot of them to use on this panel. Once we have this panel installed we will evaluate the remaining front end segments and replace as necessary.

Safe travels!!
Tim

[Disco Stu]

Looks great, well done.

[Bubba L]

Tim, I envy you having all the fun. I wish I would have strung out our 55 reno another year. Stay safe and great you’re being meticulous. Take care