New owner questions

[finn21]

I am the proud owner of a 1951 silver cloud , 7177. After wanting one for years I made the plunge and bought a straight, original trailer, had the floor and and axle replaced, the original interior rebuilt and refinished and the exterior polished. Now that I have it back in ohio, I have some questions. The door handle, is this original? I know the deadbolt is not. What should it have? The rear license plate light, which looks original has some pitting, can it be restored? are repos available? lastly, I am missing one of the closet latch levers, where can I get one?I will greatly appreciate any help!

[Rich W]

Beautiful AS, you should be very happy. I found this link using Google, have you visited there? Vintage Trailer Supply - parts and supplies for vintage travel trailers and campers!

You might Google pictures for your year and model to see other AS TT like yours.

[finn21]

I have looked there, I didn't see the latch or lic plate light. I have not been able to see a 51 with door detail. There are no marks on the door that would indicate that there was a different knob, but it doesn't look right

[moosetags]

That is one great looking vintage Airstream. We would love to see pictures of the interior.

Brian

[finn21]

I do see some fuzzy pictures on the vintage airstream archives of the same style door knobs, not definitive

[Oregon Ms]

What a beautiful trailer! Congratulations!

[dbj216]

Wow, you acquired a lovely vintage Airstream and invested a lot of resources to restore. Thanks for the photos, it's fun to see these old trailers in perfect condition. I'm sure you will get tons of questions and requests to peek inside where ever you park it. Especially how much is that one worth?

There are some Air Forums members who are very familiar with 50s Airstreams and can answer your questions. Melody Ranch comes to mind. Hopefully she, he will see your post, or maybe you can PM that user name.

Here is an interesting thread on a 50s Safari.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f338...ri-120639.html

The "cam lock" detail in your third picture of the original posts is similar to the ones on the compartment doors of my 66 Trade Wind. I think this piece comes with "T" handle locks sold by vintage trailer suppliers like VTS and Silver Trailer. I think that will be the easiest answer to your questions.

Welcome to Air Forums and keep us all updated on your restored vintage Airstreams. Award winners!

David

[55AS]

I looked at a 55 the other day which needed some work.
A few questions:
1. Did these trailers come with water heaters?
2. Did they have black water tanks?
3. What sort of shore power connection did they have?

[64airstream]

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your purchase. She's a beauty.

Another possible source for parts may be Inland RV.

The license plate light could probably be re-chromed. This is a common approach in auto restorations. An internet search could disclose some local shops.

Good luck,

Roy and Marie

[flygrrl]

I have the same licence plate light on my '62 GT. It was pretty pitted and I shined it up with PEEK and it still looks pretty good 2 years later. Rechroming would be the best though.
Leonie

[calais66]

She's a beaut! You've done a fantastic job on her. I think w. that serial number she's a Flying Cloud as opposed to Silver Cloud. You should check out the Flying Cloud registry, it's in the same section of this forum.

I think the original handles on this era were Bargman H20-2s. They sell re-pro handles for them at VTS, but the mechanism itself is more elusive. The handle turned to open, but invariably got pulled instead and often broke, which is why so many of these trailers have had them replaced over the years.

As for the license plate light, those Trail-Lites are fairly easy to find and replace. I think re-pros are available at Silver Trailer Supply, but you can usually find a good old one on eBay for less $$$. Or you could have yours re-chromed. Our '51 FC (7091) had a Nite Owl tail/license plate light, but that was a hold-over from the old 'Clipper' body style. By 7177 it's even money that what you're looking at is stock.

Great pics! Always would love to see more.

[jakes_mama]

Wow finn21, that is just beautiful. I hope you find the answers and resources you are looking for.

[finn21]

I found a interior latch, the inside door knob is mint, so I switched them, the shinny one outside, the one with the brass showing through inside, it goes well with the wood interior. AS for the license plate light, I see several have been sold on Ebay in the last several months, I am waiting for another nice one to show up.

[wander'n]

I have a mid 51/52 flying cloud with the same door handle. I also have the original lock set made by Reading. The license plate light, you just have to search for.
I have looked at many of these in 51 & 52 for ideas of how to Restore my. Yours is beautiful. I would love to see more of the layout.
I just stepped out real quick to take these pictures.

[MattB]

Originally Posted by finn21

I found a interior latch, the inside door knob is mint, so I switched them, the shinny one outside, the one with the brass showing through inside, it goes well with the wood interior. AS for the license plate light, I see several have been sold on Ebay in the last several months, I am waiting for another nice one to show up.

Finn, you may be able to get the one you have replated, depending upon what it's made from. On the other hand, if you find a suitable replacement or are willing to part with it, please, please, PLEASE send me the one you have and I will try to make it work on mine. I really like that style, and the one I have is not fixable. Although this makes me think I need to set up another followed search in eBay....

Looking forward to following this, and appreciate the pictures, keep them coming!

Cheers,

Matt

[Campmore]

Who polished your AS? We're in Ohio too have 51 FC . Your doorknob looks correct our FC is about 90% original and doorknob looks same