Tale of a '55 FC Whale Reno

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by ALUMINUMINUM

The drape of the hose’s catenary curve is elegant. It looks very nice. Will your supervisor allow you to string your favorite rubber bath toy onto the hose?

I like ducks. Looks like he’s just sitting there enjoying the ride. It’s worth a try. Thanks

[dougcamin]

This is looking great. Good thing you planned originally for how things come apart. I'm coming up on putting the finish in my shower enclosure and am using the same polywall. I'm assuming I will attach it to the wall with some sort of construction adhesive. The biggest hangup for me has been how to do the corners so they look good too.

[Bubba L]

Dougcamin, we used Liquid Nails FRP adhesive in the one gallon can to stick the Polywall. Make sure to roll the air pockets out when you stick it. If you fit the corners tightly (within a 1/4”), you can caulk the corners with NP1 white polyurethane (if your Polywall is white). Have a little soapy water in a cup, wet your finger and slick the NP1 to the inside corner contour. I used both, the NP1 and corner molding. I think the caulk looks better. Good luck

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by ALUMINUMINUM

The drape of the hose’s catenary curve is elegant. It looks very nice. Will your supervisor allow you to string your favorite rubber bath toy onto the hose?

ALUMINUMINUM you may or may not have been kidding, but my supervisor approved, it works very well and thanks to you I am now minus one bath toy.

[ALUMINUMINUM]

problem solved with super’s approval, life is good.


guess you’ll have to put a ducky on your christmas list, if you can stay good ‘til then.

[Peter417]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

In post #190 I detailed the steps I took to insulate my walls like David Flores did his trailer. I had a request to post better photos. Here is the sequence:
Space to Insulate
Attachment 319960
First layer of Prodex with 1/2" spacers and wiring run in this space
Attachment 319961
Second layer of Prodex
Attachment 319962
Last layer of Foamular
Attachment 319963
Pretty much done. Note where ribs are missing I had to use foil tape.
Attachment 319964

It was a slow process, but worth the effort if it insulates as well as David's trailer.

Do we have any real word tests for different insulation used in aluminum trailers?

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by Peter417

Do we have any real word tests for different insulation used in aluminum trailers?

Peter, I do not have any recorded tests on different insulation products and methods in an Airstream. Like Colin Hyde said, there’s just so much you can do to insulate a 1 1/2” cavity. We just did the best we could after reading a lot on the forums. I do remember pointing a thermometer on the outer and inside skins to see the difference in surface temps. The Prodex and Foamular did make a big difference. I think the comfort inside a vintage Airstream has to come from a combination of insulation, a good HVAC system and even air distribution throughout the inside. Sorry, I wish I would have been more vigilant in jotting down results. Good luck

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

Peter, I do not have any recorded tests on different insulation products and methods in an Airstream. Like Colin Hyde said, there’s just so much you can do to insulate a 1 1/2” cavity. We just did the best we could after reading a lot on the forums. I do remember pointing a thermometer on the outer and inside skins to see the difference in surface temps. The Prodex and Foamular did make a big difference. I think the comfort inside a vintage Airstream has to come from a combination of insulation, a good HVAC system and even air distribution throughout the inside. Sorry, I wish I would have been more vigilant in jotting down results. Good luck

Peter, I agree completely with Bubba L. Regarding insulation I believe it is important that the insulation, whatever type you are using, completely fills the entire cavity. The total R value of the shell is never going to be very high since typically you have aluminum ribs connected directly to the inside and outside aluminum shells and have lots of single pane, not insulated dual pane, large windows.

When I insulated the belly pan in my Tradewind, I used a combination of solid foam insulation and rock wool insulation.
I didn’t open up the wall cavity. It is insulated with the original fiberglass insulation installed in 1966.

Dan

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

We gutted the gas absorption parts from a Dometic M16 refrigerator leaving about a 5 cu ft space. We've ordered an icebox conversion system from Isotherm to create an AC/DC refrigerator/freezer (thanks for that idea 57Vintage). Until it gets here, we had to get the box ready.
Attachment 320015

The inside thermoplastic door panel was cracked in multiple places and the door insulation was old. We used a fiberglass repair kit to reinforce cracks from the back of the panel and create missing edge sections. After painting the panel with spray paint made for plastic applications, we flipped it and used spray foam to insulate the back. We found that if you foam the whole thing at once, it expands and deforms the thermoplastic (note the deformed area on the finished panel and the crack created). On reflection, we should have foamed in layers. After shaving the foam flush, there remained a convex void between the panel's foam and the door that needed insulation; we found a small quantity of Roxul from a box store fit perfectly.
Attachment 320016 Attachment 320017
Attachment 320018 Attachment 320019
Attachment 320020

I stripped the paint off the original door and sprayed with appliance paint. The finish is acceptable, but not as glossy as I'd like. The original handle had a plastic spring release latch that had broken, so I used the original as a pattern and fabricated a new one from a piece of 1/2" aluminum plate.
Attachment 320022 Attachment 320023

The "e" shaped compression gasket needed replacing. An antique appliance place sells the stuff for $6/ft, but we found the equivalent at barefrideration.com for a fraction of the cost. Their custom size cooler and freezer gasket style 2396 came custom cut and heat welded at the mitered corners. Our 22x34 gasket fit great and cost $35 plus shipping.

The original refrigerator had a vented cabinet underneath to house the propane parts; I cut off that section as it was now wasted space and did not contribute to the overall appearance of the unit. Here is progress to date.

Attachment 320024 Attachment 320025

Hi Bubba,
Just closing the "fridge identification" loop in your thread. Your fridge is either a Dometic MKT500a or MKT500b, not an M16. The MK500a & b appear to be earlier versions of the Dometic M50. I have an MKT500b in my 1958 Caravanner and an M50 in my 1962 Safari. I believe the M16 was a smaller "under counter" style fridge.

Here is a link to a more detailed fridge analysis in my thread:
https://www.airforums.com/forums/f49...ml#post2539330

[Whaletail57]

Hi
Pretty new to airstreams and very new to forums but a couple of pics of our ( I think ) 1957 flying cloud whale tail in the UK, cheers

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by Whaletail57

Hi
Pretty new to airstreams and very new to forums but a couple of pics of our ( I think ) 1957 flying cloud whale tail in the UK, cheers

Good to have you with us. The pictures didn’t seem to post. Also, please post the VIN number beside the door when time allows. Take care and be safe. Bubba

[Whaletail57]

Hi
I’m new’ish to forums, commenting anyway, yours looks great, we have just finished restoration of our 1957 flying cloud whale tail, thought I’d share some pics, we intended to air b n b it but have fell in love with it, France here we come

Cheers
L.e and E.m[IMG][/IMG]

[Wall.E]

Hello Bubba,
I appreciate your welcome and am super impressed with your renovation progress. I love how passionate you are about the vintage models too.
I don't know if you are on Instagram but I highly recommend that you postpictures of your renovation there since so many millinials are on it and are buying them. I'm a GenXer so I'm a little older, lol

[Bubba L]

Thanks for the compliment Wall.E. It’s got to be either a labor of love or looking for a challenge. We felt both. And yes, I love the vintage Airstreams to renovate and travel in. I’m not on Instagram, but sounds intriguing. And by the way, I’m older than our Flying Cloud. Good luck, safe travels and thanks again.

[dbj216]

Well that's nothing: I'm older than dirt as they say. I understand there are a multitude of other social platforms that might have comments about vintage Airstream trailers. But through the years I've got all I need from Airstream Forums. Besides, I meet folks like Bubba L who help geezers like me with their trailer projects. Bubba L knows what he is talking about. I'd refer young people to these Forums. There is a phone "app" for this site.

David

[Bubba L]

I stumbled across a much easier and faster way to restore the nameplate; it takes less time and does not involve masking. Here is the first time I tried it on our 1955 FC plate; it has a more "rustic" look:


And I got even better at it when I tried it on two more Bambi nameplates I did for a friend:


Here is the process I used; it could have been previously posted elsewhere, but I haven't seen it. Apologies if it is already out there.

• Clean and sand the plate using 600 grit wet sandpaper to get the old paint off.

• Completely spray the plate with a couple coats using Dupli-Color Engine Enamel with Ceramic in Old Ford Blue. Wait the recommended 30 minutes between coats.

• When it is dry to handle an hour after the last coat, very lightly sand the raised areas (lettering, perimeter etc..) to remove the paint from the raised areas. You can test to see if it's ready by lightly scratching a raised letter with your nail and if it easily scrapes off, it is ready. Don't wait too long or it will take too much pressure to sand off the harder paint.

• I then waited 24 hrs before spraying with 2 coats of a clear UV paint such as Rust-oleum Universal Clear Durable Topcoat.

Hope this helps someone.

[coloradoup]

Thanks for the tip! Looks really good.

[steinVT]

Wow, Bubba, those came out great. Do you do something to keep the paint from filling up the stamped ID numbers? - Mark

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by coloradoup

Thanks for the tip! Looks really good.

Thanks Mike. How is the mini split going? I’ll be installing one in a 63 Bambi this summer. That’s what the friend of mine wants. Don’t know if it’s a good idea in a trailer that small. Always looking to those installing one to get better ideas. Thanks

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by steinVT

Wow, Bubba, those came out great. Do you do something to keep the paint from filling up the stamped ID numbers? - Mark

Mark, good observation on the ID number. You can lightly sand the raised area, but no the recessed ID. So, I just put a small piece of Gorilla tape over that to keep the paint out of the stamp. Hope all is going well. Met a lady recently at Garner State Park traveling alone with her rescue dog in an Interstate. She’s from Brattleboro where her family had an organic farm. I’m a fan of the Berkshires.