JAN/FEB – Windows & Doors

We patched two holes in the roof from the original furnace and fridge with one patch.

Every inside seam is fully caulked.

We spent many cold days inside rebuilding the last few side windows and polishing the interior window hardware.

The rear window frame was a mess. Now it is shiny and ready for the new rear window. We also spent some time tracking down new seals for the rear and front windows.  Vintage Trailer Shop & Steele Rubber Products were very helpful.

 

The door has been the biggest project so far this year.  In the process of installing a new lock and deadbolt we also fabricated a couple of new panels. There has been a lot of putting things together and taking them apart…then making some adjustments and putting it all back together again…and on and on. It’s nearly ready to reassemble and insulate with spray foam. Then we’ll polish the rebuilt door for an introduction to polishing.

We spent a little over 100 hours during January and February bringing the total hours to 1,525 so far for the whole project.

 

Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec – REPLACING PANELS

 

We weren’t happy with a few crinkles in the new front belly pan so we replaced it again while it was relatively easy with the front side panel off. The new one looks much better!

 

New front panel

New rear panel

New windows seals and windows are going back in.

We worked 150 hours over the last four months of 2016 bringing our total for this year to 758. We’ve now got over 1,400 hours of work invested. Wow!

AUGUST – fitting the shell & new panels

After a few months off we’re back to work. We’ve put in 140 hours this month.

We had to shave a small sliver off the floor in front and in back in order for the shell to fit back on properly. That was a lot of work: cutting the floor, re-sealing the edges and re-shaping the belly-pans.

Fitting the shell over the belly-pans and down onto the floor was a slow process of finding all the places where the aluminum was binding and relieving the pressure without lifting the shell anywhere else. Eventually the shell sat solid and in the right place.  It was amazing how much more stable it all was even before any more riveting was done.

Once the frame was secured all the way around with much stronger ties than were originally used we started replacing all of the side panels. We drilled out the old panels, used them for a template to cut the new panel and then drilled a few holes across the top.  This way we could hang the panel and then drill all the other holes directly through the existing holes.

Buck riveting has been interesting. We’ll get some pictures for next month…

 

replacing all of the side panels

cutting the wheel-wells with a Dremel

drilling holes in the new panel and securing with Clecos

ready for rivets

MAY/JUNE/JULY

Project on hold…busy with other things.

APRIL – belly pans & shell

spare tire carrier panel nearly ready to install

cutting the front panel down to size

first attempt at rear belly pan

second attempt

stabilizers

ready to flip

rotisserie

chassis and shell

had to be careful to not bump any blocks

together again!

but the floor is a little too big…will need to trim a bit

MARCH – belly pans

We spent most of this month prepping for and installing the belly pans. We finished the 2″ insulation under the floor and filled all the gaps with foam. Then we spent some time fine-tuning the spare tire carrier to make it as low-profile as possible. We also installed four stabilizer jacks. Once these were all in place we began fabricating the new belly pans. We started with the center and worked our way out. Forming the metal around the tire carrier and stabilizer boxes was very time-consuming. We worked 121 hours this month. Once we get the front and rear panels formed we’ll be ready to flip the chassis over and replace the shell!

 

FEBRUARY – new window seals and upholstery

This month was relatively quite. We worked 67 hours. We polished the frames and replaced the rubber seals in the Hehr windows. We also began recovering the the Mustang and Falcon seats that will make the rear lounge.  

   

JANUARY – VCT tile, flipping the trailer, floor insolation

January was cold but we still managed to do 89 hours of work. After laying the tile we also sealed and polished it. The wheel tubs were reinforced all around with galvanized steel. Then they were primed and undercoated prior to installing. After flipping the trailer I spent some time preparing the mounts for the four stabilizer jacks. Then we were ready to fit the 2″ blue-board beneath the floor. It’s been snowing a good bit the last couple weeks so work is at a standstill. Bellypans are next once weather permits.

start in the middle

finishing the step

100 lb. roller

polished!

love the checkerboard!

beefing up with galvanized steel

clamping and riveting

installing wheel tubs

ready to flip

2″ insolation

hot knife is great for cutting

more snow!

DECEMBER – shocks, subfloor cutting/caulking/painting/bolting + CVT tile

The weather was great in December and we got a lot done. We worked 159 hours.  We finished up with the shocks and a few last welding details on the steel frame. Then we were ready to start the flooring process. The sub-floor was bolted on. Then we set the shell on to mark the outline of the floor. Then we lifted the shell back off and set it back on the ground. After cutting out the outside edge of the subfloor we caulked all the edges then primed three coats and painted three coats. Once the sub-floor was laid we moved the trailer into a garage for applying the CVT tile. After sealing two coats and polishing four coats we let the trailer sit inside for a week to cure.

new shocks!

frame is ready for a floor

laying out the 3/4″ MDO subfloor

carefully backing the chassis under the jacked-up shell

Merry Christmas!

3 coats of primer + 3 coats of paint

biscuits all the way around

assembling the sub-floor

 

 

sub-floor primed, painted, bolted down and marked for tile

start in the middle

2 coats of sealer + 4 coats of polish

 

had the local HVAC shop bend me some new c-channel and peices of galvanized steel for wheel-well repair

we picked-up some new laminate for the counter tops

  

NOVEMBER – prepping frame, stripping paint, painting fridge, wheels & axle

The frame/chassis was in the welding shop for the first two weeks of November. They only needed to straighten-up the support for the gray-water tank but it took them a while to get around to it. Not having the frame here held up progress during some good weather…oh well. We still managed to get 87 hours of work done this month.

Once the trailer was back we were able to tackle a few smaller welding projects like adding a few attachment points to the frame and adding steel supports for the step. We also cleaned-up the axle, painted it, lubed the hubs and removed the old shocks. New shocks just arrived and will go on soon. We’re wrapping up the frame prep and will soon be ready to lay the sub-floor.

While the trailer was away we painted the fridge as well as the new smoothie wheels. We also scraped or blew most of the loose paint off all the interior panels. Most of the paint was collected in a large piece of filter cloth so it didn’t make too much of a mess.

pressure washing endcaps

added steel step support

POR-15 on axle and leaf springs

freshly packed hubs and bearings

masking the fridge door

ready for primer

primed

painted

smoothie wheels with baby moon hubcaps

the color looks different inside

nice curves!

gluing and clamping the new door seal for the Frigidaire

 

 

 

October 2015 – frame painting & interior panel scraping

October started with a flurry of progress the first week. Then we mostly waited for the welding shop to get around to finishing our job.  We only worked 96 hours this month. Mostly grunt work: grinding, painting and scraping. But it is satisfying to see the trailer starting to improve.

Once we finally got the chassis back we removed as much surface rust from the original pipe frame as possible with a grinder.

I let the grinder get away from me one time and it quickly taught me a lesson.

We prepped all the steel and applied 2 coats of POR-15 silver paint. Then we top-coated the few exposed areas of the frame.

I’m pleased with the improved frame and the POR-15 paint.

Once we had the trailer weather-proof(rust-proof) we took it back to the welding shop for a couple of final tweaks.  It’s been there for two weeks now. Hopefully they’ll get it back to us soon.

While we’ve been waiting I’ve scraped a lot of the paint off the interior panels. Citrus-Strip and a BBQ scraper mostly. The last few panels I did with a pressure washer. I prefer that method.

We’ve been doing a lot of planning of interior elements. We ordered VCT flooring tile that we’ll lay in a checkerboard pattern.

Winter is on the way. Our goal for November is to get the floor down, belly-pans riveted and the shell back on!

getting started

We recently purchased a 1950 Airstream Flying Cloud. 1950 was the first year Airstream made the Flying Cloud model which they still make today. The serial number is 7002 indicating it’s the 3rd one ever made!

It has the original pipe frame design, which we will have to reinforce with more steel. The floor was completely gone in the front and rotten everywhere else. The previous owner had removed all of the interior fixtures and left it all in the trailer.

It’s been one month since we drove to Kansas to pick it up and brought it back to North Carolina.  Tracie and I have spent around 200 hours on the project so far.  96 hours were spent driving to and from Kansas. The other 104 have been spent dissembling, unscrewing screws, drilling rivets, cleaning, planning and researching. The trailer is now completely disassembled except for a few windows.  The shell is off the frame and everything has been pressure washed. We’re ready to rebuild the frame and check the axle, brakes, etc… we will also start rebuilding the windows soon.

The goal for next month is have the chassis and frame fully serviced, have a new sub-floor and belly pans in place and be ready to put the shell back on.

Here are some pictures from the first month:

Stay tuned for another update at the end of next month