Monday, July 27, 2009

bellypan down and I'm out of beer...

After a couple days of drilling out many rivets, down came the bellypan. Even though I have read countless stories of finding dead or alive critters, my Fifth Avenue on Wheels had none. Just a lot of gravel and insulation that had let go.
Here you can see how the '66 era trailers' side panels wrapped down below to meet the bellypan. A previous owner or two must have done some work under the bathroom because a seperate sheet had been tacked on toward the back.

The black tank holder has seen better days. I'm thinking that the new black tank will go above the floor and the gray tank I am adding will go within the frame just behind the axle.


I got a good look at the condition of the frame and I think I got lucky with just how intact it is. Next step is to remove the subfloor insulation and the subfloor and then wire brush the frame making it ready for Por-15.




Yeah the axle has to be replaced, too. At least it had some travel left in it by the looks of it.
As a post script, I would like to express my appreciation to Tim, Colin, and Rob of VAP fame for all of the podcasts they have produced. It sure makes working on a trailer more fun listening to the three of them plus all their great guests telling stories about how to fix and how to enjoy a vintage Airstream. Now if I could just get Rob to draw my name as the winner of that '64 Tradewind, I could bring my family out to D.C. for a visit and add to my aluminum collection.
Now I'm off to the beer store.

2 comments:

tinman54 said...

Hi steve, I heard you on the vap this morning, I did not get to finish it yet but my wife and I really enjoy listening to them. I am glad to here that they are going to continue. Your project is looking good, It was really nice to get all of that insulation out of ours, good luck with your project, I will keep watching.
Doug(tinman54)

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