1959 Tradewind restoration part 2

The holding tanks in place

The plywood painted on bottom for moisture protection.

 I spent several days working on the holding tanks, sub floor, and belly pan. None of this will be seen, but all needs to be done before putting the body back on. That will be the exciting part.

This shows the dump valve locations, and the black tank rinse inlet.

Crimping the belly pan over the rail

Lowering the body onto the frame. 

Checking the holding tanks for leaks

We spent several days riveting the body onto the frame, and replacing the right side lower panels. I thought riveting would get old after about 30 minutes, but I'm still having fun after two days. Shelly and dad, however, are on the other end of the rivet, and aren't having as much fun. It is starting to look like a real Airstream again! I bought a new catch for the step to hold it in the up position, and decided to put it on last night. The 1" angle iron brace is right in the way. I put in the same place as our 1973 Overlander, but the new catch is for the step from the 2003. That means I had to cut the brace off. Now I need to decide if it is necessary to weld it further back. At least the new catch works. 

The right side before the panel replacement

The new panel

Drilling the holes

Lots of Clecos

The new side

Close up of the new rivets

The old back panel

The new back 

The new panel on the left side.

We spent several more days riveting, and decided to replace the back panel. The old one had quite a few scratches and holes, so off it came. The new one sure looks nicer. I advertised on Airforums that I needed a window to replace a wrong window on the left side. The previous owner had put a jalousie window in its place, and I didn't like it. A nice gentleman from South Carolina happened to have an 18" window, but no frame. That will fit the frame I took out from the lower window next to the door. The previous owner had covered that one with aluminum, but the frame was still good. I cut out for the refrigerator vents, battery boxes, water heater, and furnace, as well as a side outdoor light. The outside is almost done once I get the door ready. That may take several days itself. 

The new compartment door

The battery compartments from the 2003 Classic took the place of some holes in the front

The lower refrigerator vent

 The door seems to have been abused. I think it had been slammed open a few too many times. I took the small door apart, and decided to replace the skins on it. The door handle had been replaced recently, and the hole patched with aluminum. It did not look bad, but since I am replacing skins, it will be relatively easy to change that one too. Now I am down to about  half the old skins, and I think it will look better to have all new skins, so what the heck.This is a learning experience, right? Now, should I change the hinges to the right side of the  door, like it should have been to start with? What was Wally thinking, anyway? I'll have to think on that one a day or two.

  After thinking on it a couple of days, I guess I'll go with the original suicide door.

    I spent several hours cutting the new skins, and took them to a tin shop in West, Texas. While       they were bending the panels, I got to see the devastation from the fertilizer explosion. It was amazing to see the effects of the blast. Wow. 

I spent about three hours riveting the outside skins back to the door frame.

It turned out nice. It looks better than the patched door. The aluminum was about $100, and the bending cost $60. I'll have about 12 hours labor in the door. Plus, it was fun!

It was really cool to see Johnny Alonzo's signature inside the door. I added my name to the panel, and riveted it inside the door. Who knows who will find it in 50 years?