Monday, August 1, 2011

79 Airstream Argosy 27'

Purchased during the winter of 2010-11 about 20 miles away. I was not able to get it home until after spring dry up.
Here is a picture as found:
Well, I should have known it wasn't in "ready to go on the road" condition. The PO said the water heater was leaking, but all other appliance worked and the tires are not the best. Yup, new tires to get it home, signal lights worked, that's a good sign. I had given it a quick go over before buying, the only excuse I have is that it was buried in snow and it was cold. Lame, but all I have, I admit it, I would have bought it anyway with all I now know about it, but would have bargained a little harder.
Here it is arriving home:

She's got new tires all around and notice the painted rims.
Well the fun has started. I had "visited" my find several times during the winter and really could not find any evidence of leaking, not bad for a 32 year old. It had sat tilted and leaning back due to flat tires on one side (maybe for a few years?). Once home I leveled it out and on the stabilizer jacks as it should be. Now each time I visit during a rain I find, and repair new leaks. Wonder if the moving and leveling opened things up a bit. At least I'm able to address before any damage occurs. One leak was from the holding tank vents, cleaned this up and resealed. Another leak was at the rear bumper where it fits under the body, new sealing here too. The most troublesome is by the entrance door which seems to be coming in from where the outside walls meet the belly pan under a decorative strip. I've sealed and sometimes it leaks and sometimes not. I will remove the strip and see what's going on here and seal as needed if it ever stops raining.
Found this leak! Leaking in from the bolts that hold the awning. Sealed those and the water stopped.
The other troublesome leak was at the rear under the bath sink. Sealed and resealed the joint at the bumper level where it meets the sides, no doubt this was needed, but it was leaking through the tail lights. Oh, it was also leaking from the stack vent and bath vent. With all these leaks I was lucky to catch before any real damage. Some rot at the rear corners, repaired these and now all leaks are gone!


Here are some pics of the interior as found. At least the PO had ripped out most of the carpeting so I could see the condition of the floor which is in pretty good condition, like I said, I don't think it was leaking until I got it home. That is, all except for a small area of rot by the rear bumper, just a few inches in 2 spots, an easy fix. The interior finishes are really in great shape.


August 2011, the demolition (to repair??) is in full swing. What was a nice interior now looks like a pile of ? The water heater has been replaced with a new one, the refrigerator started leaking and has been removed and hauled to the dump. Sounds easy but had to remove half the kitchen cabinets to get it out.
All water lines from the tank has been replace with new PEX from the tank to all the fixtures along with a new water pump. At least all the tanks are in good condition and the the level indicators are not perfect but reasonably usable. The valves for emptying the tanks have been removed and all new valves installed.
Out with the old and in with the new (heater).


Placing the heater was a cinch, relocating the gas line as it would not fit as original, do they ever? was a different story. Anyway, after that was in, all water lines, plastic of some sort, was replaced with PEX.
Now in the meantime, I am also working on an Avalair and finishing touches on my Scotty. Finally, in September, 2011 a partial test of the plumbing. The bath sink is still out and the the tub faucets not in but a good chance to test the main lines to the heater, kitchen and various valves put into the system. All goes well except for 2 very serious leaks, I tried to blame the PEX as I had never used this system before. But to my dismay and joy, one leak was due to a crimp ring that never got the "crimp" and the the other leak, not even the crimp ring. Once I finished (corrected or should I say completed the job) no leaks! PEX is the way to go.
October. The bath sink is ready to go in, but a new power converter is going in and much easier to put under the sink when the sink isn't there. The converter should be in within a few days.  Currently working on such things as trim, hinges and such.
One more easy project to do: remove the remains of the old crank out TV antenna and properly patch.


There is always one more "easy" project in bringing a vintage up to speed. Somewhere in its life the original frig vent was replaced with a not too bad replacement, but I can do better. A picture of the vent as found with the new.
Simple? Note the red spot just left of center? Yup, blood, cut myself quite deeply on the screen covering the vent. I often wonder on vintage restoration if I can finish the job before I run out of skin/blood. No worries, you can see this unit needs a paint job anyway.
So much for the top, what about the nasty end?


Intelipower. It's not the wiring that's the job, it's getting the bolts holding the old out that takes the time. Ran out of daylight, will finish tomorrow.
The new converter and fuse box take the same space as the old, nice.

Wiring has been organized and note new PEX plumbing going in. All water lines will be new.
A pic of a "not so pretty", had to be done.

I can't for the life of me understand carpeting in the bathroom, never mind under the flush!
Maybe they did me a favor, I took out the flush to remove the carpeting and in so doing discovered the innards of the potty likely would have fallen apart at the next use or at least very near future. All the clamps and metal fittings were corroded to the point of falling apart.
4-1-12 Back to some work on the Argo. Spent the winter on the Avalair. Anyway, put the bath sink counter frame work back together now that the new plumbing for the sink and bath are all in. Also, the new power converter.
From the Airstream Fourm we have seen several examples of  how a soft rock guard has been made, so we have copied this and I am very satisfied with the results,

Fabric is marine grade vinyl with a layer of closed cell foam and a layer of Prodex insulation. It won't stop a brick, but what would? Total cost of around $100.


4-14-12 Got the bath lav back together and hooked up the plumbing both the feed and waste, also the feed for the bathtub. Now all ready for a wet test, as soon as freezing temps stop. I'll have to get some pics.
4-15-12 More work on my rock guard idea, will post some pics if this works out, not sure yet.
Week end of 5-12-12, installed the new frig, mounts, walls, gas, etc. most of another day.
5-19-12 Took a whole day removing the old AC. Quite a few screws though the roof. Got them out, cleaned the surface, a dab of Proflex in each hole and a new rivet. The new AC does not mount the same way at all. Next day, enlarged the opening by a half inch on the width to accomodate the new AC, and installed supports around the opening and attached to the ribs. The wife gave the bathroom a final cleaning. Not quite new, but I'm sure better than it has been in at least 15 years.
June, 2012 Started doing prep work for repainting the outside.
The steel endcaps cleaned and primed and you can also see the new A/C.

Pulled off the wheels, need to clean up and prime the wheel wells, and will pull off the hubs to do the bearings and brakes.


Stripping being cleaned off, they will be replaced.


6-5-12 The new tile looking laminate flooring has arrived, will be putting this in on bad weather or bad "bug days".
Some shots of the completed interior;















July, very busy and productive. Installed five new of eight bearings, all body work done, primed and painted. New blue vinyl inserts mid and lower. New floor covering and trim. Spouse has competed a very thorough cleaning and the first window curtains are up today on 7-22-12.
New flush installed, complete water system including hot water has been tested and ready to go!
Removed range hood filter, cleaned and replaced and the exhaust fan works perfectly! Nice when something does not turn out to be a major project. Also, new break away switch installed and tested out ok.
Exterior completely repainted.

8-6-12 First ride around the block with the new hitch and soft rock guards. All went well, need to fix R blinker, a little dim, done,  have to add another washer for the hitch tilt, bars not quite level.
8-7-12 Started putting on the new stripes, wow, nearly done.
Summary: new AC, new power inverter with new DC fuse box, new frig, new pex plumbing, updated water pump, new hot water heater, new bath faucets, new finish floor, new vanity lights, added new ceiling light ( a good fix for the old antenna hole), new curtains and all new upholstery. New exterior frig vent, 5 of 8 wheel bearings new (qualified mechanic ok'd the 3 reused) and new wheel seals, added trunk lid which overlaps the bumper, vents in trunk, all new waste valves, all new tires  and new rim and tire for spare, new break away switch, new vinyl inserts. New interior radio/cd player, one new speaker, added microwave.

Final Picture: Job Completed