Poor Me. POR me.

With the rust gone and the reinforcement securely welded, the original propane tank holder was painted with POR15 to stop any future rust.  The four lines of rivets securing the hold-down plate will keep the frame attached to the shell for years to come!  I'm so ready to travel in improved 1955 style!  We opted to keep the original style hitch crank.

Hatch Door - Framed!

The original hatch frame was cleaned, straightened, and polished.

For superior strength, the rear hatch frame was buck riveted.

Our hatch has new gaskets.  Polished to shine, the original hatch drip edge was straightened and fit with clecos to be riveted.

Windows - We've Got Windows! - Part 3 - Unobtanium No Longer!

Unobtantinum - No longer! *

First the lower "back-window" is fit into the window opening.

The original vintage Airstream window frames which were restored with new glass, are fitted into the street side.

Curbside, the rebuilt fixed window with the original frame is positioned with cleco fasteners.

* Colin the miracle worker - he found a way to build a new window hinge to replace the missing one!
The street-side original window was not missing but the hinge was destroyed.

The curbside windows cleco'd  and with protective tape is ready for vulkem and then buck riveting.

The curbside window and awning back-window is riveted to our 1955 Flying Cloud.

 

Street-side window and back-window of the awning window is riveted to the exterior aluminum skin.

Windows - We've Got Windows! - Part 2 - Rear and Front

Our plans for how we use our vintage Airstream are to enjoy our time - as we currently do with our 2008 CCD.

We rarely use full hook-ups.  We do enjoy traveling and camping in the hot summer months, so we do look for sites with electricity to get some sleep.  We boondock and enjoy staying at remote locations without electricity where ventilation is key to our comfort.  Like the cutest shoe, if uncomfortable - then it won't get used.

All all these are considerations when buying an Airstream, and I'd highly recommend renting a trailer before buying one, as it helped me to understand the comforts I needed, wanted, and what options are merely a waste of time/space/money.

At the rear of the trailer, the large window provides an emergency exit.  When towing, the rear window also provides a clear line of sight to the road behind the trailer. Currently, this feature is no longer available from Airstream, and is another reason we wanted a vintage trailer.

Set inside the trailer the "back-window" of the jalousie window is cleaned up and has a new screen.

The "back-window" of the rear window is cleaned up with new gasket and new screen. The mullions will be attached after they are powder coated.

The aluminum mullions and frames are polished and new glass is inserted into the rebuilt frame with new gaskets.

 

Cleco fasteners are inserted hold the front jalousie window (old glass was removed).

The window edges were taped to be ready for Vulkem caulk and buck rivets.

The jalousie window is riveted to the Airstream shell.

Windows - We've Got Windows! - Part 1 - Awning Windows

Yipee!!!   The windows are going back into our Flying Cloud!!


1955 vintage Airstream windows were manufactured more than one window type. Many Airstream trailers of the era were manufactured with custom features.  Some features were only offered from either the Ohio or the California factory.  Owners would place an order for a trailer options, and the factory would build a trailer for that owner.  A couple places to see the 1955 Flying Cloud options is vintageairstream.com or to read the 1955 Flying Cloud threads on airforums.com.

Our Airstream's largest windows are fixed windows letting lots of light for the front dinette with only lower awning windows open.  The front window is a jalousie window which has louvers that can be opened for ventilation during a cooling rain.  Smaller windows on the sides of the trailer open fully as does the rear window.

On the fully-opening street-side and the curb-side awning windows, there are two main assemblies.  The exterior-window with glass that moves to allow air into the trailer, and also the "back-window" that is stationary.  Reid installed new glass and gaskets in exterior-window - installed on the back side of the polished frames.

The fixed portion of the awning windows, the "back-windows" are fit into the aluminum shell using cleco fasteners.

The tape was put down in preparation for caulking with vulkem and then buck riveting.

Lower Panels Replaced - Last Ones!

Our 1955 Flying Cloud has a front panel that wraps around the entire front of the Airstream. Riveted to the bottom of the end cap, the lower front panel does not lining up with the bottom of the jalousie window and extends down to the banana wrap.  The largish panel does extend from the street-side window to the curb-side windows.  After checking RJ Dial's extensive Vintage Airstream website, it appears that the factories had many front panel versions for the 50's Flying Cloud models.

Our new front lower panel is in place and ready for buck rivets.

The small panel just forward of the door was replaced.

Lots of rivets were used to attach the front panel.
Four rows of rivets will attach the shell to the steel attachment-bracket, rather than the two rows Airstream originally used in 1955.

More current models, including our 2008 Airstream no longer are made with any vertical stabilizing steel attachment-bracket commonly called the hold-down plate.  Current production by Airstream has the aluminum shell is riveted to the C-Channel only.

Decision Made - Alclad Aluminum Panel Replaced Street-Side

Decision made.  The lower scraped scratched street-side panel is also to be replaced.

First the rivets are drilled out, the remaining rivet buck-tails are removed and the panel is removed.

A new panel is cut using the old aluminum as a pattern before the new panel is fit into place with cleco fasteners.

It takes two people to attach the panel with bucked rivets.  Outside one guy inserts the rivet head into each drilled hole and uses a rivet gun to forcefully push the rivet tail to a bucking bar held inside by a second person.  The pressure used expands the rivet tail and secures the panels together.

Bucking Byam's 1955 Flying Cloud - Rivets!

Bucked rivets are used at the Airstream factory for strength, durability, and structural integrity. Olympic rivets and pop rivets would not be strong enough to withstand the trailer's flex while traveling - listen to TheVap.com Episode 80 for lots more rivet information.

We will be using our vintage Airstream as much as possible, which exactly fits Colin Hyde's commitment to Airstream restoration using the best processes and materials (not every trailer shop has this philosophy). 

Our curb-side lower aluminum is buck riveted.

The shell is buck riveted to the frame through the side of the C-Channel.

Buck rivets securely attach the curbside lower panel.

Belly Pan - Panels to Access Plumbing

Colin worked with us to determine the best way to have an Airstream that looks vintage, and still has the modern conveniences that we will use to make our life comfortable.

The curb side and street side belly pan panels are riveted - using the larger belly pan rivets.

Situated in the belly pan, the combination grey water and black water dump valve will be accessible through an access panel on the street side belly panel.  The second access panel will allow maintenance on the grey and black water drain pipes, if needed, without cutting open the belly pan.

Using 5052 Aluminum at 032 thick, another street side panel provides maintenance access to the bathroom lavatory sink and shower drains.  While we've never had troubles with our 2008 Airstream's plumbing, we have worked on home plumbing a few times.  The panels will make any work much easier.  Insulated with Reflextix.