Wednesday, September 28, 2011

So Whats Left

So its been a  while since I last did my "To-Do" list. I have started feeling good about the state of the camper and my progress. So now is the time to look at all of the things that still need to be done and return to a state of depression and loathing over why I took on such a huge project in the first place. Let the tortuous lashings begin!

First the good news:
COMPLETED!!
- Fix the skin
- Mount skin
- Install all exterior items that will be painted.
- Wire and mount exterior lights
- Rebuild and polish windows
Prep skin for paint
Rebuild door
Paint
Make floor boards and install
Mount all windows
Install all running and brake lights
Install all handles and other exterior unpainted items
Mount new tires

Now the reality:
STILL TO DO
Decals
Restore and recover dinette cushions.
New bumper
Install Dimmer for exterior lights
Plumb LP for hot water heater
Poly Floor..three coats
Build new wings (damn you previous owner who removed them!)
Mount wings
Make and install trim for all windows inside
build drawer for under the be
install all pulls and handles on cabinets
Install toilet and plumb
Make curtains and mount rods
Shower curtain and head
Run Cable TV connection
Battery and Battery Box
REGISTER THE CAMPER!


Ok so I was wrong, that list actually had the opposite effect, that looks better than I thought. Well I think its safe to say that it will be ready for next season.... like the Redsox

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A New Floor

Here are some shots of the new floor. The dark wood is 2 1/4 wide Mahogany and the light is 3/4 wide birch. in order to keep the weight down all of the boards are ripped down and planed to 1/4 inch thick. Its glued and face nailed. These shots show it with no Poly. The hardest part was making the bull noses for the step up in the bathroom. But I have say I am very happy with the result. It kinda reminds me of a bowling ally... which I think works given that its a vintage camper.




Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Shasta Gets Painted!

Well its a major milestone in any restoration. This past week I was able to get the Shasta painted. I decided on Colonial white for the top, and Sage green for the bottom. It was a long messy week of prepping, painting and assembling. Not to mention hurricane Irene decided to come by in the middle of the process.

I have added photos that show the full process from prime, to paint, to installing the lights and windows. We used self etching primer for any bare aluminum spots. The Z stripe was polished with steel wool and then clear coated prior to being masked. Then it was time for the Sage green on the bottom. This is Dupont automotive grade paint... if you are doing one of these and go the same route expect to spend a few bucks ($400 for the paint alone!) This green is as close as I could get to the 56 T-bird color I wanted. It was crazy trying to get the right match at the store.


You can see the greenish self etching primer on the roof

This method worked well... mask the stripe and use clear plastic to mask above the stripe. Once the green was dry we just rolled the plastic down to cover the green and spray the white. I used frog tape to mase the stripe, worked well and left a clean edge

I got a couple of runs in the green... cant see them here. the white came out perfect. Going to have to wet sand and buff out the runs I think


The white walls are actually Port-a-walls... look great. Just needs the baby moons




I put the badge back on it first... maybe it should have been the last thing I put on it but I just could not wait.

Windows back in and tanks on!


all polished windows and visors back in!

you can see the vents are in on the roof and the new water inlets and electrical portal are in.

New teardrop marker lights from VTS.. look great.

New Fan-tastic in the bunk

Fan-tastic in the rear too, new full size mattress and the skylight are in.

Enough said!