the long and the short of it.....

Work on the 56 Sovereign / Trailer 1234 is coming along very well. 

There has been a slight change of plan, our client has decided to downsize to a mid 50's tandem Overlander and I have inherited the Sovereign again which will need to be put back together.

We have been in talks with Bob Heist from the  Nebraska WBCCI unit. It turns out that this actual trailer was used  for unit formation meeting back in the late 50's early 60's and many of older members can remember the trailer. With a little luck Bob has managed to get Airstream to agree to allocate 1234 to me and I am now a member of their unit!

If and when I sell the trailer I will transfer the number with the trailer.

We have replaced the front section of the chassis and carried out extensive repairs. Note the extended front frame to allow for better turning clearance and also make room for a custom gas box -

\

Chassis flipped and prepaired, we've bolted on a marine ply that will have an undercoating of bitumen to insure a long and heathy life on the road -

28ft ft of belly pan prepaired and ready to be riveted into place -

 Package arrived from Airstream Inc -

Full size drawings

A friend mentioned to me that back in the 50's Airstream could provide full size drawings for the customer to walk around and mark out changes on to create a custom Airstream interior.

Not sure how true this is but I thought it sounded like a great idea and decided to do the same -

The Beigel (aka Bagel)

I've been frequenting this east end establishment for the last 27 years. I've walked, ran, biked,  bused, driven, taxied and even paid for a limousine to get a bite of a Brick Lane Beigel. I have shipped them where ever I have worked. I could be happy, sad, worried or tired,  they always taste great -

This is my lunch about to go in the oven -

So when I get a call to give away 150 pairs off boots out of an airstream next door to Beigel bake I naturally jumped at the chance.

A quick setup -

And then a quick exit -

Then

Chock full o' Nuts

Nice to see things get a second life, New York Blend coffee.....

We've given  

 this Sovereign of the Road a good first cut with a coarse grade polish before lifting the body off -

 Getting various decals and sealants off the body safely required a few days patience -

It still had the original floor in the trailer which had been overlaid with another plywood floor . Even the new plywood (below) was badly rotted. The original plywood was very badly delimitated except for the mid sections of the trailer.

Frame off and the chassis gets exposed -

One of a number of issues which are pointing towards making up a new chassis -

Unused buck rivet in the inner skin -

Internal pop rivet from the 50's -

Then we started a floor and belly pan on this little bubble -

May the wind always be in my back yard......

With fall  well underway, I'm starting to plan for the cold winter that lies ahead.

This year we have all the heat we can handle as long as we have wind. But I will have a few 47kg bottles of gas ready to keep the productivity levels up just incase.



Initially the primary focus will on getting this young lady ready for life in the 21st century -

She is a 1956 Ohio Sovereign of the Road.

I bought her in Minnesota. My purchase hit the headlines -

She's a real lady and I will really enjoy my time with her.

I have researched and located her previous owners from the 1950's and already heard some interesting stories about her. I looking forward to hearing and hopefully seeing more of her history.


So keep warm and stay tuned this winter and my first off grid restoration!

Sir Bobs

Early Saturday we headed to Sir Bob Geldofs 60th and daughter Pixies 21st birthday party with three Airstreams.

The party was New Orleans themed fancy dress and my wife Hazel kindly  had me setup to be "the mild mannered janior from the vintage airstream trailer park" 

We took one of our interns with us Ian -

Plenty of photo opportunities for a Janitor and his lady -

Next morning, time for a quick swing 

 A hug and thank you to and from Bob

Then time to hit the road