[SilverStreak] Re: Silver Streak Digest V1 #524

["Jerry & Karen Page" <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Silver Streak Digest   Wednesday, February 27 2008   Volume 01 : Number 
> 524

> Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:50:37 -0500
> From: Tom Pierson <howdy1954@hotmail.com>
> Subject: [none]
>
> Hello fellow streakers,
>  I'm writing from upper east Tennessee.  My name is Tom Pierson and I own 
> a
> 1956  Clipper.  21' single axle.  I've had it for about 3 years now and am
> getting ready to do some restoration work this spring.  It has a dent in 
> the
> roof just above the rear window from a tree limb falling on it back in the
> 60's.  All those years since it did not leak, until I attempted to push 
> the
> dent out last year. (against everyone's advice). It still is not a huge 
> leak,
> just a few drops when it rains really hard, but I still want to fix the 
> dent.
> Anybody got any tips on doing a job like this?  I'm thinking either 
> removing
> the interior skin section and trying to dolly it out from the inside or
> removing the window and working between the skins.  I have a friend who 
> does
> the "paintless dent removal" technique on vehicles and thought I might let 
> him
> have a go at it.  I've searched high and low for new panels but with no 
> luck.
> Any help is greatly appreciated.
> Thanks and happy trails.
> tp
>
Hello Tom;

My name is Jerry Page and I also own a '56 Silver Streak Clipper. After 
spending several years rebuilding it I hopefully can offer some insight into 
your dent problems.

Your trailer is made of aluminum, not steel. The two metals work very 
differently. A hammer and dolly will only stretch the metal making it worse 
and worse. Paintless dent removal also does not work. In my experience, we 
can't expect auto body repair to be very useful. Your Clipper is made of 
aircraft aluminum and is more closely related to an airplane than a car!

My trailer had a small crunch in the right front corner. I cut a hole in the 
interior panel, pushed the dent out to the best of my ability and then made 
an aluminum patch and rivited that over the hole on the inside. It looks 
pretty good but this metal cannot be hammered out and made to look like new. 
It was at that point that I decided to strip all of the paint from the 
interior, but that's another story!

You can't find any new exterior panels because there aren't any. 
Fortunately, ALL of the panels are made from flat sheets, not the factory 
formed panels found on newer trailers. These are pretty easy to fabricate. 
Your trailer is made of 2024 aircraft aluminum which these days is very 
expensive. I have found  the more commonly available and less expensive 5052 
aluminum to be a good substitute.
Then there is the question of what rivits to use and how to get the thing 
apart, back together, sealed and polished! All of the correct products are 
available from places like vintagetrailersupply.com and a couple of 
suppliers of tools and stuff for amature airplane builders.

If this all sounds like a lot of work, believe me, it is!  And not cheap 
either! But there is no reason that it should leak when the proper sealents 
are available. (not silicone!) Leaks just cause the plywood sub-floor to rot 
out. I replaced the entire floor in ours, but again, that's another story!

Please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to help.
Welcome to the club!
Jerry
info@thefolklorecenter.com