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Bobb, Wayne, Dr. Johns, Bill, Doug, Rick, and Phil,
Once again I'm impressed and grateful. I went to bed last night with
a problem on my mind: how and where to obtain new seals for my vintage
trailer? This morning when I check e-mails there are not one, but seven
messages with good information and suggestions.
I'm going to print out the information provided and make the rounds of
parts and bearing suppliers. If I'm successful, I'll pass the information
back to the list.
Since all of you are several years ahead of me on the vintage Airstream
learning curve, has anyone thought of preparing some type of problem parts list
for each year or era of trailer along with the part number or source of a
solution that could be accessed in the archives? I realize that
suggestions like the one I'm making don't magically become completed solutions
unless someone contributes hours of labor. I am volunteering my own labor
to assist in any way possible.
I've been thinking........ would a vintage Airstream service manual be
beneficial to VAC members and list participants? A year or so ago, before
I found and acquired a vintage trailer, I was digging through the discarded and
left over junk just before the building that formerly housed Abbott Trailer
Sales in Lubbock was being torn down. Abbott was an early Airstream dealer
who dated back to the late '60s but lost his franchise in '92 and spiraled
downward until 1998 when he closed his doors and sold the property. I
found a well-used but complete official 1973 Airstream service manual with
illustrations and text. I was able to rescue the manual from the dumpster
by paying the crew that was cleaning up and removing the junk $1 for the book.
The manual measures approximately 12" by 24" and is about 3" thick. It is
a loose leaf binder with three hooks and the pages are all laminated. It
is very complete, very clear and concise, and includes advice to a mechanic on
repairing or replacing every system and component of early Airstreams. You
have only my word on that but I guarantee any of you that you would not be
disappointed. I don't have a scanner that can handle that page size or I
could simply scan the manual and e-mail the pages to the archives or anyone who
might be interested. I haven't inquired yet; I have no idea how expensive
or difficult it would be to have a print shop photocopy the pages.
Possibly, if enough enthusiasts are interested, I could arrange to have multiple
paper copies made and everyone who wants a manual could contribute thereby
spreading the cost of copying and postage over a number of individuals.
Any ideas? I looked over the manual and found no copyright claims or
warnings and I'm not sure about legal issues that might be raised. I
suppose Airstream, Inc. had the manual published but Airstream, Inc. today
does not have the same ownership as Airstream, Inc. that existed in
1973. Issues like ownership of information and publishing rights may have
been anticipated and "lawyered" as the corporation changed owners. Since
an effort to archive original owner's manuals and sales brochures is already
underway, the VAC may have already resolved the issue and know that no barrier
exists.
If there is interest let me know. Also, if any of you have good ideas
about how to share this information, please speak up.
Harvey Barlow
Lubbock, TX
'93 Excella, '66 Safari, VAC
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