[VAC] Re:

["chyde" <chyde@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings all,
My wife and I recently purchased our first Vintage Airstream & we would like
to introduce ourselves. First of all I guess you would all love to hear
about our new Jewel. I have to call it that to keep our spirits up in order
to work our way through the restoration & finish it. It's a 1957 "Sovereign
of the Road" twin  with a suicide door and 13 panel end caps. I've been
hunting all over the web & haven't found another like it so I hope we can
bring this one back from the brink and do it justice. It's kinda rough but
almost complete. It seems as though its virtually original except for the
fridge which looks like 60's or 70's vintage and one missing ceiling
fixture, two missing roof vents and of course the upholstery. I have managed
to acquire an original 59 Dometic fridge and some assorted period goodies to
install during the restoration.  According to some of the web sites I've
looked at, it's considered a "basket case". We towed it home 700 miles
without any problems so I guess it can't be that bad.
I manage a vehicle development company and my wife is an interior designer
so I hope we can update this trailer with a period feel without screwing up
the timeless beauty of it. My first experiences with Airstream's came when I
was quite young traveling through the maritime provinces in a none Airstream
trailer in 1972 or 1973 with my parents. We kept seeing Airstream's
everywhere. Finally we ran across what I now know as a "rally" of what
seemed like hundreds of them at the fair grounds in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
Wow, what a sight! My other early memory was a friends grand parents who
took their Airstream around the world in the early 60's and I used to stare
at this thing for years afterwards sitting in their driveway wondering what
must have been seen through those windows. I have no idea of the size or
model it was but they did have it painted white to keep it cool and to pick
it out in a crowd.
Now back to the future. There are a few dented panels on our jewel and after
hours of surfing, I have come to the conclusion that "Olympic Bulb-tite 5-5"
rivets are used to replace panels. Solid rivets were originally used
requiring someone on the back side with a buck of some sort. Are these
Olympic rivets considered acceptable from the purists point of view? I
realize that they must be shaved after installation. It seems that if they
look good, they certainly are much easier to install. Also, where can I find
2024 T-3 Aluclad aluminum sheets .040" in the north east?
Thanks,
Colin Hyde & Susanne Brown
57 Sovereign of the Road, WBCCI, VAC, 10247
PS We are submitting photos of the jewel to the archive section of
vintageairstream.com if anyone is interested in seeing it.