Friday, December 30, 2005

Take a breath!








Tonight, I have been working on our photo album of this restoration, so that when we are done, we'll have this blog, but also, a hard copy to have with us in the trailer as we travel to show people the ins and outs of doing something like this. As I went back to capture all of the pictures we have, I found these, that I received from RichardT up in Bat Cave while we were considering purchasing this trailer. These are neat. Just look at those badges...."Sovereign of the Road" - I love it! I corresponded with Colin on it, and I'll post the email list of the things he sent to me to consider so that I knew what I was getting into upon buying it. So, here are some pictures of the "coolness" that the SOTR has, at least in our eyes! Here is what Colin told me to think about back on June 17th, 2005. So now, as we think back, this is exciting to see it all happening:

-Dent rear curbside (probably repairable without replacing the panel)
-Bent rear bumper (straighten & repaint)
-Needs front window frame(ebay) -Living room overhead light fixture is missing shade
-Non original fridge, possibly electric only
- Latex paint covering original Zolatone( probably just a scuffing required for prep work before re zolatoning)
-Woodwork appears to be stained dark to cover water stains. Probably white birch underneith. (we love the curved woodwork & the light wood color of ours)
-Original mattress covers (stained) nice single original looking bunk bed
-Original stove(needs cleaning of propane system)
-Missing onion skin from original front wall sconces (probably available from lighting stores)
-Original hot water cover + possibly original heater
-Missing kitchen side vent cover (ebay)
-Missing one Hehr roof vent cover (ebay)
-Missing original bifold doors. (ebay or Lowes)
-Original furnace not shown & may be missing or not ordered originally.(ebay or modern Catalytics)

All in all the body looks very good for it's age. It's a 7 panel model so possibly slightly less desirable than a 13 panel model from 57 or earlier. It will require a new floor & flooring, re zolatoning the complete interior, strip & refinish or replace most interior woodwork, possibly a new fridge or find an original one & refurb it, tub requires repainting, new bifold doors, upgrade the brakes with new backing plates, custom gray tank installation, upgrade to the AC & DC electric systems. It needs to be gutted to do it right but could be turned into a very comfortable, usable, light weight jewel that could be used for the rest of your life.

Our 57 Sovereign of the Road has similar pros & cons however this one has a much better exterior skin. If I charged myself for the metal work required on our trailer, it would cost several thousand $. This one has great potential however you need to be in for the long run & have something else to use in the mean time unless you have plenty of $ to get it done ASAP. We could do the major structural stuff and you could probably get your brother inlaw to do the cabinetry work to save a few $ or we could do it all.

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