1978 Beach-Craft 27' refurbish

[PwrWgnWalt]

Bought this 1978 Beach-Craft 27' CB (center bath) at a storage auction for $2 per cubic inch of engine displacement. Came with most of its original paperwork and a bunch of keys, but no title and no ignition key.  After some effort and two 'VIN inspections', got her registered and licensed. Had a locksmith make an ignition key. The previous owner is said to have been a meticulous mechanic; and all engine, tranny, brake, etc. fluids appeared to be fresh and clean. After changing the main fuel line and filter, charging the 12v battery, adding 10 gallons of gas and a can of Seafoam, got her started. Idled in "N" for a bit, then got her to move out of the ruts created from sitting for 4-5 years. After calling to get insurance coverage ($126 per year; no comprehensive or collision) and a little more tinkering (battery was audibly overcharging, 'bubbling'), drove her 1/2 mile to the truck stop for some air in the tires and several gallons of gasoline.  Then drove her 16 miles home.  It's a 1977 Dodge M500 chassis with a 440-3 engine, 727 3-speed automatic transmission, and Dana 70HD rear axle.  Here's our "to-do" list:
1.  Roof appears to have a slight leak in rear, so will first be working to fix that with Dicor "Metal RV Roof Coating" and self-
     leveling LAP Sealant.
2.  It is missing the refrigerator ("refer")... the paperwork suggests it was a Dometic, either a RM 76/77 or a RM 100.
     Will be trying to figure out what refer to put in its place.
3.  Figure out the house 12v system (need to get a couple of 6v batteries)
4.  Get the 5 KW Onan generator running.

Then, when the weather warms up in the spring,
5.  Test the fresh water system and pump; and
6.  Test the LP (propane) system and appliances (range/oven, water heater, air heater); and
7.  Test the 2 overhead A/C units  (I read that only the front one runs on the 30 amp shore power service; rear only runs
     when the generator is powering the MH)

Here are some pictures of the old beast (click for larger pics):





Your input, hints, helps and experiences are all welcome... this is our first MH, and this site has already proven to be a wealth of information !

[LJ-TJ]

WOW! Nice ride. Well done.

[M & J]

Very nice find. I bet the tires are thumping quite a bit from getting flat spotted.

[PwrWgnWalt]

Thanks LJ-TJ, we'll see if it turns out to be as good as I hope it turns out to be...

oldR&R - they do!  Even though they are radials, it was thumping a bit on the way home.  Hope that will go away after a while, and there are no broken belts in the tires (had that once in a pickup truck tire; man! was it outta balance!

More later as I we have spurts of "warm" weather here...

[LJ-TJ]

Well if there radials? What size are the tires. If ya can see your way clear I wouldn't take a chance on them. Maybe grab a set of in expensive tires to get you by until you can buy some new ones. No cents in taking a chance and wrecking an investment for the lack of a cheap set of tires.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

That is a really neat looking coach!

When it comes to sealing the roof, make sure you don't use that fibrous silvery crap...it doesn't hold up.  Make sure whatever brand you use says White Elastomeric roof coating.  Brands include Kool Seal (the best stuff), Henry (way cheaper and almost as good, available at Home Depot), and Black Jack, available at Lowes.  I've had good luck with them all, but the Kool Seal tends to stay whiter longer.

880 bucks is a dang good price, and sure is one awesome looking ride!  Congrats!

Kev

[gadgetman]

I would do the roof with liquid EPDM rubber, that stuff is great. Pretty expensive too

[LJ-TJ]

 :)rotflmao Your surly not going to have a problem finding a great roof treatment or information on how to apply it. Just do a search. Oh and your not going to be short on arm chair quarter backs either. You might want to check these guys out. Lauren and I just used the product and just love it and it's guaranteed for 10 years.

[LJ-TJ]

   
• Oooops http://www.polycoatings.com/rvroof.html

[PwrWgnWalt]

Well if there radials? What size are the tires. If ya can see your way clear I wouldn't take a chance on them. Maybe grab a set of in expensive tires to get you by until you can buy some new ones. No cents in taking a chance and wrecking an investment for the lack of a cheap set of tires.

They are 8R-19.5  Tread is quite good, but as I've read, the life of the tire usually ends before the tread wears out (UV, ozone, etc. attacking the rubber, resulting sidewall cracking)  I probably exaggerated a bit on the 'thumping', but they will get a good checking out before we hit the road with them next year - and will be replaced if in doubt. You are spot-on! Not an area to take a chance on.

[PwrWgnWalt]

We're going to clean off the old coating(s) from the aluminum top, clean it extensively, put down some Eternabond tape on the fiberglass-to-aluminum joints (across front and rear), use Dicor LAP seal (and maybe more Eternabond) around all fixtures, then give the whole roof several thin coats of Dicor "Metal RV Roof Coating".  We'll cover the Eternabond with it, too. The Dicor coating is an elastomeric, 100% acrylic coating (no metal gunk in it) that claims to be flexible and rubber-like, and comes highly recommended for this climate by more than one of the local RV shops. 

I'm all ears for tips and tricks on doing the roof. We figure its an area we don't want to have to do over sooner than needed, and it isn't worth skimping on.  We plan to repair/replace any top fixtures that need it before putting down the coating.  Was thinking of some new-style covers (like for fridge & the air vents) and will ensure the a/c gaskets are 100%, too.  I'm a big guy, and am a little timid about getting up there and walking around... is there a 'best' way to keep me from damaging the roof & structure when climbing around up there doing this stuff?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Depending on how big you are and how soft your roof is, just step lightly, keep closer to the sides when possible since the closer you are to the wall structure the stronger the roof area is...leverage principles and all.  And if you are going to be working on one thing or area for a long time, it doesn't hurt to sit indian style to spread your weight over a larger area, or even lay down while working.  I went from 265lbs down to a healthy weight of 189lbs, and I'm still careful when I walk on the roof and work on stuff.

8R-19.5 is a pretty common size of tire, still readily available.  Michelin makes them, but they aren't cheap!  450+ a tire!  I just put Sampsons on the front of our coach and they seem to be fine...time will tell about their longevity, but they certainly have a great road feel and are a great steering tire.  And you can still find them for as cheap as 120.00 a tire.  There are other brands out there too, like Firestone, which cost somewhere in between.  Just take a close look at the sidewalls and make sure there aren't any cracks in the tires you have.  And check your spare too, and make sure its not dryrotted!  Check both sides of it!  We had a flat this summer, and when I pulled the spare out of its holder, the back side of it, the side I couldn't see when just removing the cover, was deeply cracked and dry rotted!  We made it the rest of the trip, some 600 miles, but we shouldn't have!  That tire shouldn't have even held air it was so bad...lol!  You can also check the DOT code on the side of the tire to tell how old they are.  Its recommended that you shouldn't run tires past 7 years, even if they look good.

Have fun restoring your old beastie!  Sure is a neat looking coach!

Kev

[LJ-TJ]

   
• My self personally was not comfortable walking around or sitting on my roof so what I did was took a 2X10 and screwed a 2X2 on each end  so the 2X10 wouldn't let the 2X10 slip off the roof and then moved it along the roof as required. I then took a 4X4 sheet of plywood and laid it on the roof in the areas I was going to work on. It spread my weight out over a greater area. So some were on the sit is a photo log of how Lauren and I did the roof on our 1975 21footer Winnebago Brave. Like I've said before you may really want to give it a serious look
• http://www.brentwoodcoatings.com/rvroof.html. It really is an incredible product.

[PwrWgnWalt]

Update:

The weather has been off-and-on "warmish" (in the 40's) lately, so have been doing a few things as able:

Got the battery box wiring sorted out, I think.  For now, am using a 12 volt battery just to test everything (had one lying around) before buying two 6-volt Golf Cart Batteries. Everything seems to work as it should, except there is one burnt-out reading lamp bulb and the water pump (whole fresh water system) remains untested.

The monitor panel seems to work as it should, although we cannot yet tell if the Fresh Water, Gray Water, and Black Water tank level indicators work - they are all empty now.  The house battery indicator seems to read nicely! Also discovered the old Wemac LP/propane gauge was broken and have ordered a replacement (VDO 301-303D Fuel Gauge).

With the 12V system checked out, began looking into the 120V system. After finding both of the circuit breaker (CB) panels and turning all of the CB's OFF, plugged her in to shore power (15 amp)... but not before using a trick I learned on this site about testing the outlet for polarity, etc. with a little voltage tester plug (even though I wired the outlet myself, one never knows!).  Turned the MAIN 30Amp CB on, then the 15A breaker... it was power to the house - the light we'd plugged in came on, the heater fan turned on, and the converter began to buzz; so knew I was getting power. A quick check with the voltmeter at teh house battery terminals showed 13.8 volts; the old converter/charger works! Then turned on the next CB, a 20A... nothing seemed to be affected - could be for the A/C or the (missing) fridge?  Then switched on the last CB on this panel, another 20A, and the little plug-in heater the PO left turned on... this is run from a switched outlet it appears he installed.  Let this go for about 30 minutes, then unplugged from shore power.  House battery definitely got a boost and was reading higher than the 12.6 volts I started with.

It would appear the other 120V Panel is for the Generator, so I left them alone for another day. (Looks like to use the genny for 120V power, I must plug the shore power cable into a receptacle located just inside the MH at the power cord hatch.) 

Been working on the roof a little, too. The front cap (over cab area, side-to-side) where the aluminum meets the fiberglass has been scraped clean using a variety of tools, from scrapers to an oscillating tool, but the wire-wheel worked the best ... using a light touch. Cleaned the area with acetone real well, then laid down a bead of Dicor self-leveling Lap Sealant on the seam. Once it skinned good (not too long), we put down a 4" wide strip of Eternabond; and rolled it, and rolled it, and rolled it some more to activate the adhesive in the 40 degree weather.

Also got to work on the cooling system. Found out the 2" radiator hose from the radiator to the funny-looking fill extension is a stock bulk item at most parts stores - so got a 8" length of 2" I.D. Gates Green Stripe and a couple of clamps.  The old radiator caps (both on the filler extension and the radiator top) were replaced with new 16 lb. caps.  While taking off the hose, found out there was a layer of fine sludge lying the bottom of the hose and extension. What appeared to be wonderfully clear antifreeze/coolant belied the fact that there is likely a problem of dirt or block-casting material contamination (very common in Mopar/Dodge engines of that era).  So, the radiator is coming out for a thorough cleaning and test, the block will be flushed, new radiator hoses will be used (although the old ones still have the tags on them and appear fairly new).  Figure I might as well do it while it's easy - and already half done with the radiator removal.  While all this was going on, noticed a small crack in the radiator cap neck of the extension, so a day and $21 later I had it back from the radiator shop with a new neck soldered on.

Found a handful of old MH's at a nearby junkyard - all pretty well trashed and old. A Pace Arrow and an Executive (both early 70's), as well as a couple of unknowns from the 60's!  One of those late-60's units still had what appeared to be the original fridge in it... a nice 'avocado' color.  The Executive had a lot of the round amber clearance light covers still on it if anyone is in need.  There are 3 early Dodge dash-shifters and instrument panels available, too.  Anyway - what I was after was a spare for the M500 chassis, since we didn't get one with the MH - lucked out and found the correct 5-hole 19.5 wheel.   

Otherwise, just been figuring out what the priorities are to get her ready for our first RV experience together this spring.

Valve Cover gaskets are on order (wanted the best I could find, so got Fel-Pro Q1612 rubber coated fiber)
Thermostat housing / water neck gaskets are on order (Fel-Pro Q35145)

More later as the work progresses,
- Walt

[LJ-TJ]

Looks like your doing it right. Got any more pic's of the interior. i??

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Excellent!  You'll be out camping before you know it!



Kev

[Oz]

That is one wicked-cool ol breadbox!  You must be very proud of it and I hope you enjoy it to its fullest!

[PwrWgnWalt]

Snowed 6" here last night and went from 40* to 4*... BRRRRRRR   i??

But the delivery truck brought the brand new Norcold N641.3 refer today. Was not really looking for a 3-way fridge, but the price was too good to pass up at $760, including delivery.  Almost as much as the entire MH cost us!  D:oH!
And yes - it is brand new, so the recall is not applicable, per Norcold's recall site and it's serial number. 

So this weekend, assuming the weatherman is not telling another fib and it will truly be in the 40's again, I will work to get it installed. May need to do some modification to the open cabinet - Norcold states it needs to be a tight fit and vented correctly for the cooling effect to work right. 

May also have to run 12 volt power to the refer... I saw the 120V outlet in there, and a LPGas line (copper, IIRC).

Speaking of LP:  any hints on hooking the refer up to to the propane line?
Or other tips on installation?

- Walt

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Use flair fittings and only flair fittings on copper propane lines.  Don't trust compression fittings.  Other than that, its just a matter of bending your existing line gently without kinking it, and possibly having to add an extension to it with a flair fitting if its too short.

Nothing wrong with a 3 way fridge as long as you don't use it on 12 volts...lol!  It'll suck your batteries down to nothing in no time.  In fact, the only time to ever use 12 volts to operate your fridge is when driving long distances, so your alternator can keep the batteries charged while driving...and then immediately switch it over to propane or AC as soon as you arrive at your destination.  We have a two way fridge and just keep it on propane when driving.

In any case, you'll need 12 volts going to the fridge no matter what.  Even a 2 way fridge uses 12 volts to operate the circuit board and ignitor and whatnot.

Have fun!  They aren't all that hard to put in, just big and heavy.  And you don't need nearly as much room over the fridge as they say you do.  Our fridge is only about 6 inches below the roof line, and we've never had a problem with it.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Walt if the propane line has been open and not used make shure you blow it out (spiders etc)  Be prepared to replace the floor where it sits most are pressboard and if ever wet are junk A roof vent is a must and adding a 12V fan for circulation in extremely hot weather is easier wile compt is empty (i made one up from a audi a/c fan and a paint can ) it will need a switch and a pilot light  Measure your door opening before trying to pass refer through it   Frank

[Froggy1936]

The vent fan was fastened at the top and really helps with air circulation when parked in hot weather I use thermometers in bothe the freezer and refrigerator and can see temp change inside  Frank    Fan squirell cage is placed inside 1 end of metal can PVC outlet fitted on side and pringles can used for intake on other end  This fan move massive amts of air !

[PwrWgnWalt]

Thanks Kev & Frank! 

"Flair fittings only" it will be!
I'll definitely take my time and use your tips; want to make sure this gets in there right.

I'll try to post some pics of the work, before & after.

- Walt

[PwrWgnWalt]

Been busy working on the Ol' Beast when mother nature and other duties allowed... so here are some updates and pictures:

The refer is now in - I just have to hook up the LP Gas to it now.

This is what it originally looked like from outside, looking in through the service panel opening


Here's a shot from inside, after some new plywood was added to the floor and some painting done  (also added some 1" insulation when adding side panels later, since the new refer is a little smaller than the old one was):


And here is the new Norcold 641 3-way installed:

[PwrWgnWalt]

Also been busy re-working the old 12 volt (12VDC) system. 

First, I wanted to get the monitoring systems in place (before installing the new Converter/Charger and getting new Coach batteries).

This is a picture of the revised Monitor Panel (added the VDO LP Gauge on the right, and a little green LED at mid left for the Blue Seas ACR. When the LED is lit, it indicates both the Coach and Starter batteries are charging from either the converter/charger or the alternator).  Also installed the Intellitec BD2 Battery Disconnect Panel and a Trimetric RV-2025 Battery Monitoring System above the panel.  Fishing & routing the wires was one of the hardest things to figure, but some old wire clothes hangars made it pretty easy:


And here is where I ended up hiding all the gadgets that make the new stuff work...  I installed two heavy duty plastic battery boxes under the coach, attached to the plate-steel battery box under the entry area (passenger side):
Here's my "Positive Box". It contains both Battery Disconnect Solenoids, the Blue Seas ACR-6710, and a positive bus. The opening faces to the rear of the coach:


I used some wood to provide a neutral barrier between the mounting bolts and the interior of the box, countersunk the holes, and covered them with white plastic hole plugs. Shouldn't have any shorts. This is what the inside looks like:

[PwrWgnWalt]

This is the "Negative Box".  It's a bit smaller than the positive box, and is mounted to the front side, so the opening faces the front of the coach. 

Here it is all covered up:


and here's a peek at the 500 mA shunt for the Trimetric 2025-RV and the Negative Bus inside (no wires/cable hooked up just yet):


And to make all this work as well as it can, I visited Billings Battery & Cable (in Billings, MT) and had a great talk with Todd, the owner.  He made up these custom battery cables for me out of 1 ga. welding cable (the short red ones are 4 ga) with end lugs to fit my specifications.  Very nicely done & a great guy to work with!