1976 Winnebago D21 Brave complete renovation - FEB - MAY 2014

[rude-a-bego]

Where did the year go?  I have had “Dimples” for a full year and month.  I have stopped keeping track of the cost because this is now entertainment, therapy and an excellent weight loss plan.  It is cheaper than going to the movies or getting drunk, whole lot cheaper than seeing a shrink and I have lost 20 pounds by not sitting around the house eating!  Therefore, I no longer care about the cost.

I got my notice that my CWVR annual membership expired about 3 weeks ago.  Today, I fixed that.  I just paid my life time membership; I’m in this for the long haul!  $25 well spent IMO. 

Since January, I have been seriously slacking on keeping up the progress of my renovation on the site.  I have not gotten a lot done, but I can report some progress.  In January, we had a couple of nice days so I finally got the roof coated.  I used the Safe-T-Plex as recommended by LJ-TJ in the post http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,6617.0.html.

I followed the instructions to the T and put down 3 heavy coats.  I bought a 5 gallon bucket and only used about 3 gallons!  This stuff is truly amazing.  It was 90 degrees in the full sun and the roof temp was only 74! 

[rude-a-bego]

From the day I bought this thing, I thought “what a stupid place for the fuse panel”.  I could not imagine getting in there to change out a fuse.  I decided early on that I was going to move it.  After seeing how much room is wasted behind the dash, I came up with a plan to move it behind a panel in the center console.  I made a recessed bracket and routed all the wiring back behind the firewall brace.  Talk about a lot of empty space!  I will be filling it in with insulation board to reduce noise and heat/cold.

[rude-a-bego]

The wiring was a rat’s nest from PO’s.  As an OCD electrician, that drove me nuts.  I traced back all the wires that were connected, removed the ones that were not, referenced everything against the shop manual wiring diagram and labeled it.  I am starting my dash make over… stay tuned.  The picture shows my mock up panels.  I plan to cut the dash panel into 3 pieces for easier access.

[rude-a-bego]

I dropped the holding tanks hoping that by chance they were salvageable… they were not.  There is a major crack in the top of one and on the side of the other.  The bright side is that there is a lot of room to configure replacements.  Based on the new configuration it will cost me about $350 for two tanks, pipes, valves and fittings.  Again, remember, this is keeping out of the bars!

[rude-a-bego]

11 MAY 2014 is the official turning point in this project.  It’s all rebuilding from here on out.  The last part that needs demolition was the steering column.  The rubber boot had disintegrated beyond recognition.  The support assembly bearing (see diagram) seized up and made an awful sound when you turned the wheel.  NOTE: although I could not find reference to it in the maintenance section, you might want to put a few drops of oil down the steering column from time to time to lube the open bearing.  There is an access hole in the steering column; just a couple drops will flow right down to the bearing.  I could not find an OEM boot, so I went down to the local AutoZone and picked up this replacement for $19.  Nice chrome retainer ring, don’t you think?  I fabricated the underside boot out of an old inner tube and clamped it to the steering column.... sealed up real nice.  Oh yea… the little piece of orange carpet under the parking brake bracket is the last piece in the entire rig.  It has since been removed.

[legomybago]

Wow! Roof looks great

That is going to be one nice rig

[LJ-TJ]

Woah! You surely got my attention. What a fantastic project. I surely hope you've got the time to keep this thread going as it WILL be very informative for us working on a similar project. Right off the top I noticed your holding tanks are a different set up that mine and I love yours. I just getting ready to chance out mine so may have saved me a lot of grief. Plus I'm real interested to see how you handle your dash. Wow keep up the good work and thanks.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Excellent job and progress so far!

Kev

[Stripe]

Nice!

[Lefty]

Great updates!
Btw- don't give up on those holding tanks just because of a crack. Poly tanks can easily be patched with fiberglass matting reinforced with steel window screen for reinforcement. The repair will be stronger than the original plastic, and outlast the tank if done correctly. Be sure to drill a small hole at the end of any crack though, to relieve stress so the crack will not run any farther.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

I use the plastic welding technique rather than fiberglass myself.  Fiberglass always let go in time for me.

Dave

[Elandan2]

And if the tanks are too far gone, direct bolt-up replacements are available from Winnebago.