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Tidy Tabby · 04-19-2016, 02:41 PM

So my daughter, obsessed with the "Tiny Home" thing, decided to buy herself a vintage class B motorhome. Her boyfriend lives on a 36' fishing boat, and I gotta say it is as cool as any single guy could ever want, so I get the allure of it. Nevertheless, considering that I am the family mechanic, I am certain that I will be spending a tremendous amount of time bringing this old girl back from the dead. To her credit, my daughter did get her hands dirty when I restored a '65 Honda S65 (perfect campground bike, ya know) for her 30th birthday so I can imagine she'll be down to help out with this.
Anyway, what I know considering I haven't seen it, 1983 Chevy G30 Transtar cutaway with a 6.2L Detroit Diesel engine and automatic trans. Not sure about the overall length as it was not stated in the ad. Clear title, keys, she bought it at auction and should be picking it up sometime this week. I believe it is missing its genset, but I have built solar setups on my workshops and the generator compartment would be the perfect place for a group of deep cycle batteries, but that is a project for another time. From the images, it doesn't look too awful, it only has 61,000 miles on it so there should be a lot of life left assuming it hasn't been completely neglected. She thinks it runs, but again there is nothing concrete tomake me believe that that is a fact. It clearly needs a new windshield, and there is a little rust here and there but nothing that looks like truly deadly tinworm. All the basics of any old vehicle will be gone through; tires, belts, filters, grease points, brakes, pretty much anything made of rubber, plastic or liquid. Looking forward to an interesting project.
I am sure my next post will be "Help me identify this smell!"

MSHappyCampers · 04-19-2016, 02:57 PM

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Congrats to your daughter on the new rig! I'm sure you will have her int tip-top condition in no time at all! Keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Bruce C · 04-19-2016, 03:01 PM

Should be a great project and very rewarding. Good luck and enjoy the fun.

Tidy Tabby · 04-19-2016, 03:26 PM

Thanks, most of my wrenching experience has been on bikes, and general maintenance on the family fleet, so this is a bigger project than I am used to, but you eat an elephant one bite at a time, right?

Lifemember · 04-19-2016, 04:42 PM

She could have dragged worse things home. Looks like it can be brought back to life.

DrDaveMA · 04-19-2016, 05:25 PM

For an over 30 year old camper it looks like it is in pretty good shape and should be a lot of fun!

Tidy Tabby · 04-20-2016, 08:41 AM

She is wanting to full-time in it, although she would be staying local and maybe road trip it a few times a year.
Of the original industrial arts, I can handle carpentry, masonry and some light metallurgy. If one counts fiberglass repair as glass making, then I have four out of the five covered. However upholstery will have to be a newly learned skill.
Still have not seen this thing in the flesh.

Lifemember · 04-20-2016, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tidy Tabby

She is wanting to full-time in it, although she would be staying local and maybe road trip it a few times a year.
Of the original industrial arts, I can handle carpentry, masonry and some light metallurgy. If one counts fiberglass repair as glass making, then I have four out of the five covered. However upholstery will have to be a newly learned skill.
Still have not seen this thing in the flesh.

If some one needs to learn upholstery then I would direct that to the daughter.

While you brushed up on the automotive mechanical side of the project.

**TonyDi** · 04-20-2016, 03:29 PM

Looks like you have some work to do. I'm sure you'll do a nice job for your daughter.

Lots of luck on the restoration and Happy Trails!!

DrDaveMA · 04-20-2016, 04:23 PM

If you need help with the interior reach out to the GMC Restoration Coop in Orlando (407) 957-5777. They restore primarily 73-78 GMC motor homes, but have done other vehicles.

Tidy Tabby · 04-21-2016, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

If you need help with the interior reach out to the GMC Restoration Coop in Orlando (407) 957-5777. They restore primarily 73-78 GMC motor homes, but have done other vehicles.

I will, there is another shop down in South Florida that I used to drive past that specializes in restoring GMC motorhomes. Cannot remember their name but I grabbed a brochure from them a few months back when I last drove by. Little did I know at the time...