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agarage · 09-30-2019, 11:23 AM

hello, first time posting anything, anywhere. Have an opportunity to purchase a 73 Winnebago Brave. Sat for decades, needs interior work, wife has fallen in love with it. The 318 runs like a swiss watch, literally. I was shocked and I work on engines every day.
The owner has removed front drums with a sawsall because they were seized. This unit has 31k actual miles on it. I am competent to do the mechanical, the exterior, and the interior work. However, any advice on this unit would be most appreciated, especially the brakes. Local parts houses cannot locate drums. Thank you.

Jim_HiTek · 09-30-2019, 12:09 PM

Problem with the engine of an RV like that that has sat for 'decades' as you put it is that the engine and rotating parts have often also been sitting in the same place for far too long. What that does is create a small flat spot on seals, gaskets, and even ball bearings. So when you bring it out of moth balls, it might run for a while but eventually, those flat spots grow and cause all sorts of problems. Mostly leaks and bad bearings.

With that in mind, it would be prudent to arrange to be in one place for months, pull that engine and tranni and do all the bearing and seal replacing that's recommended. Or just put a newer engine in. Years ago I ran into an RV'ers blog where his engine from a Brave had to be pulled and rebuilt and he came up with some tricky ways to get the engine out. Not something I'd want to do, but he seemed to enjoy it. I'd recommend you check online for Brave owners blogs and also check Youtube for How To videos for that engine and drive train.

Hopefully, you'll never need to do any engine or tranni work. Good luck in your travels! See you on the road!