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hotrod6657 · 06-03-2021, 08:24 PM

Hey all, in a few weeks I'll be traveling north to get my mother's family's old class A running and back on the road so we can get it home and start to rehab it. I don't believe it's really been used as an RV since I've been alive though it's been stored inside and is in pretty good shape outside.

I'll give a quick overview of its current state here and plan to use this thread as a build thread of sorts (and also a request for any info that any of you fine folks might have about this particular coach).

As it sits the motor home has a 302 ci GMC I6 and hydromatic out of an old army truck. The chassis is a Ford and from what I can tell it probably came with a big Ford I6 back in 64 when built.

I believe it's on a Ford parcel forward control chassis, still trying to confirm, but that's what the evidence is saying.

Like I said in the title, it's a Pickwick Traveliner, I want to say 26', and as you can see, it's super retro and cool looking.

First priorities are fluids, brakes, leaky rear main seal on that 302, and making sure the essential electrics are okay for our 600 mile trip home...

It's been hard to find any info on this particular coach online but we do have some family history. This model was a dealer order for shows and features a side door and a back door (to facilitate show attendees walking through) and has bunk beds. The inside is in rough shape right now but my wife and I plan to rehab it and give it a retro yet functional modern take on the inside, and a more modern powertrain for efficiency and reliability.

Here are a few pictures as it sits now, plenty more to come as we get going on this project.

Thanks for reading and cheers!

hotrod

Argosy · 06-04-2021, 02:20 PM

That is so cool and in such unbelievable condition!! You've got a gem there, good luck with it.

hotrod6657 · 06-04-2021, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argosy

That is so cool and in such unbelievable condition!! You've got a gem there, good luck with it.

Thank you! We're excited, and my mom is excited to see her childhood RV back on the road. Heck, my grandfather is excited that we're even interested in it.

The interior is rough, as in full of stuff, and close to 60 years old but owing to the fact it was stored in a garage and the coach has a metal roof, it's not badly damaged.

The project will be multi phased with step 1 being get it running and down to NC where we live now. Then there are decisions about what to do next which will continue to develop.

My gut says I need to get a wrecked truck and pull a 6.0L LS and 4l60E or 4l80E for the modern powertrain but that's just a gut reaction. I don't think it's a particularly heavy RV given it's age and what I think the chassis is.

At any rate we're excited to get started and would love to see if anyone around here has even heard of a Pickwick before.

Once I have some of the literature in my possession I'll post some of it if for no other reason than sharing a piece of history with you fine folks.

Cheers!

hotrod

hotrod6657 · 06-21-2021, 10:00 PM

I've been posting on the hotrodders forum where I spend my normal wrenching time but figured it was time for an update here.

We've got some progress. Day one, last Wednesday, I got the engine running and the coach to move forward and back, and stop (sort of). Over the past few days we've worked on getting new tires mounted on the old rims, and continued bleeding the brakes.

It still needs more attention there but we were able to drive it from my grandfather's house to my uncle's place this afternoon. I'm not willing to drive to NC like this given how bad the brakes are but it was a reasonable shakedown trip.

The coach looks good on the road and got my mother a little emotional given all the memories and how long it's been sitting dormant. I don't think anyone figured it would ever move again under its own power so I'm happy to be the one responsible for changing that.

Anyway, here are a few pictures.

Cheers and wish us luck next week when we try and roadtrip it 600 miles so the rehabilitation can begin!

hotrod6657 · 06-21-2021, 10:19 PM

Oh, and video of the big 6 GMC 302 running for the first time in 20 years.

Gotta love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s8MtCJiDDk

Wroughtnharv · 06-22-2021, 05:52 AM

You have to be proud to have the skills and the attitude to take on such a great project.

We’ll be watching this one for sure.

Elwood58 · 06-22-2021, 07:01 AM

This is going to be a very cool (re)build. Thanks for keeping us updated. Pictures or it did not happen

Argosy · 06-22-2021, 08:40 AM

It fired up nice. When I saw the smoke I thought of the years and years of crud burning off the manifold.

Bet you got a lot of looks on the way to your uncle's. Here's my

.

hotrod6657 · 06-22-2021, 11:54 AM

Rain here today so we're taking a break from working on the coach and visiting with friends and family instead.

Things we've learned:

The front windsystems leaks a bit so we'll get some fresh silicone on it once things dry out.

I wasn't able to check the rear brake shoes since it seems I need to pull the rear hubs apart to get the drum off. That and more brake bleeding are next on the list before we leave for home

That's pretty much it for this phase of the project. Once we're home we'll look at the house systems and start putting together an upgrade plan.

hotrod6657 · 06-22-2021, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argosy

It fired up nice. When I saw the smoke I thought of the years and years of crud burning off the manifold.

Bet you got a lot of looks on the way to yoursureile's. Here's my

.

That was actually sawdust and other junk from under it, not exhaust. The plugs looked okay and it seems like it was tuned well when parked so I'm not sure I can take much credit haha...

hotrod6657 · 06-22-2021, 12:55 PM

Tried to post these with my previous post but couldn't get the pictures to upload.

Here a picture from probably 40 years ago and as close as I could get to recreating it yesterday.

Those plants sure have grown...

77Travco · 06-22-2021, 12:57 PM

Very cool old coach. Good to see it's out on the road.

AnotherMike · 06-22-2021, 01:05 PM

A bit of info that may or may not be useful...

My dad had a 1965 Dodge van that had the same rooftop air conditioner and barn-door mirrors. So the builder may have sourced a few dodge parts during construction.

Mike

hotrod6657 · 06-22-2021, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnotherMike

A bit of info that may or may not be useful...

My dad had a 1965 Dodge van that had the same rooftop air conditioner and barn-door mirrors. So the builder may have sourced a few dodge parts during construction.

Mike

Good to know!

On a sidenote, I found some marketing info online at one point and based on that there were Ford, Chevy, and Dodge based versions of the Pickwick Traveliner, this one is the Ford chassis and seems to be the P400 parcel delivery version.