My brand spanking new 1977 Sportscoach (Mopar)

[Franka548]

Good luck Matt, Hope that you get it all straightened out soon.
Frank

[matthewc]

Originally Posted by Franka548

Good luck Matt, Hope that you get it all straightened out soon.
Frank

Thanks Frank! I am getting closer, I would have wrapped up the front half of the RV today but I screwed up on my last parts run and ended up with some wrong size fittings. So I had to leave for work early (I work swing shift) so I could hit Home Depot again and pick up the right stuff. LOL I should have the plumbing for the whole front of the coach wrapped up by tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of what I am replacing, bear in mind I have already stripped out as much of the spray foam and foam wrap as I could and the one run of Pex you can see is from the first line I replaced. I like the fact that I am really cleaning up the routing of a lot of this plumbing and getting rid of a bunch of potential points of failure.

Here are some ugly plumbing pics:



















Next round of pictures will be the finished updated plumbing

Matt

[Franka548]

Matt,
You sure have had your work cut out for you. You are tackling it the correct way, so you will have many useful years of fun with your unit when you get done.
Frank

[matthewc]

Today was a good day! Finished up the plumbing restoration on the front half of the coach, pressurized the system, tightened two fitting that I did not get tight enough and I now have a fully functional water system!!! I checked the rear of the coach and found all fairly new looking copper so I think at some point someone switched all that out and I am going to leave it alone. The only thing I need to still do is replace the bathtub faucet with a new one because the shower pull on it does not seal when pulled up.

Here are some pics which are surprisingly hard to get once you have everything buttoned back up.













And the pile of nastiness that I removed.



Next up tune up drive train, new fluids, and a couple of gasket swaps!

Matt

[Franka548]

Matt,
Nice job.
Frank

[bap]

wow matt, you are doing great,,,,feels great to move to a different part doesent it...lol.


and it feel great knowing you wont have any issues in your plumbing dwn the road ....

[matthewc]

Today was a very good and productive day! Mostly focused on mechanical's and some cosmetics/cleaning.

On the mechanical side I completed a full tune up:
-NGK V-Power plugs
-MSD Coil
-MSD Plug Wires
-Accel Cap and Rotor
-PVC Valve
-Air Filter

I also did an oil and transmission fluid and filter change. New trans pan gasket was a great upgrade to the cork gasket that was leaking pretty good. I also changed out the valve cover gaskets that were crispy cork with way too much ATV on them. Both gaskets are newer style rubber gaskets. I wiped all the oil residue of the engine and oil pan and will monitor to see if I need to change out the oil pan gasket as well. Which surprisingly looks like it will be a super simple swap. Lastly I added 2 bottles of Seafoam to the rear tank which ended up having roughly 35 gallons of fuel that I have no idea how old it is but the RV is running off it so its probably not too old.

Next up was the cleanup, I pulled all of the cushion covers from the rear seating and the jack knife sofa and washed them all in cold water on gentle cycle with a healthy dosing of Downy liquid fabric softener. They all came out really well and are hanging dry in the garage now.

I looked closer at my nasty carpet and realized there was a second layer of carpet over the top of another layer of carpet everywhere but in the kitchen. It appears that a PO replaced the carpet and then attached a second cover of the same carpet over every part of the RV but the kitchen area. I pulled off the nasty top layer and now have fresh new carpet everywhere but in the kitchen. I think I am going to look for an area type rug to cover the worst stains in the kitchen and call it good until I do hardwood this winter.

I scrubbed the stove top and was able to get all of the oxidization stains off of it and it is now super shinny again . I went through a full large sized container of Clorox wipes sanitizing everything and cleaned up the drivers cabin. I'll get some updated pics in the next day or two but she is looking really good on the inside now.

I still have a handful of things I want to get done before Sept 11th which will be our maiden voyage for a weekend trip up to Estes Park. We are hoping to get in 2-3 local trips before winter sets in to shake her down a little bit and figure out everything I want to do over this winter to get ready for some nice longer less local trips next summer.


Matt

[TomandGloria]

Matt, pretty impressive. Thank you for sharing with us. Can't wait for next round of pictures.

[bap]

MATT buddy your doing great,,,ur gonna have that brand spanking new mh soon..
i aalso look forward to the next pics....


...bap

[matthewc]

I promised pics so I actually got some new one today.

Stove top before:



Stove top after:



Looking back from the living room:



Bedroom Upholstery and carpet came out very nice after a good washing. I highly recommend Downy liquid fabric softner, I used a double dose on all the upholstery and not only is it clean but my rig now smells Downy fresh No need to keep them covered with comforters now although I guess I need to figure out which cabinet will be a linen closet now to store blankets and comforters:





Kitchen came out nice and tidy! I actually found the sink cover/ counter extender in a cabinet . Kitchen carpet still has a few stains I couldn't get out so it will get a small throw rug to cover them up for now.



The living room came out really well especially the jackknife sofa, it looks almost new without all the sticky soda stains. I also replaced the Tube TV/VCR combo unit because 1989 called and wanted it back. Its in the first couple of pics but the last one shows the 40" plasma I replaced it with (It was an extra in the basement), I also added a surround sound system/DVD player. Bonus I plugged into my roof antenna just for giggles but was shocked to find that it has been upgraded to an HD Digital unit, I didn't even have to raise it and I got like 25 channels! I'm really glad I did not order the one I was looking at yesterday now!







TV is bolted to the counter top, it doesn't pivot but is in ideal position to watch from the couch or drivers seat when facing back and the barrel chair can be moved for good viewing as well.

Here is the drivers compartment all cleaned up and ready to go!


Bonus information....The last of my paint supplies arrived so hopefully I will be able to start resealing all of the seams and prepping for paint. I just might be able to get the outside looking nice before the first camping trip!

Matt

[bap]

looks awsome,,,,you may want to think about putting cedar planks in you clostets,,,i used it as flooring under the beds storage compartments and closets,,,smells great,,,and i love the fresh downy smell also,,,lol..


i got the planks at lowes there tounge and groove 100% cedar,,and look great..also should keep insects away....


you have a great looking rig buddy..

[Franka548]

Good job Matt, you have the old girl looking like new(well almost). now that it is clean, and all the systems are working, time to go out and use her while the weather is still good.
Frank

[matthewc]

Originally Posted by bap

looks awsome,,,,you may want to think about putting cedar planks in you clostets,,,i used it as flooring under the beds storage compartments and closets,,,smells great,,,and i love the fresh downy smell also,,,lol..


i got the planks at lowes there tounge and groove 100% cedar,,and look great..also should keep insects away....


you have a great looking rig buddy..

That is a wonderful idea! I love the smell of cedar and the benefits in the RV would be a huge plus! I think I have found something else to add to my list.

Originally Posted by Franka548

Good job Matt, you have the old girl looking like new(well almost). now that it is clean, and all the systems are working, time to go out and use her while the weather is still good.
Frank

That's the plan Frank I wish I could get a trip in before the 11th of Sept but I have my Army Drill this weekend and my parents are stopping by on their way back to FL the first weekend of Sept. So I still have a few weeks to see what else I can get done on her before then!

Part of my painting supplies that arrived were a bunch of tubes of Sikaflex RV sealant. So today I will start resealing all of the seams and joints of the exterior. Now that I have her all cleaned up and looking presentable it would suck to have a water leak make a mess of everything!

I think I have decided to keep the existing graphic design on the rig with the the plan is to paint the main body in titanium silver which is a light silver color, so that will replace the faded tan and white. The side stripe/wrap around will be in a darker grayish silver. I think I am going to do the grill in the darker silver too, give the shark a more visible mouth!
LOL

I played with a couple designs on paint and while they were more "complicated" in the end I think I liked the current scheme best in the end.

Matt

[JMonroe]

Lookin' good!