My "new" 98 Winnebago remodel

[garys 68]

So I bought a 98 Winnebago 33', big slide, 460/E4OD with only 30k miles, pristine interior/exterior (always store indoors), new tires, etc. I've been looking for a little newer and smaller one, but this one looked really good and well maintained, low mileage. I even preferred the Ford V8 over the newer V10s (spark plug issues).
The exterior in really good shape, vinyl graphics are not even cracked.




Now the interior gets interesting. The previous owners spent $7K having flooring, carpet, couch, dinette, valances, bedding, etc redone. It was very well done, but looked a bit "bright" for my tastes.

[garys 68]

So I'm new to driving a Class A, but have towed 10k lb+ boats before, so safety and reliability considerations came first.
I was kind of white knuckling my first few trips because of body sway, so new sway bar poly bushing all the way around (rear on ford F53 are known for deterioration), and new shocks went in. Only about a 2 hr job in my driveway. Nice having air tools...
Made a huge difference! I've seen front/rear trac bars, sumo/air springs, but it feels pretty comfortable as is now.





Other things:
Full mechanical check (discovered new brake master cylinder and system had only a few miles on it)
Tire pressure monitors in. Nice to monitor pressures on dash.
Spare belts, plugs, wires to be installed when weather permits.
New Derale deep trans pan and trans temp gauge to be put in.
Adding torque converter lockup switch with selectable 3/4 or 1-4 gear lockup for engine braking on steep grades.
May add electric cooling fan, bigger trans cooler

[garys 68]

So while the weather is cold here, time to attack the interior.
First thing my GF insisted we swap out the brass pulls and fixtures for brushed nickel, tub and bath sink too. She was quite a trooper removing and installing some 40+ pulls.
Next, tube TV had to go. I decided to keep the cabinet for storage so formed a couple sheets of PVC to match the curvature, covered with vinyl that matched the seats and added the doors. Also remade the two side cabinet doors to match.


New smart flat screen goes over the door on swing mount. Sits velcroed on shelf while going down the road. Sorry, phone pic...


Valences redone in microfiber blue:


Dinette cushions in tan microfiber:


And the jack knife couch all apart. Soon t be tan microfiber. Interesting, this thing is upholstered like a car bench seat. Good thing I kept all my auto upholstery equipment.


One other exterior convenience addition. I added a quick disconnect to the low pressure side of the LP tank to feed my gas grill. No more changing out little canisters.

[garys 68]

A few other projects in progress.
New dash stereo with Bluetooth. Surround sound with subwoofer.
The 460 exhaust manifolds are know for leaking and adding headers, better flowing mufflers really wakes up the motors. $2k for a Banks exhaust isn't in the budget, so I'll be eliminating the useless AIR injection, removing the log manifolds and putting on some Ford F350 Hedman headers this spring.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/h...view/make/ford

[nosticks]

Very nice make over.

[JohnRR]

Great looking start with the modifications to a great lookin unit.

[garys 68]

And a pic of our first outing. As well as including a new awning from the PO, they got out of RVing, so left us a lot of their equipment. Just added the gas grill and electric smoker. We're kind of new to RVing, so still learning on our few local trips to state parks. We have discovered we preferred the nature and privacy of state parks over the conventional RV parks
After the upgrades this spring, planning much longer trips to somewhere without ice storms next winter.

[RKins]

Looking good - good to see you enjoying it.

[Deano56]

curious to know why you didn't match the wood in the coach rather than put the white plastic doors up?

[crockwood]

Nice Job! That coach is in great shape for it's age. Someone has spent alot of time and $$ fixing it up.

[garys 68]

The doors on the old tv cabinet needed to be curved to fit well. Easier to do with pvc/plastic. And I had a roll of vinyl to cover them that matched the seats already.

Originally Posted by Deano56

curious to know why you didn't match the wood in the coach rather than put the white plastic doors up?

[Blitzkrieg]

Nice find Gary, she's a cream puff and nice work on everything, especially the upholstery dude, i wish i had that skill. Got a question, how do you do that gas grill outlet line you did to your propane tank , i wanted to do that also. Again nice rig man. Post more pics,, we love pics

[CLIFFTALL]

Nice work. Brought back memories of my 01 35U Chieftain. Here's a pic of it at Yellowstone ( Snowed that day ) 😃

[garys 68]

Quick disconnect:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Pro...t-Kit/29764664
And a propane extension hose from Home Depot.
I use a grill with a tank mounted regulator, so I plumbed it on the low pressure side.
One added benefit, you can use the regulator and hose you take off the grill to connect an external tank through the disconnect if your on board tank runs out.

Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg

Nice find Gary, she's a cream puff and nice work on everything, especially the upholstery dude, i wish i had that skill. Got a question, how do you do that gas grill outlet line you did to your propane tank , i wanted to do that also. Again nice rig man. Post more pics,, we love pics