Normspeed Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Thought you guys in the snow belt might enjoy the pics. In preparation for a March/April road trip to a little shindig in Fla, I hired a guy that does mobile polishing for big trucks to re-polish my teardrop trailer. It's been stored in a garage since I moved here in August. It's still loaded to the ceiling with camping and boating gear. I rolled it out and proceeded to remove all the screws, window frames, battery box, and any attachments that might get in the polisher's way. In the photos you can see where he started his "edge work". It should be pretty shiny when he's done. I'll hafta wear shades:cool: I blocked it up and removed the tires and fenders. More than 60 years of dirt and tarnish (called elephant skin) in that spot. The rest I polished a few years ago. Once the tires were off, I noticed that right side coil spring. I'll try buffing out the damage but might need to replace. That's what I get for towing a heavily loaded 1941 trailer at 70 mph from CA to NM a few times. Oops! That left spring looks a little tweaked too. Third photo, my little dog surveys the work as he daydreams of better days in the teardrop, or as he thinks of it, the big doghouse. (better days are pictured in 4 and 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Some more good times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T120 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Rather rare for one of those teardrops to have survived this many years.Nice to be able to work outside -it will be a while before I'll be able to do the same:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 It is rare Ralph. BTW I meant 1946, not 41. Mine was a home built and based on a welded angle iron cage and frame so it lasted better than the ones built on a wood framework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Are the two young lovelies pictured on you license plate part of your regular camping gear ? Where can I get some ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Reg, you can pick some up at the local Hooters. They go crazy for old Mopars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandadeo Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hum, sounds like I better start making preps for a guest. Have to let Ardun know he's having guests too. Think about registering for Billetproof in Ocala on March 21st. My plans are to be there for Saturday, stay over night in Ocala, and then go to a Ford Barn meet up there on Sunday. The Billetproof meet has a 600 car cut off and I figure they must be getting close to that now. It's being held at the Don Garlit's Museum. Went last year and it was pretty KQQL. Tommy will be there with a swap meet space. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Lee, what's the date of Tommy's bbq? I'm mapping out my game plan. Today I tackled the spring replacement. The finished job is a lot tighter and more rattle-free than the old setup. I used rubber shock bushings for centering the springs, with smaller sub-springs inside the mains. The old centering setup involved a bunch of washers stacked and welded together. They were shot. Only problem, the two spare springs that came with the teardrop are mismatched so I'll need to distribute the weight more to the right side. Maybe someone here has seen springs like these before. They look all the world like very big valve springs, with nice flat surfaces on both ends. Dezeldoc and others, ay idea what these may have come from? They measure 4-5/8" tall and 2" OD. I'd sure like to round up a couple more for spares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandadeo Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Norm, looks like Tommy's is March 7th. It's always the first Saturday of the month. PM me your mailing address again. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Here's one for the dogs Norm, and the link, lotsa trailers. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102688&showall=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackster Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Hey Norm, I love those stickers EL PASO. EL CRASHO. thats too funny. my neighbor asked me about the fellow with the station wagon with the V8. I told him you have an straigt six on it and He doesnt believe me. You are just gona have to come over and show him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 What is that saying, You buy, I'll fly. Made up the stencils for those myself, and they're dual purpose. The arrows are cut from D.O.T tape that they use on the back of big trucks. Very reflective. The old tear doesn't show up too good at night on the hiway so it can use all the help it can get. Had to lose the blue dots, those 39 taillights were too dim to see. The latest addition, the center light cobbled together from Model A parts, really helps too. I sure miss those blue dots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Frankie, that's guite a thread. I'll have to go back and look it over when I have some time to enjoy all the photos. Thanks. Today I spent the day wrangling the polisher and his helper, trying to whip them into a frenzy of activity so they would get the darned job done. Here I was, all proud of myself for pouring some cash into the local economy, and this guy is showing up for a few hours in the afternoon, or not showing up at all. Today I started doing some of the detail work myself because this fellow's skill level wasn't really impressing me. He and his helper moseyed in around 1pm and I put the screws to 'em. By around 4:30 I figured I had wrung out all the work and all the skill they had, so I sent 'em packing. I think they were glad to leave. Sheesh. I worked til sundown just working my way around the trailer with my angle buffer and a wool pad, cleaning up after these guys. Oh well. As always, if you want a job done right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 The big trip is getting closer, and the teardrop is going back together nicely. Today I worked on getting all the gear out of it and cleaning up the interior with Pledge. Found some interior screws that had vibrated out, a repetitive problem but a minor one. The polishing job was a disappointment, the guy I hired was way out of his comfort zone for sure. My son and I repolished it to get out the swirl marks and it looks nice but nothing like my first try at polishing a few years ago. Here one of my copilots is checking out my cleanup work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Here one of my copilots is checking out my cleanup work. Don't let him/her drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.