Time to drill out the original bucked rivets. Its tempting to start drilling but DO use a centre punch first to centre your drill or you WILL slip off & even if nobody notices that extra rivet - you will for the next 50yrs !Those larger holes on the LHS are screw holes for the trim, not dodgy drilling.
You'll soon find you've got some good aluminium debris around your feet.
The 'suicide' door had flown open en-route to the port, so she's off for some tlc & re-shaping.
The rivet holes are pretty evenly spaced - until you get under the trim which wraps around both ends - again Airstream's crown for quality has slipped a bit !
Ready to lift. What you can't see is that there are quite a few sneaky rivets that attach the bellypan to the C channel but are INSIDE the lower edge of the outer panel. They're best chiselled off from the inside. Next we'll remove the windows as they need rejuvenating and we plan to lift her with supports running though the matching window openings on each side.
By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR to any fellow alumanuts & their long-suffering families.
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anything made by man is not perfect. You have stated that Airstreams quality control was off that day... my 62 has an axle that is 1/8"(3mm for those of you over the pond) off center. The important thing is that they were consistant with the rivets where you see them. Happy belly dropping.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your blog, thanks for keeping us updated on your progress. I'll continue to follow you from across The Pond.
ReplyDelete-Marcus