First RV... '76 Chinook

[TPW]

Hi all.

I'm about to take the plunge and buy a 1976 Chinook pop-up. It has been sitting for at least ten years in a dry climate (it even has lichens growing on the outside and I don't know when it was last started. It's going to be a project. It belongs to a mechanic who offered to sell it to me for $400 and he would throw in a free tow to wherever I wanted. Well, that sounded pretty good to me, so I asked him how much it would cost to fix it to where I could drive it home. It needs a transmission, but I think the 20R engine with 86K should be ok (it was tuned up not long before it was parked).

I'm thinking that if he could get the thing mechanically sound, I would take on getting the interior put back together. It's pretty sad on the inside and it's going to take some ingenuity on my part to get it comfortable again. I'm not sure how much help the owner is going to be able to be in locating a number of missing parts (like the table).

So, does anybody have any advice for a novice who doesn't really know what he's getting into? I really like the "idea' of this thing... I'm just not so sure about the "reality." What to I need to watch out for? What should I ask about? And what do I need to know so that I can the most fun of of a project like this?

and to start with, how do you deal with oxidizing fiberglass?

Thanks.

[krj]

Good work! Buy, jump in, have fun, and don't expect it to go quickly!

This is a great place for info and inspiration. There's a number of restoration threads hear full of good ideas and awesome work.

As far as what you are going to get into; anything and everything. Fiberglass oxidation? You've got bigger fish to fry, put that one down low on the list! Ask questions, don't expect things to happen overnight, and have fun.

If your tranny is gone but engine good, maybe you should look for a 4x4 that needs an engine. Swap engine and coach. Check out Nolan's '76 in the 4x4 section of this site. Just an idea, planting seeds...

[TPW]

Now you're making me crazy already! I just saw a 1990 v6 4x4 extra cab on craigslist for $1900 (the engine was acting poorly)! made me real itchy! but my budget has to be my guide (it's limited), not my imagination. I drove by the old Chinook to see about getting a picture of it in situ, but the mechanic had pulled it into the shop already and had the hood up. He forgot to check with me and we haven't settled on a price, so I'm hoping he's not getting carried away. The shop was closed, so I probably won't know anything til Monday.

[85mirage]

Try reading my post burnt shasta for some picts of a unfinished rebuild and what it might take although Chinook's are one piece fiberglass,right. So alot less work so go for it just take your time. Try car-part.com for a tranny

[TPW]

Just heard for the mechanic.... $800 for the transmission. Hmm... That's twice the price of what he is asking for the whole RV! Is this the way I can expect things to go with this kind of project? I can afford that... he says that the engine started right up and sounded good and the radiator looked good, so I crossed my fingers and told him to go ahead and order the tranny. That will be $1200 for the rig and I should be able to feel fairly confident about the mechanical aspects of it (I hope). Wish me luck.

85M, I kinda wish you hadn't shown me those pictures. That is just scary. There is no way I am going to go down that road. I'm not sure I'm goning to be able to sleep tonight! But thanks for sharing.