Possible Bird Restoration Project

[mksmash73]

Hey Gang,

I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this looks
familiar. In my search for the perfect motorhome I have finally
narrowed my choices down as follows:

Wanderlodge.

I used to spend hours perusing all the different MHs on ebay, and now I
just click on "Blue Bird" and see if anything new has been put up.

So a few days ago I found a 1981 '35 twenty miles from me! It has been
sitting for 7 years and, well you can imagine. Anyway I put all the
pictures I took and some of the info the owner supplied up on a web
page. http://www.mississippitennis.com/canton_bluebird.htm

What do you think?

[erniecarpet@...]

What kind of price is the owner asking? If the engine, tranny and generator
are operational, looks like it would be a doable project. I see the green scum
on the wheels. there is a coach here in Montana, that will be coming up for
sale that is in about the same condition. Don't know the details or price as
the owner travels- unfortunately not in the coach.

Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Livingston, Mt




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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Wilhelmus Schreurs]

MK:
What is your real name?
If you look under http://www.vintagebirds.com, you will find a checklist for the bird.
Take that along and look at each item with great detail.
If you are not yet a member of two other forums called wanderlodge@yahoogroups
and FC_wanderlodge@yahoogroups I would suggest that you join them as well. Each
one has a lot to offer, check in the files sections and you will find a wealth
of information.
I purchased a coach last year, and to date I have put in almost $5,000, others
have said that if you find a coach in good shape, expect another $10,000 to be
spent on it to make it the way you want.

When I look at your coach, tires are a must to be changed, I would change all
oils and lubricate everything as well. (Having the engine run on a continual
basis, is not the best thing, the diesel engine wants to be loaded, and worked
to its peak performance.)
I also have had a water leak up front, but I believe that is a minor thing that
can be repaired.
Other things to consider are, how electrically or mechanically challenged are
you? The BB coach can cost you a lot of money in a hurry if you can do neither
of this kind of work.

Let us know how things go, good luck to you on your search.

Bill 84 FC 35 SB "$quanderlodge"
Terrace, B.C. Canada




----- Original Message ----
From: mksmash73 <mkoverkil@...>
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 7:12:04 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Possible Bird Restoration Project

Hey Gang,

I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this looks
familiar. In my search for the perfect motorhome I have finally
narrowed my choices down as follows:

Wanderlodge.

I used to spend hours perusing all the different MHs on ebay, and now I
just click on "Blue Bird" and see if anything new has been put up.

So a few days ago I found a 1981 '35 twenty miles from me! It has been
sitting for 7 years and, well you can imagine. Anyway I put all the
pictures I took and some of the info the owner supplied up on a web
page. http://www.mississi ppitennis. com/canton_ bluebird. htm

What do you think?





Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the
boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail at http://mrd.mail.yahoo.com/try_beta?.intl=ca


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Dan]

I think it looks good from the outside and inside but that is a lot of rust
underneath.

Dan
81FC35
Jackson, MS
----- Original Message -----
From: mksmash73
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 9:12 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Possible Bird Restoration Project


Hey Gang,

I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this looks
familiar. In my search for the perfect motorhome I have finally
narrowed my choices down as follows:

Wanderlodge.

I used to spend hours perusing all the different MHs on ebay, and now I
just click on "Blue Bird" and see if anything new has been put up.

So a few days ago I found a 1981 '35 twenty miles from me! It has been
sitting for 7 years and, well you can imagine. Anyway I put all the
pictures I took and some of the info the owner supplied up on a web
page. http://www.mississippitennis.com/canton_bluebird.htm

What do you think?






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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jon]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "mksmash73" <mkoverkil@...>
wrote:
>
> Hey Gang,
>
> I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this
looks
> familiar. In my search for the perfect motorhome I have finally
> narrowed my choices down as follows:
>
> Wanderlodge.
>
> I used to spend hours perusing all the different MHs on ebay, and
now I
> just click on "Blue Bird" and see if anything new has been put up.
>
> So a few days ago I found a 1981 '35 twenty miles from me! It has
been
> sitting for 7 years and, well you can imagine. Anyway I put all
the
> pictures I took and some of the info the owner supplied up on a web
> page. http://www.mississippitennis.com/canton_bluebird.htm
>
> What do you think?

Hay if the price is under 20,000 it looks pretty good. But remember
there are allot of these old coaches for sale out there and some are
already fixed up and not much more than 30,000 or so. And by my
personnel program with the Rebel bird I know these old motor homes
will drain your pocket book fast. But at the right price why
not buy it and have something to play around with in your spare time.
The one below sold I think for around 3,000 dollars but did he get a
basket full of problems? maybe but the new owner may have just wanted
a big project to play with.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/1942...newold.jpg
>

[Leroy Eckert]

Poison is relative. It depends on what bites you. fwiw.

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
Niceville, FL
----- Original Message -----
From: Jon
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2007 8:44 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Possible Bird Restoration Project


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "mksmash73" <mkoverkil@...>
wrote:
>
> Hey Gang,
>
> I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this
looks
> familiar. In my search for the perfect motorhome I have finally
> narrowed my choices down as follows:
>
> Wanderlodge.
>
> I used to spend hours perusing all the different MHs on ebay, and
now I
> just click on "Blue Bird" and see if anything new has been put up.
>
> So a few days ago I found a 1981 '35 twenty miles from me! It has
been
> sitting for 7 years and, well you can imagine. Anyway I put all
the
> pictures I took and some of the info the owner supplied up on a web
> page. http://www.mississippitennis.com/canton_bluebird.htm
>
> What do you think?

Hay if the price is under 20,000 it looks pretty good. But remember
there are allot of these old coaches for sale out there and some are
already fixed up and not much more than 30,000 or so. And by my
personnel program with the Rebel bird I know these old motor homes
will drain your pocket book fast. But at the right price why
not buy it and have something to play around with in your spare time.
The one below sold I think for around 3,000 dollars but did he get a
basket full of problems? maybe but the new owner may have just wanted
a big project to play with.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/1942...newold.jpg
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Curt Sprenger]

The coach, my opinion only, is not worth more than $5K maybe $7K. If you
are interested in this coach, make a VERY LOW OFFER. You can always make
another offer.

I paid $3,000 for a '74 FC31. The asking price was way over that. I
spent $15,000+ fixing it up. It was a gas engine, the diesel should be
worth a little more. I did all the work myself. If you can do all the
work yourself, that is a good thing.

The rust would bother me the most. All the other things can be dealt with.

Curt Sprenger
1987 PT38 8V92 "MacAttack Racing"
Anaheim Hills, Calif.



Jon wrote:

> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> , "mksmash73" <mkoverkil@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hey Gang,
> >
> > I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this
> looks
> > familiar. In my search for the perfect motorhome I have finally
> > narrowed my choices down as follows:
> >
> > Wanderlodge.
> >
> > I used to spend hours perusing all the different MHs on ebay, and
> now I
> > just click on "Blue Bird" and see if anything new has been put up.
> >
> > So a few days ago I found a 1981 '35 twenty miles from me! It has
> been
> > sitting for 7 years and, well you can imagine. Anyway I put all
> the
> > pictures I took and some of the info the owner supplied up on a web
> > page. http://www.mississippitennis.com/canton_bluebird.htm
> <http://www.mississippitennis.com/canton_bluebird.htm>
> >
> > What do you think?
>
> Hay if the price is under 20,000 it looks pretty good. But remember
> there are allot of these old coaches for sale out there and some are
> already fixed up and not much more than 30,000 or so. And by my
> personnel program with the Rebel bird I know these old motor homes
> will drain your pocket book fast. But at the right price why
> not buy it and have something to play around with in your spare time.
> The one below sold I think for around 3,000 dollars but did he get a
> basket full of problems? maybe but the new owner may have just wanted
> a big project to play with.
>
> http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/1942...newold.jpg
> <http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/1942...newold.jpg>
> >
>
>

[Runnerful]

MK,

You've got lots of good input regarding mechanicals, structural
issues, tires but no one has said anything about mold.

With the apparent water penetration, mold must be there. Are you
planning on a total gut job on the interior? Unless you're taking
it back to bare metal you can't be sure you've gotten rid of
possibly serious health risks from mold.

The sour smell, probably mildew, will have been absorbed by ALL soft
materials. You should count on replacing everything.

You also need to take proper care during interior demolition that
you don't breathe any mold spores... Check into proper masks to
protect yourself.

Good luck,
Ginger BB wannabee too

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "mksmash73" <mkoverkil@...>
wrote:
>
> Hey Gang,
>
> I posted this over on the Open Roads Forum at rv.net in case this
looks

[mksmash73]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Runnerful"
wrote:
>
> MK,
>
> You've got lots of good input regarding mechanicals, structural
> issues, tires but no one has said anything about mold.
>
> With the apparent water penetration, mold must be there. Are you
> planning on a total gut job on the interior? Unless you're taking
> it back to bare metal you can't be sure you've gotten rid of
> possibly serious health risks from mold.
>
> The sour smell, probably mildew, will have been absorbed by ALL
soft
> materials. You should count on replacing everything.
>
> You also need to take proper care during interior demolition that
> you don't breathe any mold spores... Check into proper masks to
> protect yourself.
>
> Good luck,
> Ginger BB wannabee too
>

Thanks Ginger. I talked to two local professional cleaning services
about that and they said almost the exact thing word for word.

Before I go any further I want to thank everyone for your input on
this topic. I learn something new with every message I read.

Also I need to correct my first post with the addition of the
following:

Mike
Almost,Maybe,Perhaps a very sick 81FC-35, but probably will still be
looking
Jackson, MS

I have learned a lot in the process of looking at this very sick
Bird, and it brings me to this question:

What is the "tipping point" if there is one where a coach is
unsalvagable?

I realize that question will have almost as many answers as there are
members on this forum, but since I have no real clue yet, it would be
a good starting point.

Mike
Almost,Maybe,Perhaps a very sick 81FC-35, but probably will still be
looking
Jackson, MS

[Scott Forman]

My opinion is that as long as the "bones" are OK (no damage, no rust-
through, etc) everything else can be fixed. You have been led to
believe the major mechanical components are OK, so the rest is really
a function of your wallet & ability. Anything can be done given
enough time & money. I think the question you need to ask yourself
is whether the cost of purchase + cost of renovation + cost of
frustration of this bird is less than the cost of another that is
ready to go. I sold a real nice 82 FC35 that needed nothing for $30k
recently...can you make this one real nice for the same amount or
less?

I am in Memphis, not too far from you, if the coach isn't too far
away, I would be happy to give you my two cents on it. I am no
expert, but I did a lot of my own work on my FC, and I know those
coaches pretty well.

Scott Forman
86 PT38
Memphis

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "mksmash73" <mkoverkil@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Runnerful"
> wrote:
> >
> > MK,
> >
> > You've got lots of good input regarding mechanicals, structural
> > issues, tires but no one has said anything about mold.
> >
> > With the apparent water penetration, mold must be there. Are you
> > planning on a total gut job on the interior? Unless you're
taking
> > it back to bare metal you can't be sure you've gotten rid of
> > possibly serious health risks from mold.
> >
> > The sour smell, probably mildew, will have been absorbed by ALL
> soft
> > materials. You should count on replacing everything.
> >
> > You also need to take proper care during interior demolition that
> > you don't breathe any mold spores... Check into proper masks to
> > protect yourself.
> >
> > Good luck,
> > Ginger BB wannabee too
> >
>
> Thanks Ginger. I talked to two local professional cleaning
services
> about that and they said almost the exact thing word for word.
>
> Before I go any further I want to thank everyone for your input on
> this topic. I learn something new with every message I read.
>
> Also I need to correct my first post with the addition of the
> following:
>
> Mike
> Almost,Maybe,Perhaps a very sick 81FC-35, but probably will still
be
> looking
> Jackson, MS
>
> I have learned a lot in the process of looking at this very sick
> Bird, and it brings me to this question:
>
> What is the "tipping point" if there is one where a coach is
> unsalvagable?
>
> I realize that question will have almost as many answers as there
are
> members on this forum, but since I have no real clue yet, it would
be
> a good starting point.
>
> Mike
> Almost,Maybe,Perhaps a very sick 81FC-35, but probably will still
be
> looking
> Jackson, MS
>