Should we even be looking at Old Birds?

[Henry Jay Hannigan]

LEROY:
I've had three birds; 77FC33...80FC31 and current 90SP36.....
the first two are "bulletproof" and the SP is luxurious.
Recommend u do your homework on what was added to birds each model
year. For example 77 to early 80 was leaf springs and no airbags
with the 210NA cat 3208. later 80 models had added weight, air bags,
levelers, bath mod's 3208 mod's etc.
If I was "starting over" I would seek an early 1980FC31 without
airbags and levelers in good nic.
hopefully the engine has been redone and the tranny is in good shape
with no plate damage and the interior has been redone and it has been
stored inside.

How's that for a dreamlist??

LOL
Regards,
Hank
90SP36









--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ryan Wright"
wrote:
>
> > I dont mind tinkering and working on a lot of projects. Our
current
> > coach is a 1989 Class C, I had to rebuild the entire cab over on
that.
>
> You'll be fine. A lot of the work on an old coach is fixing house
> systems. If you can do basic household repairs (and it looks like
you
> can), you'll be able to maintain these. Don't be tempted to cut
> corners and buy a cheap coach. Get something that has been well
> maintained and doesn't need any repairs at the time of purchase. It
> will cost you a bit more but will save you a lot of headaches later.
> In my experience, a vehicle that has a lot of little things wrong
has
> been generally neglected and will have more ongoing maintenance
> issues. If an owner can't be bothered to fix the musical horn, how
do
> I know he could be bothered to change fluids & filters, or to do
> something about that slight over-temp issue?
>
> > But I'm by no means a mechanic. I do consider myself to be very
> > mechanically inclined though.
>
> Yeah - you'll be fine. If you consider yourself mechanically
inclined,
> don't even worry about it. If you can and are willing to change oil
> and fuel filters, the rest will come naturally. Always have some
money
> set aside for the inevitable - you ARE going to have things break
that
> you can't or don't want to fix. I've spent a couple grand having my
> transmission looked at, several hundred dollars having my alternator
> replaced, and another grand having my compressor replaced. I could
> have taken care of the alternator and compressor myself, but really
> didn't feel like doing it.
>
> > My question is, should I steer away from these old birds?
>
> Not at all! The fact is, you can buy a brand new vehicle and things
> are still going to fail. Sure, you'll have a warranty for a brief
> period, but that will soon go away and you'll be in the same boat.
The
> old birds are built like tanks. This is nothing like owning an old
> version of any other coach. These are built to last and if you buy a
> coach that doesn't have anything wrong with it, I don't believe your
> maintenance will be any more intense whether you buy an 80's or a
90's
> or a 2000's, of this or any other brand.
>
> Maintenance is maintenance, you'll always have it. It's been quite
> tolerable on my coach.
>
> > Is the majority of the work something that an average person
could do given
> > patience and research/reading?
>
> I think it is. If you're currently doing basic repairs on your
house,
> changing your car's own oil, filters, belts, etc, and if you can
> generally troubleshoot basic automotive problems, then you'll be
just
> fine and I say, go for it!
>
> -Ryan
> '86 PT-40 8V92
>