Hi all,
Wanted to give an introduction and history of our project. We inherited our 1976 23’ Norris from my wife’s grandfather, who purchased it new. When we acquired it, it had less than 7000 original miles (the odometer has not rolled over) but had been sitting outside for probably 20 years. It took me several years to get the motivation to even start the project due to the amount of work it needed. Finally decided it was now or never as we wanted to be able to enjoy it with our kids while they’re still young.
Spent the first six months getting it safe and drivable. Most systems were kept close to the original design as I didn’t know where to start with upgrades, just wanted to get it safe and functional. Almost completely new brake system, control arm bushings, fuel tanks cleaned, new sending units, new fuel lines, basic carb kit and cleaning/adjustment, fluids, filters , hoses, belts, plugs, etc… The only upgrades at this point were Sully rear airbags and Lenzi front knuckles. I then got it smogged, and moved closer to home.
Then the real fun began with the interior. I didn’t want to gut the whole interior but it was infested with rodents and had to remove almost everything in order to clean and disinfect. The only things that stayed were the closet and bathroom walls as they couldn’t be taken out without damaging them, but they were detached so I could work around them. Repaired and ran new wiring where necessary, all new plumbing including fresh water and black tanks, drains, water lines, pump, sheet vinyl floor, had dinette and cockpit seats reupholstered. Installed Maxx fans, resealed windows and painted frames (still need to do drivers cockpit window). New wall and ceiling panels. The list goes on…
After a year of work we finally took it out for the first time with only the 12v system working. Since then we’ve been enjoying it and working on getting the rest of the systems functional and finishing the interior (at a much slower and more manageable pace). A big thanks to this forum and all the other great resources out there which helped us get “Homer” back on the road.
Wanted to give an introduction and history of our project. We inherited our 1976 23’ Norris from my wife’s grandfather, who purchased it new. When we acquired it, it had less than 7000 original miles (the odometer has not rolled over) but had been sitting outside for probably 20 years. It took me several years to get the motivation to even start the project due to the amount of work it needed. Finally decided it was now or never as we wanted to be able to enjoy it with our kids while they’re still young.
Spent the first six months getting it safe and drivable. Most systems were kept close to the original design as I didn’t know where to start with upgrades, just wanted to get it safe and functional. Almost completely new brake system, control arm bushings, fuel tanks cleaned, new sending units, new fuel lines, basic carb kit and cleaning/adjustment, fluids, filters , hoses, belts, plugs, etc… The only upgrades at this point were Sully rear airbags and Lenzi front knuckles. I then got it smogged, and moved closer to home.
Then the real fun began with the interior. I didn’t want to gut the whole interior but it was infested with rodents and had to remove almost everything in order to clean and disinfect. The only things that stayed were the closet and bathroom walls as they couldn’t be taken out without damaging them, but they were detached so I could work around them. Repaired and ran new wiring where necessary, all new plumbing including fresh water and black tanks, drains, water lines, pump, sheet vinyl floor, had dinette and cockpit seats reupholstered. Installed Maxx fans, resealed windows and painted frames (still need to do drivers cockpit window). New wall and ceiling panels. The list goes on…
After a year of work we finally took it out for the first time with only the 12v system working. Since then we’ve been enjoying it and working on getting the rest of the systems functional and finishing the interior (at a much slower and more manageable pace). A big thanks to this forum and all the other great resources out there which helped us get “Homer” back on the road.
!
