She hasn't been moved in years. Unable to get under to inspect the frame. The Interior is pretty much stripped. The generator is in place. The body actually doesn't seem that bad behind the moss. No title or keys. Does it have rebuild potential or is this a "run away"? Thought? Also, is there a technique to fill the bags temporarily for frame inspection? My intent would be a rebuild, new interior, etc. etc. Thanks in advance for your comments, thoughts and please don't tell my wife that I'm even considering this #addictedtoprojects, Oh it's free for the taking.
Hook it or Run?
- Thread starter GMC Dreamin'
- Start date
Well, I would run away as fast as I could. But hey, if you have the time, the skills and the money and it’s something you enjoy doing, go for it! Good luck and hope to see you down the road, in about five years. Rusty
OK (fill in a name here),
Let's start at the beginning.
Do you have a place to keep it without paying to do so? You will be working on this a long time.
It is an early 23' with 455, that makes it a version that some desire.
It has very little to recommend it otherwise.
Before you do anything rash, remove the spark plug and put a squirt of oil in each bore, then pull it through TWO full turns to confirm that the engine is salvageable. The air filter missing is kind of scary.
It is a 23' so there are many roll-backs that can lift it if you can move it so they can get in front of it.
All the rubber will have to be replaced. Not just tires (those will be dangerous) but all the coolant, fuel and brake lines are probably shot no matter how good they look today.
The ignition and title will be the least of your problems....
Matt
Let's start at the beginning.
Do you have a place to keep it without paying to do so? You will be working on this a long time.
It is an early 23' with 455, that makes it a version that some desire.
It has very little to recommend it otherwise.
Before you do anything rash, remove the spark plug and put a squirt of oil in each bore, then pull it through TWO full turns to confirm that the engine is salvageable. The air filter missing is kind of scary.
It is a 23' so there are many roll-backs that can lift it if you can move it so they can get in front of it.
All the rubber will have to be replaced. Not just tires (those will be dangerous) but all the coolant, fuel and brake lines are probably shot no matter how good they look today.
The ignition and title will be the least of your problems....
Matt
I wouldn't run away quite yet, the price is right. At the very least I'd circle around it a few more times and assess it further. Depending on your state of residence and your ability to do research and paperwork, the title may not be a deal breaker.
Inspecting the frame would be very important before dragging home, I'd think. Yes, you can make some adapters to go from a shrader valve to the NPT (I think) threads of the air bags. BUT: don't crawl under the coach with those bags inflated without first blocking up the frame. God forbid, those old bags could decide to give out after you've stuck your noggin under there. They probably haven't supported any weight for many years.
If the engine seems to turn OK after oiling up, and the frame is solid, it might be rebuildable. If not, it certainly could still have some value as parts. There are only so many rebuildable engine blocks, transmission cores, and final drives out there. I hate to see any of them get scrapped.
Inspecting the frame would be very important before dragging home, I'd think. Yes, you can make some adapters to go from a shrader valve to the NPT (I think) threads of the air bags. BUT: don't crawl under the coach with those bags inflated without first blocking up the frame. God forbid, those old bags could decide to give out after you've stuck your noggin under there. They probably haven't supported any weight for many years.
If the engine seems to turn OK after oiling up, and the frame is solid, it might be rebuildable. If not, it certainly could still have some value as parts. There are only so many rebuildable engine blocks, transmission cores, and final drives out there. I hate to see any of them get scrapped.
It has been suggested that that vehicle might not have a title, so be sure you can get that sorted out before you invest a bunch of time and money. Also, I would be very wary of a rusted frame. Be sure to really check out the frame. Finding and swapping out a frame would not be easy.
If you have the jacking hook, you can jack up the rear end and use 3/4" threaded rod to replace the rear air bags. Good enough to drive it around if you had to as well.
$0 is the right price for that coach, all the way up to scrap price, maybe $500 max.
If the frame is solid and you are up for a challenge, go for it. You aren't going to hurt it any. Get it cleaned up and go through the mechanics to make it safe. And then start using it even with the gutted interior, just use it to travel and camp, they are great fun!
$0 is the right price for that coach, all the way up to scrap price, maybe $500 max.
If the frame is solid and you are up for a challenge, go for it. You aren't going to hurt it any. Get it cleaned up and go through the mechanics to make it safe. And then start using it even with the gutted interior, just use it to travel and camp, they are great fun!
Just my 2 cents, but unless you are one of those people that enjoys a multi-year restoration project, consider finding a coach that is mostly roadworthy. It doesn’t have to be expensive or have any aftermarket bells and whistles, but it should have good brakes, drive straight, and have solid mechanicals under the hatch. Folks buy fixer uppers and, sadly, they just sit until the owners lose interest. You will absolutely love hitting the road and camping in these things. It definitely makes you appreciate your sweat equity and “investment” much more.
Free is a great place to start, because at my estimation your looking at about $10-20,000 to get it running really well. The air tank should be under the battery box and in front of the passenger front wheel, there should be a Schrader valve on it, you can fill it with an air compressor and then user the controls inside to lift it. As others have said though put support underneath it before you get under it.
I would vote for a rescue, cleanup and sale. You might make a little money but you would be bringing a desirable 23 foot coach back from certain destruction. You're in for a long slog if you want it back to "normal" whatever that is, but if you have the room at home, the tools, a willingness to learn, and the time for a new hobby I'd say go for it. But I'd say that a coach with an undamaged exterior and possible decent running gear was worth some effort. Some by you, some by others. Your call.
If you're not going to grab it and rescue it, at least put it out there for someone that wants it, advertise it
I'm currently rebuilding one that was in a similar state of disrepair, possibly even worse. It needed a new frame. They are available new from a shop in Ontario, Canada. I paid around $6,000 to $7,000 for new/refurbished frame pieces aft of the engine cradle. I'm relatively close in Buffalo, NY, and the shipping alone was around $1,000 (I couldn't go pick it up myself because of COVID border closing).
Depending on what your goals are and what it needs, a total rebuild with everything new, back to OEM specs (not considering upgrades), will be north of $30k, assuming you already have the tools, knowledge, space, and time. This figure does not include your time, nor a paint job, nor an interior rebuild. This is purely for making the coach mechanically sound and perfectly driveable.
I'm restoring mine out of a labor of love because it's been in my family since new and holds a lot of memories.
This one has potential but it is a HUGE undertaking. I underestimated the amount of work it would be but as I said, I have other motivating factors.
It being an early 23' as others have said is somewhat rare and worth considering a rebuild. Vintage RV's are popular right now and even with a spit shine and getting it running it may be worth a few thousand.
The interior being stripped is probably a good thing, saves you/whoever restores it a bunch of work tearing the old destroyed crap out!
As for getting the coach up enough to inspect the frame -- check the air bags and air tank to see if either has a schrader valve. You can hook up an external air tank to inflate the system. Even if the bags are old and dry rotted, they may hold air well enough to get a look. The air suspension almost certainly has a leak, so use jack stands to avoid being crushed. Otherwise, you might try hotwiring the air compressor to run and pressurize the system. This would be pretty easy to do.
Not exactly sure what year this is but the air suspension system is either in the front (pre 76 I think?) or behind the closet inside the coach. I only have experience with the earlier systems. In this case, the air tank should be under the battery tray near the passenger front tire. You may have to remove the wheel well liner. The compressor will be on the driver's side mounted next to the radiator, it is visible from the driver side front hatch. You just need to attach power/ground to the compressor motor to run it. Be careful not to overpressurize the system if you're bypassing the pressure cutoff switch.
If you don't know how to do this kind of stuff you may not be the right person to restore this coach. But don't let that discourage you. If it's something you'd be interested in learning and you have the means, go for it. I started 10 years ago with practically zero automotive knowledge...
Depending on what your goals are and what it needs, a total rebuild with everything new, back to OEM specs (not considering upgrades), will be north of $30k, assuming you already have the tools, knowledge, space, and time. This figure does not include your time, nor a paint job, nor an interior rebuild. This is purely for making the coach mechanically sound and perfectly driveable.
I'm restoring mine out of a labor of love because it's been in my family since new and holds a lot of memories.
This one has potential but it is a HUGE undertaking. I underestimated the amount of work it would be but as I said, I have other motivating factors.
It being an early 23' as others have said is somewhat rare and worth considering a rebuild. Vintage RV's are popular right now and even with a spit shine and getting it running it may be worth a few thousand.
The interior being stripped is probably a good thing, saves you/whoever restores it a bunch of work tearing the old destroyed crap out!
As for getting the coach up enough to inspect the frame -- check the air bags and air tank to see if either has a schrader valve. You can hook up an external air tank to inflate the system. Even if the bags are old and dry rotted, they may hold air well enough to get a look. The air suspension almost certainly has a leak, so use jack stands to avoid being crushed. Otherwise, you might try hotwiring the air compressor to run and pressurize the system. This would be pretty easy to do.
Not exactly sure what year this is but the air suspension system is either in the front (pre 76 I think?) or behind the closet inside the coach. I only have experience with the earlier systems. In this case, the air tank should be under the battery tray near the passenger front tire. You may have to remove the wheel well liner. The compressor will be on the driver's side mounted next to the radiator, it is visible from the driver side front hatch. You just need to attach power/ground to the compressor motor to run it. Be careful not to overpressurize the system if you're bypassing the pressure cutoff switch.
If you don't know how to do this kind of stuff you may not be the right person to restore this coach. But don't let that discourage you. If it's something you'd be interested in learning and you have the means, go for it. I started 10 years ago with practically zero automotive knowledge...
