'47 MobilGlide maiden voyage went great!

[doug hodder]

Aluminum stretches too much when hammered and worked. I'm going to replace that panel. Doug

[doug hodder]

Came back from camping and unloaded everything...ran to the hardware store and bought the necessary brass couplings to make the stove operational. I wanted to see it run while boiling a pot of water on it so that I would know just how much heat the paint would have to handle. It has a few marks on the outer housing and didn't want to just leave it in raw aluminum as it would stain and I'd have the knife marks/dents in it. I can get away with engine enamel on it and an aluminum type bondo. Body temp only gets to 125F. The grate has a bit of a warp to it but some clips will take care of that. It's a late 40's Port-O-Stove. Maybe not as nice as a newer cooktop, but I do have a vintage one and that's what I wanted. Pressure is a bit low with the current regulator, but that may change, thing is, more heat, more chances of cooking paint. Doug

[Greg M]

Did it boil the water? If so, good enough in my opinion

[doug hodder]

Yes it boiled water....I'm not going to play with the regulator...want to have it so it will run a new furnace, should get the stove body into paint tomorrow.

Weekend before last, I jacked it up, pulled the new axle, stuck a piece of 8' 2x2 tubing under it and welded it to some angle tabs bolted to the mounts. I added a 2" drop on each end and then dropped it down on some car dollies. I fabbed up a Z bracket that slips into each end of the tubing so that I had a jacking point for lifting later.

Today, I removed the header plate and cut the header in the garage about 3" so that it would all fit. It slipped in with no problems so it's in the garage and ready for a winters work. Got it in, screwed in the pieces in the garage and you can't really tell it was cut. Next step, cut out the damaged material in the rear of it and replace it. At least it's in the garage and can be moved easily on the dollies. So far it has a totally new frame and deck under it. Now what I think is the "fun" stuff begins and I've got it in a wood heated shop to do it all in. It's been a slow journey to this point...too much camping and working. Thanks for watching. Doug

[halfdome, Danny]

Wow Doug , you don't let anything get in your way.
Great idea.
Danny

[doug hodder]

Thank you very much Danny, coming from a gentleman with your talents that means a lot. For me, this was the big thing as now I can really do some serious work on it. I can pull the windows and door and not worry about weather on the new deck. Doug

[rebapuck]

No excuses now.

[doug hodder]

Judy....there will be no excuses on this one...I've thunk it out so many times in my head...all I have to do is go through the motions now. Paint colors are picked out as well as the paint scheme, vintage graphics are being worked on as we type. Marmoleum flooring, exterior lights, awning material, floor plan, interior finish...all worked out. I'm just waiting on the right fabric to do up the window coverings, may custom airbrush out the table and counter tops in a vintage repro pattern, still working on that. I never go into something like this without having it all thought and how I want it to look from the get go. Effort up front in the vision and design stages saves so much time in the production phase. Here's hoping you stick with me through to the end. Doug

[lrrowe]

This photo shows me a solution. My CT is about 6 inches too tall for my garage. Raising the header is not an option.
I talked to Dexter and removing the tires and setting the brake drums directly on the dollies (these look like HF models) is highly not advised by them. So I have to find another solution to lower the CT for garage work.

Now if I got an 8' long 8x8 pressure treated beam, I could lay that across the wheel dollies as shown here and rest that all under the CT. Then just roll the whole thing back in.

Thanks Doug for the post.

[Woodbutcher]

Bob, I have seen people make a wheel, a disc really that is just barely larger then the hub and bolt it on just like a rim and then the trailer rolls on that disc.

Doug, I love the way you solve problems. So many peoplegive up would just and leave it till Spring. But we know you will have that trailer ready to camp in come Spring.

[doug hodder]

Drilled rivets and cut out the rear corner that had taken a bad hit. I tried to dolly it out, but to no avail. Hit it here, punches out there, and back and forth... Replaced it. I also cut in the rear taillights. It only is required to have 1 combo brake and running light since it's licensed as a '47, but I'm not going to chance it, so recessed these. Today, I fabbed up the new door jamb. The original was pretty marginal and had a weak leaky door. I wanted a screen door for it, so had some 16ga. bent up and welded a new jamb with an inner lip to catch any water that may want to intrude. I had drilled the rivets and pulled the original, so this fits right in the original location under the existing flaps of aluminum with no issue. Final install with have some sealant to take care of any galvanic action.

Received the rest of the "winged" clearance lights and they are all ready to install now. I also finished up the stove with a paint job in a ceramic disk brake paint to handle the heat. Plenty of parts showing up, waiting on the copper screen for the windows and the rivets that were supposed to be shipped 10 days ago...GRRRR!

Also dollied out the dented upper corner. It had about a 1" deep dent in it with a crease. Hopefully a bit of bondo will take care of it at this point.










Thanks for reading! Doug

[Vedette]

Looking Great Doug!
Keep up the progress reports........Hope to see it in person somewhere down the road.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[aggie79]

Very nice work Doug!

Today, I fabbed up the new door jamb. The original was pretty marginal and had a weak leaky door. I wanted a screen door for it, so had some 16ga. bent up and welded a new jamb with an inner lip to catch any water that may want to intrude.

I really like the door jamb. Is this the same detail you used on a previous build or did you modify the design this time?

Take care,
Tom

[doug hodder]

Fair amount of progress, most of it painfully slow however. Of note is the restoration of the windows, I fabbed up some frames for the new copper screening in them so that they are removeable, and the construction of the screen door, I don't care for a plain Jane screen door. Also to be screened with copper. I also broke up all the remaining pieces of aluminum structural items that I'm going to need. Trying to wrap up the exterior before I begin the interior build out. Paint colors got picked today. Doug

[Phooey]

I've been waiting for your progress report and you mostly certainly did not disappoint. That screen door is a work of art but then all of your builds are. I really love to watch your works come together. It's like xmas every day. Have a wonderful holiday.