Fixing water damage on the old Dodge (pics)

[Spectramac]

I got started on my summer project the last couple days. I found this thing on Craig's list for $100 and drove it home. It's a 78 Dodge Monaco 23' with a 440. Here's what it looked like when I brought it home.





Ok, time to dive in!











Oh man, I can't believe the huge bag of rusty screws I have already! It's actually not as rotten as I was thinking it was going to be. Just in the corners, where the screws need to be. Still so much to remove....

[Spectramac]

Yeah, as long as they don't mind a bunch of roof coatings still stuck to it. :B

I did a little more yesterday... Oh the humanity!!!

[Norbecke]

hey at least you can recycle your roof and use that money towards rubber roof.

[Robert_Mitch]

Spectramac, thanks for the great story. I was looking at your pictures and wondering if any of this blackened wood could have been caused by excessive humidity. It is a concern of mine every time I wake up and see the front windshield of ours covered with water. The inside of it still looks good. Imagine the pride of ownership when you take it out for its maiden trip. Good luck

[Spectramac]

Basically the only reason we grabbed this one was the super cheap price. We figured it was the only way we could afford to fix it up. Really the damage was only a little worse than I was expecting after seeing it "rain" inside almost as much as outside. :B

PapPappy- Those windows would look better flipped. I am planning on getting some extra siding to re-vamp the cabover anyway, so I'll do it if it's not too much trouble. I just copied what was there for my drawing as a starting point. I'll start making "adjustments" later. 😉

[Handbasket]

Spectramac, I think you've done this forum and its members and future members a huge service, and I thank you sincerely. This thread will become the 'gold standard' for linking to when answering the question 'should I buy' when it has 'a little water damage' or similar.

As an occasional 'much smaller project' DIY'er, I sure wish you all the luck in the world on getting it back together. I hope it goes smoothly.

Jim, "I live in my own little world. But it's OK. They all know me here."

[ron_dittmer]

PapPappy wrote:

The side windows that you have up there, are angled in the front, to follow the lines of the current cab-over.....

How about flipping them, and using the left on the right side, and the right on the left side.....which would then have the angle of the window more in tune with a taper like you had designed in that photo-shop'd picture.

Good catch. Ingenious!

[PapPappy]

Just had a bit of inspiration... If you do decide to go with a taper on the over-cab, to give yourself a bit less wind resistance, and maybe even increase the mpgs....

The side windows that you have up there, are angled in the front, to follow the lines of the current cab-over.....

How about flipping them, and using the left on the right side, and the right on the left side.....which would then have the angle of the window more in tune with a taper like you had designed in that photo-shop'd picture.

Note: The drain holes on the window edge would have to be drilled, similar to what is on there now, but you'd have to put new ones on the top that has now become the bottom....:h...does that make sense to you? Remember, the drain holes only go through the outer lip, so that the tracks drain out....not the whole window.

Just a thought....I looked at your "plans", and thought that maybe you had gone with the cab-over which was similar to what you had, because of the windows you have. You will probably have to change the sheetmetal too, to allow it to fit, but it also looks as if you'll be doing quite a bit of changes...what is one more, right:@

Keep those pictures coming......

[Spectramac]

They sure make it look easy don't they!

I spent the afternoon making a plan of the driver's side wall.

[gatoruss]

Spectramac wrote:


What all is involved in doing a rubber roof? I hate to put all this aluminum back on... 😞

This link has a video of a rubber roof:

Anatomy of a Roof Installation

[65CrewCabPW]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for continuing to post your pics and what you're doing.

Hoping you keep posting info, especially when it goes back together.

🙂

[Spectramac]

Here's couple more pics. I got all the metal off the roof this morning.



Then I got the forward 3 sheets of plywood off.



What all is involved in doing a rubber roof? I hate to put all this aluminum back on... 😞

[ALnCORY]

And you know what spectamac? even after you dug into it, still looks pretty good for a hundred bucks... repairing all that water damage is time consuming but not necessarily expensive. It runs, most of the stuff works, inside is pretty nice looking, outside looks pretty good, even if it runs you a couple grand, you will be in good shape and have a rig you can enjoy for a long time.. keep us up to date,,, A.

ps. I kept all my rusty screws too, although your pile is bigger than mine. but then I didn't have quite that big of project!

[PapPappy]

Great Story...:D

[Spectramac]

Goatmaiden wrote:
This is so great - and it seems you are still having fun! What is the story behind this rig? Age? Model? I swear it looks as if it was submerged in the river.

It is kind of a funny story. I saw this 78 Dodge Monaco 23 on Craig's list for $700. I emailed the guy back and forth a couple times. He told me that it had been sitting for at least 2 years and had a lot of water damage, but if I was serious I could have it for $300. I was going to go look at it, but he never got back to me with his address, so I forgot about it. A couple weeks go by and we just get back from looking at a smaller class C and I see another ad...

First $100 takes it! Needs to be gone within 24 hours!

I knew from the number it was the same guy, so I called him. I had to leave a message, so I figure it's already gone. He calls back about 45 minutes later and says it's still there. We jump in the car and drive over there. As soon as I see it I say to the wife, "that looks pretty nice for $100!" We looked it over for almost 5 minutes and I tell her I wanna give him the money before someone else drives in. 🙂

I had my last 2 50s in my wallet that I had been holding for 'something', seemed like fate I guess. The owner filled out a bill of sale and said he had lost the title so he'd have to file online to get another. We saw a registration paper with his name on it so I wasn't too worried about it. He also said we'd have to tow it cuz it doesn't run anymore. I turned on the key noticed not even a gauge wiggled, so I grabbed the extra battery I brought, hooked it up, and it started right up! Then we found the title in the glove box, nice! We put some oil and brake fluid in it and drove it home. This pic was taken right after we paid for it.



Then these after we got home.

[ron_dittmer]

ALnCORY wrote:
.......the strength in the units are from tying everything together, the 2x's the ply etc, etc.

Agreed, which is why I suggested........

- Use "T" metal straps, to assure perpendicular wood joints are strong
- Screw everything together with hardened steel & coated screws. Look at what is sold for use with wooden decks. Thin stainless screws will fatigue then break from stress & RV motion. If you just got to use stainless, then be sure the screws are larger in diameter
- Pre-drill all screw holes to prevent the wood from splitting
- consider 0.6 CCA treated lumber or a safer equivalent. It doesn't rot, even if consistently soaked for many years.