Total Rebuild of a 1979 Dodge Class C

[oldtrucker63]

I would say some of you have seen the start of this build that my brother bgriffey had posted, Well I have now bought the RV from him and plan to post the pixs of the build I have found a lot of rot in this RV I have torn out everything on the inside and have the rear opened up and the skin off the lower driver side, I will be buying a camera for my wife for christmas and im sure she will take the pixs if I can learn HOW to post them on here, Please remember its winter here in Kentucky so it will be slow but we will keep the pixs coming, Like I said this will be a total build from floor to walls and roof and custom inside build so I would appreciate all the help I can get this will be my first build and I will be learning as I go so any info will help. THANKS......Tony Griffey.

A new RV can be very expensive and if you already own an outdated RV then you should just consider a complete RV remodel which can be a significant amount of money cheaper than the cost of a brand new model. If you are retired and use your RV to travel then why not save the money for your travels rather than on spending a large chunk of money on a brand new travelling vacation home. When you decide to have an RV remodel done you can have your old model completely gutted and rebuilt to look just like a newer RV and when the work is done you will not even recognize your old mobile home. Going about having a new RV to travel in this way can save you thousands of dollars and you will not have to worry about the payments on a brand new RV home. Many retired people are travelling this way nowadays so they can travel the country and be comfortable while doing it, and there are many others that own these vehicles that they will take on summer family camping trips. The RV’s that are made today are unbelievable and have all of the luxuries of home at a fraction of the size, these make it great fir families and retired folks to travel comfortably, and having an RV remodel done you can make your old RV look just like a brand new one.

Statistics show that the amount of registered RV homes on the road is growing steadily every year, and much of this is due to the baby boomer generation retiring and wanting to travel the country in comfort and style. Having an RV remodel can make your RV brand new. Some things you may want to consider is having all new beds and appliances put in. Since RV appliances are smaller than your normal home kitchen appliances they are much cheaper, and a complete RV remodel will probably cost you anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000, depending on how many changes are being done. The latter price could even be a little more if you are having your RV completely gutted and redesigned. It will still save you a lot of money over purchasing a new RV home. Another thing to consider during your RV remodel is if you plan on just remodeling the inside or if you want to have the exterior redone as well, and if this is the case the project will cost more money but will still be cheaper than buying a new RV. Most of these vacationing and traveling vehicles have a type of siding on them, and the more modern ones are sometimes made of more durable fibreglasses and plastics, these materials are very nice since you do not ever have to worry about rusting.

If you plan on getting a loan out for this remodeling job then you will first want to get various estimates, much like a home remodeling project. Once you get all the estimates you want you can then apply for the amount of money through your financial institution or credit union. The amount of money you need should not be hard for you to get approved for, especially if you have good credit. If you are a retired individual you most likely can take the money out of your pension or 401 funds, and this would be your best bet due to interest rates. Usually the place where you originally bought the RV can do the remodel for you as well, and if they cannot they can usually refer you to someone who can do the job for you. With the popularity of these vehicles constantly growing there are also many new dealerships and shops that specialize in these vacation vehicles. Having a comfortable vehicle to travel year round in or to just vacation in yearly is a great asset and can also be a great stress reliever. It is also a very popular vehicle for families to use on family camping trips, and the nice thing is that if the kids want to rough it while camping they can just sent their tents up right outside the RV.

[oldtrucker63]

I have not been on here in just over a Year, I sure miss this place.:(

[oldtrucker63]

Man I Wish I could have been there Picking with them Guitars, I guess I missed this one, Sure looks like a bunch of fun, Ya'll stay safe/

[Aurabbit79er]

oldtrucker63 wrote:

Aurabbit79er wrote:

Aurabbit79er wrote:

oldtrucker63 wrote:
I think that repair will hold although I don't think them bolts you used to hold them on will, You will be spending time replacing Manifold Gaskets, It looks like you might get about 500 miles out of them,Gaskets, Good luck

Thanks I'll take all the Good luck I can get(I hate that other kind of luck), and of course I hope you're wrong.I passed the first road test last weekend, 350 miles, 10 of it off road in the desert above Barstow.

After a bumpy drive through a sandy wash and then up a hill I shook her pretty good. The next morning I found Ice cycles and a leak in the bathroom.

I had to fix a loose fresh water fitting on the toilet. An easy fix.
The engine never ran so smooth and My mileage went from 6 to 9 miles a gal. I thought I was using more than I should.
I need to ask, why are the new bolts bad?
And I got the gaskets at O'Reillys for $18. They are bad Too?


After Breakfast Shots from our Hosts. There was no driving that day.

Just got back from mining in the desert above RedRock Canyon. Now I have over 700 miles on my repaired Manifold and still purrs. Had an adventure off road with a broken fuel filter, stalled out. I had the spare and changed it out on a dirt road in the rain in just 10 minutes. Always have spares with you of the basics, filters, belts, hoses, fluids.

I was just going by the Hex head bolts with them washers on them,...Maybe it will stay, Hey That's a good looking Sluice Box your using there, Did you build it or but it somewhere,...I would love to be sitting there between them Guitars and the Banjo there,......Looks like a great time, I don't like to Dig all that much but to fill that kind of box I would be one hell of a Dirt digging Hillbilly.

If you don't want to dig that much this area has turned out nice nuggets with metal detectors too.
The sluices are store bought but some mods were made. I put the rest together from Home Depot.

[Aurabbit79er]

You only live once, make it count, that whole trip had adventures, a narrow rocky canyon almost caught my buddy's 4X, went around the back side of the mountain and found a flat road to the claim. Rain in the desert stopped our drywasher work, so I used a water run mining system It's all good. And the Coach started right up when it was time to go home.



Interested in Mining ?
Check out the Treasurenet .com

[oldtrucker63]

Aurabbit79er wrote:

Aurabbit79er wrote:

oldtrucker63 wrote:
I think that repair will hold although I don't think them bolts you used to hold them on will, You will be spending time replacing Manifold Gaskets, It looks like you might get about 500 miles out of them,Gaskets, Good luck

Thanks I'll take all the Good luck I can get(I hate that other kind of luck), and of course I hope you're wrong.I passed the first road test last weekend, 350 miles, 10 of it off road in the desert above Barstow.

After a bumpy drive through a sandy wash and then up a hill I shook her pretty good. The next morning I found Ice cycles and a leak in the bathroom.

I had to fix a loose fresh water fitting on the toilet. An easy fix.
The engine never ran so smooth and My mileage went from 6 to 9 miles a gal. I thought I was using more than I should.
I need to ask, why are the new bolts bad?
And I got the gaskets at O'Reillys for $18. They are bad Too?


After Breakfast Shots from our Hosts. There was no driving that day.

Just got back from mining in the desert above RedRock Canyon. Now I have over 700 miles on my repaired Manifold and still purrs. Had an adventure off road with a broken fuel filter, stalled out. I had the spare and changed it out on a dirt road in the rain in just 10 minutes. Always have spares with you of the basics, filters, belts, hoses, fluids.

I was just going by the Hex head bolts with them washers on them,...Maybe it will stay, Hey That's a good looking Sluice Box your using there, Did you build it or but it somewhere,...I would love to be sitting there between them Guitars and the Banjo there,......Looks like a great time, I don't like to Dig all that much but to fill that kind of box I would be one hell of a Dirt digging Hillbilly.

[Funrover]

WOW!! What a great thread, You are a very ambitious person. Good luck with all the adventures and builds you have. This has been great!

[Aurabbit79er]

Aurabbit79er wrote:

oldtrucker63 wrote:
I think that repair will hold although I don't think them bolts you used to hold them on will, You will be spending time replacing Manifold Gaskets, It looks like you might get about 500 miles out of them,Gaskets, Good luck

Thanks I'll take all the Good luck I can get(I hate that other kind of luck), and of course I hope you're wrong.I passed the first road test last weekend, 350 miles, 10 of it off road in the desert above Barstow.

After a bumpy drive through a sandy wash and then up a hill I shook her pretty good. The next morning I found Ice cycles and a leak in the bathroom.

I had to fix a loose fresh water fitting on the toilet. An easy fix.
The engine never ran so smooth and My mileage went from 6 to 9 miles a gal. I thought I was using more than I should.
I need to ask, why are the new bolts bad?
And I got the gaskets at O'Reillys for $18. They are bad Too?


After Breakfast Shots from our Hosts. There was no driving that day.

Just got back from mining in the desert above RedRock Canyon. Now I have over 700 miles on my repaired Manifold and still purrs. Had an adventure off road with a broken fuel filter, stalled out. I had the spare and changed it out on a dirt road in the rain in just 10 minutes. Always have spares with you of the basics, filters, belts, hoses, fluids.

[oldtrucker63]

Aurabbit79er wrote:
Tis the season fix it up.
I just posted a new thread before I saw your post. I have a 79 C–30 truck cab RollAlong. I started work on it back in the beginning of December.
1 month later and after several delays, including the weather, I got it fixed.
The Golden Rabbit Tour Coach is back on the Road.
But it's all good, taking the extra time I found other important problems to solve.
So I welded cast iron(it's like welding glass).
Into a 500º oven, then quickly to the welding bench.
My friend puts the torch to it, heating both ends while I welded and rolled it around.
Filled 2 holes, and 2 full passes all the way around the manifold.
Torching it as the welds cooled and then back into the 500º oven.
We turned down the temp every 30 min. by 100º until we reached room temp.
The center of a 1" long weld showed a hair line crack, so the next day we did the whole process again.
Success, and for good measure 2 coats of Pryo-Putty by aremco,

Pyro-Putty® 2400
Ceramic and Stainless-Filled, One-Part, Water-Based Paste.
For Applications to 3/8” Thick.
Repairs Cast Iron, Steel and Stainless Parts to 2000 °F.

My miracle putty
Plus New belts, air filter, and oil change.

Here are some before and after.















I had to use a product called Bolt grabber to remove for seized bolts. But I broke them loose without breaking the bolts or my ratchet. So It is done. It should last several years, or I may have to Shoot the damn beast.

It's the photo where you show about the tape that held the gasket on,...Them bolts look great.

[oldtrucker63]

The 2ed photo up from the bottom looks great, I was going by the other bolts The one's that are hext head, Just dont look like this will hold, Them bolts that I guess is on the other side looks great,...Nice looking place and I would have loved to been there for that Breakfest drink, Some of my fresh cooked Moonshine would have fit right in there.

[Aurabbit79er]

oldtrucker63 wrote:
I think that repair will hold although I don't think them bolts you used to hold them on will, You will be spending time replacing Manifold Gaskets, It looks like you might get about 500 miles out of them,Gaskets, Good luck

Thanks I'll take all the Good luck I can get(I hate that other kind of luck), and of course I hope you're wrong.I passed the first road test last weekend, 350 miles, 10 of it off road in the desert above Barstow.

After a bumpy drive through a sandy wash and then up a hill I shook her pretty good. The next morning I found Ice cycles and a leak in the bathroom.

I had to fix a loose fresh water fitting on the toilet. An easy fix.
The engine never ran so smooth and My mileage went from 6 to 9 miles a gal. I thought I was using more than I should.
I need to ask, why are the new bolts bad?
And I got the gaskets at O'Reillys for $18. They are bad Too?


After Breakfast Shots from our Hosts. There was no driving that day.

[oldtrucker63]

I think that repair will hold although I don't think them bolts you used to hold them on will, You will be spending time replacing Manifold Gaskets, It looks like you might get about 500 miles out of them,Gaskets, Good luck

[Aurabbit79er]

It's Finished and it sounds like a normal quite truck, with normal exhaust sounds.
The welding and the Pyro-Putty, and the aluminum flat bar support during heat up and cool down....WORKED!!!!!
I fit perfect.
I used the Indian Rope Trick to get the Tail pipe union in position.


Plus new fan belts and I used double gasket on the Manifold.
That should keep a good seal.

I did it.
The Golden Rabbit Tour Coach is on the road again.
Now back to working on the Coach side.
I'm remodeling the interior piecemeal.
I don't think I could jut gut it like you did Oldtrucker63.
I don't have a yard or building to keep it in.

[falconbrother]

This is awesome. Thanks for the pictures and info.

[Aurabbit79er]

Tis the season fix it up.
I just posted a new thread before I saw your post. I have a 79 C–30 truck cab RollAlong. I started work on it back in the beginning of December.
1 month later and after several delays, including the weather, I got it fixed.
The Golden Rabbit Tour Coach is back on the Road.
But it's all good, taking the extra time I found other important problems to solve.
So I welded cast iron(it's like welding glass).
Into a 500º oven, then quickly to the welding bench.
My friend puts the torch to it, heating both ends while I welded and rolled it around.
Filled 2 holes, and 2 full passes all the way around the manifold.
Torching it as the welds cooled and then back into the 500º oven.
We turned down the temp every 30 min. by 100º until we reached room temp.
The center of a 1" long weld showed a hair line crack, so the next day we did the whole process again.
Success, and for good measure 2 coats of Pryo-Putty by aremco,

Pyro-Putty® 2400
Ceramic and Stainless-Filled, One-Part, Water-Based Paste.
For Applications to 3/8” Thick.
Repairs Cast Iron, Steel and Stainless Parts to 2000 °F.

My miracle putty
Plus New belts, air filter, and oil change.

Here are some before and after.















I had to use a product called Bolt grabber to remove for seized bolts. But I broke them loose without breaking the bolts or my ratchet. So It is done. It should last several years, or I may have to Shoot the damn beast.