Thanks for the comments again. Kent - I notice your in the Okanagan..we're just in Summerland
- maybe we'll cross paths here one day.
Well....it's 1030 pm here now and we just arrived back from our trek to Merrit to see the 1974. It was
sold in my mind before even seeing it. I envisioned us driving off into the sunset with it smiling all the way back. Unfortunately it was pretty rough on the inside. As thrilled as I was (infatuated perhaps) with the idea, it just wasn't worth the price, to us.
The first thing I noticed was the interior. From what I understand, the Ensolite interior is smooth for cleaning/wiping, but this had all been stripped out (or was never there). What was in its place was a 3-4mm foam glued onto the
fiberglass. Between the seams was some type of foam filler (looked like a material that had been spread between the seams). Behind the cabinets, the seams were just butted together. It was a rough spongy foam-like material that had been painted over. The gas regulator was shot as well, and there was no
battery, so we couldn't even test the
lights etc. Upon inspecting the under carriage, I noticed about a half dozen pieces of steel welded to the frame for support - most likely to repair cracks, but it could have been preventative (although the latter seems unlikely) - kind of like sewing a patch on your knee
just in case you get a hole, in my mind.
The cupboards were all varnished plywood with no fasteners, so I can imagine them flying open on the road - an easy fix/replacement, but the list just kept getting longer. Missing
light lenses, cracked
tail lights, some cracked
fiberglass, all chrome on the exterior, i.e., the rain strip above the door was all beaten up, and around every window, the black seal had gobs of caulking around them.
At the end of the day, everything inside me said 'not worth 3K'. I'd read some posts here that talked about value, and inflated Boler prices. In my mind, for 3K a person should be able to jump in and go. For a new
battery,
lights etc. and just the basics to take a camping trip, I'd guess we'd need to spent 4-500 right off the bat.
I'm pretty project oriented, but this was a little too much for the price. As dismayed as I was to leave empty handed, I know I would feel worse bringing that one home...it just wasn't the right one for us. A retired guy with more know-how, kids gone, home renos done...I'd say a perfect project. Us, however, are on the other side of that coin
.
So....I'm back to the yellow beauty. Yes it's 1500 more, but we'd have to spend far more to bring this one up to speed, not to mention the 'labor of love' element. It will be fun to tinker with the 69 - small projects, and I'm not so much concerned about taking it back to original as I am with revealing some chrome, getting the hinges and handles back on and enjoying USING it and being comfortable.
Thanks for all the info so far! Sorry for the long winded post...I'll be sure to post again if we bring the 69 home - I think I'm obsessed now....