I can't believe it but my wife Andrea found another Barth near us for sale and took me to look at it. Man I married the right woman but this thing scares me more than the last field find. Probably because I have one half Resto under my belt now and have a better scope of this kind of project, but also because despite this not having sat out in a Feild for thirty years it is in worse condition for sure.



First the good:
1) Classic Barth styling that for some reason has captured my heart
2) The family needs it gone so they can sell the rest of the estate and I can probably get it for between free and $500 despite them asking $3500. It has been listed for five weeks and any sane person would run for the hills. In fact I might be relieved if someone else were to take it.
3) All the old appliances, water heater, central vacuum furnace etc. Are present. Albeit probably not working.
4) the awning is okay
5) it runs off both propane and gas
7) All windows are in good shape.

The Bad:
- Rust. When looking along the side of the Barth the aluminum panels are all waved and scooped. I suppose this would be because the steel square tubing or the rivets are so rusted that one or the other have just let go. Is there anyone out there that has tackled this problem? Am I likely to be able to drill out the old rivets and shoot new ones in? Or if they have let go is it more likely that all the square tubing would need to be replaced meaning body-off restoration? This ain't happening.

- Clearly was just used, then parked, and forgotten. Not stored on blocks with fresh grease to all fittings like the last one

- tranny leak
- oil pan leak
- pinion seals are gone,
- I never got to see it run because the guy couldn't locate the keys but I am told it does.
- propane conversion that I have zero experience with.
- will need four new rims and tires out back
- the roof panels pop in and out when walking on top and don't seem tight. Fix?

I am particularly interested I to any insight folks might have on the propane conversions.

What year are we talking about?

Are the steel framing rusted away? My 72 there was virtually nothing left. Its my camp so not going to move much or often. If it is solid the rivets should be able to replaced.

Sorry without seeing or more info I can't be more help.

I would look very carefully at the wavy skins. Below the floorboards the frames are square steel and may be gone. They are replaceable with considerable effort but are not structural.

If the walls are wonky above the floor there should be aluminum frames behind there and you can replace rivets to tie it back together. Be sure the wall frames are straight. As strong as these Barths are, a massive snow load could have buckled the walls, not an easy fix. This may be related to the roof condition. Check frames carefully.

Sounds like a huge project! There may be others around if your wife keeps looking that need less work. Good luck with your quest.

This is a 1976 28' foot with the humpback. I can't figure out how to ad photos from my phone. When I am at a computer next I'll do so.

hey...
another great Barth adventure....

...let your wife decide!!!

quote:

Sounds like a huge project!

an understatement.
Do you enjoy being poor?
Do you enjoy being exhausted?
Do you like the idea of running out of options?

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:

quote:

Sounds like a huge project!

an understatement.
Do you enjoy being poor?
Do you enjoy being exhausted?
Do you like the idea of running out of options?

Okay okay okay. The other responses were super helpful on the technical side but this one made me.laugh so hard just now lol!

I love it!

Also I am walking away from this one... Unless it's free... Then I may pull the engine out of it and put it in to the one that just blew up.

There are many Barth projects out there. You sound like you have many skills and great enthusiasm. The trick is to find a project you can enjoy and complete before it burns you out. Some, as MD alludes, are bottomless pits with no easy return. Others can be restored to service with reasonable effort.

Good luck with your quest.

Also I am walking away from this one... Unless it's free... Then I may pull the engine out of it and put it in to the one that just blew up.[/QUOTe


Tim if you have the desire and ability to change the engine, that seems like a great option, read SteveVW's post on the swap out. Even if you had to pay a few hundred for the donor you could probably get that back in salvage for the body. That might be your best option!!

I realize you may no longer be interested this, but for the benefit of others I'll mention the following in regards to wavy riveted aluminum structures.

The waves are very likely due to overloading of some sort. Perhaps the owner backed into something, overloaded the roof or whatever. With aircraft, and semi vans, these waves can usually be removed by simply drilling enough rivets to allow the structure to return to it's original state. As long as the metal has not been stretched or kinked. Once enough rivets have been drilled, ream each hole and re-rivet with over sized Cherry Max rivets available from numerous aircraft supply stores. When pulling the rivets with the puller, do not squeeze until the stem breaks, but just until you feel the snap of the rivet seating. Then grind the stem off flush and touch up with paint. The Cherry rivets are a bit spendy, the last I remember buying were about two dollars each. That adds up quickly in an aircraft where the rivets are spaced an inch apart, but in the case of a Barth, not bad at all.

Also, if by chance the rivets you need to drill are already the cherry type, the pin in the center of the rivet must be punched out with a small drift prior to drilling. Not doing this will be disastrous as the bit will walk away from the hard pull pin. Be sure to use the proper drill size to ream the hole as the Cherry Max rivets have very little expansion, but are very strong.

The interior should never need to be touched and the waves should disappear. Hope this helps somebody.