The Ford E350 van chassis and much of the body was produced for a much longer period, and mechanical parts are readily available and inexpensive. But much of what is related to the "RV" portion of the vehicle has now become obsolete.
So renovating and restoring one of these vans can become difficult or expensive... or both!
For example, Igor was missing the oven rack. I ended up finding a "NOS" (new original stock) item. It's been discontinued by the Atwood/Wedgewood company, but there are still some new parts out there if you search for them. And, if you want to pay the price. I ended up paying $35.45 USD ($48.39 CAD) including shipping from Illinois.
Also, this...!
This is the access door for the refrigerator.
Notice all the tape residue from the number of times it's been left in the sun while the door has been taped shut with duct tape. And the rivets that are holding little bits of tin to the inside to try and make it structurally stronger. Like I said before, the people who owned Igor in the past never did any repairs properly.
This item is also discontinued. There are some NOS items out there in the U.S. at Airstream specialty shops, but they want ridiculous money. The cheapest I could find for the assembly was $276 USD ($375 CAD) and then shipping on top of that. I ended up finding a good used one in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and even it is costing $169 CAD ($124 USD). It's on it's way though!
Yesterday, we went for a power walk towards my old neighborhood. We are currently staying about 2 kms (1.3 miles) from the house I grew up in. So we took a roundabout walk that would bring us through some places I used to frequent.
The area is full of construction activity.
The city of Ottawa is building a light rail network. The project, initially announced in 2012 has been rife with delays and problems. The whole project wasn't well thought out. For example, they are building a line to the airport, which totally makes sense, however the way they designed it means that you will have to take three different trains to make it to downtown... which of course doesn't make any sense.
Anyhow, anywhere close to where these lines are being built is just a mess. And it has been for literally years.
When I grew up, what you see here was just a big open field.
We used to walk our family dog here, and play with friends.
Billions of dollars being spent. The residents wonder if it will ever be complete, and if it will ever work properly when it is complete.
We walked by my old high school!
Those portables weren't there when I went to school.
We ended up doing 6.5 kms (4.0 miles). We've been slacking off on the walking because it's been pretty hot and humid, but we're getting back into a routine now!
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Nice deal on this Yeti Rambler Vacuum Bottle.
And in Canada...
Regarding the light rail, where government is involved . . .
ReplyDeleteLol, of course the government was involved!
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