To amend for my lack luster couple of days I’m going to attempt to update on as many of the projects in here as I can throughout the day. We have labor focus now shifting together to make a difference on what we do so watch and maybe you can feel how the days flow here. It’s amazing…. the guys start showing up, sounds start coming from this big building and the place comes alive. Of course getting here the way I do it feels like the whole world is asleep and I’m the only one wandering around in the dark… then the lights come up… guys start showing up and wham….. this place becomes alive! I really want you to feel that excitement. I’m sure many of you are out there being the only guy in your area with a GMC. Your community has you pagged as that freak with the old motorhome or something and you get up wishing you could be able to rub shoulders with other GMC like folks. Guys here… careful or you WILL rub up on one of 40 something coaches gathered around here! Walking through the place there is GMC stuff everywhere and projects open and being accomplished…. it’s really gratifying so many have come together to make this happen…. OK, nuff uf the marketing dept…. I’m going to breakfast with Willie and RC so I’ll get back to ya when we get back. The weather here is a little nippy for me… yeah in the 60’s… a great day for a great day… talk to ya later!
OK so… lets talk a littler about overhead cabinets:
Identifying what we’re talking about depending on the model and a bit the overhead cabinet leaying there were several styles made. For Willie & Nancy’s coach we are talking GM built, 1975 and later GM floorplan interiors. You know, the ones made with particle board.
In some cases, you can repair and “reskin” the overheads as in the case of this coach 
Anyway, you CAN repair some of the deterioration of those old cabinets…. to a point
when water, age and critters have gotten the best of the particle board though more must be done. 
So in the case of overhead cabinets, our wood guy is tesked with spitting out all new overhead cabinets in the original GM style 
No, he didn’t build that cabinet with a skill saw! I think it was his Dad’s… No particle board…… and all new wood 
Bill’s 23′ showcoach is trudging forward. 
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Hey, where would you ever see 2 Toronado transmissions and a set of white seats be together? These are Bill’s seats getting ready to go up on the table for reupholstering 
His dash side panels and passenger pad are getting some love. Filling a pile of holes the side panels get refinished 
before getting their new dye color brown 
I’m truing his new tires and rims today 
while the phone leaves me alone. I enjoy getting in my little corner under one of the exhaust fans running my Amermac 711 vintage truing machine 
I’ve had access to this exact machine since I purchased it for CLASCO Manufacturing in 1991. It’s one of those true lost art processes. If your rim/tire assembly is physically round, you will get superior tire wear and the smoothest ride of all. All tires that get mounted here get trued then static balanced. It’s the way I do it. There is some other write ups on Tire Truing, do a search on this site.
Hey Cedric, the guys are section etching the repaired body now. Here is your body DA sanded down to a smooth bite surface. 
I say “smooth”? What about all those bump looking places. Friend, that’s the imperfections in the SMC molded surface. This is the reason you amplify you work by a crazy factor taking all that out then putting it all back in. Likewise, the SMC plastic panels must also be etch primed like this. 
The front is next. All surfaces get an etching primer for a superior… smooth… consistent bite surface.. 
This historic 1973 #41 coach is getting it’s love and loving it
Oh yeah and one very important thing you need to know about your GMC… Sight down the body mold of your coach. A majority of coaches have a bulge right over the front wheel opening . I couldn’t find a pic… go look at your coach. The body structure WAS glued to the floor structure… guess what, they break away…. alote! Sight down Ruby’s beltline…. it’s straight… we fixed it 
After all surfaces are etch primed 
we’ll move on to block sanding….. MAN it would be a pile of work to take that all off then replace it all. I know we DID have to do that on Ron K. coach… the cracks were soooo deep in his finish when we got it all that could be done was to take it all off 
To get a quality finish there it all had to go… but man that was some work! 
But if you don’t need this much labor you should not do it… causes other issues….. After this many years, body problems all need their own unique resolution. You need to know what to do… see the question is never what to do… it’s where to stop! To get this….
and brother if you’re gonna go this far you really need to think about your labor costs cause this level takes the time… and the understanding.
Stay tuned… more to come…..
