It's not over til it's over!

Hello. 99 here. Faith is a little bit busy enjoying her new found self, so I told her that I would sit in and add to the blog. This should be a treat. Never has a blog been written with an entry in the first person. Are your ready? Okay. Nice to meet you all. Since we left you,  she has gone up on the market for sale and we have heard from a lot of people who absolutely love her! Just last night someone wrote this to us...

 "I used your work to show several people what I was trying to explain to them. 
They understood when they saw your work"

Now I am not going to get a big head over this or try to make it seem like I am the travel trailer restoring Goddess. But I can tell you one thing....when it comes to really loving these trailers and putting my whole heart and soul into them....yep, that would be me. I also mix in some down deep ingenuity, creativeness, DIY'ers, and a few cuss words from time to time....shhhh, don't tell my grandson, Mason, cause I have a Mason Jar in the house and whenever anyone swears it is supposed to be fed.  

Anyway, this trailer is a good one. I am proud of her. I can't believe I did it! But then again, I can because I wanted it. I wanted it bad. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I did. That makes me proud of myself and that is a cool feeling. Anyone who has done this before knows that feeling when you get to the end and you sit inside and you just look around and you go....WOW! I did that. I turned that from that to this? And you look at every little piece and you remember the struggles and the trials and you say to yourself, "holy cow, I can't believe this beautiful piece of history is sitting before my very eyes and looking so unbelievably unbelievable". Those so close and yet so far moments and the "I knew it couldn't be this easy's." Yep, if you have been here...you know. And yet you keep on until you finally figure it out. Then it feels that much better. Because you were not defeated. You hung in and you believed. That's what life is all about. Hanging in there, believing, holding on and never ever losing Faith! 

Faith has not been lost. Look at her. She is back almost exactly like she used to be. If ever in my life I start to lose faith, I am going to look back at photos of what a mess this trailer was and what a sharp, tight, cute, adorable, hot, looking piece of work she is now!

Sometimes you wonder how in the hec they did it in the old days? Especially without the power tools we have today. And they built houses! 

One of my favorite quotes, and one of the ones I kept in mind when I was restoring my first trailer ever, is this: 

Never be afraid to try something new. 

Remember, amateurs built the ark.

 Professionals built the Titanic

...Anon

Now, back to Faith, the 1962 Serro Scotty Travel Trailer. Since the last post she got a new ceiling/roof vent. I was going to try to get all the tar off the old original one and replace the screen, try to fix the adjuster or replace it and try to make it look new again. The more I looked at it, the more I realized it just wasn't going to do her justice. That thing was beat. So I went to the big box trailer store, told them what I was looking for, and why, and they directed me to the right aisle all the while wanting to know what exactly it was I was trying to do...

Here it is all in place. Looks like it belongs if you ask me...

The exterior lights were hooked up and a plate holder was made. It is not an original, but it will hold the plate in place for when it makes it's maiden voyage. I made sure to use the old screw holes where the old plate went and I put a gasket behind the holder. Did not want metal on metal here. Faith got a butt job to put it bluntly and here it is...

Remember that emblem I found in the drawer inside when the trailer first came to me? It looked like this...

I grinded it with the drill and sanded it with some sandpaper, cleaned it up, primed it and then sprayed it with rustoleum chrome.

Then when I was really frustrated with something else, I stepped aside and decided to paint it. Took a steady hand, but it turned out fine and looked even better attached!

Of course she was sealed up with butyl rubber putty tape, but I tend to be the paranoid type, so I made sure she got extra armor against the elements and sealed her again with a clear flexible sealant made for trailers along the edges where water might get in. I can't remember the name of it right now, but if you want to know, send me a message. Always willing to share the tricks of the trade.

That's the latest update. I am starting to need the duct tape to wrap around my almost exploding head less and less! Funny how that happens, isn't it? The further you get along the brighter the light at the end of the tunnel it gets! 

So, I guess this is the point in the blog that Faith leaves you with a quote, right? Okay, I will play along. I will leave you with a few and hopefully one will stick out for you...

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light....Helen Keller

He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly. 
B. C. Forbes 

Faith and doubt both are needed - not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve. 
Lillian Smith 


And finally...

Faith is spiritualized imagination. 

Imagine you can do something, believe in those who believe in you, never give up no matter what, always appreciate what you have and be thankful for every single moment that makes you smile. And if you have to...every once in while, it's okay to kick a trailer tire and wonder what the hec you were thinking getting into this little addiction. You will figure it out in the end. That's what makes it all worth while. Keep the faith, my friends.
Happy trailering....99