03-11-2014, 04:39 PM
Jimmy,
The Newelll looks good. I restored a 1978 38' 15 years ago. A leaky waste tank is quite common. I built a new tank out of 3/16 steel and coated it inside and out with por 15. We welded a steel "bung" with 3" pipe threads into it for the outlet etc. If the tank leaked the floor of that Newell is probably rusted out. I gutted the whole bay. (Hopefully yours has a stainless steel water tank which can be reused). I cut out the rusted floor sheet metal and welded in new. Coated it top and bottom then lined it with plywood that had fiberglass laminated onto both sides. It still looks new today!
One thing to check is the brakes. Early Newells with air brakes employed a wedge-style brake shoe activator. These were used on many semi-trailers as well. They work great but replacement parts may be hard to find. I converted mine to the more modern "S" cam design. That involved finding used backing plates, new drums,actuators, shoes etc.
The Newelll looks good. I restored a 1978 38' 15 years ago. A leaky waste tank is quite common. I built a new tank out of 3/16 steel and coated it inside and out with por 15. We welded a steel "bung" with 3" pipe threads into it for the outlet etc. If the tank leaked the floor of that Newell is probably rusted out. I gutted the whole bay. (Hopefully yours has a stainless steel water tank which can be reused). I cut out the rusted floor sheet metal and welded in new. Coated it top and bottom then lined it with plywood that had fiberglass laminated onto both sides. It still looks new today!
One thing to check is the brakes. Early Newells with air brakes employed a wedge-style brake shoe activator. These were used on many semi-trailers as well. They work great but replacement parts may be hard to find. I converted mine to the more modern "S" cam design. That involved finding used backing plates, new drums,actuators, shoes etc.
1993 Newell (316) 45' 8V92,towing an Imperial open trailer or RnR custom built enclosed trailer. FMCA#232958 '67 Airstream Overlander 27' '67GTO,'76TransAm,'52Chevy panel, 2000 Corvette "Lingenfelter"modified, '23 Grand Cherokee.