Hello,
Thanks for having me. New to the world of Barth. Been fiddling around and struggling to get registered, tried a new email and just got registered.
I acquired a Barth motorhome about a month ago and I'm working to get it road ready. Currently waiting the new radiator in the mail as the original is leaking. Once I receive that ill pull the old one and fix a list of stuff needing done on the 454. Hopefully I can find useful Barth knowledge on this forum.

Thing done to date:
New tires
New fridge 12V
Solar
Interior work (it's a list)
Generator oil leaks fixed
LED tail lights
LED conversion on all lights
Tested propane for leaks
12v 300AHR battery's LifePo4
Dash defrost vent replacement
MaxAir vent fans x2

Needing done:
Replace all plumbing
Grey/black tank valves
Oil leaks
Valve adjustment
Transmission leaks
Radiator and hoses
Brake lines
Mattresses

Welcome to the site. Looks like a nice coach! Good luck with your projects. There should be a lot of information here on the site for you. Search almost any topic and you should find something.

quote:

fix a list of stuff needing done on the 454

Welcome! You have a nice looking rig and I think you will like it here. Even if the vacuum lines around the carb look good, replace them, unless you are certain of their integrity. Make sure you know why you need zinc in the motor oil, you'll need "classic" oil for your 454.

Happy Motoring!
Matt

I'm really starting to share the love/hate relationship concept with this motorhome, but I am making progress. Ultimately I just want to use it for a few years before I do any serious restoration but I just keep finding stuff to repair.
1st was to walk the roof. I quickly discovered both vents to be trash and the antenna hanging on by the silicone that remained. Tossed in 2 MaxAir fans and repaired some of the wiring the the PO moved around. Who knows why, probably not him but a ship he used.





Next was the lights. This is ongoing but they are all LED now. The old lights being NLA and not working ment I needed to get crafty. This was also a 4 hour ordeal as the shop who painted this rig totally botched the wiring for a hitch install. Ultimately it's working great now.


The previous owners installed a residential style fridge and it was tossed in rather haphazardly. I figured I wanted to install and RV fridge to restore dry camping capabilities. After the sticker shock of gas/ electric fridges I ended up purchasing 300ah batteries, 12V fridge and 400 watts of Solar for less. A few test runs have proven this will work for my needs.
They also bent over the old gas line so I completely deleted the line and capped off the black pipe.




Since I was in the process of fixing leaks the radiator popped a leak on me. I ordered the only replacement I could find to avoid dealing with a local shop only to be disappointed in the quality. Don't get me wrong, I still installed it, but only after doing some cleaning up in the overflow of weld and cleaning up messed up threads.
Also added a new transmission cooler during the process. Removed the condenser as it was the old R12 and the PO removed everything for the AC. That's a project for another day.




To keep it safe on the road I had a set of tires installed. When I got home I inspected the work to find all the wheel weights installed and no caps on the valve stems. I was rather upset with the shop as I was quoted road force balancing and they actually didn't have the capability to do that and tossed in bags. All without calling me to make sure I was good with the process. Since that happened I just removed the weights and installed caps. Also adjusted all the pressures since they clearly couldn't handle the job.



The list seems to be never ending from dash fans, wiper blades, entry handle shattering and needing to completely remove the water plumbing and add new PEX. I'll keep going at it and hopefully be able to use the rig this summer. Unfortunately I am not going to risk safety and won't take it out until I have all new brake lines (rubber parts) and know it's road ready.


Lastly I was able to score some new mattress on a Black Friday sales. The original mattress wasn't gonna fly with my wife, so I tossed in something new. Curtains were made from some scraps my wife had laying around.

Took the carb off and dropped it as a good carb shop. It needed more than my touch and I am happy I did it. Runs like a top. Now I can get this thing back and forth from the shop while I tinker.

Got a little more time on the project today.
Removed old brake lines and installed new. Removed the brake-guard valves added when that was a thing for all new rubber and some fluid.



Also installed all new belts and checked timing. I think it’s safe to have it on the road at this point.
Next I’ll start removing house plumbing for new pipe and fixtures. Eventually I’ll be able to use this thing.

Finally spent some time this last weekend removing the old polly pipe and installing pex. I opted for Pex B as Pex A seemed a little overkill for this set up and I can repair Pex B rather easily. Installed a new toilet while it was out as well. Need to finish wiring up the fresh water tank sensors as I cleaned the fresh tanks while removed and ran out of clamps to secure the lines. So I’ll order more of them for later.
Next I need to replace the awning and repair leaks in the black/grey tank plumbing on the bottom side.


On a positive note, it’s the 1st time I have brought it to the house for work and I had no oil leaks on the ground after parking it. Win in my book.

Also had a rivet on the ladder break and noticed a few possible leak points in the roof and started the process of finding all the rivets to seal them correctly. This allowed me to finish preparing the roof for the remainder of the solar panels in the garage. Ladder is better secured now and leaks possible water leaks have been eliminated. For now.

https://youtube.com/shorts/XWT...?si=50-YATFWz7uWZfT6

You have been very busy! Nice work to have done! I commend your cautions about brakes and tires,etc. Safety is very important with these heavy vehicles.

You have hopefully discovered all your coach's needs. good luck with the projects and enjoy the ride!

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:
You have been very busy! Nice work to have done! I commend your cautions about brakes and tires,etc. Safety is very important with these heavy vehicles.

You have hopefully discovered all your coach's needs. good luck with the projects and enjoy the ride!

Greatly appreciated the words. Hopefully it’s wrapped up soon. Itching to enjoy it but as said, I must do it safely.