Restoring a 1979 Sunline 15SC: Modern Upgrades While Preserving Vintage Charm

[Sunny O.]

Good Afternoon all,
I'm Pete, and I have just purchased a New to me 1979 Sunline 15SC. Great little camper and in fairly good shape for its age. A single owner and sold it to me by his brother. I have started an extensive restoration on the camper and am amazed by its condition and it's solid construction. Everything still works in it, even the fridge... @ 0.09' F in the freezer...

I would like to add some newer features to it, but keeping its original look and design. Upgrades like double batteries, porch light, converter charger, LED interior lights and so forth.

Looking forward to sharing some of my finds and improvements with you all..

 

[Sunny O.]

Here some additional pics.

 

[Sunline Fan]

Welcome Pete! This is great, your trailer is just a few away from my '79 that I'm rebuilding too! I'm looking forward to following along on your progress. I especially love the polished window frames, that'll be exciting to see re-installed.

One thing I will caution you on, is using Tyvek. Generally that's a good thing on a house, but not in an RV environment. RVs don't have various air spaces to breathe like houses do, nor are they climate controlled inside all the time. I'm told the Tyvek can actually cause more harm by trapping moisture inside the trailer during storage.

I haven't updated my build thread on that one in a while (my '76 has taken most of my attention lately), but it's all rebuilt and just waiting in the back of the barn for me to order new siding. New Project Sunline - 1979 12 1/2' MC

 

[Sunny O.]

Welcome Pete! This is great, your trailer is just a few away from my '79 that I'm rebuilding too! I'm looking forward to following along on your progress. I especially love the polished window frames, that'll be exciting to see re-installed.

One thing I will caution you on, is using Tyvek. Generally that's a good thing on a house, but not in an RV environment. RVs don't have various air spaces to breathe like houses do, nor are they climate controlled inside all the time. I'm told the Tyvek can actually cause more harm by trapping moisture inside the trailer during storage.

I haven't updated my build thread on that one in a while (my '76 has taken most of my attention lately), but it's all rebuilt and just waiting in the back of the barn for me to order new siding. New Project Sunline - 1979 12 1/2' MC

Here are the restored badges. Does the bottom one look familiar to you?

 

[Sunny O.]

I think it is from an old Ford "Sunliner" car, but was found in the camper during demo..

 

[JohnGB]

Welcome Sunny O!

You are doing excellent work! Thanks for sharing.

Keep up the good work, and we are looking forward to more progress.

Thanks again,

John

 

[Sunny O.]

Completed the 1979' Sunline Stone guard restoration todaty (nearly completed). I have a bit more to polish on the inside still. Full new one piece background and 1970's logo decal. 99% all original parts and pieces...

 

[Sunny O.]

Before.

 

[JohnGB]

Wow! You did a great job with that rock guard.

Thanks for sharing.

Keep up the good work, and looking forward to seeing more as it comes.

John

 

[Sunline Fan]

Completed the 1979' Sunline Stone guard restoration todaty (nearly completed). I have a bit more to polish on the inside still. Full new one piece background and 1970's logo decal. 99% all original parts and pieces...

This rock guard looks awesome!! Great work!

I agree also that the Sunline script is likely from a '60-62 Galaxie Sunliner with the R missing. Sunline never had a script badge like that, even in the early days. The first widely used Sunline logo was an S with a pointy sun around it, and it was a decal.

 

[Sunny O.]

Thank you, working pretty steady on this project. I have 2 more windows to restore/polish and reseal then it's off to the cabinets and interior. More to follow..