If we had any doubts up until now about gutting our RV and removing the insulation — Let’s just say the sopping wet insulation we removed and significant rust we found solidified the need for exactly what we did. See before and after pictures here …
Category: Clark Cortez
One American girl. One English bloke. One pup-kit-cat. One rare 1965 Clark Cortez. Together, one soul of a seeker.
A Clark Cortez motorhome’s Achilles heel is its transmission, which means L and I try to make sure it is in as good of a condition as possible. Find out why the transmission is so fragile here …
L and I have been working on eliminating — or at least reducing — the many squeaks, bumps, rattles, and creaks from our Clark Cortez motorhome. Here, we replace our anti-roll bar (or sway bar) bushings.
Did you know vehicles have nipples? This is what I learned as Andy and I work to restore the mechanics of our 1965 Clark Cortez motorhome. Here, we use our Cortez’s grease nipples to lubricate the suspension bearings and bushings in an effort to reduce its many squeaks and squeals.
Sure, there may have been times when Andy and I wanted to watch our 1965 Clark Cortez motorhome burn. This though? This was not one of those imagined times and yet our RV almost did go up in flames.
Water was pouring into our RV, which meant instead of moving forward on our mechanical overhaul, we now needed to investigate our many leaks.
After finding water leaks and water damage, our RV renovation moves into the beginning of an RV build as we remove as much as possible inside to start Phase One of our demolition.
“Mine has room for whip-lash!” Andy tells me as he fastens his seatbelt before we take our very first test drive in our 1965 Clark Cortez motorhome! This is the moment we have been anxiously awaiting but — as always — there are some bump in the road…
With RV life coming, we purchased a 1965 Clark Cortez motorhome. Our RV’s renovation story was published in a magazine and I’ve been hired to work there!
Our Cortez’s air intake system was composted of a dilapidated hose, crumbling paper-style air filter, and no heat shield, which meant it was time for fabricating a serious upgrade!
After the price of a starter motor and alternator were deducted from our checking account, we found ourselves forced to buy a new battery. This made me begin to realize the expectations of a vintage RV are that, well, there are no expectations with a vintage RV.
Our Clark Cortez motorhome’s story has had different starts: In 1965 in the frigid state of Michigan, it came off the production line before moving to the sunny state of California. However, our story with this RV begins in 2019 in the all-seasons state of Virginia.
Should we upgrade to discs and calipers — or should we stick to the original drums and restore them? This is the question L and I proposed to each other prior to getting our 1965 Clark Cortez motorhome’s braking system operational. Here’s what you need to know if you are considering the conversion.
With nearly every exterior light not working, we soon found the culprits: Wires were scattered with butt and screw-on connectors while other wires were cut without protection on the ends and therefore frayed ends splayed. Still more wires were leading to, well, unused wires. And all of this was apparently our Cortez’s norm.
Once more our Cortez refuses to fire up, leaving us on the hunt for a matching alternator, only to learn it would be our first Cortez part that did not have an exact match.