We just purchased our 73 Hall (it shows as number 140 made) and I have some questions.
Someone almost stripped out everything from inside.
No bed, no sofa, no air conditioner, no potty (it was a porta potty I guess? Did it ever have a real one?) The bathroom sink is laying on the floor and I don't see where it was ever set into a cabinet.
Basically all we have is the stove, oven and kitchen sink. There is a refrigerator, but the front covering has been removed. Don't know if any appliances work.
So here are my questions.
Can original parts be found?
Can we put a low profile air conditioner on the top of the RV?
Can a regular Jackknife sofa work in the front?
Is there someway to replace the dinette table and seating to make into a bed using original parts?
Is this RV set up for a regular potty or just a porta potty?
What about the bathroom sink? Does it hook up to plumbing?
Does anyone know how far apart the ribs are on the frame?
Does anyone have a manual or any information that we can get a copy of that would help up to try to restore this RV?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank, Jim and Linda

Welcome to the GTC family!

I assume you bought the one from Craigslist with the colorful interior - http://www.hallgtc.com/hall_020.htm

If you check out the gallery pages you'll see the layout of ones that are still original. The toilet is an R/V unit connected to the holding tanks underneath. Shouldn't be too hard to find a replacement. The sink is also connected to the plumbing. These rigs are fully self contained.

There isn't a lot of room for a sofa in the front.

Others have put A/C units on the roof. From the factory there were no holes in the roof other than the bathroom vent, range hood vent and sometimes a fridge vent.

Where do you live? Might have a line on a rig that could be used for parts on the Central Coast of California.

Nick.

_________________
Nick Taylor - Green & White 1974 Hall GTC.
www.NicksGarage.com == www.HallGTC.com == www.NicksTeardrop.com

To add to Nick's comments, I think that it's maybe not the best idea to stick a roof AC on these vehcles for several reasons, but it should be not be too big a problem to fit a good portable room AC in the overhead. There could be a solution to the missing/hashed up bits and pieces, but I will have to get back in touch with the person who owns a possible donor rig first. The thing is, and there' always a thing, it might be in considerably better condition (interior-wise anyway) than the one you just acquired. The problems with the one over here in SLO county have mainly to do with some rusty components under the hood, a bad rear bumper and having been sitting in a (formerly) rainy area for about five years. I've been discussing buying it for about three months, but haven't gone through with it because of problems in where to put it - and the need to tow it because of the sitting issue..

It's two-tone green and even has a vintage roof-top solar array (working!), two leaky gas tanks, but essentially 95% intact. I would sell it for $2,000. complete, if that's interesting to you. The tires were new when it was parked and it has duals!

Let me know,

Matt

Thank you for the information. We would be interested in going over and looking at the one in San Luis Obispo . We don't see any place where the plumbing went through from the bathroom to holding tanks. I guess we will have to search and pull out some wood to find out. And yes we bought the one off of Craigslist with the colorful interior. We would like to see the unit that is used for parts if there is any possible way to get in touch with the person. We would like to restore ours. The engine and transmission is sound and the tires are good. And there is hardly any rust except for surface rust and that can be dealt with easily. We were able to find a 65 inch Jackknife bed for the front, out of a Dodge Ram Van. I think it might work for the living area.

The one over here has the original multi-function dinette seats, the original bed and mattress and about everything else. The dinette allows for on the road seating for up to 4, converts into a bed and even a lounge. It is far more versatile than anything else available. I am buying it just to leep it from vanishing. If you want it (the engine appears to be pretty recent) you will need to consider getting it back to where it is that you want it to end up... Don't know if the owner is in town but will let you know.

Good to hear another one getting fixed up. There is a lot of information on the site and in the forum but feel free to ask any questions you need help with.

If you want me to update the gallery page for your rig with your own information, let me know. I just posted what was on the Craigslist ad.

_________________
Nick Taylor - Green & White 1974 Hall GTC.
www.NicksGarage.com == www.HallGTC.com == www.NicksTeardrop.com

I forgot to also add that your Hall originally had a Thetco RV toilet installed on the riser under where your sink should be. There "should" be about a 3" hole opening directly into the black water tank and 1.5" black waste plumbing leading to a grey water tank located at the back under a large, removable panel. If yours is missing all that stuff, the one over here has it - along with the shower. Not sure of the condition of the fresh water tank, but it appears to hold water. It has all the original cabinetry in tact, which also appears to be in fine shape.

We would be interested in the other one, but right now our problem is financial. We can't afford to purchase another RV at this time but maybe in the near future. Then we could use both to get one really good one. Another problem, it would cost a lot to have it towed up here to Yuba City. Something else we will have to consider.
We will keep this information and maybe get back to you on it.
Thank you for the update on our bathroom situation. I will have to look it over completely.

Did you get any manuals with your coach? Are you going to try and remove the paint from the paneling? The paneling is Formica so I'd be surprised if the paint sticks that well to it. I guess they didn't like the dark wood look.

_________________
Nick Taylor - Green & White 1974 Hall GTC.
www.NicksGarage.com == www.HallGTC.com == www.NicksTeardrop.com

No Manuals or any paperwork other than the pink slip. I think they just painted over the walls. I think I am going to try to go back to the original wood, or choose a paint that will lighten up the inside.

Do you mean Thetford RV toilet? I don't know about Thetco?

Yes. I'm delerious with the heat!

Take some photos of your bathroom if you could. Seeing what's there would help us help you better.

Like Nick said, what you have under all that paint is Formica paneling with beautiful teak trim. The prev owners didn't do you any favors! If it's just alkyd house paint, you might be able to get it off by scrubbing with water, a sharp putty knife and a lot of very careful work. It will be extremely difficult to get the paint out of the grain of the teak, however, and I wish you luck.

The other thing about how much money it's going to take to restore it (properly) might be a little surprising. As others on this forum know, in the 5 years I've had mine I've put in around $8,000.00 and still have the cosmetics to take care of. I did have to replace both the engine and transmission, so there was a big chunk, but it's the peripheral stuff that adds up more than anything. Every time I replace fasteners I do it with stainless and to keep up with the original build quality I use old growth teak and/or apitong for woodwork modifications and repairs. Having been a boat builder long ago is one reason I do it this way, but the biggie is that the GTC was intended as a kind of "land yacht" from the start, and the plan is to always do it correctly and in keeping with the spirit of the thing.

Restoring this type of vehicle has to be an act of "love" of a sort, since it will take longer and require more resources of energy and funds than you would expect! It's a real testament to the build quality of them that so many have been so badly neglected for so long and yet are basically good enough to warrant full restoration. Or so we hope!

How do I add pictures to the forum? I think I figured it out. I will try.

I think I figured out how to attach pictures. I hope anyway. These are two pictures of our bathroom as it is currently. I don't see where a sink or toilet was hooked up. Unless I have to pull out the woodwork cabinet thing there in the pictures. Any suggestions?

Does anyone have an idea of how to get the air conditioning unit back in the nose?

look through the gallery and you will get some ideas

Hi Jim,

Those things are really shoehorned in there and will require the help of a couple strong individuals to do the lifting. The one over here has the AC and all the ducting still in it. I can also see from the interior shots of the head that somebody jury rigged everything in there pretty badly, but the underpinnings appear to still be there. It looks like the idea of making one good one out of two so-so ones is the way to go!