Melissa’s 1947 Tourette Teardrop Restoration

Guest post by Melissa.

My Dad always wanted a vintage teardrop camper. We talked about it all the time. The day before Easter, we were again talking and I told him I wanted to find me a Scamp camper. He said I needed to just get me a Teardrop, which was the same thing he told me when I bought my 1964 Airstream.

The next day my Dad passed away on Easter Sunday. After his funeral service and taking care of final things at his home, I took a break to take my mind off of things. I started searching Craigslist for the Scamp camper. During my search, this 1947 Tourette Teardrop camper popped up in my search.

I knew right then that my Dad had sent it to me to see. I decided at that moment that nothing would stop me from buying the camper. When I told my husband, he of course replied, “You don’t need that piece of junk.” I had him get the truck and we set out to buy the camper.

The camper had a been painted several times. It was originally shinny aluminum, like an Airstream. The floor was completely rotted away. The kitchen galley was full of rust and rot. The only thing that it had going for it was new tires.

I brought it home, took it down to the frame, and sanded and painted the frame with bed-liner coating. I replaced the floor with  advantech plywood, added checkered-board tile, then placed the shell back to the frame with stainless steel bolts. I was determined for it to never rust from underneath again.

After the Teardrop was reassembled, it was time to work on the kitchen. The old icebox was rusted beyond my abilities to repair it; so I removed the door and the inner box. I planned to find a refrigerator to fit the dimensions after the restoration was complete.

Then I had my friend, Mike, strip and paint the outside of the camper and the inside of the outdoor kitchen. I wanted the inside of the bed area to stay exactly as it was in 1947.

The day the Teardrop came back from paint, I added my Dad’s nickname to the back in the kitchen area, “HOSS.” I also added the #14 to both doors. Since I am a huge Tony Stewart fan and the Teardrop would e used for camping at NASCAR races.

I bought an 8-inch memory foam mattress because the foam can be cut to maximize the sleeping area around inner wheel wells. I bought a Coke refrigerator, then all it needed was a stove. The original stove would have been a cast-iron stove. I found that they still make these stoves and purchased one for nearly nothing.

Now that the 1947 Tourette Teardrop is completely restored, I know that my Dad is smiling and saying “I told you so” 🙂

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We’re smiling too Melissa! Thanks again for sharing your wonderful teardrop and story with us!