[A/S] Patching A/S skin

["Mr. Joy H. Hansen" <joytbrew@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

I'm in process of restoring the '69 Safari and have the bathroom floor, etc.
pretty well in control.  It's now time to move to the replacement of the
water heater.  Harvey Barlow advised me to install a newer 6 gallon
LP/EL/dsi.  I opted for just the Atwood 6 gallon LP/EL.  The problem is that
the cutout for the original 10 gallon tank was about 16X16 and the new 6
gallon will be about 13X13.  The depth is unimportant in this replacement.
I note that interior wall framing aluminum is used for reinforcement of the
original cutout.  I'd like to use one edge of the original cutout
reinforcement for the replacement.  I'll need (in my opinion) framing
aluminum for the top and side of the reduced size opening.

I'd appreciate any information regarding this type of replacement.

Also, I know absolute nothing about making the skin patch.  I think I read a
post where there's a special tape to hold the skin in place and serve as a
seal when the Olympia rivets are installed.  I'd sure appreciate specifics
about how this is done.

Don't know how to get into the archives to search for previous posts related
to this fix.  It seems like changing from LP to LP/EL should be a common
project for vintage A/Ss.

                                                     Joy in Scottsburg, VA