Wilson Family

Farmington Hills, MI

77 Eleganza II

 

 

This coach is owned by my Dad (who also owns another one),
but lent to me and my siblings to use as a kind of pre-inheritance present
(his terminology-not mine!)

 

Dad purchased this '77 Eleganza II in the northern Lower
Pennisuls of Michigan. It was a scary 300 mile drive to get it home. Stored
outside and not used much, we weren't sure she'd make it back. Once back, we
started tearing it apart to our tastes.

 

Tear out time. Out came: the overhead cabinets; the headliner;
all furniture; kitchen galley cabinet, rear lower cabinetry behind the
coaches; roof AC; air bags; and we walked the engine out the door.

 

Helped Dad and his ex-GMC Dealership mechanic install a rebuilt
455 with the new aluminum intake manifold, Thorley headers, and 3" SS
Jardine exhaust system.

 

Attached new Alcoas and BFG's all around, two new roof ACs, LED
clearance lights; tinted the windows, and had the unit painted at Topeka
Graphics in Indiana. Outside looks good, but inside is still a wreck.

 

Interior almost finished. All new: re-upholstered furniture;
carpet; new headliner, upper wall panels, and window surrounds from
Cinnabar; new kitchen countertop; and 3 burner gas stove and microwave.

 

We Made it to Florida!

 

All the Wilson family GMCs. Brown/Gold one is Dad's. The
Silver/Blue stripe one is my brother John's. The Blue one is the shared unit
between me and my siblings.

 

Our instrument panel. New Clarion radio with CD AND USB port. All our music is stored on a flash drive now. No stored CD rattles!!!! Also, bought and installed the new floor mat mold from Applied GMC. Also installed a used GMC Safari leather steering wheel.

 

A nice full shot of the front of the coach.

 

This is my Dad's '73 Canyon Lands. He's owned it since 1978. I grew up camping in this baby. We call her #1. Note: pod is currently off, but will be back soon.

 

We call her #3. This is to show the nice rear taillight upgrade that I didn't capture in prior photos.

 

Dave & Cindy Wilson.

 

Final details... In addition to what I already mentioned... We
installed a new Suburban furnace, Ramco Mirrors with turn signals. New
chromed bumpers. Rebuilt the front end suspension. New steering gear from
Caspro. We have the three-way Norcold
fridge, and Ragusa step at the door. Two new roof vents with fans.
New transmission and
torque converter from Alex Sirum GMC. Tuned up Onan 6K generator. Day/night
shades with surrounds from Cinnabar. Electric windshield wipers from Ken
Henderson. Finally, the rear stabilizer bars from Cinnabar along with
replaced fuel tank seals and lines.

Overall, my Dad put in 50K + for labor and materials, and that doesn't count
his time, my time, and my brother-in-laws hours working on this!