Airstream’s ‘Clipper #1’ Has Been Found and Restored – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Back in 2017, an Italian collector searching through forgotten corners of Mexico City ran across what was believed to be an original Airstream Clipper from back in the day. According to documentation provided by Airstream themselves, it “was in pitiful shape, with crumpled panels and a dilapidated interior.” It even had the words “Circo Mundial” painted inside; that last bit is a hint toward the trailer’s age, according to a report by AutoEvolution.com.
From here, another name that is somewhat associated with Airstream steps in, David Gulley, the one and the same that’s considered to be one of the “world’s foremost Airstream collectors,” and operates The Gulley Collection, a grouping of some very ancient Airstream models, some of which are also on display at the Airstream Heritage Center.
After Gulley managed to purchase the trailer and bring it across the border, he took a trip to Silver Lady Restoration in Oklahoma, and together with a group of Airstream historians, they went to work revealing what time had hidden for so many years, the very first Clipper to ever roll out from under the Airstream umbrella, AKA, the Clipper #1, or as I like to call it, the “OG,” you’ll understand why shortly. It’s also the one and the same built by the late Wally Byam himself, rivets and all.
