Well, she wasn't the one, folks. It was a hard decision. She had a perfect interior, ran great, had an amazing floor plan, was the perfect length, drove like a dream, but all in all it just ended up to be more of a project winne than a journey winne. I'm okay with it being a project. Actually, I'm in favor of it being a project, but this one was too much and I'm afraid it would've become a bottomless pit of project. The main issue (and the deal-breaker): bad roof. It was sagging in the back and there was some leakage, which caused the plywood underneath to swell and cause the roof to essentially kind of "delaminate." A good roof is a must. I was afraid that if we tried to take off the roof and fix it, it'd become one of those things where you take the roof off to fix and then find something else to fix, and then something else and so on. Plus, a roof replacement is thousands. And it needed new tires, new batteries, a heater.. just a bunch of little things that really add up. And... it wasn't actually a Brave. I didn't realize it initially because some crazy person spray painted over the original green side stripes to make them blue and in the process, erased where it said "INDIAN" on the side. I did like this layout a LOT though, so I may have to do some fudging on the Brave part (if I find another 1975 23' Indian) and just pretend that an Indian is a Brave.
Through this all, I've learned a lot about what I want and need, though. I kinda feel like it was a relationship (though short-lived). We went out, had some good times, and then decided that we weren't right for each other. We both needed different things out of the relationship and it was too much work on my part. But coming out of it, I learned a lot about who I am and what I want in a relationship (Brave). So, I've learned a lot about the different floor plans of the different lengths and models, and as of right now, I'm gunning for a '76 Brave 26 ft, a '75 Indian 23 ft (which was the one I just passed on), or a 73 Brave/Indian (20 ft/22ft respectively).
Gotta be original interior. Gotta flaunt the flying "W." I'll find you, darling... you're out there somewhere.
With all this winnebago-ing I've not had time to do regular posting. I'll get the winner of the Appareil Photo giveaway up later tonight after work!