Category: Restoration

Since I posted last, the T-Bird has been running problem free reliably and I’ve been able to put about 1,000 miles on the odometer. A year ago this time, I had serious doubts that I would ever see a month with no need to get under the hood.

With warm weather here, I’ve had the windows down and driven pretty much anywhere I need, the furthest distance being a 45 mile round trip. Summer is going to be a blast.

During the lull I’ve been assembling all the parts I need to install the “correct” vintage Ford carburetor. An air cleaner assembly has been secured, cleaned and painted, as have the various accouterments for the choke. In addition, I picked up a new PCV valve and a new heater hose.

The air cleaner has been a bit of an adventure. There are no part numbers stamped on them, and a wide variety were produced every year. For a California car, I need one with two fittings, one for the choke heater and another for the crankcase breather. I found one that fit the bill, but it is a slightly lower profile than the original.

Inside, there is a series of baffles that serve no discernible purpose. In fact, they look like they would impede airflow pretty well. I cut one of them off, and may remove the other if I get a chance in the next few days.

Cleaned up, it looks pretty good; I suspect it will do the job until the right piece comes along.

Next weekend, I should have a day free to swap out the existing Edelbrock for the new/old Autolite. After that, cruising is on the agenda.

It was a little over a year ago that I came to the realization that my Bird was further gone than I expected–sadly, more of a restoration work than a rolling project (where I could simply fix things as they broke). Back than, I decided to work through the major areas of concern to ensure that the mechanicals were sound.

Some time in the last few weeks, the ‘Bird passed out of that phase. The engine is running strongly, brakes are reliable and the running train from the transmission to the rear wheels has been completely overhauled.

Resurrection!

It’s not to say that the car is perfect. The clunky old suspension could use some bushings and the steering box leaks Type F so fast I often wonder where it’s all going. But, the Thunderbird is ready to fly again. A drive to the beach, local shows and evening cruises are definitely in our future this summer–all completely out of the question last year at this time.

Still, “back from the dead” is a tenuous position. So, work continues–big and small. Digging into the center console last weekend, I reattached some loose trim and silenced a nasty rattle. Also, I got the seat belt warning light working again, fixed the cigarette lighter (power for cell phones and navigation units these days) and reattached the lamps that illuminate the glove box.

That all worked well, but something must have gone wrong, as the dashboard lights are now dead.

Sigh.

Under the hood, I’m getting ready to install my new (old) carb. An air cleaner is in the works and most of the parts for the choke heater are on the shelf and ready to go. I would like to do the swap in a single day, so am biding my time until everything I need (including the necessary time) is on hand.

I dropped the ‘Bird at a transmission shop that specializes in vintage cars last Monday, where the transmission was removed, torn down, rebuilt and reinstalled over the course of the week. Once we got the unit out, we could see why everything associated fit oddly or worked poorly.

The transmission itself is correct for the car, a medium case Cruise-O-Matic, but mine was originally intended for a 1961 full-sized Ford. The shift linkage and speedometer gear are both wrong for the Thunderbird. Someone had welded an extra length of metal to the shift lever, but it was not enough to make it work right. Fortunately, my mechanic had the parts in stock to bring it all back to spec, including a new rear mount, which was shot (and not even bolted in properly.)

While he had the car, I picked up the drive shaft to install new universal joints. I was able to get both removed using the two-sockets-and-a-vice process outlined in the manual. The new rear joint went in just fine. In front, though, the new u-joint bound up tight every time I got it clipped into place, as if the bracket on the yoke was slightly bent or misaligned. I took that one back to the shop to have it straightened and the installation completed.

The ‘Bird is back in my driveway–the tranny was reinstalled and working late Friday. There are still some minor tweaks to be made–it’s not shifting quite right and there’s a vibration at low speed. But, having it with me means I can do some more work on the map lights and perhaps get the horn working over the three-day weekend. Tuesday, we’ll get the transmission work wrapped up.

Installed shock absorbers all around this weekend and it was the smoothest, if one of the most strenuous jobs I’ve tackled. I used Monroe shocks, which I found for sale, sealed in the box, but second-hand on Craigslist. Despite some chatter on-line about the front shocks not fitting correctly, mine went in just fine after only a little head scratching.

The front shocks in the car looked nothing like the shocks I bought. To make matters worse, the instructions and diagrams in the manual didn’t look like either one. After double-checking the item number online (and confirming it was correct), I followed the instructions that came with the new units. Once I got that figured out, the installation went smoothly.

In the rear, the old shocks came out easily. To get the new ones in that space, I had to compress them–but the Monroes must have a spring in them, ’cause they didn’t want to stay compressed for long. Getting them installed was a muscle-building isometric  exercise of holding the shock completely compressed while trying to guide it into place. What a relief it was to see them finally snap in!

I expected a softer ride with the new shocks, but what I got was better control and a little more firmness. Not complaining–the ride is very nice.

Unfortunately, the nasty squeak in the front end was not significantly improved–something I was hoping for. For that, I’ve got a can of special grease on the way.

Ever since replacing the fuel pump some weeks back, I’ve been troubled with a small but persistent fuel leak. The first pump I put on actually developed a crack in the housing. Removed, returned and replaced that one, only to have the next one drip, probably from one of the fittings.

Replacement pumps available from the national chains are pretty generic and come with no fittings installed. To get the right inlet and outlet, it seems inevitable that you’ll end up with a stack of adapters, each a potential leak point. Gasoline is pretty clear and it was impossible to see exactly where the leak originated.

Tightening the connections while the pump was in the car didn’t help much, though I did discover that if the car is parked nose up on an incline, the leak will stop. Apparently, it only needs the pressure of the gas in the tank to start dripping.

Yesterday, I took the pump down to Royal Brass (a local specialist in fittings and hydraulics in general. They have rescued me more than once in the past.) In this case, I explained the problem and they came up with a couple of fittings that eliminated the need for adapters. Total cost, $4.

Today, I’ll put the pump back together and reinstall it. Yep, getting pretty good with this task, too.

At the other end of the system, the engine has at least one exhaust leak. I ordered a couple of heat shields (gaskets), new bolts and lock washers for the exhaust manifolds, but this is a job I’m not going to attempt myself. Next week, the plan is to drop it at a local shop and let them seal up the manifold and inspect the rest of the exhaust tubing.

Installation of the new mounts was slightly easier than expected; though I was expecting it to be nearly impossible, especially on the left side. The engine leaned a little to the left, so I started with the more accessible right, holding the insulator against the block and threading in the bolts. The lower stud, which is attached to the crossmember on the frame didn’t line up exactly with the hole, so I left some slack in the bolts for adjustment when I lowered the engine. As the engine came down, though, everything lined up nicely and dropped into place

On the left side, there’s no way to get two hands up there and still see what you’re doing. With a little luck, I was able to get both bolts into the block on the first try. On this side, the lower stud did match up with the hole on the frame rail, so there was less wiggle room installing the insulator, creating some friction on the bolts. I got them started, but they needed wrenching almost immediately. Unfortunately, swinging a wrench in there is challenge. I got the lower bolt tight and the upper bolt half way in.

With darkness closing in, I switched over to the right side and tightened up both bolts as well as the lower stud. Tomorrow, in daylight, I can get the last bolt snugged up. The goal is to be back on the road by Sunday–looks like I can make that date.

I got a couple of new motor mounts from The Bird Nest. They arrived just before Christmas, but circumstances have kept me away from the car until today. I jacked up the front end of the car as high as I could get it and removed the left front wheel for access.

The mounts are in two parts: insulators attached to the motor are bolted to an angle bracket, which is then bolted to a frame member. Getting to the lower nuts (those holding the angle bracket to the car frame) is easy. I couldn’t see a way to separate the bracket from the insulator in the car, but was able, with some effort, to get the insulators removed from the engine block. (Those on the driver’s side are especially inaccessible due to the steering components.)

With the mounts disconnected, I jacked up the motor–had to remove the fan shroud to get it up high enough. The passenger side mount came out easily. I couldn’t get the driver’s side mount and bracket assembly out of the car until I removed the oil filter adapter, which was a little unexpected. The fuel pump was already out (and the coil removed) just by chance. I don’t know if these would need to be removed as well for clearance.

All the nuts and bolts associated with the mounts were snug, but not tight, which I found a little odd. The engine was out of the car for a rebuild some years back and it’s a simple matter to assemble the mounts before reinstallation. In my case, it will be a little more difficult to cinch everything up.

I will post a photo journal of the whole process once I have the new mounts installed. Should I ever buy another ‘Bird, this will be an item I’ll plan on replacing right off the bat.

The “scraping” I heard “in the back of the car” crystallized in my last drive, turning into a very clear rattling noise that I could reproduce at will. I shot this video where the noise is very clearly audible at about 12 seconds in.

Motor Mount Noise

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With more help from the folks at the VTCI forum, I was able to locate the source of the problem: bad motor mounts.

Yep, both of them.

You can see the cracks in this mount, as well as the displaced bolt–beat out of place by the rocking engine.

New mounts are on the way, along with a few other goodies from the Bird Nest.