Vintage Thunderbird Club International

I've just been out to the garage and looked at my old box and pitman arm and it seems it is possible to fit it in 4 ways according to the splines at 90 degrees off each time so it looks like you may have got it 90 degrees off.

Well that's an easy one - if you look in the shop manual it states 3.6 turns from left to right so you gone wrong somewhere...

It would be helpful if you and any others posters could say what year your cars are as there are many differences between 64 and 65/66 and quite a few between 65 and 66 also. I am assuming yours is a 64 as they used different starter motors and ring gears to the later ones?

Doug - Pete didnt say the engine was running on - he said he hears a chugga chugga sound which I assumed was water boiling in the system (as he was losing fluid). Perhaps Pete could elaborate a bit more. It is common for the header tank to be empty when the engine is cold (at least mine always is) b...

To anyone thinking of doing a rear disc conversion in the hope of stopping quicker I would think again. You don't want the rears to be more powerful then the existing drums or you will be in danger of skidding sideways on any wet or icy roads. I'm sure the Ford designers decided the front/rear propo...

Are you getting vacuum from the black hose at the control head when the engine is running?
If not then nothing will work.

Vacuum is applied to the tan hose to close the heater doors when the selector lever is REC FRESH OFF DEFROST positions.
No vacuum is applied when the lever is in the HEAT/DEFROST or HEAT positions.
I take it you had the lever in either the REC or FRESH position when testing the vacuum?

First of all belts do stretch a little when new. Also I read that alternator belts need to be tightened more than the old dynamo belts. I tighten mine using leverage on the alternator to get it as tight as possible. If I don't then it squeals under load.

If these repro relays are the same as the original then yes they sense the current draw of the 4 bulbs each side and if all 4 bulbs are illuminated then the solenoid will open the circuit to the fender indicator so preventing it from lighting. For a long time these relays were unobtainable so I adju...

Are you talking about the emergency 4 way flashers or just the front turn lights not working? Are the fender repeaters showing a steady yellow or not coming on at all? Have you checked the bulbs?

If you go to youtube search for "vintage thunderbird repair". Nick has a video from 2 years back (1961 66 thunderbird upper control arm shaft kit) which will tell you precisely why you can't get grease into it.

Good news - where did you get a new turn signal relay? These things are rare as hen's teeth.

Yes that's it - I said it was awkward to get to but you'll have to unscrew it from the support and remove the cover by prying the tabs back. You can let it hang from the wires while you adjust it. If I remember correct there are 4 screws but I think I only used 2 when I put it back. It was about 10-...

It looks like your Cougars package is a complete replacement solid state plug-in to get rid off all 3 components - motor, brake light relay and turn signal relay. You may be confused by the label which says for 4 wire brake light relay - this refers to what your car would have had to connect up to b...

If it's only one side not working it's unlikely to be the brake light relay which would affect both sides. You certainly wouldn't need to spend $90 on one - any automotive relay costing under $10 will work. The 66 relay is different to the 65 triangular shaped one but could be modified to fit. It wo...