Vintage Thunderbird Club International

Are you near the Bay Area?

If memory serves: there are two screws that hold the light up into the bar. Remove those screws and there is a little slack in the wire to drop it down. Now you’ve got access to the bulbs. These lenses get yellow and brittle. I’ve heard a bleach soak helps the yellow (but haven’t tried it). I don’t ...

I know everyone on here is an honest, law-abiding citizen, so it might be difficult to think like a criminal. But *if* someone wanted to sell a stolen car, they would probably remove the VIN plate and obliterate the VIN stampings on the body. If someone finds themselves in the unfortunate position o...

Yes, there is a way to see if it is off. Take off the valve cover over Cylinder #1. On a 4 stroke engine the crank spins twice for every time the cam spins once. So when the timing marks are at 0, the #1 piston is either at the top of the exhaust stroke (exhaust valve open) or compression stroke (ex...

So it worked, you changed it, and now it doesn't work? I suppose if you really want to know what is going on, remove the valve covers and watch the valve open and close events as you turn the crankshaft. Then you will know what is going on (without the hassle of removing the timing cover). You can a...

On my car, I took an original AM/FM in good cosmetic shape and had a company install an Aurora unit inside the original radio. So all the original dials and buttons work like original, but the radio is electronic inside with bigger amplifiers and 4-channel output. I even opted for bluetooth, so when...

The other thing I was thinking was adding a piston stop into one of the spark plug holes, but I don't know how much force those can take and if it damages something it might get real expensive to fix.

Take the inspection cover off the transmission and stick a screwdriver in one of the holes in the flexplate. Then rotate the crank until the screwdriver handle hits the engine block. That should provide enough resistance to turning to reach the bolt torque.

The vacuum modulator controls the 1-2 shift, and sometimes these are adjustable, and they also fail a lot. Make sure the vacuum hose to the modulator is hooked up properly and not leaking. If it is the adjustable type, you can try adjusting it with a tiny screw driver. If not, then replace it with a...

I would be worried Mustang II would be too weak for these heavy cars.

I think some people have used the last generation Crown Vic / Grand Marquis front axle and suspension to modernize and get rack & pinion steering

I think in 1967 or 1968 you could get a 428 FE or a 429 (same 385 family as 460) in a T-bird, so they both fit in that car and the inner fenders look pretty close to the same as a 1966. You may want to shop around and see some Thunderbird 429 and 428 motor mounts from the next generation T-bird to s...

I think the texture was achieved by bonding the textured vinyl to the metal, kind of like how people wrap cars these days, but with texture.

It is a radiator seal. There are also radiator seals on the sides and they are very important to proper cooling, particularly at low speed.

I bought a new tank and modified it with the Aeromotive "stealth" in-tank pump. On a '66 I had to create a flat spot on top of the tank about 1" lower because the outlet and return lines feed into a puck that mounts to the top of the tank.

Old gas bends pushrods. How old was the gas in it? Do you use gasoline stabilizer when the car is stored?