Vintage Thunderbird Club International

Left my gas cap at the last station when I filled up. Called but somebody threw it in the trash.

8-9mpg on my '57. I know it's a bit low but runs great and not rich.

Thank you for that info. My car is a very early '57 production run # 5343 of the whole product line. So maybe it was a supplier issue as they used several different parts suppliers at that time. Even the clocks were different for the T-birds. pulled the front lense and blew it out. It still bobbled...

I have not seen it mentioned here but type A was outlawed as it was based on whale oil. My understanding is that it was labeled type F as it was Ford's solution to that issue. GM and others took a different route.

Samson, Your assumption is correct. On a properly adjusted/operating 55-57 bird park brake system the cable would have too much tension on the pulley to be accidentally dislocated by incidental contact while working in the area. This is true for either full on or full release position. Check the cl...

Sounds reasonable to me. Must have been too loose to begin with if the cable was able to be knocked off the wheel.

It's amazing how much hands on assembly was back then even after Henry Ford came up with the assembly line even through the 50s. Now it's all automated robotic assembly with no personality so they load up the cars with questionable electronics. People have died because of electric door latches becau...

I have always used type F. I have never noticed hard shifts but maybe because I have never known anything different. The only time I have ever gotten a clunk is when I was adjusting my carb and couldn't quite get it to low idle. I shifted it into reverse at about 1000rpm.

Thanks Icon. I mounted the driver's side today, but found the heater box is in the way of mounting the passenger side. I need to get a 90 degree drill so I can get access to install the 2 self tapping screws that were never there. Weird but there have been so many documentations of assembly anomali...

Thank you for that info. My car is a very early '57 production run # 5343 of the whole product line. So maybe it was a supplier issue as they used several different parts suppliers at that time. Even the clocks were different for the T-birds.

Jack up the rear and see if you have any play when spinning the driveshaft back & forth by hand. When going from neutral to any gear will cause a clunk if there is any play.

Is anybody familiar with the '57 speedo? As I mentioned before it stuck at 10mph and then after I parked it slowly drifted to 0. I loosened the cable nut per the speedometer shop but no difference. The shop said they should go 100k with no issues. I popped off the lense and manipulated the needle. ...

My first thought that it could be a bad 'U' joint. Second would be a worn differential. Is all the insulation in place beneath the shifter? Worn 'U' joints usually have a harmonic and vibrate at around 30mph and again at about 60mph.

fewer teeth would result in it spinning faster. The gears are color coded as to how many teeth they have. With my '57 312 & auto trans it is red W/19 teeth. Hills catalog has color pictures.

Nice catch. It seems more likely that it was for a jig when machining the lug holes before the center was mated to the outer rim regardless of the hole for the valve stem which was machined before mating so it wasn't relevant where it was.