Vintage Thunderbird Club International

Thanks Bill regarding the ground issue. I was looking at a number of comments and checked the ground and it was good. Mine is connected to one of the bolts on the valve cover. I think I have climbed out of the rabbit hole finally! I cleaned the optical sensor unit which upon first look did not look ...

Bill thanks for digging into what the total resistance of the system plus what the Ballast resistor # 150001 resistance is. I went and rechecked my ballast resistor with another meter and got 1.5 ohms on the ballast resistor and 2.1 ohms total resistance from the input to the ballast resistor to the...

Well the necessity of not being able to start the car has forced me into digging into this much further. From my wiring diagram the pink resistance wire should be 1.3 to 1.4 ohms. Digging under the dash finds that mine has been removed and replaced by regular wire. I popped the distributor cap to ch...

I have been chasing down a rough running in gear issue the past week after replacing my starter. I have rebuilt carb checked everything for vacuum leaks and found none, Checked all plugs and wires and grounds and all good. I have a slight improvement but not all. Now chasing down electrical via coil...

Nice cool day yesterday to install the new starter motor assembly. I quickly found that the motor with the Bendix attached on the end would not go back in the same path that I took it out. There was about a half inch extra needed to twist the unit in to fit it the transmission housing. My initial pr...

I picked up the rebuilt motor today with a new pin. Jim, Thanks for the suggestions on sockets sizes and extensions to use on the top bolt. I just used a box wrench and it was a pain. Now the reverse procedure to install it. First I need to do some curls with 20 lb weights to build up some additiona...

My starter motor went flaky last week. I could hear spinning but the engine was not cranking. I spent an hour trying to remove it. Thanks to the forums previous posts on technique that I followed. Disconnect battery and power cable to the starter. Turn the wheel far to the left to open up space to r...

The 63 front drums are 3" wide drums. Each of the typical Thunderbird vendors sells brake drums in that size. Also you can check on line for Brake drums and find Centric makes one also. Note though from a lesson I learned this spring. Not all 63 drums are the same. I purchased one from Macs and...

Did you inspect and thoroughly clean the control valve in the booster? If it sticks in the activated position it will maintain a vacuum on the MC side with atmospheric on the upside and pull the pedal down when you turn the engine on. After you release your foot from the pedal it is suppose to shift...

63bluebird Two things that help in returning the pedal on drum brakes. The primary one is the springs on the shoes. Have you replaced the springs and wheel cylinders? Also make sure there is good lube on the brake shoe points that contact the backing plate. I would focus on the front brakes first si...

Here is another option instead of cutting up the rear deck. I mounted speakers behind the front seats. The Panels are removable for judging. Sound may not be as robust as the rear mount speakers but they do provide a nice bass note. I also used the front center speaker and mounted two small tweeters...

Steve, They are not in series but pull power from the same wire that goes to the fuse. If my memory is correct I think that wire starts around the clock and goes to the left for the other dash lights. If you short out any one of the light bulb circuits it will blow the fuse. Regarding the temp fuel ...

Steve, Regarding the lack of lights on the dash and the Oil Sensor light not working before you start chasing down new sensors or headlight switches check on the wiring and bulbs. Events like these are more likely linked to work being performed in that area vs a random sensor or switch all of a sudd...

Karl is correct the constant voltage regulator supply's a reduced voltage to the Temp and Fuel gauges. If its bad both gauges will not read correctly. The voltage regulator reduces the voltage from 12 volts to around 5 volts. You can check to see if your gauge is working by hooking up 3 D cell batte...

I believe it should be in the trunk by the left hinge. That is where all the wiring is routed. I could never find a replacement so I purchased a mercury switch and installed it over the trunk hinge area to go on and off with the trunk lid opening. I tapped into the line that goes from the bulb acros...