Vintage Thunderbird Club International

The copper brush end goes through the plastic ring with the transmission PRNDL. You can see it protruding between the phillips screws in the attached photo. http://pic100.picturetrail.com:80/VOL891/3760518/24687297/411993287.jpg The other end of the spring attaches to your horn wire. The insulation ...

Not to be contrary but the symptoms you describe Geoff are not a warped drum. A warped drum or a warped rotor will cause a pulsating or a shuddering effect when you apply the brakes. This is due to the high and low sides that the shoe is touching as the drum rotates. A pulling effect is one brake wo...

Geoff, Sounds like you have replaced and installed everything correctly looking at the posts and confirmed by your mechanic friend. The drums were turned which gives a new surface. One new drums I found you need to lightly scuff the surface or you get uneven braking. That may be the issue with the t...

Karl, I would agree that the fluid flow is minimal but pressure and fluid flow both take the path of least resistance. From the way I understand the brake system to work there should be fluid flow each time you depress and release the brake pedal. When you depress the brake pedal the piston in the m...

Jim, Its good to hear that Brake Hoses Unlimited produces the correct brake line. Mine was a quick replacement that local garage could find to fix the old one that leaked and stranded me in a parking lot about 15 miles from home. I thought it replaced a similar design but I dont have any photos of t...

Jim I agree that the ribbed design for the brake line is a Ford type trademark for their brake hoses going back to the 40s when they switched from mechanical to hydraulic brakes. The 90 degree fitting is disturbing though. From a manufacturing standpoint the fitting looks more difficult to make and ...

Karl here is a photo of my rear brake hose. I believe this is the correct split. Looks to be about 120 degrees apart. The hose is quite pricey in the order of $50 . I would venture that the 90 degree hose was probably a cheaper replacement and easier to find in a pinch. If I was a betting person I w...

Grant I just checked the pins on my 63 and the nuts are 3/8" . I have the aftermarket wire wheels with 56 spokes. They work ok with the fender skirts though I did hit a cloverleaf a bit fast once exiting a freeway and the spinners hit a high point on the locking mechanism. The extra body lean n...

Out of curiosity did you manually adjust each brake through the slot in the backing plate before trying out the brakes? Those should be adjusted for the first time out to make sure all 4 brakes are similarly adjusted before driving. Test the pedal feel and depression distance with the car not runnin...

Thanks cosmiccarnary. I am looking for function first so that the seats dont come flying off. If I already have the 62 design on the drivers side and I know that is working I will order the set on line. I checked Ebay and did not find the used aluminum set alone but only attached to a 63 seat. I was...

Rob, I am not a purist so I took the approach to the cut the dash plates to match the dash. I had a set of extra end plates from a donor car and cut them with a dremel and a grinder to fit the dash contour. There is still a gap between the dash and the door so I have some rubber molding fitted to th...

Looks like I may have stumped the audience. Here is a photo of the pin I an referring to. The PO painted it red. I tried to remove most of the paint. I believe they should be chrome looking. http://pic100.picturetrail.com:80/VOL891/3760518/24687297/412439718.jpg This is on the drivers side. I am mis...

I was replacing the carpet in my 63 today and took out the seats. I have been missing the hinge pin covers on the passenger side since I purchased the car. I figured it was time to replace them. I can find in the majority of Tbird vendor catalogues offer the Chrome hinge pin covers and pins but they...

Steve, Do you have the shop manual for the 62-63 Tbirds? Its in section 8-30 for brakes. I cut out a little gauge from some sheet metal as they described. Its the cut is 1" deep and about 3/4" wide into a piece of sheet metal. The size of the sheet metal needs to fit in front of the booste...

Steve, One important item regarding the master cylinder installation to keep in mind is the push rod adjustment. It should be extended .995 to 1.005 inches out of the booster. Incorrect distance can cause the brakes to drag and excessive wear on the master cylinder piston seal.