Just bought 1966 tbird for restore

[Steelebird]

Wow, I've never seen rot up behind the rear seatbacks like that. Have you probed along the "structural" elements of the unibody to ensure that the car is essentially sound?

~Steve

yeah ... its not as bad as it looks .... the driver side wheel well etc... was rusted ... just have to cut it out and weld new metal ... getting new floor pans and in wheel well stuff ..... too ...dustless sandblasting is the best way to go to clean it up .....

[jtschug]

The rear seat pan could have been rotted out by a mouse nest. It should be easy to fix.

[Stuart522]

The rear seat pan could have been rotted out by a mouse nest. It should be easy to fix.

So i opened my trunk to find a swimming pool inside, at least the new floor pans are water tight. Have previously repaired the trunk molding and rechecked, thats not the issue, to make a long story short, used mirror tool from inside the trunk to see that floor of rear vent chamber is rusted and allows water into trunk.

So.....
1. i dont' care if rear vents work or not, I need to pick my battles and this one I'm going to leave for another lifetime.
2. How/What is the easiest way to repair this? Even if it means sealing up the outside opening to not allow water to gain entry. (I've even been eyeing the role of duct tape...)
2a. How do i access it to start with?
3. I live in Florida - St. Pete/Tampa area, any repair mechanics into fixing this for me?? (will trade $money, first born, sage wisdom, undying gratitude, bottle of T-Bird Tears)

[sseebart]

So i opened my trunk to find a swimming pool inside, at least the new floor pans are water tight. Have previously repaired the trunk molding and rechecked, thats not the issue, to make a long story short, used mirror tool from inside the trunk to see that floor of rear vent chamber is rusted and allows water into trunk.

So.....
1. i dont' care if rear vents work or not, I need to pick my battles and this one I'm going to leave for another lifetime.
2. How/What is the easiest way to repair this? Even if it means sealing up the outside opening to not allow water to gain entry. (I've even been eyeing the role of duct tape...)
2a. How do i access it to start with?
3. I live in Florida - St. Pete/Tampa area, any repair mechanics into fixing this for me?? (will trade $money, first born, sage wisdom, undying gratitude, bottle of T-Bird Tears)

I haven't done the mirror test, but am certain I have the same situation with my car. Water leaks into the trunk through the vent mechanism. I've got bigger issues on my plate at the moment, but I suspect that I'll have to remove the rear seat, the vent mechanism and the rear window (which needs a new seal anyhow) to get to the rusty section. Lots of work, and that's before the welding starts.

Like you, I'm not terribly concerned about getting the vent to work, but I would like to wash the car (or leave it in the rain) without filling the trunk. Also, I would also like to have trim panels in the trunk that don't get moldy.

I honestly can't say how the water is getting behind the vent louvers, so can't think of any way to reliably seal this area.

~Steve

[Stuart522]

well i assume it gets back there because of 2 things, either the window seal or the fact that the opening to the outside is open, the grill at the bottom of the rear window is open to the inside of the car, the vent area, so car wash and or heavy rain, I live in Florida, is how it gets back there.

So for cars of these ages, unless they never see rain and never get washed with a hose, this is just a bad design and every car is susceptible, i'm learning the vent, or vents, open the interior air space of the car, to a lower plenum that feeds the rear open vents that you see on the outside of the car, ideally the vent should have sealed the outside air from coming in or 'leaving' the interior', so closing and opening vents right behind the static vents that make up the outside of the car. would have kept water out, until they eventually failed or rusted.

[vacreeper]

If you sand blast the body the heat produced will warp the body panels and harden the metal.

[Rt.146]

If you sand blast the body the heat produced will warp the body panels and harden the metal.

What if it is, water blasted?

[stubbie]

Have you checked the drain tubes in the rear. Mine were full of dirt and leaves that can cause problems with water as it has nowhere to run out.
This was mine both sides.

[JimB66thunderbird]

Could someone tell me where the thermostat is located on my 1966 hardtop with a 390, 4 barrel. The manual does not say where it is. I took off the top hose that is on the right side (When facing the car) going from the radiator to the surge tank but it was not there. thanks in advance.

[Alan H. Tast]

(Duplicate post attempted to delete)

[Alan H. Tast]

FIts between surge tank and intake manifold.

BTW, Forum Etiquette 101: if asking a new question unrelated to the topic of a thread, please start a new thread so that it can be searched more easily in the future. Thanks.

[sseebart]

Could someone tell me where the thermostat is located on my 1966 hardtop with a 390, 4 barrel. The manual does not say where it is. I took off the top hose that is on the right side (When facing the car) going from the radiator to the surge tank but it was not there. thanks in advance.

It's located between the overflow tank and the manifold; fits in the hole you see above the water pump here:

[BillD]

Welcome Steelbird, just joined recently myself. Just purchased a 65 coupe, power windows, power seat, A/C. Haven't really started on my restoration yet, but fortunately, I'm starting with a beauty that doesn't need a terrible lot. Mostly just minor stuff. Will need a paint job, have a few very small rust spots and scratches. I'm getting my wife involved as much as possible, even getting her interested in local car shows. Plus, I get her to order any parts I need. Of course she stuck me on a budget....

I've read through quite o few old posts and learned a few things, but this is my 2nd T-bird. last one was 25 years ago.

As for car shows, around here in NE Indiana, they are really popular. I live close to Auburn, where they made the Auburn, Cord, Dusenburgs. The museum there is fantastic. Actually in the original show room floor of the Auburn plant.

Have fun in your endevours.

[BillD]

Ooops, just realized that this thread has been going for some time. my apologies.

[JimB66thunderbird]

sseebart, does that mean I need to take off the overflow tank to get to it?