New member, new 62 convertible

[Bigtallbird]

Took a leap and bought this 62 convertible on EBay. The bones are good. Power windows work, but are sticky, top is disconnected with the flip lid detached, but There is a new pump and what appears to be clean cylinders. Only rust I can find is a little around the package tray. Quarters, doors and floors are all solid. She runs good, but the broom stick between broken pieces of exhaust were a bit amusing. This car was originally the Caspian Blue with the Pearl Beige interior. I've decided I want to bring those beautiful colors back. I can see where they repainted the insides to blue, but they also put new in seat covers.
First tasks though are to update the electronics on the top, fix all the broken pieces and get all the power windows and seat to work again. Hearing motors spin at least tells me the wiring is intact. I would like to update the progress here and get as much feedback or suggestions as I can. This is my first TBird. Last car was a 1965 galaxie 500xl. Hopefully I can get the power seat to go back a bit more since I'm 6'6". The nice part is I have called in some favors and am able to have it in my friends shop. I helped him start it and have brought in enough clients that I get a lot of the work done at cost. For now it's repaint, new top and check through the drivetrain. I would like to update it a bit with an alternator as well as either the Fitech or Holley sniper fuel injection.

[Wklink]

Congrats. Looks like she is a good solid basic car to work with. Should be fun to restore.

[Mheiron]

I think that's awesome.

I love Pearl beige interiors! Why somebody would paint it blue....

Check out "Tbird garage.com".

Unfortunately stock seats don't go back far enough on these cars.

You could start by folding down the top,closing the deck and then drive it awhile. You can achieve this if you hook up the hydraulics and then jump the relays behind the rear seat.

I wouldn't spend money on an alternator or the fuel injection. It takes a lot of work and the car will work fine without them. You can get a new Holley carb. instead of the Autolite and it will fit under a stock air cleaner.

Getting the top to function is quite a challenge. First thing is to purchase the top manual, the service manual and wiring diagram.

Ask all the questions you like we're happy to help.

Congratulations and good luck.

[stubbie]

Nice starter car. I'd go the Fitech and not worry about carbs anymore. Biggest problem is fuel pump and return lines from the original tank. If you could find somewhere to fit a swirl pot you could fix those problems easily.

[Bigtallbird]

Put her up on the lift today to get a better look. Good news. No rust at all in the pans. The gas tank has been replaced. PO said he thought it might be leaking. It is, right at the drain plug threads. Found a bit of bondo/rust repair on passenger lower fender. Transmission is covered in oil and leaking. Seller said motor had 1000 miles on it. Was a little suspicious since it was running so poorly and smoking a bit on start up. Popped off a valve cover and everything looked really clean, turns out it has a Holley carb. Popped the cap off and it was fresh. Points were way off. They barely opened when I cranked. Checked the casting number and it says the heads are 1968 so think the motor was swappped when he had it "rebuilt".

Popped the trunk open and found a mess. Cleaned everything up and found wires unplugged, relays split in half and broken limit switches on the flip motor. The flip panel was detached and the bracket was welded really poorly to the shaft. The bracket is all twisted. The trunk area only has surface rust, bit the shields around the cylinders did rust out on the bottom. I'll post pics to show what I'm facing. Best news is that right next to me is a 1952 Buick roadmaster woody wagon. Owner of the shop said if I could get my boss to buy it and allow him to finish the restoration he would buy me front and rear wilwood disc brakes as my commission. 4 hours later the car was sold and I get disc brakes ! Should this be in the other forum since it's going to mildly modded? I have been Looking at the Fitech system. I think for now I want to just get it to run real smooth and focus on getting rid of the old Maaco paint job. I though black was the original color. Still debating on the Caspian Blue.

It also looks like once I repair the power seat it will also go back more. A little goes a long way.

Anthony

[Bigtallbird]

I did get the top manual. Was reading it before I got the car, now that I have physically checked things out it is making more sense. I am really looking forward to the challenge. First thing is to jump all the relays and check the wiring. Once I know all the cylinders and motors are good and there are not any leaks I'll move through the steps to get it working. The upgrade that they sell at thunderbird ranch seems the ticket to take. The PO had the car at the dealer and after lots of attempt they refused to work on it and recommended he upgrade..

[Bigtallbird]

I did get the top manual. Was reading it before I got the car, now that I have physically checked things out it is making more sense. I am really looking forward to the challenge. First thing is to jump all the relays and check the wiring. Once I know all the cylinders and motors are good and there are not any leaks I'll move through the steps to get it working. The upgrade that they sell at thunderbird ranch seems the ticket to take. The PO had the car at the dealer and after lots of attempt they refused to work on it and recommended he upgrade..

[Jim Wulf]

The flip lid is going to be a major headache to restore. From what I can see, you're missing the flip lid motor and limit switches at the very least. And I wouldn't even know where to begin with the rat's nest of wiring at the relays. If it were me, a new relay wiring harness would be in order. Sometimes it's just easier to start fresh. You can get lots of good advice here, so feel free to ask questions when you start getting deeper into the project.

[Mheiron]

I'm with Jim, get a replacement wiring harness.

Tom Chitwood in Daytona Beach Florida sold me mine and he's a great scouce of info on the tops. He also sold me replacement flip top gear box, etc.

I definitely don't recommend any electronic relays. Stick with the stock ones. I'll fiddle with them, I walk away when I see the electronic BS.

[jrbudwig]

Hello Bigtallbird,

I know Tom and I am sure he would not mind his phone number off of his business card, (386) 290-9982.

Hope this is of assistance.

All the Best,

Jonathan

[Bigtallbird]

Thank you for the referral. I will call him Monday to get started. I do have the motor, it's just unbolted.

[RAVEN]

Do understand, currently there are NO electronic relays. The new units being sold are currently assembled with off the shelf Din Rail mounted, industrial control relays, available through any electronic/electrical supply house. They are a convienent preassembled unit, with the eight relays and terminal strip splice blocks. The end user just cuts off the factory rubber relay plugs and inserts the ends in the terminal strip of the assembled new relay bank.
If you are going for concourse, its an automatic mod point loss, if for functionality, do as you wish. Why not just clean the contacts of the old relays, verify good grounds and replace any non functional relays with new. PLUS the car stays original.

Just a thought.

[Bigtallbird]

I really appreciate the inputs so far. Called Tom and had a great discussion. Going to go through the whole setup and keep it as it is to make everything work. Looks like I may be sending some of it back to be rebuilt. Sometimes we get crazy ideas of "improvements" and then discover what we got is exactly what we need. The focus now is the top. I'll post better pics and get a summary of what I need. Once its back in I will post pics of it working>

Anthony

[Joe Johnston]

I have a 63SR and have had my share of issues getting a top to function after 27 years of storage.

The top system seems imposing, but the top manual is your best friend. Study it, make sketches, labels, the jumpers - whatever it takes. The important thing to remember is "only one thing happens at a time!" When that is done, another starts and so on. Don't get in a hurry, and don't let just anyone work on it. You probably know more now already than any general mechanic does, so just sit back study and think it through!!!

[Bigtallbird]

Got that top manual as well as the PDF one from the square birds site. Went through tonight and started going through every piece. Looks like all new relays were already installed. First thing to check now is do I have power? Starting at the main feed to the switch and working my way back. Did discover that there is a lot of rust around the package tray. Going to manually lower top this weekend and see how extensive it is. My friend the shop owner wants to start on the suspension while I'm working the top. We decided to rebuild everything bushings, springs and brakes. Any recommendations on suspension kits? Keeping it rubber and stock heights.
I also am looking for those bearing races that all the disc brakes have included in their kits. Since I'm getting the wilwood brakes for free, I will need that to make the stock spindle work with them..