I liked the idea of a C2 Corvette, but they are way too expensive, and it sort of came down to something like a C3, a 60s Mustang, or a Thunderbird. I?d been watching an add on CL for a ?63 Thunderbird for a while, and when the price dropped significantly, I contacted the owner.
He gave some sensible answers, and seem liked the sort of guy I?d like to be buying from, but it did all seem a bit too good to be true.
Description said no rust, a couple of small blemishes, good paint, good interior, but a couple of cracks on the armrests. About 15k on a rebuilt motor, transmission just overhauled, rebuilt carb, new fuel pump, exhaust, alternator, regulator, belts and hoses, brake work, and new rear shocks.
The half day trip on the ferry seemed like it was worth the risk, and I set off ready to be disappointed. The car was actually better than described. How many times have you heard of that?
It fired on the first hit from cold, and ran on the second attempt. It had just been through the local emissions test and the figures were amazing. I?ll cover that later. It all went a bit downhill from there though, as after a short drive, and an attempt to restart, the battery gave out. A new battery fixed that somewhat, but the starting still seemed a bit hit and miss, and although it ran smoothly the idle was way too high. There was a ticking noise that I thought may have been a manifold leak, but when I looked closer I could see the No5 plug was loose. That would probably have signaled a big issue on most of the aluminum head cars that I'm used to, but this just torqued up, no problem.
All the ignition components look pretty new, and with a rebuilt carb, and the great emissions figures I was sure I could get the starting sorted. After a bit of fretting on my part over the noisy and jerky power steering, caused by a very slack belt and miss-aligned pulleys we made a deal and it was mine.
The drive home was pretty uneventful, except for a monumental backfire on the ferry when I tried to start it. There was lots of smoke from under the hood. That was bit worrying, and seemed to get the ferry staff?s attention, but I cranked it again and it soon caught.
Overall the car is basically sound, and just what I wanted as a driver. The obvious deficiencies are:
The car has been repainted at some time, but it still looks good from 10 feet. Chrome and trim is all good. The A/C is long gone, as are the vacuum door locks. The heater is now controlled by an aftermarket inline valve. The clock doesn?t work. The temp and fuel gauges pulse, so I guess that means a new regulator. The alternator looks new, but I don?t think it is original T?bird. The regulator looks correct though. The charge light sometimes flashes when the battery is fully charged, but stays off as soon as there is any kind of load. The washer bag leaks, and the washer pump is not hooked up. Some of the wring is scary, with the odd Scotchlock, and a few wire nuts. There is a manual choke bodged in, but it seems to work. The passenger?s window is a bit slow, and both rear quarters are frozen. The front right brake makes a slight rubbing noise, and the parking brake won?t hold. There is the odd groan and rattle, and the shocks seem a bit slack. The back springs are low too. They are all things that I?ll either live with, or fix gradually.
With the help of the forum, the power steering belt tension fix was quick and easy. The ?? spacer was missing, and with a new one installed, it all bolted up and worked as intended.
I though I?d begin trouble shooting the starting issue by hooking up a dwell meter, as it quick and easy to do. At first, I thought my meter had failed, as I haven?t used it for years, and it was reading 40 degrees. A quick look inside showed it was telling the truth, the points were barely opening. I was surprised the car ran at all. A quick clean and re-set and the starting is transformed, and I was able to wind the idle speed back to a very smooth 500 or so rpm. The car is a pleasure to drive now, and I've not had a moment of buyer?s remorse.
Just for interest, here are the emissions figures. I think they are amazing for a 50 year old car without a cat, or any emissions gear. The first set is for idle readings. The second set is for the driving test.
They also calculated an overall fuel consumption figure of 13.8 litres per 100 kilometers (around 14 mpg), and that was only just above the average.
They also did a calculation based on the distance driven, and because it hadn?t traveled many miles it rated ?best? for CO2 tonnes per year. So, if you?re getting a hard time for owning a polluting gas guzzler, you can point out the facts.
I had trouble formatting the table, I hope you can make sense of it. The first value on each line is the Maximum allowed. The second is what the car was measured at. The last value is the average value of all the cars that passed. Every car over 5 years old is tested, so the majority will be modern injected, cat equipped. The T'bird is average or better, especially at idle, except for the NOx, and then still not too shabby!
Idle
MAX Actual (Average passing reading)
HC 873 - 64 - 226
CO 4.09 - .87 - 2.09
Driving
HC 335.00 - 122.00 - 110
CO 3.49 - 1.1 - 1.1
NOx 3415 - 1565 - 979
Here are some photos of the car, and a couple of my other project that I?ve been wasting my spare time on for the last four years. Sorry about the focus on the instrument panel, can't ever seem to get that right. Frame is modified S10, engine is 4.2 Jag, with twin 2" SUs.
Jag 4 speed o/d gearbox. Body handmade by me. I did everything in my garage, with hand tools, except a few hours professional welding on the frame.
The pics are flattering, but the car does look good. It is not that dark a blue though, the under hood picture color is closer to the truth.
It gets lots of attention, but you'll know that about Thunderbirds already.
I?d welcome suggestions about any of the issues the car has, especially replacing or refurbishing the armrests. Also, what do members suggest for shock replacements, and what about rear springs, replace or refurbish?
