Vintage Thunderbird Club International

I forget (replaced mine with spacer). But, I do remember that in the original exploded parts diagrams, it was accidentally drawn upside down.

I’m a bit perplexed. Years ago, my ignition switch failed when on a long trip (had to hot-wire to restart…pumped gas with motor running). Getting the switch/key out after I got home was rather tricky, as I recall. I know I must have bought a NOS switch & tumbler then, but have absolutely no memo...

It’s obvious they used an actual ‘55 T-Bird (not a repro) for their promo pamphlet photos. BTW: I likely have that memory of ‘2.3 L engine only’ availability, since being rather poor back then, I would not have considered any but the bare-bones base model. ALSO: It was rather amusing reading the 10,...

Shay was building reproductions of the Model 'A' and the '55 'Bird at the same time in the late '70s. Even as a teenager I paid attention to when they were available at our local Ford dealers around Omaha, Lincoln and Fremont, Nebraska. One dealer has a Model 'A' replica roadster with a Pinto engin...

New owner here. My 55 bird has 3spd with borg-warner overdrive. Saw a 55 Tbird Fordomatic trans for sale today. Would this be a straightforward swap? Unless you owned OD cars before, as a new owner, you might yet discover its advantages with practice. Of course, daily driving in heavy city traffic ...

Soon after I bought my car, the 6V gen. died on the way to having it worked on. The mechanic replaced it with a pass. car gen. (had to twist his arm to get back the orig. core). When the replacement died, I rebuilt it successfully and installed the backing plate kit. But, been too long. No memory no...

Only once have I smelled hot brakes. Throttle cable stuck on my'96 Cadillac on a busy freeway. My wife doesn't mind the smells at all. One of her sons used to race dirt bikes as a kid and she still remembers the smell of the castor oil they used to run in them. She ran the concession stand for the ...

RossL wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:08 pm Is there anyway to minimize the fuel smell?

The float needle cap on teapot carbs typically leak. They sell an o-ring that cures it.

Synthetic is more likely to leak with OEM gaskets. I don’t use it, but had the cover on my ‘55 Dana done with silicon anyway. No leaks there yet, but the axle & pinion seals have. Will likely need to steam-clean my undercarriage when I get them replaced. Leaking axle seals will probably contamin...

Just a side note, since we are discussing radiator caps: I currently run an ‘open’/zero-pressure coolant system (leaky head gasket, block/heads/radiator due for replacement). I HAD a customized orig. 15# T-Bird cap (rubber outer gasket on a freely rotating metal plate, but no spring/inner gasket). W...

Are there exploded parts diagrams that show that cap’s components in detail? Sometimes things got left out of the orig. drawings. Year-change revisions likely put the artists under deadline stress. Confusion re: component material types also possible.

FYI: Casco will likely recommend the later (57) seals. They may seal better, but the screw holes won’t line up. Drilling new ones is a real pain.

Eccentric not essential, apparently, since they dropped it in ‘56 (?). If I remember, I think I just moved it to a neutral location when I last worked on my brakes. Since replacement drums aren’t slotted like the originals, I didn’t bother with the feeler gauge either.

It also has a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ bimetal compensating valve/temp control feature (something new cars finally have digitally now). As the interior heats up, the temp of heater air output lowers.

If you see a lot of sludge when you remove the covers, then running diesel oil for a while may help, but if the oil passage in the head is indeed clogged, that likely won’t be enough to clear it. There are more drastic methods to try though before actually pulling a cylinder head. If you already hav...