Vintage Thunderbird Club International

Hi Reg, My 1956 312 has always blown watery soot (condensation plus soot) especially out of the right hand pipe. I have completely replaced the Holly tea pot,plugs, points (AND CONDENSER!), runs perfectly idles at 800 and 60+ oil pressure at startup, so engine is good. I've found the soot goes away ...

I'm 6-4 and 210 I have previously had an MGB and MG Midget as daily drivers. My 1956 Tbird is very spacious in comparison. My head doesn't rub on the hard top headliner! I have not replaced the original steering wheel with a smaller one, which some do.... The trick is to sit on the seat squab and ro...

Hi I have some experience with this. It appears that gauges and sender units have to be matched. I have tried the same gauge with 3 different NOS and reproduce senders. The senders cause the gauge to read differently each time. I landed on a sender - gauge combo ( looks like the original unit from t...

As I said, it was the best $5 I ever spent!

Hi, I had a similar issue and I tried everything, charging was fine, battery fine, starter fine....but very difficult to start and gradually got worse. Remove your distributor cap and get the wife to turn over the car. This was a last resort for me. Lo and behold there was sparking between the point...

My 56 has a simple pump to move the water from the washer bag. NO electrics involved!

Hi, I had a similar problem. I'd recommend starting the engine with the Tach disconnected. The cable will rotate. Don't rev the engine just let it idle, you'll see if its working. If it rotates, the tacho head is the issue. I dismantled mine by undoing 4 flat screws in the case. I then sparingly use...

Thanks for the suggestion!
I'll take off the ground lead and check it!
Cheers

Hello, Saw this thread and wonder if I have a similar issue? Any suggestions most welcome! Background I have fitted a new battery as a result of repeated cranking due to a bad condenser (really!) The starter motor has been well used! I have the green disconnect on the negative terminal and disconnec...

Thanks for all the suggestions. I checked the adjustment of the steering box, looked like there was no play there. Also had oil in the box which I topped up with Castrol EP90 IMG_0404.jpg The problem appears to be with the power steering. I've tightened up the centering nut on the control valve, the...

Thanks everyone for your great feedback!! I have a garage lift and so is easy to check. I can say all front wheel steering component including rubber bushings are new. The car was rebuilt before I bought it. I have never checked the fluid and 00 grease sounds like a winner. I’ll also check the adjus...

Hi all, Now I've managed to get my 56 running, (and it runs great now - no misfires, starts easily, oil pressure 65 at 2000 rpm hot), I'm noticing that the steering wheel seems sloppy. Power steering works great, its just that I can move the steering wheel a couple of inches left or right at 50mph w...

All, Thanks for all the helpful suggestions! Bob, I tried working through your organized list. Plus Tom's suggestions. I eventually pulled the distributor cap and had the wife turn the engine over. The problem became clear! There was pretty much a continuous arc between the contact breaker points. T...

I had a similar symptom.....turned out to be a small hole in the float causing it to sink and flood the carb....
Best of luck!

Sorry not to get back, been out of town for a few days!

Thanks for putting the list together Bob, it gives a little structure to the problem!

I'm going to attempt to work on it at the weekend!

Thanks very much
John