Vintage Thunderbird Club International

That would be nice, but costly. I'm in the same boat, as I have a loft above my garage. There are some older homes near me that have a grease pit in the garage. I'm claustrophobic, so I don't think that would work for me. Occasionally, I hit the panic button (so to speak) and have to quickly crawl o...

Keep in mind that the temp gun might not be any more accurate than your gauge.

I just got my cylinder heads back from the machine. Although they looked clean and felt clean, there was still residue on them. Soon after priming one of the heads, the paint began to peel. I used a brass wire wheel to easily remove 90+ % of the paint; brushing on Goof Off took care of the rest. I t...

Your hard lines and/or wheel cylinders could be contaminated. You might also consider switching to synthetic brake fluid; not only does it not hurt paint, it doesn't absorb moisture. My dad put a label on the 55 master cylinder that said "Synthetic Brake Fluid Only." The brakes were one of...

I ordered my Forever sharp adapter from Amazon. Although I specifically ordered the 5-bolt adapter, a 5/6 adapter was sent. I was concerned, asked why they sent a 5/6 adapter, but it's fine. It could be that if use have either a 5 or 6-bolt wheel, they will ship a 5/6 adapter. By the way, different ...

ForeverSharp makes 2 or 3 steering-wheel adapters for 55-57 Tbirds. You'll want to get a wheel with minimal dish. The OEM wheel, although flatter than a 56-57 wheel, has a slight dish. I doubt you'll find an aftermarket wheel with the Tbird logo, but you should find one with a Ford logo. You might t...

Find an original American-made rebuildable core (if you don't already have one) and send it to agrebuilders.com. I've got no firsthand experience, but I've heard that pumps made in Mexico and South Korea haven't had the same issues as pumps made in China.

I think your suspicions regarding missing/stuck thermostat are correct; however, the gauge is not particularly accurate. According to Ted Eaton (eatonbalancing .com/y-blocksforever.com), the location of the sender and the rear of the driver's side head is not the best location; he prefers putting th...

Are you going by the gauge or the numbers at the pump?

Is the generator light coming on at idle (common)? Above idle you should see 14.

Paul, do you think the parasitic drag of the Fordomatic explains the mpg difference? I didn't check the weight of the 54, but I would think the two are within a couple hundred pounds.

Apparently, there's only .001-.002 expansion on iron block & head engines. Some lash is necessary to ensure that the valves completely close. According to Ted Eaton, some aftermarket cams have "aggressive'' profiles; those cams tend to perform better at lower rpm without losing anything at ...

Klogsdonjr, why do you have a 600 cfm carburetor on a stock engine? You might see better mileage from a carburetor with smaller primaries. MarkR recently replaced his 570 cfm Holley 4150 with a 390 cfm Holley 4160; so far, he's happy with the performance, and there's no more gas smell. DynoDan, I kn...

Paul, those 3.31 gears behind a Fordomatic? Does your 54 have overdrive?

No car, regardless of age, is going to see max mpg by letting it idle or by frequent stop-in-go in-town driving. My truck (not a Y-block) mpg gets 8-9 mpg more on the highway with the cruise set at 65 (12 city/20-21 hwy).