Vintage Thunderbird Club International

I have been very satisfied with the information in the Electrical manual for our ‘57. Some wiring diagrams are only show circuits and devices. That is all that the laminated one shows to me. The TBird manual shows location and relative position of the many devices and connectors. I used it to locate...

The driver’s air vent cable was frozen on our ‘57. I did remove it to get it operating smoothly. The only tricky part is getting the retainer loose on the under-dash side of the knob. I hung it vertically with the knob up and let it soak with rust penetrant for a few days. Then I flushed it with bra...

That color seems normal with age and use. That is why I flush any brake system at least once every 2 years.

There are lots of “tricks” to deal with stripped retaining holes in sheet metal and plastic parts. I have used J-clips, U-clips, RivNuts, and I cannot remember whatever else. A few times I even inserted a short piece of “safety” wire into a metal hole to make it act smaller for the sheet metal screw...

You might want to do some searches on this forum. I seem to remember that there can be issues with the fluid in torque converter draining back into the transmission case if the car sits for an extended period. That increases the fluid level in the transmission. Sometimes the fluid will then leak whe...

https://www.maxjax.com/maxjax/

This is not a conventional 2 post.

My Dad use to say “it’s either the power or the ground.”

Consider the MxaJax 2 post.

If your existing radiator is providing acceptable cooling I suggest that you get it cleaned by “tanking” it and then pressure tested. I do agree that will probably cost you between $200 and $300 at a competent radiator shop. The shop I use does include painting with radiator paint with a choice of g...

Sorry we got off track. I agree that new copper washers is the only real solution. That is my choice and why I always buy extra's.

Good troubleshooting techniques! In a perfect world the sender is grounded through the mounting to the tank. The tank is then grounded to the chassis either through the tank mounting or a separate wire as you indicated. Have you watched the gauge needle response when you ground the wire that connect...

Remember that the dual filament bulbs will only fit one way. One pin is further towards the base than the other.

I expect there is a grounding issue in the lighting system. That will produce many different feedback loops and behavior.

Our ‘57 responds very similar to Jim’s. The choke opens soon but it takes a while for the temperature gauge needle to move. It takes a lot of driving to get it to mid-range. For example, on Sunday with about 75 degrees air temp I had driven about 15 miles with 3 stops (shutting of the engine for at ...

You are correct that you can anneal copper by heating it. It will soften regardless of cooling rate. You are reversing the work hardening that occurred due to mechanical loading. One popular method is to lay the washer on an electric stove burner and let the washer turn red. Turn the bruner off and ...

Please don’t be offended by such a basic question. Are you sure that the discoloration is due to rust or is it the fine dark particles that wear off the seals? My experience is that there is always a discoloration/darkening of brake fluid over time. In fact that color difference is what I watch when...