Vintage Thunderbird Club International

Greg: Both William Wonder, VTCI's '61-'63 Tech Editor, and myself maintain a listing of Monaco Landaus, living and dead, as Ford didn't keep any records. Feel free to forward VIN/Serial Number, data plate info, options on the car and any known history to tast@earthlink.net . We're also listed in the...

Q: Are they repairable by the home hobbyist ? A: A certain amount of manual dexterity, electro-mechanical experience/skill, and tremendous patience are needed. If you can contain and replace the small springs which will fly out when you disassemble it, clean up and/or replace the contact points, you...

The fender peak moldings (except for the rear end caps), drip rail molding and windshield/rear window moldings are stainless steel. This means unless the pieces are severely damaged, mashed, etc., you should be able to restore them, provided you have the proper tools. Books and magazine articles hav...

Yes! The T-bird manifold has the bases for the carburetors at the same height from the top of the manifold. This is because the engine sits level in the car, versus the full-size Ford/Mercury which has the engine tilting downward at the rear. The Galaxie-style manifold is also known as the "sta...

Beige with red interior - that this matches your car is interesting. Typically, beige promos have a beige interior with silver inserts. I haven't seen a beige-red combo in a promo, which makes me wonder if the dealers had a program set up to provide new owners with promos to match the color combinat...

You have an example of a promotional model, i.e. "promo," which was distributed by Ford's dealers to new owners or potential owners. AMT made these, as well as kits and built up versions which were sold in hobby/department stores with friction-type inertia drives. The friction cars usually...

Shannon: You've found a '65 hardtop, not a '63. This is a good year because it has disc brakes (the first year to have them, actually). Many parts from '64 will interchange, especially for the interior. Body 63a - T-bird Hardtop color u - Patrician Green Metallic (Med. Turquoise) trim 57 - Turquoise...

Glad my advice helped. Do you have any info on the plastic insert for the push rod going into the booster? I had a remant of some plastic around a groove in the rod, but not sure if this was supposed to retain the rod in the diaphragm. I'd like to get a replacement piece if possible.

The engine and transmission were installed as one unit on the assembly line, with the water pump/fan, power steering pump, alternator and A/C compressor all in place. Provided you've pulled the radiator and the side deflectors/brackets, you should be able to do the same. This can be done in the shop...

The relay is most likely bypassed. In fact, the procedure to do this was covered in a Technical Service Bulletin back in the '61 model year, although the relay in a couple of forms has been present since 1955. If you look at the wiring coming out of near the center of the firewall, you may see a rel...

You may want to check out '64-'66 mats in reproduction. They have the correct 'Bird emblem that was used during the period for the mats (at least for '67-'68) and would be a good substitute for what may otherwise be not available or VERY expensive. Cut of the front mats may differ, especially if the...

Yep. Something failed with the booster. Disconnect and plug the vacuum line from the manifold to the booster, run the engine and apply the brakes. Pedal will still be hard, but you probably will not detect a change in the engine's sound or performance. Don't forget that vacuum for the transmission m...

Since you're in the Seattle area, there should be quite a few people in T-birding and old car circles that can direct you to a plater in your local or regional area. Chat with participants at cruise nights, car shows, etc. and ask questions. Remember, T-bird bumpers are big, bulky, heavy, and comple...

It may be that just the valve stem seals are bad. When they get old, they get hard and lose their ability to seal. This allows a small amount of oil to get into the combustion chamber, which in turn gets burned up and goes out the tailpipe in a blue-gray cloud of smoke. If the smoking doesn't show u...

Wanted: '61-'63 rear quarter window frames (must be in replatable condition), '62-'63 steel rims, good used '63 steering coupler/rag joint, '61-'63 oil pressure sender wire (from sender to main harness) with part numbers, clips for transmission cooler and wiper hydraulic lines. Contact tast@earthlin...