Vintage Thunderbird Club International

Ken hope your new solution works. I too have lost brakes twice. Even in relatively flat Minnesota that is not a fun time. The first was in a parking lot when a hose leaked and that was not too bad to stop. The second was on a local street and that was a little more challenging. After that incident I...

Ken looking at your pictures you do have an aftermarket setup. The Dual Master cylinder gave that away. The 61-63s had a single master cylinders with a jelly jar design. I would suggest looking at Booster/Master cylinder combos that could be retrofit to the Bullet birds and specifically those that a...

Congratulations Karl. I also wish I had your skill sets. Looks like you had a good audience for the testing of the engine. Impressed by the immediate starting when the button was pressed. Good luck on the next step.

MN63.

I just checked my 63 and my blades are about 18" long and overlap about 4 1/2" . I assumed they were standard since even at 18 inches they do just an ok coverage of the windshield when they are working.

MN63

Karl I have been running the USA630 for almost 7 yrs so far with no problems. I has an old I phone 5 connector that I dont use any more but it also came with a USB stick that you can load MP3 songs on. That is what I usually use. I have about 300 songs on that stick with much more room for more. I d...

Welcome to the Forum! The two must purchase items on Icons list were the wiring diagram and the service manual plus I would add a good ohm/continuity meter The manuals can also be purchased from the Tbird vendors. As far as the no brake light on the drivers side , power is supplied via the orange wi...

Double load. I was curious on your brake setup. You mentioned you had a 62 Tbird. I thought the front brake shoes on the 62 were 2 1/2 inches wide and they went to 3 inch wide ones with the the finned drum in 63. Do you have a 62 setup or a 63 setup on your car? I went the front brake drum replaceme...

Murf I set up my radio in a similar way with removable speakers under the front seats and a coupe tweeters discretely mounted under the dash. For judging all the components including the radio are easily removed . Regarding the powered antenna, my unit did not have a powered antenna however that add...

The brake switch is a normally open switch when no pressure is present. That being said pull the connector and with a continuity meter check the continuity on the 2 posts of the switch. It should read no continuity or with an ohm meter infinite ohms when no brake pedal pressure is applied. If it is ...

The Shop manual on the 1963 addition section does show you can adjust the screw from the inspection port. If your manual is like mine the photo is not very clear. Karl I dont remember the washer on the end. It was 6 yrs ago. The dirty wiper motor photo is the original as I removed it from the car. T...

I don't think you are going to find any replacement motors easily anywhere. I have never seen them reproduced since I believe this pump is unique to a 63. If yours is bad then the choice is to have it rebuilt. Since the wipers are moving at least your pump is currently somewhat functional. One other...

Jen since you are in the heartland of auto manufacturing there should be a number of local shops that specialize in Antique car restorations and repair that can give you a second opinion. I see there is a Steves Antique auto repair in Wyoming Mi that has good reviews. As far as if you just want to g...

I agree with the previous posts on doing your RESEARCH! The bullet birds typically regardless of year are similar in price with convertibles more expensive than the hard top. You can Google 61-63 Tbirds for sale and get a good idea of what is on the internet and price ranges. Even Kelly Blue book an...

Over the years I tend to get 10-14 MPG. I think that is typical of the 390. I have heard of others getting up to 16 or 17 MPG. That may be on a long cruise downhill! The car wont win any awards for gas economy. In a season I drive less than 1000 miles a year so the total gallons of gas I use is not ...

Ron, a few pumps of the gas and the car fires up cold after sitting a while is what I would call a good day. Generally on the idle screws I have tried a couple approaches. First is to turn them in until the engine starts to die and then back them off a 1/2 turn. The other method is to hook up the va...