Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

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amtrakacela
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Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by amtrakacela »

Hello everyone, I am back with some updates on my Tbird! I am glad to see everyone enjoyed my first post, so I will definitely keep posting my progress. So right after my last post, I cleaned up the COM's bellhousing and clear coated it. After installing it, the COM was finally done, now just gotta hope it works!
thunderbird1.jpg
So in my last post I said that when I finished the COM I was going to start cleaning up and undercoating the underside of the car. Well, turns out the cleaning part was much more difficult than I anticipated. After spending an hour on the creeper with a wire wheel, rust removing wheel, AND sanding disc, I had barely made any progress. I was doing the bottom of the trunk pan, probably one of the easiest parts to do, so I figured if progress on this part was going to be so slow, the rest of it, especially in all the nooks and crannies was going to be a nightmare. To top it off, after scraping some of the remaining undercoating off in a small area, I found some very small rust areas under it. Since I found some rust under the undercoating, and much of the car is still undercoated, I decided that just stripping the entire underside to bare metal would be my best bet. So after spending some time on the internet, I found the perfect tool, a 100 lb capacity abrasive blaster from Eastwood.
thunderbird5.jpg
thunderbird7.jpg
So now that I got the blaster, I have a clearer idea of what I want to do now as far as progress goes. I am going to strip the entire car down (interior out, fenders off, wiring and vacuum hoses out, and anything else I can remove). Since the doors are still perfectly aligned, I will leave those on. I will be blasting the underside, engine bay, and some other areas with the blaster using some fine Black Diamond coal slag media. After blasting I will clean up, prime, and undercoat the underside and paint the rear axle, leaf springs, and the firewall black. I will then paint the rest of the engine bay with the Gunmetal Gray paint. When I am finished with that, I will convert the blaster to a soda blaster and blast the body panels with baking soda media. In the middle of all this I will be doing body work and rust damage repair. After I am finished blasting and painting, I will begin slowly putting everything back together (won't go into too much detail yet, I will cross that bridge when it comes lol).

So now that I have decided upon striping the entire car down to nothing, I have begun disassembly. I went ahead and removed the brake booster/master cylinder and sent it down to a shop in Sacramento for rebuild.
thunderbird2.jpg
thunderbird3.jpg
After that I moved on to removing the rear bumper. That went mostly smoothly, with the exception of two nutplates that broke and were just spinning in place. Thankfully I got a small screwdriver and was able to hold the nutplates in place and remove the remaining two bolts. I will be sending the bumper to a chrome shop in Sparks.
thunderbird4.jpg
thunderbird6.jpg
The last thing I removed was the driver side fender, and I must say that thing was secure! It was a little different than the 6 bolts holding my 92 Mustang's fender in place. It would be my luck that both fenders have dents on the bottom and other damage that needs to be repaired (that will be covered in a future post).
thunderbird8.jpg
So that has been my progress so far, starting tonight I will begin stripping the interior. The previous owner already stripped part of it, leaving me the headliner, center console and dashboard.
thunderbird9.jpg
I will continue working towards stripping the car down and hopefully by my next post I will have this thing outside and ready to be blasted!
Dylan Angell

1964 Tbird Hardtop (under restoration since October 2017)
1963 Tbird Hardtop (under restoration since January 2021)
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RedBird64
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by RedBird64 »

Great progress!
While you have the dr. side qtr panel off, it's a great time to replace the tiny rubber fuel line that's often overlooked at the corner of the wheel well. Or, replace the entire fuel line. I used SS, pre-bent lines from Classic Tube.

Keep up the good work!

Scott
1964 Coupe Wimbledon white/Rangoon Red w/black int. Owned for 42 years. It was my folks car before that (second owners). VTCI # 12013.
Rst64
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by Rst64 »

Great progress. Clean out cowl drains while fenders are off. Mine were plugged and rusted out around the vents,rain days my feet got wet.
Rangoon Red Landau 64 thunderbird.
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paulr
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by paulr »

Rst64 wrote: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:11 pm Great progress. Clean out cowl drains while fenders are off. Mine were plugged and rusted out around the vents,rain days my feet got wet.
This is a really good tip. Even people who send their car to a paint shop for professional work usually never find out that the inner cowl recesses are harboring decades worth of decomposing leaves and detritus. And this area is really, really out of reach unless a guy happens to be dismantling the whole car as you are.

Scott's post about the fuel line is a similar issue--it's easy now that the car's apart, hard when you get a fuel leak while driving down the pike. I'd say absolutely replace the whole fuel line with SS and new rubber. And, as it looks like you're fearless, might as well check out the brake line condition--the 3 rubber hoses for sure should go if they're old.

Looks good, keep it up!
Paul
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Registry 45122
'64 Landau HT
"Beer, now there's a temporary solution!" ~Homer Simpson
David Langhorne
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by David Langhorne »

Deja-vu all over again for me. I had about 10 places where water was leaking into the car and this pic was one of them (it still leaks other places but I've given up and just keep it garaged).
I tracked this one down by removing the fender and directing water into this channel - there was mastic in the shaded area going from left to right and this was where it was getting in. Also a small rust hole as you can see which I welded up.

Image
Dave Langhorne 65SL
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amtrakacela
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by amtrakacela »

Thanks for the replys, I will definitely be using all your tips!
RedBird64 wrote: Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:35 pm I used SS, pre-bent lines from Classic Tube.
Just checked out their catalog, good stuff! Now I am considering replacing the brake lines too
Dylan Angell

1964 Tbird Hardtop (under restoration since October 2017)
1963 Tbird Hardtop (under restoration since January 2021)
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by Terry64HT »

I don't wish to second guess anyone, but I've often wondered about the choice of stainless steel for both brake and fuel lines. I know all the arguments for its superiority, but we're talking about cars that rarely, if ever get driven in adverse weather conditions, certainly would never be subject to corrosion agents and in many cases only get wet when washed. Of all the classic car owners I know, I don't think anyone drives In snow or ice.
I can't be bothered to look up the cost difference between regular and stainless lines for a whole car, but it is substantial. Let's not even talk about exhaust systems. These cars are already over 50 years old and regular materials would certainly be good for another 50.
Just my rambling thoughts

Terry
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paulr
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by paulr »

Terry64HT wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 12:56 am I don't wish to second guess anyone, but I've often wondered about the choice of stainless steel for both brake and fuel lines. I know all the arguments for its superiority, but we're talking about cars that rarely, if ever get driven in adverse weather conditions, certainly would never be subject to corrosion agents and in many cases only get wet when washed. Of all the classic car owners I know, I don't think anyone drives In snow or ice.
I can't be bothered to look up the cost difference between regular and stainless lines for a whole car, but it is substantial. Let's not even talk about exhaust systems. These cars are already over 50 years old and regular materials would certainly be good for another 50.
Just my rambling thoughts

Terry
64HT
Specific to my point about brake lines, I believe a lot of these senior citizens have perfectly functional uncompromised factory brake lines that are not in need of replacing. But, some just want to do everything right and new, I can see that. In terms of stainless, it's great even for cars that never see a drop of rain, that is until you have to do some bending. And anyone who's ordered "pre-bent" custom brake lines for a flair bird knows extra bending will be required, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Sometimes he has to send brake lines back and fight with the vendor to send the right thing (huh, Steve?) If a guy wants to modify (upgrade) the booster/master part of the system, custom bending will be required.
I think the copper alloy lines are equally suitable and a good deal easier to bend. Just alternatives, that's all.
Paul
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'64 Landau HT
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by paulr »

a lot of these senior citizens have perfectly functional uncompromised factory brake lines...
That probably doesn't sound good. I meant the cars, of course. :oops: :oops:
Paul
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by Terry64HT »

Paul, I agree with your comment about the copper-nickel brake lines. When I was converting to a dual master cylinder, I finished up replacing all the lines except for the long one to the rear. I began with steel that I was bending to fit, and then gave up and went to copper-nickel. It can almost be bent by hand and gives a very clean, professional-looking installation. I've never known pre-bent lines to fit properly and the one that runs across the firewall is almost impossible to install unless the upper part of the engine is off.
Terry
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by RedBird64 »

When I did a major brake job (including front discs conversion, dual MC) I blew out the factory brake lines into a white container. I was amazed at the amount of rust and crud that came out of the brake lines - and the fluid wasn't even very old.
The old lines may "work" but if your anywhere in the rust belt (I'm not) or just wan't to be sure this system works perfectly, I'd go with new lines.

I'm sure Terry is right about the more common materials holding up for at least another 50 years but the price difference wasn't all that great and I just wanted the best. I think they'll look like new longer as well. I'll probably hand this car down to my nephew someday and he wont have to deal with them.

BTW, I've also done my fuel, trans cooler lines and exhaust in SS.

Scott
1964 Coupe Wimbledon white/Rangoon Red w/black int. Owned for 42 years. It was my folks car before that (second owners). VTCI # 12013.
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by sseebart »

paulr wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:53 am Sometimes he has to send brake lines back and fight with the vendor to send the right thing (huh, Steve?)
Hooo, boy. Yes.

Never again.

Find a local shop that can make duplicates

~Steve
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Re: Rebirth of a 64 Hardtop - Part 2

Post by mnpetri »

Looks like you are doing a super job, and have a good understanding of the time/effort/costs ahead.
Thanks for posting, and i'm looking forward to watching your progress :cool:
Good luck moving forward.
Mark
VTCI # 11024
65 Special Landau #1485
66 Sunbeam Tiger
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