Should this rust be a dealbreaker? - UPDATED

[EJR8402]

I don't know what I'm looking at too much and would like opinions. This is a 1959 Thunderbird that I am thinking of buying.

Thank you!

[ICON 1956]

Pull up the carpet up if you can to see the rockers and floor pans. Have the car put on a lift for you to check the underneath carriage, suspension front end check to see if the front tires wiggle, if so then you will need upper/lower ball joints. check the drive train at the universal joints if those are solid. check along the outer and inner fenders for rust and bondo. always buyer beware....ask a lot of questions, drive it if you can. take it to a experience mechanic that works on classic cars especially thunderbirds....

[EJR8402]

Those are all good suggestions, except I am not in a position to get to the car easily. It is located in NY and I am in Oklahoma. Perhaps you saw my other post: the only reason I am looking at it is that it was my grandfather's car.

Perhaps someone can make recommendations for a mechanic I can have him send it to? I believe he is located in the Poughkeepsie area.

[Alan H. Tast]

Those are all good suggestions, except I am not in a position to get to the car easily. It is located in NY and I am in Oklahoma. Perhaps you saw my other post: the only reason I am looking at it is that it was my grandfather's car.

Perhaps someone can make recommendations for a mechanic I can have him send it to? I believe he is located in the Poughkeepsie area.

It helps if you include direction to the original post as it was in the WANTED section and not this one.
https://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/ ... 71#p113971

The biggest "killer" of Squarebirds is structural rot in the rockers. They can be rebuilt, but they should be done by someone who knows about unibody construction and especially '58-'66 T-birds. If it's just the outer rockers, dog legs at the rear wheels, front or rear fender bottoms, trunk extensions, floor or trunk pans that are bad they can be replaced with readily-available patch panels or fabricated and welded in. It also helps to know what the condition of the rest of the car is in. If the trim, chrome, interior, fenders, doors, hood, trunk, etc. are in good shape that helps. Bear in mind the entire car body is welded together, including the front fenders/nose. The pictures don't look bad - I'm only seeing a spot rotted through at the driver's side dog-leg in front of the rear wheel, but who knows what's hidden under the paint, carpet and trunk mats? Mothing beats your own eyeballs on the car.

Personally, I think as long as it's not beat up or has a lot of issues like broken/missing glass and aforementioned rot, the sentimental value may be enough to warrant your making a road trip to look at and strike a deal. Gas is cheap right now - take some vacation time or a long weekend, pack a magnet and a paint thickness gauge to check for bondo and look for bubbles under the paint, drive 2 or 3 days up, look at it and drive home. You can sleep in your car on the way up and back. Make a cross-country adventure out of it. Just be aware that whatever money you put into it you may not get back, but you'll at least have a direct connection to your grandfather in your garage.

[EJR8402]

Yes, should've linked the other post.

My main concern is that I will not be able to restore it right away, so I want to make sure I have something that is driveable in the meantime and will not deteriorate beyond any reasonable possibility of repair over a period of a few years (assuming I am storing it in my garage, and I don't expose it to moisture, etc.)

Here are some more photos:

[ICON 1956]

I love the Black and White interior very cool !

[EJR8402]

So I took the plunge and bought her. Had her delivered this past weekend.

After inspection, I was less nervous about the spots on the bottom, but still do have some concerns. I was able to peel off some of the stuff that the previous owner was talking about and it was gummy feeling. This backs up his claim that it's undercoating flaking off. (URL below shows some more closeup photos of the undercarriage.)

I also tapped and inspected the rocker areas and the big, flat areas underneath that looked like they could be corroded from the photos. Everything felt solid. The only perforated area, that I can tell, is on the dogleg.

I am still a little nervous about how to proceed now though - I am currently keeping it in a garage, but the garage is used, so temperature variations, etc. will come into play. I sunk quite a bit of cost into purchase, transport, taxes, etc. already and am not in a position to put a serious amount of work into it. Any suggestions for how to proceed would be welcome.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iyUox2go5izdSqLn8

Thanks!

[ICON 1956]

Congrats on your purchase, First I would set up a budget. You should have the Shop manual on the car. I would first get that and read it from cover to cover to familiarize yourself with the car . I would then concentrate in getting her running.
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