HELP! Putting a basket case 56 T Bird back together...

[oldguyinNH]

Hi Folks,

Well, I agreed to complete a restoration on a car that was disassembled and painted 10+ years ago. I have restored a lot of basket cases, but I am not well versed in FORD stuff. I have a few questions and greatly appreciate any guidance!

1. Doesn't seem to be any solid source for parts with a decent website? (unlike Mercedes or even brithish stuff from Moss motors) Who is the best provider? I have a pile of stuff to buy.

2. I am outfitting this with a disk brake and rack & pinion steering...what is the best dual circuit brake master with power (or should I use the existing power brake pump?)

3. The car has a chunk broken off the distributor, which has a tach drive. Is there an aftermarket distributor with hall effect/ or HEI that accepts the manual tach drive?

4. I am adding power windows and seats. Is there a source for the motors other than the few retailers I have found? These motors don't look exotic to me...seems silly to pay $250 for a 12V motor?

Thanks so much!

Allen (old guy in NH)
Also, if there is anyone in southern NH who has one of these it would be enormously helpful for me to see one assembled in real life. Flying blind here.

[55blacktie]

There are many sources for reproduction parts for 1955-57 Tbirds, and most parts are being reproduced. You can check ebay, Craigslist, Thunderbird forums, y-blocksforever.com, and fordbarn.com for used parts.

CRT has an electronic distributor with both mechanical and electric tach drive, including an adjustable vacuum advance, for 55-57 Tbirds; price is about $240. Ted Eaton (eatonbalancing.com) tested one and posted favorable results on y-blocksforever.com. ford-y-block.com is another good source for detailed information regarding the Ford Y-block engine.

[ward 57]

Also check Amos Minter.com as he has sold award winning restorations and has all kinds of original parts for sale.

[Oiseau DeTonnere]

1. Doesn't seem to be any solid source for parts with a decent website? (unlike Mercedes or even brithish stuff from Moss motors) Who is the best provider? I have a pile of stuff to buy.

Well, perhaps CASCO https://www.classictbird.com/ will fill the bill for you.
Or Hills, https://hillsresto.com/parts/thunderbird-center/
Or Larry's https://www.larrystbird.com/1955-1957-f ... roducts-2/
NPD also has a 55-57 T-Bird section https://www.npdlink.com/1955-1957-thunderbird

[ward 57]

VTCI has a lot of information in the Tech section CTCI offers a restoration manual to members, Not cheap but a restoration and correctness bible.

[Haz567]

Oldguy:

That doesn't look like a basket case to me, paint & body look awesome to be 10yrs old! Can't help with a nearby car but the following books/flash drives should help: 1949-1959 Ford car Parts & Accessories (Text & Illustrations), flash drive $21 (about 1,800 pages in total); 1955-1957 Thunderbird Illustrations & Reference Manual, $14 for hardcopy (HC) (this is really just a compilation of all the 55-57 T-Bird illustrations from the above but well worth $24 in HC, about 130 pages, will save a lot of time; 1956 Shop manual, $21 on flash drive, $30 HC; Electric Manual 56, $24 HC; Trim & Sealer manual 55/56, $42 HC; Elec. Wiring Schematic, $12 HC.

Your numbered questions:
1) The first two listed by Oiseau are reasonably close to you and both provide good service.
2) I put front discs on a 57 I am done/finishing now from one of those first two vendors in Ohio. Don't know if I would recommend it as grinding was required on the spindle, bleed nipple is on the outside, dual MC is really close to exhaust, etc. Don't have any experience w/ rack & pinion steering.
3) I used the CRT distributor and although I don't have a lot of miles on it yet, so far so good.
4) If you find direct bolt-up (or minimal work required) for less please let us know here, I agree that it's a lot of money.

That's a great blank slate to start from, good luck!

P.S. rotate the front faux fender louvers 180 deg.

[ICON 1956]

Flip the fender trim faux, Here's the correct position.

[55blacktie]

You don't have to be a CTCI member to purchase the CTCI Thunderbird Restoration Specifications and Details Manual; it's available from Tbird parts suppliers. Expect to pay $180+ for both binders/w all addenda.

You can also check out ctci.org/gilsgarage/

[fijidad]

Old Guy.......can I have your garage?

[paul2748]

Regarding R & P steering, check with the supplier of whatever kit you are using. Some kits cause a larger turning radius than stock.

Other suppliers for parts:

Tee Bird Products - Pennsylvania
Prestige Thunderbird (new and Used) California
Adrian Lori 570-709-0823 (new and Used) Pennsylvania

[MarkR]

Flip the fender trim faux, Here's the correct position.

Eagle Eye Icon

[oldguyinNH]

Hi Folks,

More drama. Found a source for most of the giblets (councours parts) not sure if they are a good vendor. However, the owner of the car bought a disk brake upgrade from a guy in NC (Thunderbirdsone) who is now out of business and of course half the crap was lost. The next vendor I looked at was this place in Texas (TBird brake parts) also out of business. The ThunderbirdsOne kit looks like garbage to me anyway.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a decent power disk brake upgrade source?

Lots of forensic mechanical work to do on this think. I will post photos of the rack and pinion install, but at this point I am going to tear out everything and start from scratch.

Thanks for any guidance.

Allen

[oldguyinNH]

And yes, I will check the turning radius question. I should be able to do that easily on the lift.

And to the fellow in CA who wants my shop! Sure! Move to NH and you can get one! No sales tax, no income tax...and property taxes are about the same as Oregon.

[Rusty57]

Concours is one of the reputable sources for parts for these TBirds. I have used them as well as CASCO and Eckler's. I also find a lot of the basic mechanical parts through my local NAPA store.

I installed the CRT Performance electronic distributor with mechanical tach drive on our '57. It is working as expected.

While it might sound like a lot of money right now, spending $400 for literature will pay for itself quickly. I use the Illustrated Parts manual frequently to make sure I am getting the parts I really need as well as the correct hardware. Plus it shows how things are assembled. I got the digital copy and have it on my laptop in the shop. I actually created a second copy file. I open one file to the illustrations section and have the other file open to the part number section. So it is easy to quickly look back and forth between the illustration and the parts list.

One idea you might consider is posting some your inquiries in the Modifications Forum. That might get a better responses from those whose interests and experience are with modifications to these classic cars.

[paul2748]

The North Carolina vendor was Bob Walker. He sold ?? the rights to his disc brake setup to CASCO and Hill's. Maybe the other suppliers have the same kit. Their kits look like the kits Bob Walker sold.. I have the kit from Hill's on my 56.