Getting an old bird to fly again...

So I just paid to have a 62 Thunderbird shipped to me. It is my grandfathers, but has been sitting in storage for about a decade. This is my first time working with a car that has been sitting for a while, so trying to make a checklist of things i should do before i start trying to drive it. Its been stored indoors, and I am told there is no rust or anything to worry about. Gas tank is empty, everything else has the fluid in it still. Here is what i think i need to do so far.

drop gas tank and clean it out
replace all fluids
bleed brakes
squirt oil into cylinders thru the spark plug holes and let it drain down (would marvel mystery oil be best for this)
turn the car over by hand a few times before trying to start it.
probably new spark plugs, and maybe wires
new battery

I am sure there is much more i should do to make sure i don't end up breaking something by driving it too early. Can yall give me suggestions on what else to check?

Of course, I will post pictures when i get the car.

 

I'd probably plan on rebuilding the carb, but otherwise looks like you've got a pretty good idea of what it'll take.

 

If the wires are carbon string (radio) (graphite), put on new ones. Even if they are wire wires the insulation can be leaky. Check for rusty brake lines.

 

Good luck with it! Sounds like you have everything pretty well covered... I LOVE these Birds, started driving at age 16 in my dad's '62 T-Bird convert. I'm determined to have another, just like the one in this photo!

 

MMO will work fine.
Fill the carb with gasoline, and let it sit for a couple days while the MMO works it's magic... Give the carb gaskets and seals a chance to absorb some fuel and [hopefully] come back to life.

Wouldn't hurt to pull all 4 wheels and get an up close look at the brakes.

 

might want to pop a valve cover and see what kind of sludge you may have in the motor.

wouldn't hurt to prime the motor by spinning the oil pump before actually starting it after you change the oil. not sure how it is done on big block Fords though. seems like I did it on my old 289 with a drill and a piece of steel rod down the distributor hole which engaged the pump.

 

cap rotor points

 

My first on-the-road car was a '47 Ford Super Deluxe convertible, bought for 60 bucks in 1967. My Dad showed me what was important to go through thoroughly when getting a stored car back on the road. Teaching me as he went along, he completely rebuilt the brakes, front to back and top to bottom; rebuilt wheel cylinders, master cylinder, lines and made sure the e-brake worked correctly. Then he went through the steering, tightening up, replacing where needed. He took me up to the city to get a new set of Firestone tires. (I paid for all the parts out of my paper-route money).

Then he turned me loose. I had to figure out how to get it running and do all the other stuff. He was always there with tips and advice, but I learned from him that it has to steer and stop FIRST.

The other thing I learned the hard way on another car is to pull the pan, clean it out and put in a new load of correct oil with new filter before I ever turn the motor over or attempt to start it. While the pan's off it's a good opportunity to look around the bottom end and see if anything obvious needs work.

I'd probably put on new hoses and belts, rebuild the carburetor and fuel pump and change the transmission fluid and filter. Grease it everywhere it needs it and check the diff.

 

Should be a heat riser on the passenger side exhaust, make sure it's free

 

I also have a 1962 Thunderbird that I a bought after it had been in storage for years. I agree and pull the drums to check the brakes. The wheel cylinders could be bad and the springs could be rusted. A few months after getting mine I had a brake spring break. I would check the fuel sending unit when you pull the tank. The wire could be rusted and will not send a signal to the gauge. Ford FE motors sometime will bend pushrods after the car has not run for long periods of time. Pull the valve covers and make sure all the valves are opening and closing. If you have any other questions about you thunderbird I will be glad to answer them for you.

 

Ya know... This T-bird is looking like too much damn work. You probably should just ship it to me and avoid all the head-aches

 

sorry, I called the transporter, and they said its too late change the destination. Guess i'm stuck with it. i'll make sure and take lots of pics so you can work on it vicariously thru me.

 

excellent responses, PIR Darryl, had me rolling. And the comeback was equally perfect. One thing I didn't see mentioned... change the tires. 10 year old tires may have nice tread, and look ok, but trust me, 65mph blowouts really aint fun. Specially on the front end. So be careful.

Peace
Chris

 

Oh, forgot to mention new tires were put on it last week, so won't have to worry about that right away. Something I read on here a while back (been lurking a few years) is that some older engines require a zinc additive be added to the oil, or special blends of oil. So what oil and or additives would be best to use in the FE?

 

Nice...wish I had a family member with an old car like that that wanted to pass it on.


Check all the wiring...at least do a look around. Want to make sure that some little animal didn't decide to chew up little bits of it.

Not sure if wires were vinyl or cloth covered in 62. If they are cloth covered, it may be brittle and leave sections of wire exposed (leading to shorts).

 

The wires are not cloth coated. They are vinyl covered. I would also suggest getting the 1962 Ford Thunderbird shop manual and a wiring diagram manual. For the zinc I add 1/2 bottle of Lucas Break In Oil for every oil change.

 

Finally getting some pictures up, she came in on Wednesday.

Here it is still on the truck, complete with years worth of dust.



complete with fender skirts in the trunk


The engine bay was much cleaner than i expected (Except for the sound deadening stuff hanging from the hood. Springs for the hood were in good shape as well so no broomstick required or anything.




Car came while i was still at work, so only had a little bit of time to get it put away. Gave it a quick bath, front chrome is in great shape, as is the side trim. Body is nice and straight as well.




The rear bumper ends, possible the whole rear bumper will need to be replaced. Anybody know a good place to get these?



The interior should be fine for now after a good cleaning, but some stuff will need to be done. Love the swing away steering Column. 64,194 miles.




All tucked away in her new home.



Only thing i have done so far other than washing off the dust is squirt oil in the cylinders thru the spark plug holes and look inside the gas tank. There was gas in the tank, so it might not be too rusty inside it, wont know for sure till I drop the tank. The paint will probably be pretty nice once i take a clay bar to it and give it a good buffing. Unfortunately there are several small paint dings that have some surface rust, probably just enough that once those are taken care of, i would need to repaint the whole car. Will throw in more updates as i make some progress on the car, hope to get it driving in time for the Roundup.

 

Very Nice bird.....kind of hard to get the perspectve when the pictures could fit on a jumbo-tron.....lol

 

Looks like a decent car but like Frakie47 says it's hard to tell with those giant pic's
The rear bumper Q's are getting very hard to find good ones, be prepared to wait
for a reasonable price on a set.

 

Those tail light Q's are getting hard to find cheap. You might be able to find a set that need to be replated from a parts car. There are some companies that deal with just thunderbirds and do have parts cars. Just google thunderbird parts and you find these companies. I was able to get a part that was not reproduced from one of these companies. I think it was Thunderbird Sanctuary.

 

Here's a couple of links.
pat wilson t-bird parts top notch guy
http://www.wilsontbird.com/

http://www.tbirdhq.com/

 

It looks like you've got a real project on your hands and it's going to be a really great ride when you get it on the road. The fact it was owned by your grandfather is a bonus and if it were mine it would NEVER leave my garage.

Frank

 

Sweet T-bird. I was expecting to see a heap, but that thing is gorgeous. Man---even the motor, valve covers, and air cleaner are orig looking seem to be wearing original paint! (black block and heads, gold/bronze "Thunderbird" valve covers and air cleaner). I believe that odo is still on its first time around. Total keeper--Please don't Foose-ify it--it's way too nice!

 

grease! i would pull the drums, and check that the wheel cylinders aren't leaking, if not adjust all brakes.

 

Huge , maybe too huge pictures ... But the car seems like a new one .
the condensor may be dead . Old oil condensor don t last long ....

 

Hey, can somebody tell me if all the 4 barrel carbs on the 62 t-birds were ford 4100s? I am thinking that is what I have but do not see anywhere on it that says 4100. The only numbers i find on it are "C2SE C B 26C". Trying to get a rebuild kit and none of the part stores seem to recognize those numbers.

 

Yes, thunderbirds used a 4100 carb. The Standard Hygrade number is 361D.

 

I will offer one (is it one?) word of advice: squarebirds.org.

The absolute best site out there for guys who are working on these old 'Birds.

 

Wow, no AC.
I thought all those old birds came with AC

That car is super-nice, good luck with it!

Something that wasn't mentioned in getting it started, file, gap and lube the points.

 

Very nice car. I don't know where it came from but I do know that now that it lives here in Austin it will not be to long before it has AC on it!

Scott...