A couple of weeks ago my wife walks up to me and tells me she wanted to do something special for my 50th birthday. I'm thinking great perhaps I might be able to get some new tool for the shed. I start making suggestions to which she laughed. I was about to say oh well then if a new grinders to much just buy me a pair of bloody socks. Just as well I kept my mouth shut as she then proceeds to tell me she has been looking at and had organised some people to check out something else. Then the jaw dropper " Pete i've bought you a 1962 Ford Thunderbird"...................Long silence...........Confused look.........reality.........lost for words. We flew to Invercargill last Saturday and I came face to face with my new toy. Long storey short the guy she bought it off restored it 12 years ago with no expence spared. Its an ex California car that was rust free but he had a professional builder strip and rebuild it including a complete leather interior. Since the restoration he only did 3000 miles in it. We spent the last 5 days driving the 1000 mile trip home. With no hassles, the car drove like a dream and was very very comfortable. I hadnt been to the south island for 35 years and had forgotten just how beautifull it was. Do I love my wife HELL YES We both want to change the wheels but are unsure what to do. We want to keep the classic look. Any suggestions.
Great car, great wife. Some wires will give you a step up from stock caps and keep it classy, cragar starwires or tru-spokes would look great. Lower a tad and drive the wheels of it. Congrats!
Yep I'm feeling pretty lucky. I have more photo's of the trip with some pretty nice shots of the country but I am having trouble uploading them.
There is a 14 x 7" Kesley Hayes wire wheel that was an option on these. I just finished a resto on a 63 Thunderbird covertable with these wheels, the only problem was that the rear tri center caps hit the spats (which we added to this car as they were not on it originally) I will try to find a pic of these wheels.. Cheers Angelo
Congrats on the Bulletbird! You can get repop Kelsey-Hayes wires that clear the skirts. also can be had in 15" if you ever plan to do disk brakes. The K-H wires were factory on the Roadsters, and just look right.
Congrats! You have an awesome wife and a beautiful T-Bird. I like Dir-T-Birds car, Supremes are one of my favorite wheels. I think either them, or like already mentioned, a set of wire wheels.
Thanks for the tips on wheels I just had a look at the Kelsey-Hayes wires re pop site and like what I see. I also like the the look of the Supremes
Very cool Wife you have there! That generation of Thunderbird is on my short list of cars I want to own someday! Nice car!
Yep, the K-H wires are the way to go on a bird of that vintage ... you most often saw them on the limited production Sport Roadsters (the one with the fiberglass tonneaus).
Great Bullet Bird. I had a 62. Saw one of these with a subtle chop once. Made the car go from Beautiful to Drop Dead Gorgeous! Have fun and tell your wife she is every ones new hero here on the H.A.M.B.
O/k with Ryans help I have managed to resize my pics so they upload. I found this resizing tool that can be downloaded free http://download.cnet.com/FastStone-...ml?idl=n&spi=5b14986784117460900899bdc34280d7 Anyhow here's some more pics of the trip home, The small stone church has a lot of historical value and is located in Tekapo, when driving into Christchurch we pulled up alongside this 63 Landau. The morning shots of the harbour are of Picton, this is where you board the ferry to cross the Cook straight to Wellington our capital city. The DC3 is located at Mangaweka.
Beautiful car! And you were driving a 62 T-Bird and you ran into a 63... That's cool enough, but in New Zealand to boot? Damn, what are the chances...
Beautiful. IMO, the most beautiful of the '61-'63 models. What you have is the 'Landau' model, but you probably already know that. I had a 'project' '62 T-Bird back in 1987, with limited resources. Found out the engine needed a rebuild, and then our 2 daughters came along..... Congatulations.. Oh - and definitely go with the Kelsey-Hayes wires.. Marshall
Original Kelsey-Hayes wires were 14" dia x 5-1/2"-wide rims. You can get repops of the spinners that are cut down to clear skirts, but why in the h@ll do people want to hide their wheels behind skirts? BTW I got my '63 hardtop on my 20th birthday 30 years ago and still have it - God willing it will stay in my hands in the USofA and not migrate out of the country while I'm alive. Maybe for my 52nd birthday I'll mount the original Kelsey wires on it for some aggravation-mounting tubes, roadside flats, etc. Check out this site as well - http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net for more info.
Great story and what a great present. I've got the wires on my 62 Roadster and love them but they are a bitch to clean. Make sure you get a wheel liner in them before you put the tubes in. The proper radial tire size is 215/75/14. Some guys are running a 225/75's without problems, I've seen guys run a 235/75 but have issues with the tire spinning on the rim and cutting the valve stem off, because the 235 is too wide for the 5 1/2" rim and doesn't sit properly in the bead.
Do they allow a wife to have 2 Husbands in new Zealand ?? Let me know( wink ).....Nice Bird, congratulations !
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