Getting an old bird to fly again...

I would also look real hard ath the rubber lines....breake hoses, gas line, and vaccum hoses, not onnly gor cracks but for continued flexibility.

 

T-Bird Sanctuary- talk to Bob (the owner). Anything you need, he has.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. Yeah, it was originally sold in Ohio, so AC probably wasn't that big a deal when purchased. I can see wanting to add AC once i get it running and driving reliably.

 

welcome to the club



Doing alot of work on this one this winter. Lots of good advise from the guys posting here, if you do the work you'll enjoy driving these birds.

 

Well, everything has been going fairly smoothly, carb rebuilt, engine turns over easily by hand, brakes didn't leak when bled. Only real problem is the fair amount of rust underneath in the rear. Front isn't bad, just the rear has it bad. Noticed it when i dropped the tank to clean it out. Tank is in good shape, just needed a good cleaning inside and out. Broke the bolts for the straps, so can't put the tank back in till new ones come in along with the rest of the parts to finish off the fuel system. This weekend I should be ready to fire the engine, not ready to drive, but hearing the engine roar will be nice.














So any good advice for the rust? One friend said if it ends up not being totally rotted through to take a wire wheel and get as much off and then paint it with POR15. Is that the best solution (short of cutting it all out and totally rebuilding all the metal underneath)?

 

I would get the car up on jackstands outside, rent or borrow a 3000# pressure washer and blast the underside, then paint with the coating of your choice.

 

SOUTHWEST THUNDERBIRDS on hwy.71 east of LAGRANGE, he has had everything i needed for my 66 bird. Good "TEXAS" people good prices..DON HART RESTORTION products and services GAS TANK RENU WALLER TEXAS 800 321 4278

 

Dang! Good looking car.

 

I did the "wire-wheel" thing to the entire underneath of my car this winter.
Take off the tank, the rear axle, the pipes, the springs; everything from the firewall to the back bumper needs to come off the car. Then get a dust mask and a faceshield and go to town....

Angle grinder with a 4" crimped wire cup. 4" Braided wire cup works for the really stubborn spots (You may run into some undercoating that is like concrete).
Also get a few smaller attachments for a corded drill. Use those for the tight areas where the cup is too big. Any smaller pieces that can be removed could be cleaned on a bench-grinder wire wheel.

Put some large sheets over your car's exterior or else you'll have a nice cake of dust all over EVERYTHING.

It is NOT fun. Not fun at all. But the end result is the reward.

I used Eastwood Rust Convertor and then non-rubberized undercoating on mine. A buddy of mine with an old Mercury is gonna use POR-15.

 

Try this link if you're looking for info on your '62:
www.vintagethunderbirdclub.org
and go to VTCI Forum. All Thunderbirds All The Time...

 

Great birds from 55 to to 63 , Just dont let this one go . every thing you have is savable or rebuild able . Nice Bird @!!!!

 

Just a quick update, got the engine running this last weekend. Will try and get a video up of it running soon. This coming weekend, its do the brakes and tranny, then i should be able to start driving it around the block to check for any issues.

 

Anything that sat 10 years, I would replace the brake system. Maybe not the hard parts but for sure the master cylinder, wheel cylinders and hoses.

 

how's the bird? Looking for one myself.

 

you really need to learn how to resize pictures