My New/Old Ride

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#1

The movie Cars rekindled an old

interest I’ve had for a long time, which was to restore and old car to its former glory.

Well, I came

across an opportunity last week that I couldn’t pass up, so I consolidated some personal loans and scraped up

enough cash to buy this

baby:

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[img:

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This is a 1966

Ford Thunderbird Landau Town, the top-of-the-line Ford vehcle for its day. She’s got all electric windows, door

locks, seat adjusters and tilt steering wheel, plus AC, power steering and more switches and guages than a 747!

There’s a 428 cubic inch V-8 under the hood, and the seats are the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in! She

needs a lot of work, but is in really good shape for a car of this age that has been parked for the last decade

or so. She DOES run, very smoothly and quietly, I might add. The interior is in really good shape, and probably

only the carpet will need replacing, though a shampooing might suffice once I get her cleaned up. Her previous

owner, an elderly retired mechanic, has already done a lot of work on the engine, which starts and runs smoothly,

with no oil usage or leaking(the biggest issue with older engines), though I will probably have the engine

rebuilt down the road somewhere. She’s got new brakes, new shocks and suspension, a new gas tank, new belts and

wiring. She needs some minor body repair to fill in some rust that’s at the bottom of the rear quarter panels,

a new trunk liner(old one has dry rot), probably needs some seals and gaskets and hoses in the engine replaced,

might need new window seals(though I see no sign of leaking), and of course, a new paint job. The AC also needs

coolant, though I hope the compressor still works. I’m also going to have to spring for a new sound system,

since she has only an AM radio with a then-innovative 8-track tape player! I hope I can find one that can be

easily removed and put back, since I sorta hope to show this car, and anything that deviates from factory specs

will count against you in competion. It’s gonna take me awhile, as I can scrape up the cash, but at least

she’s driveable in the meantime. I’ll have to keep posting updates so y’all can see the transformation taking

place!

pitbulllady

#2

Wow, it looks beautiful already! I can’t wait to see what

you do with it. :smiley:

#3

Nice car. . . can I have it? Just

kidding. It looks cool.

#4

I can tell this is going to be a fun project for you, PBL! Please

update!

When you bring it in for a paint job, are you gonna stick with something close to the car’s

original color or go for a totally new one?

~~=oP

#5

Get it a flame job, man, or how 'bout some

old-school pinstripin’? :smiley:

I’m not much of a car guy (despite being a huge Cars guy), so I can’t say a

whole lot and still know what I’m talking about, but it is an extremely nice car! I’ve only been in those

old-timey cars a few times, but they are indeed really awesome. :slight_smile:

#6

Wow, I really wished I stayed in America to say all the classic muscle cars and stuff. I

really love the Continentals.

#7

Hey PBL, I turned this topic into

a sticky so it would stay at the top of the Off-Topic page. I didn’t want to move it into the archives because

you said you’d be giving us updates. :wink:

Speaking of which, how’s the car comin’ along? Any

improvement?

~~=oP

#8

Yeah, what’s been happening with your hot ride? :smiley:

#9

Well, got a new transmission, new timing

chain and timing sprockets(old one looked fine, but those things don’t give any warning when they go-they just

go, and when they do, your engine is screwed, big-time), new motors for the power windows and seats, all-new

gaskets and seals for the engine. The engine is being totally overhauled, just to make sure everything works and

to easily access and replace the seemingly-countless seals and gaskets that have dry-rotted over the years.

There is also a new water pump on order, since the old one leaks. On order as well are a new sequencer for the

turn signals, and new sensors for the oil guage and temp guage, and a new cable for the speedometer. THAT is

really important in a 428 V-8 engine car, especially since I’ve never owned anything with over a 3-cylinder

engine, so that’s like upgrading from the little kiddie airplane rides at the state fair to a F-16! I’ve got a

perfect driving record, and I hope to keep it that way, but it would be so easy to get a ticket in this

thing!

The rest of the stuff is cosmetic. Got to strip all the paint off, fill in some small holes in the

fenders with metal filler(no Bondo), replace all the weather stripping around the windows and windshields,

re-paint, and replace the vinyl top. The top looks good, but there is some rust underneath it, mainly due to

cracking of the weather seals. Got to get new carpeting, and a new trunk mat, and a new fan casing for the

engine. I also replacing the current plastic fan with a metal one, even though the plastic one is fine; metal

just holds up better. I’ve also got to put in a new modern air conditioner compressor, because Freon, the

coolant used by the old cars, is banned, and the newer coolants won’t work in the old compressors. I can get a

rebuilt one fairly cheap, though. I’ve got to find a stereo that can be hidden, so as not to bother the

original AM-Eight track, since that would de-value the car and make it ineligible for showing as a restored

vehicle. I’m also going to have to put in shoulder belts, since those were not available on old cars and they

are a lot more effective for safety in the event of a crash than the lap belts. Fortunately, the "Car

Restoration Police" do allow that change from the original. I’m going to stick with the original Aqua

paint, having seen a newer car that color(Ford still uses it, which is good), and I really do like it. It’s a

slow process, which involves lots of waiting for stuff to come in, as well as waiting on available cash flow,

LOL!

pitbulllady