Eric's 1960 T-Bird

[Eric S]

Thank you. Will check all that.
I forgot to mention but lever and switch plate has been changed and new. That's why it may need some adjustment. But brakes first !

[Eric S]

Another point that bother me is the battery.
It is touching the radiator hose and I am concerned that the hose could be damaged on long term?
Also I installed (didn't have it before) the battery clamp but the hook on one side is so close to the "-" post that I am concern that it may "earth" against the hook. When I tried to install it, I had some sparks by merely touching (at least that's what I thought) or approaching the rubber gasket. So took it off and would like to see how other batteries are installed as I am really not confident with so close position between hood and "-" and the relation to the radiator's hose.

[partsetal]

From what I can see the cable end is not as original and the hose is C1SS which is for a '61 TBird. You might trim some from the reservoir end of the hose and move it farther over, and you might reposition the battery terminal.
Carl

[jopizz]

Carl is correct about the hose not being correct. Do you have the later style expansion tank. That might explain why you need the later hose with the smaller outlet size. As for the battery cable I would bring it up from the bottom since it's not the stock style terminal.

John

thunderbird hold down a.jpg

[Eric S]

Expansion tank is a baffle style same I have on my cobra replica. Not original for sure.
I tried the cable the other way but was not convinced. Will try again.

[jopizz]

The battery terminal does look very close to the edge of the hold down. I would wrap that part of the hold down with electrical tape or cut a piece of rubber tubing and wrap it around it.

John

[Deanj]

I noticed it looks like you have the "smaller" battery and not the optional size battery. My battery fits directly in the holder without moving it toward the hose. The upper hose will still be close, but not touch.

Dean

[Eric S]

I will work on the battery this week-end...

In the meantime I checked the 1960 manual on Part 6-2
On "2 Control Linkage Adjustments" page 6-9
This exceed my knowledge with several terms I am missing. Is that something I should check (with somebody's else help) considering the car was running fine an that I don't have a stock carburetor?
Shall I go directly to 6-11 Manual Linkage Adjustment?

Same for 3 Band Adjustments. Is it something I need to bother with (and what is it exactly?)

[jopizz]

Page 6-9 has nothing to do with your problem. As I said in my post page 6-11 has the instructions for adjusting the manual linkage. That and the neutral switch adjustment is all you need to be concerned with . Don't complicate things.

John

[Eric S]

Just trying to understand things.
What is this band adjustments thing?

[OX1]

. That would indicate a worn shift lever/detent plate/shift tube selector arm. If this is the case any adjustments are not going to work. Check out this link in the TRL: http://www.squarebirds.org/picture_g...eplacement.htm

That was my issue. The raised area shown by arrow on shift tube

http://luxjo.supermotors.net/59%20T-...3%20arrows.jpg

was loose on both ends, shift collar up top and shift lever down bottom.
I fixed lower end with a couple dots of weld on edges of raised area on tube, new lever and some filing until it was tight.
I put in new upgraded detent plate. Unfortunately, I did not add a bit of material up top and make it fit tight with old collar.
So while it is much better, it's still not perfect. I suspect many birds also have all 3 problems.

[Eric S]

Today I adjusted the gear box linkage per the manual.
Went fine. Have all the positions on the lever, started well on N and P and not on D/R..
Car did not moved. Except on a later test when the car moved slightly. On monday I will take the car off the lift and make it drive a little bit. Just want to make sure how it works on open space. I am not confident in making tests from the lift. Car has not been driven since july so maybe it needs to move around a bit !?

As for the battery. Here is the whole set up on 3r dpicture.
As I don't see how I could prevent the hose to rub against the battery (Carl recommends to trim the hose but not sure I can trim enough) I tested the battery from my 56 on 1s picture
Much more room there. But the clamps do not fall on the right place on middle picture. Is that normal? It does not seem to exist 2 types of battery trays and I don't have other clamp notch on the left/rear.

[jopizz]

With the group 29 battery the battery is angled toward the front of the battery tray, not flat against the back.

John

thunderbird hold down a.jpg

[Eric S]

Still thinking about the battery. If I take the original battery a bit higher, it seems to pass better near the hose.
Today I finished cleaning and detailing the seats and had the rear seat back in place.
The 2 lower screws that goes in the car's body can not be tightened real well as they rip off (not sure of the term) even though I had the holes' edges back in place before I put them back in.
Are they well needed or just assist in holding the back until the seat is in place?
Is it a good idea to go with bolts and nuts all the way through?

[Eric S]

I moved the hose a few mm toward the tank and checked the battery with risers about 1" thick. The edge of the battery + the battery clamp adding maybe 1/2" to the width of the battery's body.
Now I have the battery's body at hose level and that leaves a nice gap.
I built an aluminium riser to place under the battery. I will just have to check for hood clearance and that will be solved;
Just have to bent the "+" cable so it is not close to any earth/ground part and I will be ready to rock and roll.