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1963 Listing to the Right

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  • Duke
    Newbie
    • Aug 19 2011
    • 4

    1963 Listing to the Right

    Hi All. New guy from Pittsburgh, Pa.
    I just bought my Bird last year. My older brother had one when I was 15 and I never forgot it. Now I'm 56 and had an opportunity to pick one up, so I did. It's a white coupe with a red int. My first question is in regard to the stance. It appears to be an inch higher on the left side than the right both front and back. I noticed this on some other 61-63 T-Birds and was hoping it is a common situation that had a realatively simple fix. Any ideas on the best way to correct this?

    Thanks
    Duke
  • YellowRose
    Super-Experienced


    • Jan 21 2008
    • 17188

    #2
    1963 Listing to the Right

    Hi Duke,

    I don't have a Bulletbird but my '59 Squarebird had a similar problem. It had a noticeable list to the passenger side of the car. If I remember correctly, mine was caused by the passenger side rear air shock (it had air shocks on it in the rear when I bought it) not being properly installed, causing the list. That was several years ago, so my thinker might be wrong about that. It was either that, or something else on the right rear side that was installed wrong, pulling down the right side of the vehicle. As soon as my mechanic fixed that problem, it straightened right up. It could also be something wrong about the right front springs, the right rear leaf springs. Hopefully, one of our guys who knows much more about these old cars than I do, will come along and give you some other ideas to check on. I would get it on a rack so you can look underneath it to see if you can tell what might be causing it.

    Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
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    Comment

    • simplyconnected
      Administrator
      • May 26 2009
      • 8778

      #3
      Your '63 came with two:
      Shim -front spring C3SZ 5355-B

      And:
      Insulator - Front Suspension Spring - Rubber
      (2) Lower C3SZ 5415-A and
      (2) Upper C3SZ 5415-C

      If someone put two Uppers on one side and two Lowers on the other side, that could make it list.

      I will assume all four tires are the same size and they are inflated the same.

      It may be difficult to find the guy who might have made this switch when rebuilding the front springs. A few days ago I installed new leaf springs in the back, with new shocks. What a difference in ride!
      Member, Sons of the American Revolution

      CLICK HERE to see my custom hydraulic roller 390 FE build.

      "We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
      --Lee Iacocca

      From: Royal Oak, Michigan

      Comment

      • Duke
        Newbie
        • Aug 19 2011
        • 4

        #4
        1963 Listing to the right

        Thanks for the direction guys. I guess I will take it down to my local shop who's head mechanic remembers why we used leaded gas in these cars, armed with your suggestions.

        Thanks
        Duke

        Originally posted by Duke
        Hi All. New guy from Pittsburgh, Pa.
        I just bought my Bird last year. My older brother had one when I was 15 and I never forgot it. Now I'm 56 and had an opportunity to pick one up, so I did. It's a white coupe with a red int. My first question is in regard to the stance. It appears to be an inch higher on the left side than the right both front and back. I noticed this on some other 61-63 T-Birds and was hoping it is a common situation that had a realatively simple fix. Any ideas on the best way to correct this?

        Thanks
        Duke

        Comment

        • Dakota Boy
          Super-Experienced
          • Jun 30 2009
          • 1561

          #5
          If everything checks out, and the car still leans a bit on the right side, Hellwig (they have a website) makes a cheap "leaf spring helper" that might do the trick.
          http://www.tbirdregistry.com/viewdat...ryNumber=33517

          Comment

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