New member, gonna have many questions!

[Guest]

My name is Bob and I live in Northern Ohio, West of Cleveland. I recently did some "horse trading" and ended up with a 1966 town hardtop that is in very solid condition with 91k on the clock. The story I got on the car was this: The car was purchased here in my hometown on Jan7th 1966 and was loved by the owner until he passed away, leaving it to his daughter. She kept the car garaged until selling it to my wife's cousin last December. We worked out a deal last week and it now resides in my garage! The original owner kept all of his owners manuals and most of his paperwork on the car...I still have a bag of papers that I need to look through, along with a box of spare parts. I work as a mechanic for a living, so I started tearing into it with the intent of making sure that everything is safe and reliable. The left front coil spring is broken, left lower balljoint is shot, brake master cylinder bad, and the carpeting/exhaust need replaced. I ordered new coil springs, all new balljoints, reman master cyl/booster, and new carpet.The coil spring installation seems to worry me the most, it looks like these springs belong on a 5 ton dump truck! The door ID plate is missing, but I found one in a box of parts that came with the car....I don't think it's the correct one though! I believe the paint is original, and when i applied some rubbing compound it shined right up! I will have many questions for you guys here as I dig further into making sure everything works correctly! Bob

[jopizz]

Bob,

Congrats on your new acquisition. It sounds like you found a great original car. As far as the data plate goes compare the serial number with the locations on the body where it is stamped. That will tell you if it's the one for your car. You can get reproduction data plates made up if it's not the correct one. Don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you like. Good luck.

John

[simplyconnected]

...I will have many questions for you guys here as I dig further into making sure everything works correctly! Bob

Welcome, Bob. Man, you're smack in the middle of Ford country. I'm just across Lake Erie from you (just north of Detroit).

Whatever questions you have, fire away. We have great resources, with experienced restorers and mechanics here. I'm retired from Ford in Dearborn, so I can help as well. - Dave

[Guest]

Yes, Lorain assembly plant was 10 minutes from my house! It's a shame they closed it, many a fine T-bird came off the line back then. I appreciate the help you guys have offered! I pulled the master cyl/booster off tonight to replace it, and I noticed the shift linkage from the steering column is apparently missing a bushing.....where it connects to the transmission shift lever. Is there suppose to be one in there? I had intended to leave the brake lines intact due to the fact they looked so solid, but now I am going to replace them with new after seeing the condition of the old fluid.....better safe than sorry, especially when having only 1 resivoir! The receipts I found in the car state that the entire braking system was rebuilt in 1986, with 90k on the odometer...it only has a little over 91k on it now! I'm going to check out that dataplate and cross check it with the locations that jopizz suggested tomorrow. I will let you know what I find. Thanks! Bob

Welcome, Bob. Man, you're smack in the middle of Ford country. I'm just across Lake Erie from you (just north of Detroit).

Whatever questions you have, fire away. We have great resources, with experienced restorers and mechanics here. I'm retired from Ford in Dearborn, so I can help as well. - Dave

[jopizz]

I'm not sure what part you're referring to regarding the shift linkage. Here's a parts diagram. Maybe this will help identify the part you are talking about.

John

[Guest]

I'm not sure what part you're referring to regarding the shift linkage. Here's a parts diagram. Maybe this will help identify the part you are talking about.

John

At the bottom of rod #7325 in the picture you provided. Can't tell if there is suppose to be a bushing in there or not. I checked the number at the front of the car, and it is the same as my Vin#. There is another 4 digit # off to the side, but I cant really read it. Guess I will have to get the magnifying glass out!

[jopizz]

At the bottom of the rod there's an adjustment connector; part #7B415. That may be what you're missing.

John

[Guest]

No, my #7B415 is there....I should have been more specific....It has slop between #7B415 and #7A256. I believe the bushing I'm speaking about is P/N 371881-S. Probably a dealer-only part? Thanks for the help!

At the bottom of the rod there's an adjustment connector; part #7B415. That may be what you're missing.

John

[jopizz]

I believe the bushing I'm speaking about is P/N 371881-S. Probably a dealer-only part? Thanks for the help!

I can't find a description of that part. It could be a washer or bushing. You may have to improvise and find something that works.

John

[Guest]

Exactly what I did! I went to autozone, and found a bushing "assortment" for $6. There was one in there that was an exact fit, and it worked perfect. Thanks for your help!

I can't find a description of that part. It could be a washer or bushing. You may have to improvise and find something that works.

John

[Guest]

I tore my brake system out yesterday even though it looked perfect on the outside....not even rusty! Glad I did because when I opened the calipers and wheel cylinders, they were starting to corrode from the inside out! I ordered new flex lines, calipers, wheel cylinders, and then started to install new lines. So far so good!

[simplyconnected]

Bob, I use cunifer brake lines and brass 3/8" IFF nuts at the wheels. Detroit uses loads of salt in winter, so this is as bad as the 'rust belt' gets.

A few high-end manufacturers in Europe offer cunifer as std equip. Cu = copper, ni = nickel and fe = iron. It comes in 3/16" and it flares very easily (like butter). The big advantage is, it doesn't rust. Down side is, it's expensive. I installed it on both of my classic Fords and my '98 Escort. I won't use anything else.

Keep fresh DOT-3 in your system by changing it every few years. DOT-3 is glycol based so it sucks up water and prevents rust until it saturates. I change it in all my vehicles, so it stays clear (not red or brown). - Dave

[Yadkin]

Bob, several years ago (25 to be exact) I completely redid the hydraulics on my brakes, including a conversion from a single to a dual master cylinder. I used DOT 5 fluid it it, same as for my motorcycle back then. DOT 5 is silicone based and doesn't absorb water. My fluid is still clear.

A month of so back I changed out the long line between the master and the rear hose so had to re-bleed the brakes. The only DOT5 I found now has a purple dye to it. So now my rear reservoir is purple and my front is clear. Aside from that minor annoyance I am happy with my choice.

You can't safely mix 3 and 5 so you can only consider this if you are doing a complete rebuild.

[Guest]

You guys are spot on! One of the cars I traded for this Tbird was a 1959 Nash Metropolitan that I had restored years ago. The British cars used "Girling" brake fluid which absorbed water like no other! After years of fighting the moisture in the Girling fluid, I got angry and ripped everything out, replacing everything and installing silicone fluid. Never had a single problem for 15 years after that! I have installed the copper nickle lines in the tbird, along with new calipers, wheel cylinders, and master/booster. I had considered using silicone in it, but read an article about how silicone has a tendency to "pool" moisture, and it got me second guessing (it was on the internet, it has to be true, LOL). Not sure which way I am going to go with it to be honest.I work as a bus mechanic for a living, so I am really religious about keeping the glycol based fluid changed every 3 or 4 years in my cars. On another note, a special thanks to Ray here on the forum!.....My data plate was missing from the door, and Ray tipped me off to the fact it might be stashed under the seats. I checked, and sure enough there were 2 of them under there! Here is what my data plate should read: Body63C, ColorBM, TrimL9, Date15M, DSO32, Axle,1 Trans4. Thanks for all of the help guys!

Bob, several years ago (25 to be exact) I completely redid the hydraulics on my brakes, including a conversion from a single to a dual master cylinder. I used DOT 5 fluid it it, same as for my motorcycle back then. DOT 5 is silicone based and doesn't absorb water. My fluid is still clear.

A month of so back I changed out the long line between the master and the rear hose so had to re-bleed the brakes. The only DOT5 I found now has a purple dye to it. So now my rear reservoir is purple and my front is clear. Aside from that minor annoyance I am happy with my choice.

You can't safely mix 3 and 5 so you can only consider this if you are doing a complete rebuild.

[YellowRose]

New member, gonna have many questions!

I think that Bob meant to say that he found 2 copies of his ROT/Build Sheet in the seats, not Data Plates. He said one was barely readable and the other one was good and readable. From that he was able to obtain the information on his Tbird since the original Data Plate was not there when he bought the car.