Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

David sent me an update on the Tbird tonight. They had it out on the road today and are very, very pleased with it! Here is what he had to say and a few pix.

"Hi Steve and Ray, A successful visit today! We took the 'Bird on her maiden voyage! After all the changes, adjustments, corrections and improvements, Dan and I took the car out for a quick, successful ride around the block!

Engine is running excellent. I'll pass on a few videos one email at a time.

Engine is silky smooth and is significantly more responsive than before! Although Dan was driving, I could tell it was much better than when I brought it in.

Note that we don't have new exhaust in the car - just a cut-off version of the 2" pipes that were on the car. The new exhaust will be 2.5" with an "X" crossover and have high-flow mufflers - much less restrictive than the current setup, so I expect further improvement.

The new cooling fan is a monster! We couldn't get the engine over 108F after ~45 min of idle and the quick drive. It pushes some serious air! We were trying to trip the thermostat to get the bubbles out of the radiator but were unsuccessful. We even tried running the heater full blast and revving the car a bit but we couldn't get it to trip (it was a relatively warm day here at about 55F).

The interior is mostly together now. Seats, new steering wheel, AC, dashboard, the new gauge, etc. are all in.

Steve - the inside liner/box for the center console armrest "glovebox" has a crack in it. If you can track one down, we should replace it. (I have since given them the information on ordering one from the Bird Nest, so that should fix that problem... Ray).

The car's ride is awesome. No wallowing around and it feels quite grounded, and that's without an alignment. The stance is quite good too, even without final suspension adjustments. I feel the rear height as-is will be good. I didn't get pictures of the stance this week but I'll get pictures next week on this.

The transmission issue was that it had a bad seal near the pump. Also, the clutch plates were all re-stacked and re-centered. Luckily nothing significant there. It shifted perfectly up and down the gears.


Four things found:
- There was some rubbing in the back area when moving but we believe we pinned that to the driver's rear brake that is adjusted too tightly.
- We can hear the new fuel pump more than we wanted, especially as the tank was 7/8 empty, so it cavitated a bit. They will put a rubber mount on it.
- After the ride we put the car up on the lift and found an engine oil leak. It appears to be coming from the gasket that connects the oil filter housing to the crankcase. This is the seal the car came in with so it hasn't been touched yet. It will be looked at in detail and we don't believe it's anything major.
- We spotted a touch of steering fluid around the steering box. That will be looked at, too.

Dan did address the rear brake line attachments. The original metal tabs on the top side of the axle had to be removed to mount the rear sway bar, so they fastened the lines to the sway bar mounting U-bolt with rubber and zip ties, on both sides. That should prevent any fatigue all around, especially as the line splitter/coupler (sending fluid to each side) is bolted directly to the differential case so it will all move as one unit.



We are expecting ~10"-14" of snow tomorrow. That will put a damper on getting the car out the rest of the week. That said, I'm very encouraged that the car rides and ran so well for a maiden/shakedown voyage!

I did not pin down a shipping timeline with Dan today although I noted to him we want to do that. Dan - maybe you can respond with? I'll touch-base next week again! David."

So you can see they are getting much closer to finishing her off, loading her onto a ship and sending her to Steve in the Dominican Republic! She is gonna really turn some heads once he gets her on the road there!

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

Dan checked that line and said this about it.

"Please post this to fill everyone's mind at ease. That it is very smooth and not a kink. I took a different angle."

David said this. "Yes, Ray, no kink in the real thing. I'm guessing it was a photo artifact. That is the return line to the tank on the passenger side."

[scumdog]

David sent me an update on the Tbird tonight. They had it out on the road today and are very, very pleased with it! Here is what he had to say and a few pix.

"Hi Steve and Ray, A successful visit today! We took the 'Bird on her maiden voyage! After all the changes, adjustments, corrections and improvements, Dan and I took the car out for a quick, successful ride around the block!











Dan did address the rear brake line attachments. The original metal tabs on the top side of the axle had to be removed to mount the rear sway bar, so they fastened the lines to the sway bar mounting U-bolt with rubber and zip ties, on both sides. That should prevent any fatigue all around, especially as the line splitter/coupler (sending fluid to each side) is bolted directly to the differential case so it will all move as one unit.






!

Those ties look tidy and will do the trick but if I had them on my '66 my mates in New Zealand would tease me mercilessly - I am sure there must be some sort of professional looking clamps that would do the job. But then I CAN be fussy!

[Yadkin]

Those ties look tidy and will do the trick but if I had them on my '66 my mates in New Zealand would tease me mercilessly - I am sure there must be some sort of professional looking clamps that would do the job. But then I CAN be fussy!

He trimmed the loose ends off.

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

Here is the latest update from David!

"Hi,

Stopped by Dan's shop today to check on the 'Bird. Unfortunately not much progress since last week as we got buried in a couple of feet of snow, and one of the guys (Mitch) has been out.

We discussed immediate upcoming plans. They will look at the oil leak tomorrow and hopefully correct that. We are still hoping it's something simple like the gasket to the oil filter mounting bracket.

Dan is ordering the new performance Red Line tires tomorrow. The idea is to mount them and have the car aligned so we can drive it to the upholster's shop next week to have the white landau top and "moon skin" roof liner installed, and the trunk fully upholstered. I noticed a cut on the side panel of the passenger seat cushion so I've asked them to fix that, too. Also, as the trunk is getting completely redone, I asked Dan to have them spray the same lizard skin sound deadener they used in the interior for protection and sound absorption.

As the upholster's shop is about 25 miles away, I will coordinate with Dan to drive the car out there with him to get a better feel for the car.

They are taking the bumpers off to remove the surface rust on the inside walls (e.g. not the outside visible chromed areas). They will paint them with black undercoating where not visible or grey paint where possibly visible.

If time and scheduling permits, they will also take the car to the exhaust shop for the new 2.5" exhaust setup before the upholster's; if not just after.

When the car comes back from the upholster's, they will reinstall all the remaining interior and exterior trim, and the subwoofer/amp in the trunk.

If we find anything on the drive, such as steering or suspension adjustments, we will address those then.

Also, going through all the vacuum systems, such as the automatic emergency brake release, windshield wipers, door locks, etc., and adjusting the headlights (all 4 are installed slightly crooked) and other detail work remains.

Mitch will go through the center console latching mechanism, too, and see what we need there.

That's the plan for now! David."

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

David says they are getting closer to wrapping this project up! Here is what he had to say tonight.

"Hi Steve and Ray,

I visited the T-Bird yesterday to check on progress. We ended up taking the car for a good ride as the weather was quite nice!

The oil leak we discovered at the end of the last drive was fixed. It was as suspected a seal but not to the oil filter mount. It was near by where the old fuel filter mount had been mounted - they fabricated a small plate to cover that better and it worked well.

After filling the tank (yes, we added a bottle of lead additive), we took a good ride for about 20 miles. Sat in traffic for a bit, got it up to 75mph, hammered it a bit off the line a few times, shifted lanes and passed a few turkeys.. I drove this time to compare to last I drove the car when I delivered it to Dan's shop.

Throttle response is significantly improved. Most impressive is the poise the car now travels down the road with - no wallow or hunting, no swaying, no loose wheel feel - and that's without an alignment.

The new red line tires arrive tomorrow. The car is expected to go out to the exhaust shop tomorrow also, albeit they've been swamped, as well as the upholsterer (planning on taking it there next week).

We fully expect the performance to improve noticeably with the new exhaust. We expect the handling to get tighter with the new tires and an alignment.

The new high pressure fuel pump is making some intermittent whining noise - maybe cavitation - and Dan's team will look into that with the manufacturer. It is probably not a big deal but we want to get it right.

Engine is sooooo smooth! Transmission is working very well. Gear kick-down works perfectly and the power delivery is very strong for a 51 year old power train.

I connected the EFI console to check it out and check the idle RPM's. I felt it was high (to my ear) but I was wrong. The engine idles at ~880 RPM in neutral - right where it should be. The connector for the EFI console is hidden under the ashtray in the center console (remove the ashtray liner, pull up the cables, connect to console).

The engine, even with a little caning, didn't record over 115F (on a 60F day), however the EFI console showed a higher temperature of 158F, so we need to laser it to determine which is correct (probably a difference in the sensor placement for each thermometer). Regardless I'm not too worried about the temperature.

As this was the second drive, we also expect the EFI to continue to refine its mapping. The new exhaust and higher ambient temperature will affect the mapping, too, which shouldn't be a problem as the system calibrates itself automatically.

We went over several high approach/departure angle ramps and we didn't touch front or back, and that was after adding ~160lbs of fuel to the boot! This was very encouraging as we were worried about dragging, especially in the tail!

Brakes are strong and predictable! Minimal body roll, too!

Most of the interior is back in as discussed before. The upholsterer will take care of the new landau, moonskin liner, passenger seat side cushion, trunk lining, etc.

Mitch, who was doing much of the electronics and interior work, has been out. He will hopefully be back shortly and will help identify the parts needed for the center arm rest cover latch.

The front bumper has been fixed up (inside surface rust) and looks great. It was not reinstalled yesterday but will be on shortly. This a detail picture of the inside of the bumper. They will take care of the rear bumper next.


Here's a good shot of the new gauge.


I'll work with Dan to get the car to the upholsterer's next week, expectedly with replaced bumpers, new exhaust and tires!

That's it for now. David."

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

Here is the latest update from David on Steven's '66 Flairbird!

"Hi All, I visited the T-Bird on Wednesday.

After our joy ride last week and filling the gas tank, Dan noticed there was a gas leak from the tank area. As it turns out, there is some corrosion that had developed in the lower section near the sending unit. They drained the tank and had to order a replacement, which showed up today. On the other mishap side, the red line tire supplier assumed we wanted bias ply tires instead of radials, and he shipped the wrong ones. The correct tires are on order and should be here soon. They will install the new tank and replacement tires early next week and that will get us back on the road to take the car to the exhaust, alignment and upholstery shops.

Unfortunately the leak and wrong tires set us back with little to no activity this week. David"

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical Tbird Project

David sent me the latest update on the Flairbird. Here is what he had to say.

"Dan received the new fuel tank Friday and it's being prepped and painted now. Also I believe the new tires came in (5 of them). Dan's folks cleared out the trunk in preparations for upholstering it. They will "paint" it with epoxy or lizard skin to protect it further.

Dan is also looking into possibly correcting the top end to not require a lead additive to the fuel. This might be involved, but might give the chance for adding some mild performance and reliability improvements. Depends on costs... David".

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical Tbird Project

Here is the latest update from David on Stevens Flairbird!

Hi All,
I visited Dan and the T-Bird today after being out of town last week and surviving a pretty big blizzard yesterday. It's good to live in the northeast where 12"-18" of snow can be moved and order-restored overnight!

The new fuel tank is now in and fully functional. It was painted outside for protection. As expected, the undercarriage above the old tank was in great shape, too! No picture - car was on he ground...

The rear bumper and (big) light assembly was dismounted and cleaned-up on the inside, removing minor surface corrosion and painted gray to protect it. The second picture below shows the housing for the light bar (from the outside, it's bumper, light bar, housing, then car body).



I asked them to replace all the bulbs in the light bar - or see LED option below - before assembling as some were looking a bit long in the tooth (with dark areas).


Steve - we have the option to switch to LED lights if you're interested - they're brighter, use less energy, will preserve the progressively (stepped) lighting turn signal, and should last forever. Dan is pricing this option for you.

The trunk was fully cleaned out and all loose material removed. As expected, no problem areas found! They sprayed a durable coating all over it to protect it before the new upholstery is put in back there. Billy cut templates for all the needed upholstery panels to facilitate the upholster's job.


A significant decision was made to update the valve train and other engine components, hardening it and removing the need for lead fuel additive while further improving reliability, performance and efficiency. The intention is to improve reliability and use-ability - not outright performance - for cruising - not burnouts.

After some good research, the following will be added, specifically designed for Ford 428's:
- aluminum top end; valve cover and intake
- new head bolts
- roller rockers, new valve train components
- programmable ignition w/rev limiter (MSD 6AL-2)
- new modern gaskets
- headers (to the new 2.5" exhaust)

Dan - can you please list the brands/models of the above, and anything I missed, for us?

Ray - if you have any suggestions, please feel free to respond!

Expected impact is ~150 lbs weight reduction, ~100 hp (with similar torque) increase, optimized (and customizable) ignition mapping, significantly increased reliability and efficiency, significantly throatier sound, and visual impact (if you know what you're looking at under the hood).

No detrimental impact is expected on the rest of the drivetrain with these changes. It will complement the EFI system already installed and we should be able to keep the stock air filter hood. All should be able to be installed without completely pulling the motor out.

The new red line tires are in and they look great! They will be mounted up soon. They are 70 series, as opposed to current 75 series tires, so they're a hair wider and will not cause problems with clearance.




I reminded Dan to look for an aftermarket LOUD horn.

I updated the punch list with all this, made it much more readable, and added a summary (count) at the end.

Here's some info on the selected MSD ignition:


That's about it for now! I'll figure out when I can visit next week. David.

[Cwcb08]

After some good research, the following will be added, specifically designed for Ford 428's:
- aluminum top end; valve cover and intake
- new head bolts
- roller rockers, new valve train components
- programmable ignition w/rev limiter (MSD 6AL-2)
- new modern gaskets
- headers (to the new 2.5" exhaust)

what kind of headers are going to be used, not a whole lot of room in there.

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

Unfortunately, I do not have an answer to the question regarding the headers. I should be getting additional information down the road on the engine work. Here is what David just sent me a few minutes ago on an update.

"Hi Ray, The 'Bird build is still going strong. We've had some delays related to getting the car to, through, and back from the upholsterer's, but it is finally expected back today. The delays were scheduling, weather, and parts related, yet as of right now, I believe all is done with upholstery.

Just to recap what was expected, they re-covered the landau roof in white, installed the ceiling liner, completely redid the trunk upholstery, replaced the front seat's cushion foam, blended the interior colors (the dark blue) between the new door cards and the rest of the interior, and (one of the bigger delaying factors) made and tinted new vinyl bolster siding for the passenger front seat which was ripped.

I'll go visit the car when it's back at Dan's shop later this week.

As far as the engine work to upgrade the valve train - which if you recall grew a bit - that is next in the list. After the engine upgrades, the next steps are exhaust followed by paint, then final dial-in and full shakedown and tasks close out (final push...).

I hope to send pictures of all the updates done and coming shortly! Stay tuned! David."

[Sjp3003]

The headers are Sanderson headers...here are some pics

[Sjp3003]

A few more pics after upholstery was done...trunk, custom mats, vinyl roof, headliner, and seats received new cushions and minor repairs:

[Sjp3003]

...and parts are in for the engine mods which are about to begin:

[YellowRose]

Foolhardy Tropical TBird Project

Hi Steven! Thanks for the additional pix! She really looks nice with the white top I think! She is looking great!