My 1960 Ford T-bird Hardtop

[dontpanic]

Finally got her! Whata think?! I need some skirts tho!!




THE CLUB

[FINSRIN]

Interesting that in black, looks like top might be chopped an inchish. Though it aint, I like the impression.
Is a beauty
In this case with silver wheel covers and wide whites (cool) against black. I am thinking no skirts. Have to see with/without to know for sure. More energetic appearance this way?
Interior looks great, pipes look great.

[YellowRose]

My 1960 Ford T-bird Hardtop

Hi Drew! She looks beautiful! What really sets off a black Squarebird is the external chrome kit I think. It is like dressing it up in a tuxedo! Something you might think about. As for fender skirts, I like mine on Rose. Here are a couple of pix to look at, including some with the external chrome kit in place. Headlight covers, air scoop, curved tail fin pieces, and "eyebrows" above the tail lights. Finally, a shot of yours without the external chrome package, and the fender skirts, for comparison.

[simplyconnected]

Your car looks beautiful.
I would quickly take the Club off your steering wheel. They simply cut through the steering wheel, cuz it's easy to do, and slide the Club off.

If you want a better anti-theft system, shut off the fuel, not the electric. No gas, no go. Nobody will re-plumb the system while trying to steal your car. - Dave

[FINSRIN]

Good as she looks, there is one trim enhancement I suggest.
Did this same thing to my 60 Tbird.
Have front piece of hood air scoop chrome plated.

My recollection is that factory offered a dress up option of: chrome valve covers + chrome hood scoop.
Others here otta know more about that than I do.

[tbird430]

She looks great. I might repaint your aircleaner the correct "off-white" color, the valve covers yellow, & the fan blade/voltage regulator cover back to a semi-gloss black. The power steering cap should be a light agrent gray, as well as, your shift linkages. You could repaint the 2 hood latches this color too?

I would also recommend a decal kit for you Sunray wheel cover spokes. The problem is Birders have had a hard time getting in touch with John Draxler at the T-Bird Ranch these days. These should all have a black inlay- It really makes a visual difference...

-Jon in TX.

[NC Tbird]

Here are a couple of pix to look at, including some with the external chrome kit in place. Headlight covers, air scoop, curved tail fin pieces, and "eyebrows" above the tail lights.

Did you have these pieces chromed or are they original per options available back then?
Can anyone recommend a quality chrome dipping company, I would love to get the scoop chromed..

[YellowRose]

Doug, it has been a couple of years since Jon has been on the Forum. I can tell you what I did when I customized Tweety Bird. I bought extra parts for the external chrome package that needed to be chromed. Not only did I chrome the headlight surrounds, the curved pieces around the tail lights, and the eyebrows over them, I also chromed the air scoop and the GRILL! In the engine bay, I chromed the OEM air cleaner, the oil cap, and the VR box. Not to mention that my dual MC/Dual 8" Power Booster were bought chromed, the Thunderbird Valve covers also. If it was there and could be chromed, I did it. If I thought I could have chromed the engine I probably would have! Lmbo... I gave them to the chroming company here in San Antonio. They sent them to their chrome facility in the DFW area. In a couple of weeks, I got them back, took off the OEM parts, set them aside and put on the chromed pieces. When I sold Tweety Bird a couple of years ago or so, those OEM parts went with the car. As to who to get to chrome them, I would suggest that you contact some of the Tbird clubs in your city or State to see who they recommend. I was going to suggest that you contact someone in the VTCI Tbird Clubs in your State, but I do not see any VTCI Clubs listed for North Carolina. There is a North Georgia club listed in the VTCI Scoop. You might try contacting Jim Murphy, jmurpht54@bellsouth.net, or Dale Brott, the VTCI Southeast Regional Director, Dadbrott@bellsouth.net. In addition, the CTCI Little Bird Clubs list:

Carolina Classic Thunderbirds - I did not find a website listing for them.
Larry Ganse at EMAIL or by phone at: (910)-400-5061.

Tarheel Classic Thunderbird Club has not posted anything on their website since 2019.

Tarheel T'Bird APRIL 2019 Newsletter
http://www.starcitytbirds.org › Tarheel T'Bird

The International Thunderbird Club (ITC) has two listings for North Carolina. They are:

Piedmont Thunderbird Club of the Carolinas
James Morrison
Concord, NC
jmorrisonII@carolina.rr.com
(704) 782-7248

And

Eastern NC Thunderbird & Classic Ford Club
Jake Steinmetz
Winterville, NC
rusty.steinmetz@gmail.com
(252) 717-6586

Perhaps someone in one of those clubs can refer you to a good chroming company in your area... or Google Carolina Chroming Companies and you will find these listed in both Carolinas.... There are a good number of them listed! When you bring up this search, Click on View All!

https://www.google.com/search?q=Caro...client=gws-wiz

[NC Tbird]

Fantastic!
Thank you for your insights.
just for giggles I bought some chrome body wrap and applied it to the scoop, not too bad but a pro could do a cleaner job,

[YellowRose]

Doug, I think failed to list the air scoop as having been chromed also. Something to be aware of is that some of the chrome pieces on our Tbirds back then were pot metal, as it is called. I found that when the curved sections on the tail light assembly and the air scoop were re-chromed, being pot metal, they bent ever so slightly. When I went to put them on, I could not get them on because they did not fit right like the OEM pieces did. As I recall, I either had them reprocessed or bought used replacement parts and had them chromed. I think it was the latter... After telling the chromer what happened to those parts when they went through the chroming process... I never had a problem with the big massive parts like the bumpers, or the eyebrows, or the parts in the engine bay that were chromed.

[NC Tbird]

Be advised that :

Piedmont Thunderbird Club of the Carolinas

has disbanded.