'59, gift to my daughter

[V-John]

I just got some parts in today, the light switch one of them. Plugged it in and on came the light. One more problem fixed.

[V-John]

We took Tony to a car show at an old folks home in Florence, KY today. Perfect weather. Megan had a big grin the whole time while watching people congregate around the car, the only TBird there. It was for any and all years of cars. My wife like the Ambassador that had the seats fold down into a bed.


I finally got the engine looking spiffy enough to show off, too

There might've been 60-70 cars altogether

[simplyconnected]

...There might've been 60-70 cars altogether

Yeah, but yours looks the nicest. Good pics, too. It's no wonder, why Megan was smiling the whole time. - Dave

[V-John]

Megan and I took Tony down to a show at the local flea market. As always, most cars there were pure awesome with custom paint, lots of chrome parts, and great detail. We just sat in the shade to watch some of the people come over, peek inside, and maybe take a picture or two.
Weather looked like it was coming in so over half the cars left (out of maybe 30). We bought some raffle tickets so we were there until the end.
Everyone gathered near the tent for prizes and trophies. We missed the 50/50 pot by 2 numbers. Next came the trophies. A '32 Ford got 1st Place. It was immaculate. A '48 Ford won 2nd. Then came their Manager's Choice. The announcer says, "The red '59(?) Ford Fairlane. Well, he's done left, so we decided to award it to the black '59 Ford Thunderbird."
Megan and I looked at each other totally shocked. Talk about a huge smile on that girl's face! And to top it off, she won the 2nd drawing for $32 cash. Not bad for a few hours of sweating in the heat.

If weather is good tomorrow, we'll be taking Tony to Perfect North Slopes outside of Lawrenceburg, IN for a show. My dad lives a few minutes from there and will drive his '59 Russian GAZ-69 army jeep to it.

[Guest]

Congratulations! You guys and Tony deserve it.
Richard D. Hord

[simplyconnected]

...The announcer says, "The red '59(?) Ford Fairlane. Well, he's done left, so we decided to award it to the black '59 Ford Thunderbird."...

My laugh must have been loud because Robin wanted to know why.
Awesome adventure that Megan will never forget.

I love this story and I can hear it now in the coming years.., 'Hey Dad, remember when we drove Tony that weekend and won a trophy and cash!? Times like that gotta make you a very proud dad. - Dave

[V-John]

I think it was the '58 Tbird model I spent all week working on to make it look like a '59 that clinched it for her. You can barely see it on the dash.

[V-John]

Just some of the work I've been doing since September.

When I said the rear end was leaking, I wasn't kidding:


Pulled out:


Installed:


Rear brakes before:


After:


Brake lines and u-joint:


Left front end before:


before cleaning:


scraping, chiseling, and cleaning:



Ball joints are totally shot. I don't think the drums are very old, and the shoes didn't look bad, but I'm still going to install new shoes. I've got new wheels seals, but having a hard time finding the long single return spring at parts stores. May have to get them at a T-bird vendor. Bearings are great. The rear splash shield steel was ripped and pushed back. I thought maybe someone ran over something, but when I removed the shield I saw some pieces of tire and cord stuck way in there.

I still haven't started on the right front yet.

[simplyconnected]

John, you do nice work. It all looks so much nicer after you cleaned and painted your parts.

Now, let me lay some more work on you...
Since you are taking the spindles off (to change ball joints) go the rest of the way and do the rubber bushings as well.

In my experience, the RH side gets more abuse than the LH. That's because all the puddles are on the right, curbs, storm drain covers, the shoulder of the road, etc.

Vendors carry the bushings for around eight bucks each. Sometimes you can get them as a set. I changed my own using a 1-1/2" pipe nipple and a small sledge hammer I call, Percy. The only part that moves is the rubber that rots out. Nothing pivots. One of them gave me trouble but as soon as I heated it with a propane torch, the rubber melted out and the thing gave up with its hands in the air.

Again, nice work, John. - Dave

[V-John]

Thanks, Dave.

I was going to take some pics of it painted, but the battery was dead in the camera. I plan on buying the parts to do the job but have a local shop that specializes in alignments and frame straightening (frame/unibody isn't bent) to do the real work. I just have a piddly garage with limited workspace.

Is there a rubber flap or something that covers the hole between the fenderwell and the engine compartment where the upper a-arm bolts through? There are some holes made for cage nuts.

[dgs]

If you're referring to having the suspension/alignment shop do the A arm bushings, they are going to have to pull apart everything you have off now to do it. If you've got room to get this far, you likely have room to finish the A arm bushings. It's not as hard as it seems. Biggest pointer is to follow the shop manual for removing the spring, a spring compressor is about useless in this situation.

If you decide to do it, check out my suspension rebuild galley here.

[simplyconnected]

Doug is right on the money, here. You can do the work once at the lowest cost, or do it over again.

There is an alternative. Remove the "A" arms and either do the bushings in your garage or have a professional garage do the work.

The car needs to be raised on jack stands with a scissors-type jack under "A" arm. The lower arms are so long, you don't need a spring compressor. Your Shop Manual describes how to lower the "A" arm once the spindle is detached. The spring will drop right out.

As a general rule, all suspension work is not for the faint-hearted. You need big tools. Again, Doug is right about the bushings. Once you change them, the ride vastly improves, alignment is true and it's good for another fifty years.

BTW, once the parts are in your lap stripping and painting is much easier than trying to do it afterward. A 'garage' won't take the time (or charge the money) to strip and paint. - Dave

[V-John]

That's why I'm doing as much cleaning on what I can reach right now. I don't have the bigger tools, and the space around the car is real limited. I've followed how to remove the springs on here and the shop manual. I'm just not sure what will need a torch to loosen things. The car is right in front of our family room, so I don't need the stink passing through the door.

I may see if my dad would want to try and help me by taking it over to his shop. He's got tons of room and practically every tool we would need. It just depends on what projects he has going on taking up space.

[V-John]

Here's the left side painted. I used a brush so I wouldn't have overspray all over the place, and it won't be seen as closely. I look at it and just keep thinking how nice it'd be to replace the springs and bushings myself (or with help).


I started the right side last night. I was surprised that everything wasn't so filthy or caked like on the left. However, the rear splashguard has a rusty hole. So, after getting the bolts out I beat the crap out of it to break it loose. Meanwhile, dirt was POURING out from behind it like a dumptruck. After getting it off I started scraping the paint-covered dirt inside the fenderwell. And there is a ton of it. A pressure washer would be perfect....if the car was outside. For now I'll focus on getting the brakes on and worry about the inner fender when I do get a chance to roll it outside.







The welded coil spring. Also, no lower bumper stop

[V-John]

Happy New Year's Eve!

Been working on several parts of the car lately, inside and out.

I've got the right front finished, minus splash shields, and also got the brakes installed.

Applied KBS Coating on the rusted area and used their hardening putty in the hole


I decided to go ahead and spend several hours scraping and cleaning under the fender


New brake hardware


New wheel seals, new grease on bearings


I must've accidentally thrown out the self-adjuster kit for the left side and had to re-order another kit. $7 after shipping from Rock Auto.


Left side buttoned up