48k Survivor

[Zerkfitting]

I bought a ’65 Thunderbird last summer; it has 48,000 on the odometer. The car is solid (no rattles going over railroad tracks), everything works, the paint looks original, and I haven’t noticed any signs of body repair; it is a survivor. The car was in the shop several times for about half the summer. Just about everything with a gasket has been serviced; I was fortunate to find a mechanic who still knows what a carburetor is. The car was running well at the end of the summer

My goal is to preserve the car for the next owner while I enjoy it for a few years. I think the best thing I can do for the car is to run it and maintain it.

I plan on doing some work on it myself this summer. I bought a set of service manuals to assist my mechanic and help me determine how things are put together for things I can do. I’m looking for tips.

One of the rear electric windows stopped working (it was working). The schematic looks straight forward but I’m not sure how to remove 50 year old panels without causing damage.

I’ll be replacing the drivers mirror with a correct one that has the remote cable. And I’ll add a mirror to the right side.

The interior door panels are the only parts that show wear. The door panel covering around door pulls is split on both doors, you can see the foam behind the covering. I’m not sure what to do about that short of an expensive replacement.

The car does have a couple mysteries. The drivers side sits 3/4” lower than the passenger side. I suspect the springs might be fatigued but I don’t know. And the right front tire scraps the inner fender well when I backup and turn to the left, all other steering is OK; I wonder what tire size is normal I think the original tire size was an odd one).

[OUR5T8BIRD]

I bought a ’65 Thunderbird last summer; it has 48,000 on the odometer. The car is solid (no rattles going over railroad tracks), everything works, the paint looks original, and I haven’t noticed any signs of body repair; it is a survivor. The car was in the shop several times for about half the summer. Just about everything with a gasket has been serviced; I was fortunate to find a mechanic who still knows what a carburetor is. The car was running well at the end of the summer

My goal is to preserve the car for the next owner while I enjoy it for a few years. I think the best thing I can do for the car is to run it and maintain it.



I plan on doing some work on it myself this summer. I bought a set of service manuals to assist my mechanic and help me determine how things are put together for things I can do. I’m looking for tips.

One of the rear electric windows stopped working (it was working). The schematic looks straight forward but I’m not sure how to remove 50 year old panels without causing damage.

I’ll be replacing the drivers mirror with a correct one that has the remote cable. And I’ll add a mirror to the right side.

The interior door panels are the only parts that show wear. The door panel covering around door pulls is split on both doors, you can see the foam behind the covering. I’m not sure what to do about that short of an expensive replacement.

The car does have a couple mysteries. The drivers side sits 3/4” lower than the passenger side. I suspect the springs might be fatigued but I don’t know. And the right front tire scraps the inner fender well when I backup and turn to the left, all other steering is OK; I wonder what tire size is normal I think the original tire size was an odd one).

Scott : Can try and help out with suggestions on a few items . With the power window , lift the switch housing on the console and try to switch the left switch with the right switch for the rear windows . just swap the wires at the plug and see if it may be the switch . ( jumper wires can also be used .) Keep in mind that the switches in the rear can be cancelled out with the rocker switch on the console unit but will still work from the console . ( kid proofing ) If you have to remove the window to get to the motor, just remove the seat bottom, arm rest on that side and then the back of the seat and window panel . then the whole assembly has to come out to work on the motor .

As for the door panels if only cracked at the hand cup , check with a local ' used car dealer ' and ask them who they use for any vinyl repair to their vehicles . Better than replacing complete panels which are troublesome in my opinion .

The original tire size on the '65 was 8.15 X 15" . If you have changed over to radial, the closest in size is 215 X 75R X 15 . Some owners may go to 225 X 70R X 15 which may tend to give a bit of tire rub . One common area is on the left ( driver ) side when making a left turn and will rub on the steering box mounting bolts . Also check the front splash shields to make sure they are not bent .

To check riding height , here are the specks from wheel well opening to ground. ( as came from the factory )

hardtop - front - 27 21/32" ; rear - 22 23/32" .

Hope all this helps a bit .

[YellowRose]

48k Survivor

This is what a good vinyl repair techie can do... My '59 had a split in the dashpad when I bought it. During the customization of my interior, my interior guy told me he knew a great vinyl tech that could fix that so that it would look like new again. So he called him in, and he worked his magic on it. The first pic will show you the cracks in the pad. The second one will show the work he was doing on it to seal the cracks. The last pic will show you the finished job, and it still looks good like that to this day..

[Zerkfitting]

Thank you for the help. I'll be checking things out in the spring and I'll be looking into local vinyl repair information.

[OUR5T8BIRD]

This is what a good vinyl repair techie can do... My '59 had a split in the dashpad when I bought it. During the customization of my interior, my interior guy told me he knew a great vinyl tech that could fix that so that it would look like new again. So he called him in, and he worked his magic on it. The first pic will show you the cracks in the pad. The second one will show the work he was doing on it to seal the cracks. The last pic will show you the finished job, and it still looks good like that to this day..

A picture is worth a thousand words Ray . Awesome job and thanks for sharing the pictures .