New 1963 T-Bird owner

[Guest]

Hi
We(my husband,kids 16 and 11,and me) inherited from my uncle--orginal owner. Our new baby "Pink Lady" is a 1963 hard top, pink,with 26,600 miles. The inside is in wonderful shape, the out side is in great shape. I do have a few ?'s for the pros
1.new tires--ours are dry-rotted--can they be bought anywhere? or do I need to special order them some where?
2 chrome--no rust but some is green,needs a good cleaning--any great products
3--washing car-any products recommended

The car had not been started in over 5 years--we towed it to a garage to get it started--a new battery,new plugs and distributor, new points,air filter and she runs great---we were thinking of selling so we did not do anything else--we talked my mom--long story lol--into keeping the car so what else should we get done--we are not mechanical--but the shop we use is great and reasonable--250 for the above(witha few thing s I forgot added lol) I think we should replace the brake line/pads and all the belts---this all works but if we are taking a sunday/family ride I hate to have anything happen--am I a worried mom? or should we do other things--the car has been parked for over 30 years--started once in a while moved around the parking area,drive a mile or so--and nothing in the past 5-10 years
I have photos of before we moved it--she is dirty I will send later as my computer will not let me do it right now
Any help/advice is welcome as we a new to this and $$ is tight

Melissa in WV

[tbird430]

We would LOVE to see some pics.

[Guest]

Welcome melissa Don't be to quick to sell it. Belts,hoses and fluids is what i would change first. Then i'd start it every day and warm it up and drive it a little. Until you feel the car will go where you want and bring you back. and o ya the tires. Things are going to go wrong with it but that's part of having a classic.

[Petrolhead]

Hi Melissa
Sounds like a very cool car - don't sell it. As tbirds8 says, just drive it bit by bit and build your confidence in your '63. It is after all 45 years old, same age as me and I'm in terrible shape (:
Use it and enjoy it, fix the safety and reliabiity issues as money allows, then worry about the cosmetics.

[wklink]

I agree.

Some things that you should do with the car right away.

Belts and hoses. As others said these should be replaced immediately.

Tires of course. They don't make exact copies of the original bias ply tires but a good set of radials will ride better and last longer.

Brakes should be gone over closely but trust your mechanic on whether anything needs replaced. You might need to replace pads and cylinders (if they leak) but as long as the car stops ok you probably won't need to replace more.

When you have the hose off the front replace the thermostat. It is easy to do on these cars (it is right behind the overflow tank for the radiator and comes off with two bolts). If the car sat for a while it may have corroded.

Check to make sure your heater core is working well, if not replace it. It isn't hard to do but is a little time consuming.

Make sure ever fluid in the car is replaced. Make sure all the original seals and fittings are intact. The most expensive thing you may have to do on the car is suspension work. Sitting for a long time can be hard on the suspension (that's why most people put cars up on blocks) and replacement of all the rubber will cost some $$$$. Most T-bird supply houses carry everything you need and if your mechanic gives you a list you should be able to pick everything up.

You are good in a lot of respects. The car looks rust free. Rust repair on these cars can get very expensive. It looks well taken care of and that is a major plus. The 390 is a great engine, almost bulletproof but it isn't idiotproof and if the car was abused then you would have a much harder time getting her back up.

I suggest keeping the car. Even if you do little things a little bit at a time you will have a car that was a part of your family and will remain in your family. It is a great cruiser and you will get a lot of complements from people. People in their 50s will talk about riding in one as a kid, people in their 60's will talk about wanting one as a young adult, people in their 70s will talk about owning one.

My last bit of advise is look for and join a local Thunderbird or at least Ford Club. The folks there will be able to steer you in the right direction and give you a lot of great advice.