Project Snowbird - 1960 Hardtop

[YellowRose]

Project Snowbird - 1960 Hardtop

Tim, those are some great looking Ranchero's! You might look for these 14" rims, because the 14" OEM rims that your Tbird left the factory with are NOT manufactured to handle a disc brake set up in them.. As it is, 14" rims off any 1977-1979 rim from the Lincoln Versailles, Ford LTD II, Torino, or Ranchero, 1975-1980 Ford Granada, 1972-1979 Torino, or Ranchero just barely fit, with a very slim amount of space left once the rims are in place. But they do fit.

No one that I know of had to replace their stock sway bar because of adding the disc brake setup that we used. Some have replaced it for a heavier duty, better sway bar because of choice for better performance of the car, and even added a rear sway bar.

[Daleo56]

As it is, 14" rims off any 1977-1979 rim from the Lincoln Versailles, Ford LTD II, Torino, or Ranchero, 1975-1980 Ford Granada, 1972-1979 Torino, or Ranchero just barely fit, with a very slim amount of space left once the rims are in place. But they do fit.

I will see if I have enough rims to make a set at the shop!

I drilled out the trunk lock tonight. I was hoping for treasure but only found four gallons of old water, old snow chains and some rat droppings. Ugh.

[Dan Leavens]

Tim is that a snow tire as the spare Looks like it has some serious rubber

[Daleo56]

Tim is that a snow tire as the spare Looks like it has some serious rubber

Yes it is a snow tire. Or a small tractor tire.

Help. The TRL did not say which wire reversed the motor. I think my switch only works up and I got it wedged in there on accident when trying to remove it.

[jopizz]

The red and yellow are your up and down. The green should have power in either direction.

John

[Tbird1044]

You also have a bumper jack. You are lucky it is still there.

Nyles

[Daleo56]

I finally drove the Thunderbird over to the shop today. It drives great and was fun to cruise in!

Once I got it up on the lift I did find a few more spots of rust on the outer rear panels but the floors were solid and very nice. It has thick undercoating so that saved the entire bottom. I have a few days off next week so I will leave it there and start fixing the easy stuff first. It needs a thorough pressure wash but I am confident that it will clean up real nice.

[Daleo56]

The wife and I drove down to Larry's Thunderbird for some parts today. They are only 45 minutes away and their prices are great. I bought carpet, trunk kit, dash and a bunch of small stuff. I am excited to get this new dash painted and in the car!

I dealt with Bob down there and he was really cool. We got the 10% discount for orders over $1,000 and will go back next month for leather seats.

[YellowRose]

Project Snowbird - 1960 Hardtop

I just had an enjoyable conversation with the owner regarding their discount. He confirmed the 10% discount on $1,000+ orders. I also posted additional information in their ad in the Advertisements Forum.

[bird 60]

I've been dealing with Larry's for the past 15 years & been very happy. Un-fortunately for us, we have to try & keep it under $1,000 purchase at a time because we have to pay Import Duty Tax. I've been getting a new Catalogue for free every time they update as well. I have found the company to have good communication skills, fair price, & always got what I ordered.

Chris....From OZ.

[Daleo56]

They were easy to deal with and picked the order really fast. I was out of there in about 30 minutes.

After I got back to the shop I decided to work a little more on the engine compartment before I tore apart the interior. Boy was that a bunch of work! After a few hours of sandblasting the parts and cleaning I brought them home and painted the valve covers Goldenglow Yellow, the air cleaner Colonial White and the new battery tray Moroccan Ivory. The colors were the Seymour equivalents of those colors and the Ivory was from Touchuppaintonline.com and is an exact match. I have used them before on some other cars and the paint is great.

They turned out fairly well and look good. Now I have to figure out how to clean up the mess the previous owner left me inside the engine. Ugh.

[YellowRose]

Project Snowbird - 1960 Hardtop

I see you are cleaning her up! In case you need it, here is the 1960 Tbird Color Chart. You should be able to save it for future reference.

[Daleo56]

I see you are cleaning her up! In case you need it, here is the 1960 Tbird Color Chart. You should be able to save it for future reference.

Thank you. I bought one on Ebay a few weeks ago. I liked the 56' picture since it showed the engine colors. Always good to something to match to!

[Restifier52]

mmm those parts look great! Looks like you're gonna have a showstopper when you're done. Rick

[Daleo56]

mmm those parts look great! Looks like you're gonna have a showstopper when you're done. Rick

Thank you for the compliment. I am hoping I can get everything but the paint done first. It has such cool patina that I do not mind leaving as it is for now. My guy can always scuff and paint it later if I save up enough money.

I got my shocks in yesterday and my new mufflers from Summit. The mufflers are as close to direct replacement as I could find there and hopefully will sound nice when I install them this weekend. The mufflers on the car now are not original and one of them has holes so these 15x9 mufflers should do the job.

This weekend, since I am going to change the shocks I am probably going to remove the rear end and have the springs, tank straps and driveshaft sandblasted so I can paint everything up in clear, black or red oxide depending on the part . The tank was installed just so I could drive it on the trailer and I want to clean the undercoating off underneath it. I have new rear brake shoes ready and will also clean up the nasty leak on the differential while it is out.

Front Shocks - Monroe Monro-Matic Plus Shocks and Struts 32066

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mon-32066

Rear Shocks - Monroe Monro-Matic Plus Shocks and Struts 31125

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mon-31125

Mufflers - Walker Universal SoundFX Mufflers 17895

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wlk-17895