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Hey Mike,
I will have to agree, these old Thunderbirds are CLASSICS; (Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind) They deserve to be restored to there original glory or a little better. It breaks my heart to see one that has been chopped, shaved, over modified and ugly hood scoops added. (like the '59 on Ebay, beautiful car with ungodly hood scoop) I hope we pride ourselves in restoring these old Birds so future generations can enjoy them as much as we do!
This is my opinion and does not reflect the opinion of Squarebirds and or it members!
Richard D. Hords
I have to mildly disagree with you on modifying or customizing. I agree it would be a shame to take a pristine car and make radical changes to it but.... if the only way a car is going to get back on the street is when some one has a vision of it modified or customized I say good for them.
I had a 35 ford sedan delivery I chopped three inchs and painted candy apple red with flames. The "restorers" would see it at a show and bemoan what was done to it. I always kept pictures of it when I bought it and would tell them they had all walked away from it because it was to far gone. I had to replace the lower 18" of the car all the way around as well as the floor. I am glad to see any classic on the road instead of in a pasture or wrecking yard rusting away. We are all car guys whether restorers, hot rodders, street rodders etc. Just my soap box. Grant
Grant
NCbird on the Coast of NC
"Dads Bird" for my father
Hey Mike,
It breaks my heart to see one that has been chopped, shaved, over modified and ugly hood scoops added. (like the '59 on Ebay, beautiful car with ungodly hood scoop)
Richard D. Hords
I saw that one, same color as my 58, I was thinking of doing that to mine...... No?
Hey Grant,
Yea, I will agree old old cars make nice street rods. Nothing no better than a old car chopped, shaved, tunneled and all that good stuff with a small block Chevy shoved in it! Ah, forget that last part! You get to a point of who has the most money! Its a never ending process. You missed my point. The '58-'60 Thunderbirds are not street rods. They are classics! They need to be restored the way the factory made them. Yes I agree there are somethings that need to be up graded. Brakes, windshield wipers, radio, etc... But the body needs to stay the way it was made. Take for example, Ray's Yellowrose, it was done with good taste and is pretty close to the original. He has not ruined the body or made any modifications that cannot be changed back if he so desires. The '58-'60 was one of Fords best ideals and body designs there every was. I know some will disagree! That is just my opinion!!!
Richard D. Hord
Just to make sure it is ok to keep posting on this forum.
My intention is not to upset anyone about restore vs modify and I'm not here to promote either. I do both and enjoy both.
I found this site by searching for disc brake upgrades for a 1959 Thunderbird. There are other sites out there, but this site has a lot of good info on the subject so I landed here.
I didn't feel right coming in and just being a lurker using the info that was researched by a lot of good people and then leave.
I thought if I could show a T'Bird being worked on and how I would fix the rust and damaged areas I could return the favor of using the disc brake info and some steering info I came across your forum.
I'm not here to ruffle any feathers. I know there has to be some DIYer's here that might find the build useful or at least give that ole 'Bird another look. It might just be worth saving. Whether it be restored or modified.
As you can tell the one I'm working on really has some problems. In my opinion someone went to a lot of trouble to cover up a lot of problems and then pawned it off on some unsuspecting person who thought it was restored.
The current owner is not me, but a friend who was able to tell it wasn't what it appeared and asked for my help.
No, it won't be restored. It wasn't the previous time either , but it sure fooled someone.
If it is ok I will keep posting. Again this is your forum and I'm not here to cause any problems.
well, o.k. somebody's car. In the end everyone expresses them self in there own unique way. I was just speaking my mind (such as it is) . It's just that that color does nothing for me or that car JMO. As to the 351W thing. You can mount an AOD to an FE so why give up the great sound and originality not to mention all that low end grunt of a big block in a heavy car. Also your going to have do Quite a bit of modification to make it work just to end up with less power and then you have that little small block siting in that big engine bay. Hey why not just stick in a 350 chebbie. Ouch! that hurt just picturing it in my mind. Sorry for the rant. I promise to go right back on my meds. No matter which way you go, I'm sure we'll be interested in seeing your progress. Mike
Hey Guys,
No harm no foul! I'm just like most people gotta get my two cents worth in. Hey Keith, don't feel bad we do this every once in a while. We are all friends and friends have to have some disagreements every once in a while. You keep asking questions and we will try to help, if we don't know we will find out for ya!
Love you guys and love these old Thunderbirds!!!
Richard D. Hord
I'm a FE fan. I took the wore out Y block out of my '61 unibody P/U and put a 390 with a 3-2 setup in it. I have another 390 waiting to go in my '40 merc conv..
I'm a FE fan. I took the wore out Y block out of my '61 unibody P/U and put a 390 with a 3-2 setup in it. I have another 390 waiting to go in my '40 merc conv..
It's still not my car.
350 chebbie? You better double your meds.
Keith Daleen
Sedalia, Mo.
Okay, I want to see photos of your 3-2 setup. Is it a factory ford setup? I am sitting on an Edelbrock 3-2 FE intake, someday it will make into one of my fords....
So you guys would get mad if I installed a Twin Turboed Chevy LS-1 motor in that 60 I just picked up?
Yes it is a factory 1962 setup. The truck is in storage. But I can get a picture of it. i'll have to move some thing to get to it. May be a week or two till I get time to get out there.
Keith
Originally posted by RustyNCa
Okay, I want to see photos of your 3-2 setup. Is it a factory ford setup? I am sitting on an Edelbrock 3-2 FE intake, someday it will make into one of my fords....
So you guys would get mad if I installed a Twin Turboed Chevy LS-1 motor in that 60 I just picked up?
Looks like you might be money ahead if you found another decent body and relegated this one to the position of parts donor. Take a magnet with you when you go looking. I like a challenge as much as the next guy but it's so much nicer starting with some decent sheet metal. Mike
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