Eric's 1960 T-Bird

[DKheld]

Thanks Nyles !

Since that pic I've added a double hose guide at the back corner of the valve cover under the wiper vac hose for an even "cleaner" look.

I have a pic of a Tbird with supposedly 23,000 original miles that I use as a guide. The 23K mile car did not have the rear hose guide but I just thought it looked better.



Eric (the other Eric that is....)

[Eric S]

Yellow Rose
Do you had a chance to look at the VINs I sent so I can get some information about those cars?

Also, my car has no windscreen washers although it has the "sprinklers" but no hose seem to be linked. Was it standard on the cars? I do not have a switch for that nor I know where it should be installed.

And I have a button on the left hand side, just forward of the drivers door, level with dashboard instruments, that can be pushed forward. I have no clue what this can activate?

Working on a list of parts I need, I can sometime get confused;
Is there a place where we can get exploded views of the car with part numbers and/or names
I found some in the library but it is not convenient and not complete.

And to finish for now, I would like to use some decals in the car. Can we get a complete set of labels or do we need to get them separately. In this case, I don't know which ones I will need !

[Tbird1044]

Windshield washers were not standard equipment. They were an option. The washer system on these cars was really complicated and rarely used by today's owners. It is very difficult to find original parts. Most of us install a small electric washer pump and wire that in.
As for the switch on the left side, in front of the door, that is your washer switch. It was all controlled by vacuum, so there are 3 vacuum hoses that should run to the switch. One is engine vacuum, one goes to the w/s wiper motor and the remaining hose went to a device/pump located above the generator that would pump the fluid. When the switch was activated, it would start the motor and the pump.
There are several posts on how to convert to an electric system. I think it is also listed in the TRL.
Nyles

[YellowRose]

Eric's 1960 T-Bird

Hi Eric, yes, I was able to run the production figures based on your VIN #'s. If you will PM me your Data Plate information underneath the VIN #'s I can tell you what they left the factory looking like, or you can go to this website and look them up yourself.

http://www.tbird.org/DataPlate/vdata.htm

The windshield washers was an Option in 1960, and the fact that you have a little sliding button on the left hand side in the dog leg of the instrument panel tells me that you have or had windshield washers on the car at one time. However, it was a mickey mouse operation and often was the first thing someone took off the car when it was being worked on. Down in the engine bay there would be a little windshield washer pump, and there should be a hose also. John can tell you more about this, because I think the arrangement changed between 1959 and 1960 production. So yes, you used to have washers, and still do if that unit is still there and can be made operational again. I see while I was writing this, Nyles filled you in on the washer system.... Thanks, Nyles!

Look for a Private Message from me with the Production Breakdown on your VIN #'s..

[Eric S]

Thank you for your replies and Sorry
I edited my previous message but you replied in the meantime :

Working on a list of parts I need, I can sometime get confused;
Is there a place where we can get exploded views of the car with part numbers and/or names
I found some in the library but it is not convenient and not complete.

And to finish for now, I would like to use some decals in the car. Can we get a complete set of labels or do we need to get them separately. In this case, I don't know which ones I will need !

[YellowRose]

Eric's 1960 T-Bird

Eric, you can get the Osborne Electrical Assembly Manual, the Osborne Body & Interior Trim Assembly Manual, the Shop Manual if you do not have one (get it on CD instead of the book, it is cheaper, and just print out the pages you need to work on the car instead of getting grease on the book), Specifications & Features Manual, Owners Manual, and '60-'64 Ford Car Parts Text & Illustrations Catalog on CD, and complete Decal sets for your year of Tbirds. They can all be obtained from the Bird Nest. Look at www.tbirdparts.com The Wiring Diagrams can be found in the Technical Resource Library.

[Eric S]

I can find Decal kits (and I am not sure they are complete anyway) at Bird Nest and MAC but they are different. Anybody had a good experience with either one?

[jopizz]

I can find Decal kits (and I am not sure they are complete anyway) at Bird Nest and MAC but they are different. Anybody had a good experience with either one?

The basic decal set that Mac's sells is the one you want. If you have A/C there is a separate decal for that. Some sets have a decal for the oil fill cap but I've never seen a factory one have a decal.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_thunderbird/thunderbird-basic-decal-kit-1960.html

John

[jopizz]

Stock 1960 Thunderbirds had very few decals that were visible. There were decals on the generator and starter but they were not easy to see. The only decals that were visible in the engine compartment were on the air cleaner, the coil and the voltage regulator. If the car had A/C there was a decal for that. Since you don't have the stock air cleaner that decal will be wasted. It's up to you how creative you want to get with decals or how much you want to spend on them.

John

[Eric S]

Tahnk you John
I will have a look at that.
If anyone has time to review hte parts below I plan to order it would be appreciated.

1. On the exhaust manifold gasket I selected that one for now : https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...1336632&jsn=14
Priced right and come with shield...

2. That one as Oil Pan gasket.https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...1336632&jsn=12

3. I need to replace the rear spring pads. Car was fitted with little rubber pads that had too much curves in the alps and exploded in pieces.
I am concerned that the springs leaves has been replaced. Will those pads and plates will fit my springs?
I should use the plate 5736A from Bird nest
with the pads A5-38
Both listed for 1958-1960
But they have 5741C for "before 2-1-1961"!?
And then they have A5-39
That one being listed for newer cars but isn't it an improved, more modern part that I may use even if not 100% period correct?

4. Then the Horn Snap Ring 354717-5 that nobody seems to have. Is it a regular hadware shop part?

5. On the throttle linkage, the part bolted on the rear of the engine that takes the rod from the pedal and makes it to the carb and also bear the quick-down linkage, it has a lot of play. Can we repair it or find a replacement? Depending of how fast I release the pedal, the idle is not always at its lowest.

We talked earlier about the Oil Screen that needs to be cleaned. It is just a matter of cleaning, right? No spare parts needed here?
As for the oil pan gasket, to change it, will I have to lift the engine?

Sorry for all the questions but I spent hours on the web and in manuals and I do not progress as fast as I would like... And yes I asked questions to the bird nest, 3 days ago and still waits...

[jopizz]

Eric,

Exhaust manifold gaskets were not used from the factory. It should be metal on metal. If yours leak then you probably need to have the exhaust manifolds decked. Putting gaskets in usually does not fix the leak once the manifolds are warped.

You should be able to find the snap ring locally. It is not a specialty part.

The throttle linkage can be repaired by putting a bushing in. You can also check with Carl Heller to see if he has a better one.

The oil pickup screen can be cleaned and yes you will have to jack up the engine slightly to remove the pan. You may also have to turn the crank to clear the counter weights. There is a flat spot behind the oil filter where you can put a jack.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

John

[Eric S]

John

I am surprised (and believe you) that there is no gasket originally. Beside everybody sel gaskets...
In any case on the right, the gasket broke and I have an exhaust noise from there and on the left the gasket has been cut in a (different than right) rubber so it is overall not nice.
I remain however a bit concerned to reassemble these metal on metal and would prefer to use gaskets.
Anything wrong with it?
I may have the manifolds surfaced maybe?

As for the steering column to replace the Shift tube selector arm. I removed the Shift Tube and the selector arm remains on the column, held in place, I guess, by the steering column that is retained on the steering gear by a large nut.
Am I right to unbolt this large nut to slide off the steering column and makes free the selector arm?

I read the 9-1 Steering Gear and Linkage on the shop manual and on "2 Steering Adjustments", there is not enough illustrations and too many technical words for me.
And did not find much in the Technical Ressource Library.
Anybody could know and forward an adjustment procedure?

[Tbird1044]

Eric:
In order to replace the shift tube selector arm, you will need to remove the entire steering column from the car. The steering shaft that goes into the steering box is all one piece and cannot be disassembled for this job. First remove the steering wheel. Then mark and disconnect all of the electrical wires at the bottom of the steering column. Then there is a plate that is screwed to the firewall where the column goes through. Remove this plate. Now you should have a pretty good size hole in the firewall. The steering column is secured to the dash with a "U" shaped bracket that is held in place with 2 allen head bolts. Remove this bracket. You may want to mark the location of the steering column in relation to the bracket to return it in the same position. This can affect the proper location for the horn contact button. Once the bracket is removed and wires disconnected, the steering column should slide off the main steering shaft to the inside of the car. Once the column is removed, the shift arm can be removed and replaced. All of the shift tube selector arms that I have replaced were really tight on the fit to the shift tube. It needs to slide freely so I carefully sanded the inside diameter to it would move freely up and down on the shaft. I'll attach a few pics that may help.
The first picture shows the steering box with the steering shaft attached. The second picture is of the entire steering column that needs to be removed as a single unit.
Nyles

[DKheld]

Eric,

I learned the hard way that installing gaskets on the exhaust manifolds is a bad idea.

Here's my old post about the gaskets. Hope you decide to leave them out and have your manifolds surfaced.

http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin...ad.php?t=16727

Eric T.

[YellowRose]

Eric's 1960 T-Bird

Replacing the shift tube selector arm is also covered in the Technical Resource Library (TRL) in the Steering section. Here is the link.

http://www.squarebirds.org/picture_g...eplacement.htm