1964 Ford Thunderbird

Convertible Convertible

390

Automatic

4Y85Z130237

Clear

Gasoline

Normal.dotm 0 0 1 858 4891 Home 40 9 6006 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Up for your consideration is my 1964 Thunderbird convertible that needs the restoration completed. I purchased the car on E-Bay back in March , 2006, with the intentions to have it restored to the nicest car in the area. The car arrived solid, ran fine, little rust, and a good candidate for my project. Everything completed to this point has been professionally done and we started at the sole of the car and it is mechanically complete and can be driven in your trailer. The body work and paint is complete and turned out nice with the exception of the panel the convertible top mounts to. My body guy was to complete the assembly of the car, but he sold some property at the beginning of the project and became pretty independent - 5 years later, I finally pulled the plug and brought the car home. I'm not the guy who can put it together myself and burnt out on the project. First I’ll tell you what has been done to date. Drive train- the car ran fine when it arrived, but if I was to have the best, I wanted a dependable car: o Engine was pulled, disassembled, cleaned, checked, and the following work completed: · Engine kit installed (bearings, seals, gaskets, etc.) · Valve seats replaced · Grind valves and seats · Resurface heads · Balanced engine · New polished alum intake installed with a new 4 bbl Holly · New MSD ignition · New chrome alternator · New polished alum water pump · Original valve covers sent to chrome shop before being installed · Pulleys and fan chromed - basically everything was chromed or polished alum that is seen · Transmission pulled – disassembled – cleaned and checked – reinstalled (the pan has a slight leak - needs a new gasket) · Rear end – drained – inspected – new seals – reassembled · Brake inspected and lines replaced · Fuel tank replaced with new including new fuel gauge sending unit · Rear springs were tired, so he added an extra leaf to pick the car back up where it belongs · Shocks replaced · The car is running and can be driven onto your trailer or truck if you don’t mind sitting on a 5 gal bucket o Body: · All paint was stripped down to bare metal · Engine compartment was stripped, cleaned up, and epoxy paint used for durability. Engine was re-installed after this step to take the pressure off the mechanic of scratching the new body paint job. · Front floor pans had some rust, so they were cut out and new pans installed. Rear pans were solid and only cleaned up and painted · Rocker panels had minor rust, so they were repaired “old school” by cutting out the rust and welding patches where needed, then filled out with body filler · Left side of car had been repaired from wreck from years ago. If you notice the pictures, the driver’s door has been replaced (it’s red on the inside). There was some bondo behind the door and the repair not up to par, so he removed the old repair and completed it properly. It was repaired again with body filler as the wreck was minor and only needed cosmetic repair. · Doors shimmed out to fit properly · The car was primed out and finish coated with DuPont Chromabase 4491K · All chrome was sent to the chrome shop and refinished or replaced with new components (smaller items like door handles and mirrors were replaced) · All body gaskets were purchased and mostly installed – still a few in the boxes · As most T-bird fans know, the mechanical system that raises and lowers the top was an engineering failure and most times have problems. Replacing some on the electrical components with a modern micro-switch can solve this problem. I have that switch, but it has not been installed. The switch was somewhere between $400 - $500 – don’t remember for sure and I lost that receipt · o Interior · Gauge cluster was removed and sent off for restoration. All chrome was re-plated, gauges repaired or replaced and calibrated, painted portions completed to match new interior color, and the odometer was set to zero. The cluster came out beautiful, but at a cost of $1700. · I purchased leather (not vinyl) seat covers (Thunderbird Headquarters), which are still in the box. Also included is the alum panels that trim out the front seats that have been refurbished · I have carpet fabricated and ready to install including the optional door panel inserts · I have new front door panels in the box ready to install · All of the interior chrome, stainless, and alum trim found in the Thunderbird have been re-furbished or replaced with new components. · Misc items sitting ready to be installed include new window switches including housings, new gas pedal, new door scuff plates with decals, new 60 amp main breaker, new rear view mirror, new door handles IS and OS, new name plate script for the dash, new windshield including gasket, all new lens and gaskets for interior lighting, all the weather stripping for the convertible top, new sun visor brackets, new trunk mat including tire cover, new seat belts including reinforcing plates, and a new radio with front and rear speakers (factory fit on the speakers – I’m not impressed with the radio and wasn’t going to use it, but it is included), o What expenses are left? · I do not have a new convertible top and you definitely will need one. I always thought a top sitting in the box will shrink up and will not fit properly if not installed in a timely fashion, besides who ever was going to install the top, I figured they had a brand they preferred. · The panel that the top is mounted to was not painted, but will require it after the old top is removed · You are going to need a set of wheels and tires. Again I never wanted to purchase them until it was closer to time to start driving · The only chrome I did not get to the shop was the wing windows. I started to disassemble one of them, then decided I had better get a glass man to do that for me so I didn’t break anything. There is also the long piece of chrome that the convertible top sits on across the windshield. That piece just never got sent off. · If you are like me, you’ll have the expense of having someone assemble all these pieces for you – if you’re a car guy or gal – you’ve got a month of fun ahead of you. I’m sure there is other things I have left out, but basically you have a nice car sitting with most of what you need to get it going down the road to her first car show. I’ve included several pictures, it there is something you need special, let me know and I’ll get it posted for you. Bottom line is I have about $30K sitting in my garage that can be taken to your garage for a whole lot less. I would consider trades - what have you got??? - Please don't offer me a motorcycle or another project and it doesn't necessarily have to have wheels - just cool. Thanks for reading this all the way through - Don