1959
My 1959 Ford Thunderbird Hardtop ~ Casino Cream & Colonial White Top
Vehicle Description: This is an all original 1959 Ford Thunderbird "SquareBird"... All except the paint, generator, carb and perhaps the seat covers. This car has cold A/C from the factory, factory power seats, factory power windows, factory power steering and power brakes. The power plant is a 352 Special and Cruise-O-Matic transmission.
I bought it 7 months ago and have since replaced the brakes all around, upgraded the carb to an Edelbrock 1406, installed the engine chrome dress up kit (minus the valve covers which need to go on yet), installed the chrome external dress up kit, replaced belts, spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributer rotor and cap, replaced the generator with an alternator, installed an auxiliary electric fuel pump in addition to a new vacuum fuel pump, installed an in-line fuel pressure gauge, re-painted the Thunderbird emblems, and pin striped the roof sails, arrows and rear end. The rims have retro style chrome propeller wheel covers on them. The previous owner put the dimple in the right rear bumper. I have the replacement piece for it. Down the road, all bumper components will come off to be chromed.
Underneath, the Bird is undercoated, there is a good, used fuel tank in place now, and a new, appropriate fuel sending unit. The front end has been completely redone as of today. New brake lines, new fuel lines (except the steel ones which are in good condition), new power steering lines, new upper/lower ball joints, two good used lower A Frames, (the ones on it had been burned through with a torch by a previous owner to get the old ball joints off and replaced), new bushings and rubber bumpers, and many new front end components. The front end is now pretty much a new one. The motor mounts are in very good condition. The rear end "Pumpkin" was leaking and that has been fixed. The transmission mount needs replaced and that will be done tomorrow. The part is in. Same thing for a leak at the lever going into the transmission box.
Inside the Bird, the seat covers are in pretty good condition, but look like they might have been replaced with an after market set in the past. I have new front and back seat foams to go on when the interior is redone. The fuel and temperature gauge and the clock did not work. I had them reconditioned and the clock quartezed. They work now. All the dashboard controls now work. The wiper motor was replaced, as was the control cable. The rear view mirrow was replaced with a '61 day/night mirror for better viewing and safety. The radio does not work yet, but it will, one way or the other. The drivers side rear small window motor is not working and has been taken out. I don't want those windows to come down anyway.
All the interior chrome has been taken off and polished to look like new. The overhead chrome strip the mirror and sunshades attach to has been replaced with a new one. The rear sails have been chromed. On them are mounted a '61 style Thunderbird long winged emblem with the turquoise inserts. When the interior is replaced, a matching one will go on the center section between the seats. The door step plates have been chromed and covered with a stick on plastic material to protect them when they are stepped on. The instrument panel and glove box have been cleaned and look pretty well. The overall interior is in pretty good shape. The headliner is in very good shape. My plans are to have the interior redone to match the external Casino Cream and White colors. The dashpad will be Casino Cream, as will the center console. The rear side panels will be Casino Cream. The door panels will be Casino Cream on top and some White on the bottom, with a black kick panel.
Down the road, it will need a good paint job, but not entirely. So there you have my "Yellow Rose Of Texas". Here are a few of the many pictures I have taken showing the process of getting her road worthy again.
Showing Off My 352 Engine & My Thunderbird Fender Covers
Working On a Fuel Pump Pressure Problem & Showing Off My Alternator
Hood & Roof Emblems Re-Painted Using Nail Polish & A Clear Coat Over Them
Pin Striping The Spears, Sails & Rear Brake Light Sections
What My Gas Tank Looked Like Before We Replaced The Defective Sensor & The Tank
My "New" Gas Tank (Thanks to Casey!) & My New Electric Fuel Pump
What 58 Pieces Of Chromed Parts Looks Like & My Propeller Wheel Covers
My Front End, Leaking Power Steering Hose & The Beginning of Cleaning It Up
A Previous Owner Used A Torch On The Lower A Frames ~
I Replaced Them With Good Ones From Bird Nest ~
Cleaned Up Power Steering & New Hoses
Mechanic Bathed & Painted the Upper/Lower A Frames & Springs ~ I Guess He Likes Silver
View Of Completed Front End ~ Drivers Side View & Passenger Side View
Final View Of Completed Front End ~ Drivers Side View & Passenger Side View
Chromed Step Plate W/Clear Body Guard & My Fully Working Instrument Panel
Left And Right Rear Axles Being Checked And Repaired As Necessary
Left And Right Rear Brakes ~ A Recent Complete Brake Job was done
My "Pumpkin" Was Leaking Around The Gasket & The Seal
Drive Shaft & Transmission Mount (It Is A B8S-6068-A AY For A '58 Tbird)
Tbird Emblems On Interior Sails & "Yellow Rose" At 1st ShowNShine ~ Castroville, TX
Created: 24 June, 2008
Last Modified: 4 August, 2008
Email me at: rayclark07"at"gmail.com (Replace the "at" with @)
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Soaring Eagle Productions ~ Ray Clark