Since I currently don't have much time, and would like to continue work on the car, I am considering having the interior re-done by professionals. The dashboard cover was replaced 22 years ago, and it was not done terribly well. Also, since I've repainted the car in a non-original color, it no longer matches (and the carpet is faded, and the seat is worn, and... lots of things).
Since my new exterior color is closest to a 1955 Thunderbird red, and the interior is almost identical (different seat cushion pattern, different steering wheel), I'm looking to do it with 1955 T-bird parts. Any way, here are some pictures as it is today.

Here's an overall picture of the interior.

Here's the interior of the passenger door. Note that the window is not installed. This is because I found out that my switch was bad. The motor works from the drivers side (I've already replaced that switch), but trying to install the window running back and forth from the other side doesn't sound fun. I'm just waiting until my next part order is big enough to order the new switch (or, if I can figure out how, to fix the old one - it's only broken in one direction).

 Here's a closer look at the dashboard. Notice how it does not match the body color, and the cover is not attached well. Also, the paint on the lower portion of the dash is chipped, and needs to be redone.

Here's a closer look at the steering wheel. The hole on the left is where the tach goes, but I have that out, trying to fix it. I probably need to get it rebuilt (the tach cable is spinning, but when it's installed on the tach it makes a lot of noise and does not given a consistent reading).
The steering wheel is in quite good condition, but it's paint is faded, and is now the wrong color. The horn ring was re-chromed in 1990, and I think it doesn't need to be redone, just polished up a bit.
The steering column is another question - new one's aren't that expensive, but I'd still like to try some steel wool on it before giving up on it.

 Here's the inside of the drivers side door. The window is installed, and it work. I just need to get the door panel on.

 Here's a closer look at the seat. Again, it's the wrong color. It also has a tear, and the padding is worn from many years of holding up my butt.

 Here's the driver's side floor. The carpet was replaced in 1990, but it faded quite quickly (quite noticeable by 1993, actually). Since then, it's been on a downward trend. I'm not sure what to get that will be more durable, but I'm open to suggestions. Also, this carpet has never really fit well. (I have a replacement brake pedal, but have not been able to get it on - need a bigger hammer).

 Here's the drop curtain. It's always been a bit tight when snapped - I think it was installed wrong. Also, wrong color, etc.

 Here's one of the sun visors. They are in good shape, just need a lot of scrubbing.

 Here's the convertible top. It hasn't been in the car since about 1985. It had a box dropped through it some time before 1983, and was never fixed (an aftermarket hard top was bought to replace it - not shown in these pictures). The frame should be in good condition, but probably needs a paint job and some TLC. The vinyl is a lost cause, as is the weatherstripping. I'd like to replace the vinyl with black canvas. Weatherstripping is available from various catalogs. (You'll also notice the passenger window in that stack - it's broken, and needs to be replaced before it's reinstalled).

Here are the door panels. These are probably a lost cause, but there are several pieces that are salvageable - the arm rest bodies (not the vinyl, the metal is in good shape, too).

One mystery solved, and another plot thickens

Years ago, I discovered some mystery electrical relays in the drivers' side door. These relays did not appear in any of the circuit diagram, and were made in England. Combine that with the mishmash way the wiring was done, and it was clear that these relays were installed when the car was in England, but I could never figure out why. It didn't help that the window regulator in this door was non-original (and didn't quite fit).
Well, I have now figured out what they are for. Due to the mismash nature of the wiring situation in the door, I bought a new wiring harness for the door. While I was at it, I bought a new window regulator, since the old one wasn't the right size and would never stay in place. I installed both of them this weekend, and when I went to install the window switches I realized that there weren't enough terminals. After a little bit of research, I found that the window switches are dual-pole (so they connect two circuits at once), and the seat switches are single pole. The switches I had for the windows were seat switches! So, some time in the late 60's or early 70's, when the motor was switched out, the original window switches disappeared, and the owner only had access to seat switches, so he found a workaround involving the relays.
I have now ordered new seat switches (even though they are remarkably expensive for switches), and hope I'll get them this weekend. Then I can install the windows, just in time for the weather to get cold (that's Texas cold, so no worry of road salt or moisture).

Now on to the continuing mystery: the tachometer. It has never worked in the 22 years I've been driving this car. Before I started driving it, my dad had the gauge rebuilt. If the cable was attached to the gauge, it oscillated wildly, and was loud. During my high school year I presumed it was the cable. That has been replaced. Then the noise was gone, but it didn't move. Then I noticed the gear was missing. I must have lost it when I changed the cable. That's a fairly expensive mistake ($35 or so). So I now have a new gear. I installed it this weekend, but no go: the noise and oscillation are back. So what's the deal? The entire system has been replaced or rebuilt. The only other element in the system is the distributor, but if there was a problem there, the cylinders wouldn't fire.
I have come to the conclusion that it's the gauge. I'll try to take it apart this weekend to see if I can figure out what's wrong. Anyway, internet people: any ideas?

Body Work Done

Here are some "after" shots of the body work. I wasn't aware of how bad it looked before until I saw how good it could look. I took it out twice today, and couldn't avoid answering questions about it either time. This is higher than normal. Also, I had two guys at the auto shop take pictures of it, and one guy at a stop light. This has never happened before, so I guess it really does look a lot better.
Anyway, here are the pics:

Water Pump

I took the car to a local body shop in February. The bottoms of the doors were rusted out, there was some rust on the trunk lid, on the fenders, rocker panels, and a couple other places. I found some replacement doors from the T-bird center in Ohio. I ordered some new fender skirts, since the original ones disappeared somewhere between Italy and England. I also ordered all of the weatherstripping and gaskets needed.

During the body work, the shop found out that the new drivers-side door was somewhat warped, and did not fit the body well. Since these doors are scarce, I had them work it as best as they could.

I have never liked the original color of this car. In 1956, Ford offered T-birds in Fiesta Red, which has too much orange in it for my tastes, so for the new paint I chose Torch Red, which was offered in 1955. It's a much deeper red, less orange. Also, since the interior of the 1955 is quite similar to the 1956 (only the pattern on the seat was different), I can get interior vinyl and paint in the correct color to match the body.

So, I finally got the car out of the shop about a month ago (pictures coming soon). On the drive home, I noticed a new (not good) sound. At first I thought it was the transmission, but I eventually tracked it down to the fan. The bearings in the water pump broke, and the water pump was throwing grease on the underside of my newly clean and painted hood.
So, I got to work tearing down the cooling system. I bought a new high output water pump, new thermostat, new hoses, new gaskets, new clamps, and various other fun things.
When re-installing the thermostat housing with the new thermostat, one of the bolts broke. I had the torque wrench set to 18 ft-lbs, and later I checked, and the correct setting was 12-15 ft-lbs. This difference should not have broken the bolt, so I figure it was just old. I found new bolts, and installed the thermostat housing.
Next came the water pump, fan, belts, fan shroud (how I hate that thing), and all of the hoses.
On the test drive, I found a leak at the bottom radiator hose (where it meets the radiator). That's always a hard one to get right. I have yet to be able to get that down, but I can do that some night this week.
Anyway, after all of this, I hope to drive it to work next week (after I have a bit more confidence in my fix).

Now that the exterior looks so good, the interior looks worse than it did before. I need to get the power windows working, and I've got a new wiring harness for the driver's side door. Once the windows are working, I might be able to start on the rest of the interior.

Hot Rod Revolution

Went to the Hot Rod Revolution today at Camp Mabry. Here are a few pictures:

The Doors

Paint and Body

I've been wanting to get some body work done, and the paint redone, for quite a while.
The current paint job dates to 1983. It's quite faded now, and it wasn't very good when it was done, anyway. The color is supposed to be the original Fiesta Red, the same color it was when it was made. I've never been a big fan of Fiesta Red - it's got way too much orange in it for my taste.
Here's a photo of the right front fender. There are a few dings in it, but the body panel seems to be straight. The headlight rims are chromed, which is non-original. I'm not sure when that was done. They've been like that my whole life.

The front end
The bumper is in quite good shape. It was re-chromed almost 30 years ago, and it still looks really good. Notice the ding in the center below the Thunderbird emblem. That happened some time while I was in high school - I don't know who did it.







I'll publish another post soon with details of more of the body.