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.

More about the Brake Conversion

Bleeding the brakes was difficult for a couple of reasons.
1. I had not connected all of the brake lines. I guess it was sort of a "I'll do it later", but forgot.
2. I had a few leaks. I hadn't tightened all of the connections.
3. The crappy one-way valve I bought for bleeding at Harbor Freight Tools (I know, I know, Harbor Freight sucks) was leaking.
4. It takes a lot of pumping to clear the air out of completely empty lines. A LOT of pumping.
5. Once I had completely got everything bled, I noticed a leak on the line going into the power brake booster. As I tightened it, I stripped out the threads on the brass fitting. Finding a replacement part was somewhat difficult - none of the catalogs carry the part (some of them have a part number, but none of them carry it), and getting the specs for the part was pretty hard. Eventually I found someone who knew the weatherhead part number. From that, I found an auto parts store here in Austin that had it. The part I ended up installing is Edelmann 265301. 3/16 inch female thread, 1/2 - 20 male to go into the booster.
Now everything is back together. The brakes work well, but are still a little spongy. The power booster is working quite well.
Anyway, here's some pictures.
The replacement fitting is on the top center part of the picture, going into the booster.
Here's the new dual chamber master cylinder:

Below, the pictures are the left front rotor and caliper, right front rotor and caliper, and a couple of pictures of the car.

Brake Conversion Complete (almost)

The disc brake conversion is complete (mostly).
Once I got all of the parts in, the first thing I did was replace the pads and cylinders on the rear brakes. This was fairly simple, but there was quite a bit of grime on all of the parts. The pads were not completely worn, but the wear was uneven, probably because the springs were not installed correctly.
Once I had the rear pads replaced, with the new cylinders from the disc brake conversion kit installed, I replaced the brake lines on the rear axle. This took a bit more time than I thought, since I had failed to order the flexible rubber hose that attached the brake line on the frame to the rear axle.
Next, I painted and mounted the rebuilt power brake booster. I did this first to get an idea for how all of the new brake lines needed to be installed.
Next, I removed all of the parts from the front drum brakes. Since these were not going to be reinstalled, I didn't bother cleaning them, but I did keep them (since replacement drums are quite expensive).
Finally, I removed the master cylinder and the rest of the brake lines. I found the broken brake line on the front right side (which was the cause of loss of brake pressure which triggered this project).
Next job was to install the new front brake discs and calipers. I started with the front left since it was at a more convenient location in the garage. On my first try, I installed the mounting plate, and installed the brake caliper. However, I installed the brake caliper on the wrong side of the mounting plate, and was not aware that I needed to grind down a minute portion of the spindle before the installation. After grinding it down a bit, the mounting plate and caliper installed correctly.
Of course, the caliper needed to be removed before installing the rotor (but was necessary for making sure it fit). To install the rotor, I needed to pack the bearings, which was a new experience for me. I found some very helpful youtube videos that showed how to do it without special tools. Only time will tell if I did it entirely correctly.
Once I was sure I had the left rotor installed, I installed the right front, which considerably less difficulty.
Next I installed the new brake lines. One of the brake lines, the rearmost line attached to the frame, I was unable to remove. This seems to be because the lines were designed to be installed before the body was attached to the frame. Thus, I could not get the old line off without bending it out of shape. If I was going to have to damage the line removing it, I was not going to be able to install the new line without damaging it, so I just left the old line in.
The disc brake conversion kit has a dual bowl master cylinder. This is a massive safety improvement, but it meant that the front and rear brake systems had to be separated. This was accomplished by simply removing the line connecting one of the frame brake line blocks to the front left brake. The unused connection on the block was plugged with a part from the conversion kit. Note: this means the power brake booster only works on the front brake system. The rear brakes are still manual.
After I had all of the brake lines installed, I needed to bleed the master cylinder before connecting the lines. This was done with a kit that I bought at an auto parts store.
Another thing to note: not all of the crush washers I needed for this job were supplied with the kit. This was because I did not already have the power brake booster installed, and was not strictly a deficiency in the kit.
Next post I will go over the issues I had (and am still having) bleeding the brakes.

Left Rear Brake Drum

Since I was unable to make progress on the power brake booster rebuild, and I found a place that would do it for only $50, I mailed it in.
In the mean time, I took a look at the left rear brake drum. It was pretty dirty in there - lots of road grime. That's not too surprising, since the brakes haven't been done in probably over 20 years. The rear brake pad had some uneven wear on it, which if memory serves me, indicates that the springs are unevenly worn. That's not so bad, since replacing the springs on both rear drums costs about $7. The brake cylinder looked pretty bad on the outside, but once I got it taken apart, it was in surprisingly good condition. There wasn't much fluid in there, which isn't so surprising, since the hydraulic system seems to have lost pressure. There didn't appear to be a significant leak in the left rear wheel.
I'm predicting that I won't find a definitive cause to the loss of pressure - the entire system probably died from a million little pinholes. If the rest of the wheels are like this one, the amount of fluid loss of all of the wheels was probably enough.
In any case, I am going to be replacing all of the brake lines. The disc brake conversion for the front includes brake cylinders for the rear wheels. Once the power brake booster is back from the rebuilder, and get the parts I'm ordering in, I should be able to start and get the work done in a couple of weekends.

Power Brake Booster

I'm rebuilding the power brake booster for my 1956 T-bird. I have been driving the car for 18 years, but the booster has been out since at least before then.
As you can see, it's in pretty rough shape. Also, if you've seen the 1956 Ford Shop Manual, you'll notice that it really doesn't bear a lot of resemblance to the one in the diagram (page 215, Fig 15). I'm not sure if this discrepancy is because this part doesn't really belong in this car (not likely, my Dad is usually pretty reliable about this stuff), or, the design changed during the design year or the Thunderbird was different from the standard 1956 Ford.
Anyway, here are the steps I've completed so far:
1) Removal (this probably happened over 20 years ago, so I don't know how this was done)
2) Disassembly
a) "Remove the control value bypass tube from the booster assembly".
This instruction is typical of the Ford Shop Manual, in that it's not as helpful as it could be. Anyway, you do this by loosening the nut that's holding the bypass tube from the control valve body. Once the nut is loosened, the bypass tube can be worked off. Be careful because brake fluid WILL leak out when you do this.




b) "Remove the control valve body, diaphragm spring, and the control valve piston and diaphragm assembly from the slave cylinder body".
This is pretty simple. Remove the bolts, and it just comes right off.















After the housing is off, the housing and spring looks like this:









And the control valve piston and diaphragm assembly looks like this:











Getting the diaphragm assembly was a bit troublesome. There's a lock bushing of some kind, and I broke the bushing while taking it off. It appears to be part of the Rebuild kit in the Casco catalog, but not sold separately. I'll see how many of the parts in this kit need to be replaced, and see if I can get it separately if I need to.
Once I got the diaphragm off, it looked like this:





"Mark both bodies of the booster chamber and the flanges of the control valve and the slave cylinder so they can be assembled in their original positions. Remove the clamp ring, the outer section of the booster chamber, and the diaphragm and the pressure plate assembly with the return spring".
I didn't mark the bodies of the booster chamber, because there are plenty of ways to identify the correct orientation, and I took a picture.
You don't need to completely remove the clamp ring, just push it down over the inner section of the power chamber, so the outer section can be taken off. Again, be aware that fluid is likely to leak out.
Removing the diaphragm and pressure plate with the return spring was easy. Just rotate it counter clockwise, and it comes off easily.
Here's what it looked like as it was being removed:














Next instruction:
"Remove the push rod bushing and the inner section of the power chamber from the slave cylinder"
This part caused me a problem.

The bolt-head of the bushing is at least 1 1/2 inches. My largest wrench is 1 1/4 inches. I have some channel locks that can get that big, but channel locks are sub-optimal when removing a bolt.
Also, in the middle of the bolt, you'll notice a snap ring. Don't try to remove the snap ring without snap ring pliers. It's trivial with the pliers, and likely to break the ring if you don't use them. Once the snap ring was removed, there was a washer and a seal that came out easily.



Since I could not get the bushing out of the booster body and the slave cylinder body, and it was getting late, I stopped here for the night. I placed all of the parts in tupperware containers so they don't get lost or confused. I've applied some bolt loosener to the bushing, and hopefully it will be loose enough to get off with a 1 1/2 inch wrench later.