The Thunderbird is  finally coming together after 3 years of working on it (started Nov. 2014) with all the parts now reassembled. Next we need to decide on wheel and tires. First we tried the wheel from the 51 that is a 17" American Racing.  Then tried the wire spoke wheel from the 60 Starliner and decided to go with the 17" American Racing style wheels and Michelin tires. Now looking for wheels we can afford.  The head lights still had to be put back together and I had seen some cars at the Good Guys Scottsdale show with Halo Headlights that I liked so I bought a set.  The headlight buckets had to be modified (slots on each side) to accept the LED Halo Bulb and the existing adjusting screws were frozen so new ones were purchased  The new lens accept Halogen lamps that will be much brighter and the Halo ring at the outer edge of the lens are on all the time the engine is running.  Along with the existing lamp sockets new wiring harness had ...

The T-Bird is slowly going back together with the side windows getting installed, dash being re assembled, exterior stainless & chrome trim, bumpers back on. I got the car running then moved it over to the hoist bay to install the exhaust system.  The engine fired up on the first try with the new EFI on it, warmed it up and set the timing. Had to add transmission fluid and power steering fluid other than that it ran and idled good.  Still have the headlight assembly to tackle but the re-chromed bumpers and painted grill went together; with the help of my overhead hoist, I used to pick them up while bolting them in place. All the turn signal and parking lights work.  The back of the car is done except the rear glass.  Dash is back together leaving the bottom and side panels off until I finish the testing to make sure everything works.  Side glass and stainless trim took a lot of time and I still have to adjust the door glass after the new win...

With the engine installed the rest of the parts and accessory must be found; sorted, cleaned (again) then installed, if I can find all the right screws, nuts and bolts.  I had installed a new back plate for the dash & transmission controllers with a terminal strip, pre-wired the dash and wiring harness for all the new senders, gauges and cruise control.  The dash was installed along with the A/C ducts and new vacuum lines for the rear fresh air ducts and e-break release. The A/C system & lines, fuel / EFI system & lines, radiator, fan and front of engine, power steering pump, windshield washer & lines, alternator and belts all took a lot of work and time as there is not much room around the engine.  I install a new battery box (from Hot Rods By Dean) and a new Optima battery, the rebuilt surge tank, aluminum radiator and shock tower braces. The EFI wiring was installed and connected.  The re-chromed  trim and center console wit...

After almost a year I picked up the Thunderbird from Hackberry auto body and can begin to put it back together. The following 3 pictures are the day I got it home, the color "Blazin Copper" and changes in different light as you can see in the pictures.  The camera that we have had for 12 years stop working so I missed recording the first week of work of reinstalling the wiring, new A/C system, wipers & motor, new Fitech fuel tank, windshield washer system and all the water, vacuum & A/C lines.  With the engine back in the car's front end came down about 3" and gave it a nice low stance.  The trunk and back of the car got a re chromed bumper assembly and new bird emblem & new lock Bezel. There is not much room for any added electrical control devices behind the dash so I installed the digital gauge and transmission gear selector control behind a removable panel in the front of the center console along with a terminal strip for the ...