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-   -   Grandpa's Thunderbird is here! (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/834336-grandpas-thunderbird-here.html)

Rinty 10-17-2014 09:25 AM

Have fun!

johnco 10-17-2014 09:29 AM

stock hubcaps on my 64
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413566960.jpg

Tobra 10-17-2014 09:30 AM

I bet that T bird would look great with old muscle car wheels on it, torque thrusts, or whatever they are called, Radir is in my head for a wheel name for some reason.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa (Post 8310452)
Posting more pics with good sun? What is the color of the car? I wonder if my 76 backdate would look good in this turquoise.

Yes it would

cairns 10-17-2014 10:15 AM

From the brochure:

Quote:

With its quicksilver elegance and flashing sports car grace, it is the direction pointer, the styling original that more and more luxury cars have sought to follow.

Not an inch longer, not a hair wider than previous Thunderbirds you have known, it is, simply, more Thunderbird than ever before!.

craigster59 10-17-2014 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottmandue (Post 8310406)
You probably already know this but there are places that collect/sell nothing but old hubcaps.

Lucy Pearson is the "Hubcap Queen" in Pearsonville, Ca. Anyone who's driven hwy 395 to Mammoth has seen the place. I'm sure they could hook you up.

Pearsonville Auto Wrecking & Hubcaps

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413570956.jpg

ledhedsymbols 10-17-2014 11:05 AM

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has a reaction to this car.

Here are the promised interior shots. The seats have been recovered, and the carpet has been replaced. It needs a good detail and a little of this little of that kind of work done to it. The paint is a respray in the original color.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413572682.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413572724.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413572747.jpg

ledhedsymbols 10-17-2014 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa (Post 8310452)
Posting more pics with good sun? What is the color of the car? I wonder if my 76 backdate would look good in this turquoise.


I'll be happy to take a couple more shots in good sun... Might be until June or July, Western Washington just grayed over and usually that lasts for about 8 months. ;)


I looked for the build sheet, but couldn't find it anywhere. I'll keep my eyes open for it, edited... Wrong color, it is actually Ford 1385 "Garden Turquoise Metallic"
Rest assured, I'll be changing out the wheel covers sooner rather than later. It needs tires, as the old ones on it are seriously dry-rotted. I'll be ordering some matching color lap belts to replace the black ones in it, and give me something so that I can belt the kids in the back and go for a family drive. It's a PITA to start cold, and I think it just needs a little carb adjustment. I'll mess with the choke this weekend.

I've always thought these cars were seriously under-appreciated. The convertibles are beautiful, and somewhat more valuable. Even the hottest models with the M-Code tri-power motor don't command the kind of premium one might expect. They always draw attention though. Just in the couple of hours I had it in front of my house while I was unloading and washing several people stopped to ask about it or take a photo.

ledhedsymbols 10-17-2014 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnco (Post 8310749)

I really appreciate that Johnco. I checked and the hubcaps are different in style, and also in size. With the redesign for the glamour birds in 1964 they went from a 14 inch wheel to a 15 inch wheel. I'd like to see some photos of your please. I think that body style was about the last one that I liked. After that, Thunderbird didn't look like Thunderbird to me anymore.

scottmandue 10-17-2014 11:28 AM

If you get a chance I would like to see some under the hood pictures please. My friends mom had a Mercury Marauder with a 390.

johnco 10-17-2014 04:38 PM

here ya go led

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413592665.jpg

ledhedsymbols 10-17-2014 05:45 PM

Great color combination! Nice looking car. How long have you owned it?

campbellcj 10-18-2014 08:55 AM

Cool! My FiL just dragged-back his T-Bird from Nebraska where it was stored for 25 years. It's a total rust-bucket and squirrel nest at this point. I believe it's a '59 but not sure. It's definitely not one of the popular and valuable years. Fugly car IMO.





http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413651303.jpg

Baz 10-18-2014 09:48 AM

LedHed....wanted to post congrats and share my appreciation for your classic T-Bird...what a beautiful car!

When I was younger & living in Norfolk in the 60's we had a neighbor, Jim Hicks, who worked at the Ford plant and he bought a mid-60's T-Bird and I remember all the nifty little bells and whistles it had.

Thanks again for sharing - and the photos!

scottmandue 10-18-2014 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campbellcj (Post 8312172)
Cool! My FiL just dragged-back his T-Bird from Nebraska where it was stored for 25 years. It's a total rust-bucket and squirrel nest at this point. I believe it's a '59 but not sure. It's definitely not one of the popular and valuable years. Fugly car IMO.





http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413651303.jpg

Yeah, but fugly is coming back!

There was one of those gigantic T-Birds for sale locally... the ones with the suicide doors and the landau top... I had to restrain myself from stopping to look at it. :D

Robert Adams 10-18-2014 10:32 AM

AWESOME CAR. Love the cozy interior. That color combo in your neck of the woods must be a wide eye opener against the gray skies. In Las Vegas maybe not so much.

act quickly!

1961-1963 Ford Thunderbird Hubcaps

Laneco 10-18-2014 11:23 AM

Beautiful car and LOVE the color! The interior of the early 60's 'birds are among my favorite. Just have this great flowing futuristic look to them.

Enjoy!!!

angela

ledhedsymbols 10-18-2014 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Adams (Post 8312330)
AWESOME CAR. Love the cozy interior. That color combo in your neck of the woods must be a wide eye opener against the gray skies. In Las Vegas maybe not so much.

act quickly!

1961-1963 Ford Thunderbird Hubcaps



Already gone... Oh well.

fred cook 10-18-2014 01:07 PM

I think that the 1961 Bird is the best looking of all the 4 seaters! Good move to keep it in the family!

eastbay 10-18-2014 03:07 PM

That color, that car (aka Curvy bird), I would go with a set of Cragar S/S wheels

ledhedsymbols 10-19-2014 06:40 AM

Thanks again for all the kind words. I've ordered up some seat-belts and a couple of manuals for it. I've got a few other things I'm working on, but I'll be going through the car over the winter. It's the last car my grandfather worked on.

He is a lifelong mechanic, both professionally, for fun, and to make a little money on the side. He had a stroke a few years ago, and it's like there is a disconnect between what he knows he can do and what he can actually do.

As a result, the car has a lot of little issues throughout that need addressed. Between the difficulties he had and his age, he is in his early 80's, I think he just ran out of steam on the car. He's coming out to fish with me next summer, so I would like to have it purring by the time he gets here.


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