What did you do with your Thunderbird Today?

We had no salt on the roads prior to this last week, so it would have been a great fall for a toy.
 
So, I'm taking a drive to the store to get to one of the outlets from my neighborhood to the main street and there is a one lane line up as far back as you can see of traffic. I do a K turn and I will be dipped, the little Cougar did a burn out on the right hand turn around! In 30 years I have had this car, I could never do a burn out.

Then, on the way out of my neighborhood on the other side, I came flying up to the stop sign and hit my brakes and I'll be damned if the brakes went into ABS! I never thought the ABS worked until just now.

What a day for the Cougar!
 
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It has begun! I started with the interior, the clutch pedal is fully in and I removed the shifter. While everything is out, I decided to ditch the silver faced gauges, they were starting to bubble up, and the light isn’t all that bright at night, even with LEDs.
I also got the starter out and the flywheel bolts except for one, cause the shop that did my stall converter stripped one out. 🤬


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Ahh making me nostalgic, the 5 speed swap was by far my favorite project, not just the outcome, but the actual install and creative ways I had to figure out ahead of time and on the fly how to make it work in the chassis was just plain fun for me.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Ahh making me nostalgic, the 5 speed swap was by far my favorite project, not just the outcome, but the actual install and creative ways I had to figure out ahead of time and on the fly how to make it work in the chassis was just plain fun for me.
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I’ve read your write up about 8 times, it is definitely helpful!

KevinVarnes said:
Not sure if you have the room, but a set of Irwin bolt extractors has helped me loosen some pretty gnarly looking nuts and bolts.
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I have a set of those too, didn’t even think of using them. lol.
 
Ericv8thunderbird said:
I have a set of those too, didn’t even think of using them. lol.
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MadMikeyL said:
I have a set of those, and they work way better than the Snap-on ones that were like 5x the price!
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They have earned a place of honor in my tool collection. Last time was on a Subaru wheel bearing bolt that I rounded the head on because I was trying to hit it with an impact while I wasn't straight on the head of the bolt. They have been one of my better tool investments.
 
MadMikeyL said:
Check the seam sealer where the quarter panel meets the trunk jamb. Over time, it cracks and peels back, and can let water leak in. The fix is to scrape it out and spread new seam sealer in there, then you should be good to go.
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Thanks ,I will look around there better. I have a big gardening syringe, maybe I squirt and check the trunk. Otherwise not sure how to spot check it, unless theres a dye that totally vanishes in a small while
 
It is grueling and I absolutely hate it, but I finally did my annual rust-proofing on the '97 last night. We started getting snow Thanksgiving night so I needed to get it done. I still have to do my Saturn if I ever get it back on the road, but that thing is simple compared to the Thunderbird.
 
Nothing... It's parked in the corner of the work bay; an empty tank, on battery tender, with the hood open. Waiting for fuel pump replacement. Just Ford things....
:LOL:

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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Still looks awfully close (?).
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They are but it’s way better than before, had them pushed back into the quarters to get this much clearance. Plus now they’re angled away from the tire so they may rub in extreme situations but they won’t catch
 
Zep5.0 said:
I was debating how to do this on mine, but heat sounds like a good move.
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It works great, I experimented a bit on the broken one to test and it gets very pliable with heat, and it takes a lot more than my heat gun can get before it burns, even on the max setting.
 
I got the trans out today, what a B**ch that was. It ended up slipping forward on my trans jack, so I had to slide it off onto the ground and manhandle it out from underneath the car.
After that, my ocd kicked in and I started cleaning the trans tunnel, I’ll probably end up painting it, cause you know..ocd. 😂



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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
@Chandar8
Sorry this happened. Ugh. And the contents of that bag, inspiring.

What does the steering column look like? Busted? How did they start it?
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Steering column is pristine. I started it right up and drove it home. The only thing missing was the battery and the radio. I have no clue how they started it but they did. Took my silly xenon kit too, hence the weird exhaust. There's also no loose wiring anywhere indicating a hot wire
 
Chandar8 said:
Steering column is pristine. I started it right up and drove it home. The only thing missing was the battery and the radio. I have no clue how they started it but they did. Took my silly xenon kit too, hence the weird exhaust. There's also no loose wiring anywhere indicating a hot wire
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The type of person who would steal a car to get a body kit is exactly the type of person I picture who thinks “body kits are tight, yo!”

Seriously though, so glad you got it back!

What a dumb car to steal a body kit off of, the one other Tbird in town suddenly has a Xenon kit, gee I wonder where they got it!

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Chandar8 said:
Steering column is pristine. I started it right up and drove it home. The only thing missing was the battery and the radio. I have no clue how they started it but they did. Took my silly xenon kit too, hence the weird exhaust. There's also no loose wiring anywhere indicating a hot wire
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I hope you washed your hands at least 100 times after touching the steering wheel.
 
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