Thunderbird getting some serious work.

[T-Bird Kev]

As some of you will know i have had my car (1961 Ford Thunderbird) for over seven years now and recently it has started looking a bit frilly around the edges. So last week while it was up on my mates ramp to have the gearbox sump gasket replaced i noticed a hole near the sill that would need repaired before it's mot. So after bit of a poke the hole got bigger, spread onto the sill then the front wing, :eek: and as the sill needed repaired anyway i thought i might as well check all of it. There was another large hole in the middle of the sill and a huge section of the leading edge of the rear wing just fell off. :rolleyes: Fortunately the sill is not structural as all the strength is behind it in folded steel an box section.
This hadn't been planned but you just need to get on with it don't you, all the fun of having an old car. :)
http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/data/500/Dec_Jan_2012_081.jpg (http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12310)
http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/data/500/Dec_Jan_2012_086.jpg (http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12311)
http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/data/500/Dec_Jan_2012_095.jpg (http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12312)
http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/data/500/Dec_Jan_2012_096.jpg (http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12313)

[djp]

love t birds and almost had a 62 but got outbidded in the last min.
cleaning filler back has to be one of the worse feelings as you never
know what ur going to find

[T-Bird Kev]

love t birds and almost had a 62 but got outbidded in the last min.
cleaning filler back has to be one of the worse feelings as you never
know what ur going to find

Yeah your right there, who ever patched a prepared the body before made such a good job of the filler i had no idea there was so much on it. :rolleyes:
And filler grinding with a wire brush wheel makes some mess. :)

I would like to see another "Bullet bird" about, suprisingly the are not very common. I do like that fact though.

[djp]

iv got a mk3 cortina that i took the drivers wing off to repair a small hole,
the a post and inner wing looked mint, started cleaning it back to find the whole thing was fiberglsaa and filler, the guy that did it had some talant
with filler as it looked perfect :D,
fraid youl hav to wait a bit longer to see another one mate as bought the impala instead

[bazbiker]

iv got a mk3 cortina that i took the drivers wing off to repair a small hole,
the a post and inner wing looked mint, started cleaning it back to find the whole thing was fiberglsaa and filler, the guy that did it had some talant
with filler as it looked perfect :D,
fraid youl hav to wait a bit longer to see another one mate as bought the impala instead

Ooo mk3 Cortina is it a 2door or 4door?

[djp]

4dr 1600L pre facelift, was the brittish embassy car in australia for the first
2yrs of its life, will have to get some pics of it soon

[T-Bird Kev]

Not finished yet but getting there.
Looking ok for my first attempt at this sort of thing i think. :)

http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/data/500/Feb_2012_003.jpg (http://www.xmembers.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12314)

[CarloStu]

Looking good Kev! Well done mate, I'm impressed. :):worship:

[stevel98]

Good work there.. :worship:

After owning a '64 Consul Capri and '72 Ford Pinto 302, I have a pathological fear of rust! :eek:

S'why I have a Corvette. The only bits that rust are the fuel pipes and brake lines. :)

Tom Falconer.. (Claremont Corvette)

"It’s one of the most rust-resistant cars of the 20th century,’ says Falconer. ‘And the L98 engine doesn’t wear out. The fuel injection is very efficient so there’s no bore wash. You could get 400,000 miles out of a well-maintained example.
If a car has been left in long grass, the brake lines will rust. Replacing them is a good day’s work, say £700 all-in. And that’s a big bill because parts for this car are surprisingly cheap. All suspension components are cast in aluminium alloy, the springs are glassfibre, and the car’s structural tub is a galvanised steel ‘uniframe’, to which are bonded high-quality external panels made from sheet moulding compound.
Individual panels can be repaired or replaced,’ says Falconer. ‘And we’ve never seen any rust in the uniframe."