I want to buy a 1960s model T-Bird. >whyI wanna cruise around town and ideally git gud at driving a manual. The style looks awesome to me and I'm looking at getting one with the basic wear parts replaced (hoses, etc.) and without rust or wear... anything I should know beyond that? I neither want nor expect it to be very fast, I just want to CROOOZE around town (I live outside the big city)... mechanic & wrenchbros of /o/, anything I need to look out for? The engine bay looks simple enough to wrench on.
>>28790297Have you checked your local parts selection or even online parts for something this old?
>>28790302I have... a lot of money. Not too worried about any repairs or parts.
>>28790297Very little T-birds had manual trans in the 60s. If you find one, make sure it's got the overdrive equipped version to road trip it. Beware that 1st gear is not synchronised and you will have to be at a complete stop to engage it. Good thing the big blocks in these are so torquey that being in second gear at very low speed is not that big of a deal. Also make sure it's got an FE engine and not an MEL as those are harder to find parts for. Otherwise a dead simple car to wrench on yourself.
>>28790364Thank you for the decent reply. I hate life and want to die so I think what I do before I an hero will be to master the T-Bird. Maybe it's not that hard. (not a bad thing, I'll just an hero slightly faster)
>>28790297>anything I should know beyond that?I'd consider a restomod if you want to drive it regularly.
>>28790377homo
>>28790377kek, get a load of this wrenchlet
>>28790377And tasteless giant chrome wheels too?
>>28790377I get maybe putting a newer 5 speed in or some mild chassis tuning and brakes but if you don't wanna drive a 60 year old car don't turn it into a brand new honda civic retard.
>>28790833Iirc '65 and up are front disc- which will lock up all 4 wheels.Earlier are a very simple conversion. I have no issues with carbs but something like a Holley sniper EFI kit is jist a bolt on and easily reverted to factory- i personally wouldnt go any further than that.
>>28790297>anything I need to look out for?>i have a lot of moneyBe careful buying nice, finished vehicles. If it was a flip, it could be hiding all kinds of stuff. I'm used to buying trash where the bad shit is usually obvious and expected, but the higher the price, the higher the stakes and lengths people will go to pull the wool over your eyes.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wNmvDyoTO8
>>28792031I'd go carb cheater, closest thing to fuel injection without actually going fuel injection. Plus if it breaks, you just have an ordinary carb.Sniper EFI is nice, but many people don't know that costs can blow out because you need to get an in-tank fuel pump, a return line etc.All the external inline fuel pumps always end up having issues so you end up spending even more.
>>28792033lol mine is the polar opposite. there's a rust spot on the trunk lid, rust flecks on the hood that i have no idea how they came to be, surface rust underneath, both windscreens leak, water leaks into the trunk...but the engine, suspension and brakes are ready to abuse.
>>28790297This is my 60 T-Bird. My dad bought it new, I did a partial restoration of it in the 80s. Drove it for quite a few years then parked it in the barn for 25 or more years. I recently moved to Fl. and took it with me. When I get time I am going to do a total restoration
>>28794738>Kelsey-Hayes wiresnoice
>>28794738Very nice.Need to get it back under cover.
>>28790297Driving cars this old more than just on occasion really sucks. See attached pic, one of my brothers owns this mustang, another brother owns the 2 corvettes. I've driven them all on numerous occasions and I have to say I'm really not a fan. The brakes are terrible. The handling is terrible. The exhaust reeks. The shifting is clunky. The clutch pedals are very heavy and the engagement window is paper thin. They're drafty. The insulation sucks so they're cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and noisy as hell. Every single aspect about these old classic cars is worse than modern cars aside from the appearance.If you're just looking to learn a manual transmission with something you can just cruise around in, I couldn't recommend enough that you look for something newer. Like maybe mid 80's at the oldest.
>>28795276get a load of this pussy
>>28795276I like the vitamin sand smell from my exhaust
>>28795276This is me in my daily BTW
>>28795351>>28795276Oops forgot the pic
>>28795356kek
>>2879083360s t-bird>looks cool>is mechanically inferiorModern civic>looks inferior>is mechanically coolrestomod sounds like the best of both worlds.
>>28795361>another wrenchlet enters the threadTuning a carb on a big block is not hard, peepul.
>>28790297Luckily T-Birds are still kind of niche in the collecting community, only recently have first gens started to skyrocket in value. BUT most 60's tbirds, and tbirds in general weren't manual - they were personal luxury sportscars and manuals weren't seen as luxurious. You'd be pretty limited, and the only "60's tbird" you could option with a manual was the last year of the 2nd gen, 1960. Third, forth, and especially 5th gen didn't offer a manual transmission option. You could look into Mercury Cougars, or Mercury Marauders, both had manuals back in the day and spicy engines. FE engines are dead simple to work on and last forever, but they love to bend rods - if you find one with upper end tick for cheap, it's not a total deal breaker. There's tons of FE love out there, and they made some serious power - you can still find parts like PI factory cast headers off of Galaxies for cheap.Welcome to the Thunderbird club though, brother :) register with your local chapter if you're interested in nationwide events and all that boomerslop (kinda fun ngl) - here's my 1969 that I daily drove for many many moons.
>>28795276I know this is bait but your the laughing stock brother.
>>28795276>The handling is terriblewhat tires? if they're whitewalls it wouldn't be surprising that the handling would be shit. not to mention it'll probably have a steering box that would also have slop internally, and potential slop in linkages etc.
>>28795555>PI factory cast headers off of Galaxies for cheap.huh, didn't know $1000-1500 was cheap
>>28795712>buying your exhaust parts off of ebay
>>28795726This is facebook, even. I'd love to see where you are finding Galaxie hi-po headers for under $1k.
