I would hang that pic of you and your son opening the in your shop. Then look at it every time you are out there, and remember how lucky you are. Looks like a nice car and a great kid. You are going to get the H.A.M.B. police after you for using the S.O.S. pad on the chrome. Tony
Its nice to keep a clean car in your family, from your grandma to you then your son too ? I had a 63' in 68' that was met blue with a black padded top, Cragars and narrow white's and pipes It was a neat car and cool skirt chaser too Be careful of the twichy steering, as the wheel is pretty light to the touch DND
Good looking Bird, always like that style. Was looking at one myself a while back but the deal fell through.
Nice to see another Rip Van Winkle waking up! Just curious: Why 15s instead of 14s? Tire availability? A friend of mine has a '63 Lincoln and he switched to 15s (and '64 wheelcovers) for that reason.
Thanks for the kind words. I have heard of the HAMB police, I was hoping I make it at least 48hours on here before they jump on me for something, LOL.
I preferred the look of 15". I could have sand blasted/repainted the 14" that were on it but two were different widths (for the snow tires I guess).
I hooked a battery to it and with my fingers crossed I hit the power window switch. All the windows go up and down with little or no help. I didn't dare hit the starter but so far most of the electrical stuff has been coming to life on it's own. Hell, the radio came on and started playing through the single 6x9 in the dash as soon as I turned the key!
You are 100% correct, sir. So far the cars biggest problem is the smell inside the car from mice. I had to tear into the interior right away and found under the back seat must of been the largest mouse hotel in town. The carpet, ect. went right into the trash can. I kept thinking I was going to get sick a couldn't wait to get that job over with. I have already ordered new carpet and seat covers.
Looks great and a neat family heirloom story. I used to work at a T-bird only restoration shop and I have worked on many of these cars. One thing I'll say is if your power windows are working good now and as long as you have the interior out, take the time to grease your regulators and the gear that runs off of the motor. It's a plastic gear and they are known to strip out easily, and they're kind of expensive. Dried out grease will destroy them. Good luck, be sure to update!
Love the Bullet Birds! Had one I rescued from a falling down garage only a mile from my place. Worth evry minute of work to bring them back to life, especially one that has been in the family! You have a gem, regret having sold mine.....
Since you used SOS pads, you scratched the chrome down to base metal (tiny scratches you can't see) and it will start to rust - so protect all chrome from now on with good thick paste wax. If you do that I think the HAMB police might let you off with a warning - this time...
I worked at a gas station in High School. When the '63 cars came out late in '62, one of our regular customers bought a '63 Sports Roadster. He brought it in for regular service, and for washing. Since I was just a kid, I got the job of washing it. I can tell you that there was not a square inch of that car that left the station untouched. I loved that car!
Yes cool story.....think the Landal was a rare model in the 1961-63 line up.....seen more of them in later years....good luck with getting it back on the street !
WOW cool story . Glad you had the vison to buy the car and get it road worthy again. Just a quick question when the radio started playing was it a current AM station ? Chrisbchritter the 15" choice of tires is because if a car owner ever decides to install disk brakes the 15" wheels will clear the new brake calipers . I did the same thing on my 57 Fairlane with the thought of modern brakes in the near future .
I think it's my favorite, too. I think the design is somewhat insired by the space race and i lust for that interior trim. The way the dash and console gleam, look like a thunderbird from the back seat is genius and always makes me smile. Nice buy!
Champagne Metallic with a black Landau roof has been a combination I've liked for quite a few years, but was interior black leather (assuming it's interior code '86') or black vinyl (interior code '56')? Total Landau production for '62 was never documented, but from my research on two history books on them as well as being Vintage Thunderbird Club International's registry maintainer and current Technical Director, I estimate that roughly 1 out of every 6-7 (roughly 15-18%) of '62 hardtops are Landaus (body code 63B/VIN model code 87). Since nobody's steered you to any groups dedicated to this car: http://vintagethunderbirdclub.net/club_info.htm and sign up for their Forum/Bulletin Board, which is a wealth of info for owners/restorers/modifiers: http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/phpBB3/index.php Personally, I would try to preserve it as much as possible and be very sparing with the modifications, but that's the way I roll.
I agree with a couple other posts in this thread - this is an amazing picture. If I were you I would get a big print of this picture and I would title it "Legacy" or maybe "Generations" and I would put it in a place of honor in my house. Hell...thinking about it, I might do it anyway even though it isn't my story or my car...that is an amazing photograph.
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