Thanks for sharing your project. I also have a '62 bird, and love driving it. I get a lot of smiles and thumbs up from other motorists. Looking forward to your final look. Love the white top. I added some modern touches to the engine. Edelbrock intake and carb, MSD distributer, an alternator, and an aluminum rad with electric fan. I can drive it anywhere without worrying. Good luck. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Great to see another bullet bird among the ranks! Just got my '61 back from paint, ready for interior. Motor/trans been punched up so I call it a mild resto-mod cruiser. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The thing an experienced headliner installer would recommend is to install the headliner on a hot day. Put the headliner in place, loosely. Then let the car sit in the sun so it gets hot inside, and stretch the headliner after it is hot. If you can get nearly all the wrinkles out when the cloth is hot, it will stretch itself as the fabric cools and shrinks. It will often pull the remaining wrinkles out of itself.
Im interested in which modern alternator i should get to adapt easily to the Tbird. Do i need special mounting brackets or anything? Also interested in possible radiator upgrades. Was your radiator a universal unit or specifically for the Bird?
Did you see Bill Goldberg (WWE wrestler/t.v. personality) owns a red bullet bird? They showed it on that new Jay leno show.
A 'easily' adapted alternator with brackets should be as close as the nearest wrecking yard that has any '65 or newer FE-powered cars or light trucks in it. Ford used the FE in cars through '69, the Mustang through '70, and trucks through '76. There's a couple of different configurations, look for one that lines up with your existing pulleys; take some measurements with you. You can get up to a OEM 70 amp alternator for the early Fords, which as long as you don't add any major electrical loads to the car will be plenty. As to the radiator, don't be quick to replace the OEM one. Have it checked out first, it may not need anything or only a boiling out. These cars use a 'surge tank' (the tank attached to the thermostat housing) rather than a conventional 'radiator fill' tank because of the low hood line. Using a 'universal' radiator can make it tough to get all the air out of the cooling system.
Unless I`m mistaken,an alternator off of a police car or ambulance should be a bolt on deal.Will have to use the proper VR to match it.I think that they start at about 100 amps. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
When I converted my 61 Lincoln convertible to alternator I got the kit from Bakers Auto. My guess is your TBird is similar http://www.bakersauto.com/
I went with the pricey solution from c.r.a.p. and a tuff-stuff 100a one wire offering. "Bolt-on"... hah, with some massaging, yes. Running a clean oem radiator and a Walker electric fan. My .060over motor runs extra warm without assistance. http://www-link.com/cgi-bin/odbic.exe/cybercity/scripts/fullpage.asp?itemno=92264.0&clientno=1681.0 Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Great story and a great picture with your son opening the garage door. Grandma must be smiling down on you, I've also been a fan of bullet birds since they first were produced. Good luck with it, your son will never forget this car.
I used a Powermaster 100amp alternator, and had to make a custom top bracket, to adjust tension. The radiator is a Griffen model, that is universal. I could not find a direct replacement aluminum rad. You can buy an OEM unit but the price is double what the aluminum was. Also checked on recording original and it was over $400 to have it done. Getting the air out is a bit of problem, but can be done. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Looks solid from these pics. Take good care of it. They don't build 'em anymore. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I've been collecting air ride parts and I needed to figure out where I was mounting everything so I could get the trunk painted. I made some brackets to mount my Viair 444 compressors.
The trunk smelled like mouse pee just like the interior so the trunk was also stripped down to bare metal. I scraped out all the old seam-sealer that the factory smears everywhere and redid it a little neater with new seam-sealer. I used spray-in bedliner that I tinted with a Chrysler color called cashmere. I've used this bedliner before with awesome results, both tinted or the black kit.
These are the trunk supplies.. @ $120 for the Raptorliner kit off Amazon and $60 for the basecoat. I only used half of everything for the trunk.
Here's the completed trunk with 444 compressors and twin 3 gallon tanks. Tanks are painted pearl white to match the roof. I made it all work the best I could while retaining the full size spare. Hopefully still enough room for luggage for some road trips!
Im actually a year into it, im just getting the build thread up to date. The trunk stuff was just last night though.
Man I an LOVING this project. You started with a great car, and that it has family history is all the better. So glad you stripped the cloth top and ditched the landau bars. Keep up the good work.
Great work! Other than the damage from the mice I can't believe how great of shape your T-Bird is in.
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