My '56 Thunderbird is getting fresh paint!

A few update pictures from last week. Car was just painted and cleared. Next step is to color wet sand and then buff the finish..


IMG_1377 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1375 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1374 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1372 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1370 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr

 

Car's looking good!

 

back bumper gonna work out fine. luvs me some green!

 

Here's a suggestion I was going to make earlier. the pic is from an 84 Hot Rod article. I know this is the front bumper, but I've seen this done on the rear as well. The bumperettes I believe are from a 57 fairlane. Would work nice and clean on the rear and finishes off the back well too. IMHO they need something other than JUST the bumper and you get a little added protection. And you could do the same on the front to match.
Of course I might add the Halibrands don't hurt this baby much either!

 

Andrew,
While the color would not have been my color of choice and pulling one down that far would have suggested a color change to me, the car is shaping up very nicely. It is going to be a very sweet car when you are done.

 

Looking good Andrew.

 

What a gorgeous car, I have never seen that cool green before. These tri-five birds are so cool, my Dad had a little black 55 that belonged to an ex Miss America. I read an article about the tri-five birds that said the conny kit actually made for some handling problems due to rear weight. I think it will look way beter with out it. The steel wheels are also a great improvement for my taste. The bad ass kidney beans should be on a race car, that's just my take on mag style wheels. Congrats on a super sweet Bird and enjoy it's new coat. ~sololobo~

 

Personally - I agree with keeping the green birds green ..... but it ain't easy as the saying goes.... Not a lot of them around for sure.

There is a black, flamed '55 Texas based bird that appears on here every so often, that has the '57 sedan rear bumperettes subsitituted onto the front. They look nice and trim - and get rid of those huge things that came on there. I got my front bumper off - rechromed it - and stored it in the garage attic for the next owner after I admired how she looked without it.....



The nerfs are a copy of the Ford racing car "Battlebird" because I think it's the "right stuff" for the 1957 era. I think I'll keep with the nerf design for the rear too - wrap it around the Connie kit tire mount - and leave those bumpers in the attic too. I've got a lightweight aluminum spare on there now - but it needs more dieting. If you put the spare in the trunk of these outfits - especially the '55 and '56 without the "well" - room for a road trip disappears quick.

Nice looking outfit Andrew - wish mine was that clean...!

 

I stopped by to see some friends at the paint shop..


IMG_1430 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr

Wetsanded, polished and buffed, it's getting close to being ready now.

 

IMG_1427 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1426 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1425 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1423 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr
Today the William's shop hosted its annual Holiday Luncheon and Customer Appreciation event. They served over 500 people! Lunch was some great bbq, turkey and lots of desserts! It was really remarkable to see how many people this family run business has touched. This year's luncheon was to comemorate 40 years in business.

 

It was a big day today!!! The car was finished and ready to be picked up at the paint shop.

It fired right up, nice sound through the Magnaflows.. and I jumped on the freeway for an afternoon drive home, it was good to be behind the wheel again. Here's some pictures of the car. The shade, finish and detail really came out nicely.

Also the '55 rear bumper was fitted, and really cleans up the back of the car vs. the OE '56 continental kit.

 

Nice car.........your a little farther along than me

 

Thanks! LOL you could say that, wow, you are starting from the beginning on that one! What's the plan for yours, colors, motor?

 

The paint job turned out great.

 

Thanks, glad you like it.

I spent last night fitting the front bumper and odds and ends. The bumper is fresh from rechroming and looks great. The night passed pretty fast...Looked at the clock and it was 12.30 AM!

Today, I got a lot of the trim and pieces put back on the car. Had a few emblem holes that got filled, covered over and painted, but a fine drill bit and some nerves in check got them opened up for the emblems to mount up.. Need to go find some 0.180 emblem barrel clips to mount the "Thunderbird" and the emblem behind the slash marks on the fenders.

Makin progress...
front bumper
windshield wipers
slash emblems
door handles
door locks
taillight uppers
fender skirts
hood scoop trim
nose emblem

My driver's door needs some attention. I should have gotten that done before paint, it needs new hinge pins. Passenger one opens and closes beautifully..

 

Nice progress. The one I'm on is further along than the picture. Epoxied the inside of quarters/wheel houses and hung the quarters today. I'm only doing the metal/lead work on this one. Yours is going to be stunning!

 

Nice T-bird!
so, what happened to the Salt Flats?
I love that look.

 

Thanks, yes that look will return, I definitely like the hot rod style Thunderbird better than tthe stock look.... but thought I'd run the '56 'Bird stock and skirted up for a little while... I like the Thunderbird hubcaps, wish I had some better tires, that white wall is waay too skinny

At the moment, the PS Engineering Kidney Beans are rolling on the '61 Econoline.. ...

 

Paint looks good, color is awesome! I was going to ask for pics of your econoline but you read my mind

 

Yeah, that my T-bird, I really like the little bumperettes

 

Looks fantastic, bet it feels good to get it back together.

 

Looks great!

 

I love your Thunderbird, inspired me long ago, sharp!

 

Bit by bit a few trim pieces at a time... Got all my new Thunderbird items from Don Hyde. Some 3 years ago, a HAMBer tipped me off to him, how cool is it he's 15 minutes away and has every last part I need!

The Ford badges and a new shiny trunk cylinder lock housing including polished flap are installed...

 

The last trim item was picked up from the chrome shop. The grill was dropped off to Pulido's and they did a good job. Polished up the stainless and put the bumper back on (again).

Ready to roll, we've been cruising the car around and it's running good. Here's a few finished pics from this afternoon:


IMG_1810 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1809 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1807 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1805 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr


IMG_1804 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr

 

Looks fantastic !

 

Thanks very much, rolling in the stock 'Bird mode for now.


IMG_1819 by AndrewnTX, on Flickr

 

It turned out great!

 

Just the right amount of cleaning up. What a great color. It's hard to pick a favorite between this cruiser incarnation and the version without skirts and with Halibrands.
Well done!

 

looks super,but I liked the kit on the back my self