Project Grand Touring 1966 Thunderbird

[DanStokes]

'Bout the same deal. Heard tap dancing on roof. Pulled over and gave tug.




Only rust under it on C pillar.

You Californians! THAT ain't rust. If you can't poke a finger thru it it's just patina! Easy fix.

Dan

[AFFORDILLAC]

You Californians! THAT ain't rust. If you can't poke a finger thru it it's just patina! Easy fix.

Dan

Man you said it Dan!

[TheSilverBuick]

....

Jeez, it's one thing to hide behind the guise of "debate" in a thread asking a question, but now in the actual project thread you're just being a dick.

[STINEY]

Ricky Racer can still see it when someone quotes your endLESS drivel. Didn't your momma ever teach you any manners?

[1970camaroRS]

Jeez, it's one thing to hide behind the guise of "debate" in a thread asking a question, but now in the actual project thread you're just being a dick.

He will be taken care of. He has no business being in this thread for any reason. There's a reason he was put on my ignore list and he's proving why right now.

[JOES66FURY]

Ignoreing him is no use at this point because he is constantly being quoted. Life must be awesome being such a prick. I suspect in person he is probably a decent human being...but sadly he is just another keyboard douchebag. Seems like a smart guy, probably has a lot to offer if he didnt focus putting everyone down.

I am sure he will have some wise ass retort...one that cuts real deep and causes me to lose sleep at night lol...effing tool.

[1970camaroRS]

Just take the high road on this one. We can dog pile on him in the general discussion forum, but we're here to talk about the project at hand.

That being said, I will be snapping a bunch of new photos of the car in it's current state when I get home from work today. I'm also debating if I should put any money into making it reliable and safe to drive for the summer. It will, at a minimum, need an ignition switch, water pump/thermostat, alternator, brakes need a bunch of TLC and probably a therough tune-up (plugs, wires, distributor, etc). Heck, I bet if I did all of that, cleaned it up and tossed the rotten bits from the interior, I could sell it for twice what I paid. But, that's not the mission at hand.

[Russell]

Just take the high road on this one. We can dog pile on him in the general discussion forum, but we're here to talk about the project at hand.

That being said, I will be snapping a bunch of new photos of the car in it's current state when I get home from work today. I'm also debating if I should put any money into making it reliable and safe to drive for the summer. It will, at a minimum, need an ignition switch, water pump/thermostat, alternator, brakes need a bunch of TLC and probably a therough tune-up (plugs, wires, distributor, etc). Heck, I bet if I did all of that, cleaned it up and tossed the rotten bits from the interior, I could sell it for twice what I paid. But, that's not the mission at hand.

I would say price the brake stuff and then deside the rest should be pretty cheap. My vote is Drive it this summer!

[SuperBuickGuy]

Just take the high road on this one. We can dog pile on him in the general discussion forum, but we're here to talk about the project at hand.

That being said, I will be snapping a bunch of new photos of the car in it's current state when I get home from work today. I'm also debating if I should put any money into making it reliable and safe to drive for the summer. It will, at a minimum, need an ignition switch, water pump/thermostat, alternator, brakes need a bunch of TLC and probably a therough tune-up (plugs, wires, distributor, etc). Heck, I bet if I did all of that, cleaned it up and tossed the rotten bits from the interior, I could sell it for twice what I paid. But, that's not the mission at hand.

I'll repeat myself (I told someone else this very advice on Sunday). Make the car run and drive as well as is possible, drive it this summer. During the summer make a list of things you like and don't like. Then start the build next winter. I used to get the car home and tear it apart before I ever really drove it (although I could have done so) - later, I found that the changes I made weren't improvements to the car (or 4x4).

the other benefit is you can sell parts for a premium - because you'll know the condition of the parts... e.g. "runs" doesn't mean "runs long" or "runs well" or "runs without clanging"

[Deaf Bob]

Just take the high road on this one. We can dog pile on him in the general discussion forum, but we're here to talk about the project at hand.

That being said, I will be snapping a bunch of new photos of the car in it's current state when I get home from work today. I'm also debating if I should put any money into making it reliable and safe to drive for the summer. It will, at a minimum, need an ignition switch, water pump/thermostat, alternator, brakes need a bunch of TLC and probably a therough tune-up (plugs, wires, distributor, etc). Heck, I bet if I did all of that, cleaned it up and tossed the rotten bits from the interior, I could sell it for twice what I paid. But, that's not the mission at hand.

390's are pretty good motors... They just run and run... I have, and seen others as well, ran them with the water pump as a battering ram.. It would not be all that expensive to just tune it for the summer.. Who knows, it might be 2 summers... If there'd be a "bad" problem, it'd more than likely be the tranny.. I'd say drive it as is (I'm a Chevrolite!). Then when you put the good motor in, you can compare.. 390's are HEAVY muthas! The intake alone is about 150#! I kid you not!

[JOES66FURY]

I bet if you go the rock auto route you gen get it safe and reliable for cheap...have some fun with it this summer...JC Whitney has elcheapo carpet for 100 bucks you can lay down....

[TheSilverBuick]

I can tell you from experience, the '65 and the '67 brakes are good enough to throw you thru the windshield when in good working order, so I'd imagine the '66 is the same.

Also my '67 gets 17mpg highway with the stock trans (C6?) and 3.00 gears out back.

[Mr4Speed]

I'll repeat myself (I told someone else this very advice on Sunday). Make the car run and drive as well as is possible, drive it this summer. During the summer make a list of things you like and don't like. Then start the build next winter. I used to get the car home and tear it apart before I ever really drove it (although I could have done so) - later, I found that the changes I made weren't improvements to the car (or 4x4).

the other benefit is you can sell parts for a premium - because you'll know the condition of the parts... e.g. "runs" doesn't mean "runs long" or "runs well" or "runs without clanging"

A lot of wisdom in this. It's good practice to make sure you like being in the car first. I've had several perfectly good nice cars that after I drove them for a bit I just didn't like them. You probably wouldn't lose any money you put into it to get it roadworthy first.

[1970camaroRS]

I bet if you go the rock auto route you gen get it safe and reliable for cheap...have some fun with it this summer...JC Whitney has elcheapo carpet for 100 bucks you can lay down....

That's exactly what got me thinking about getting it down the road for the summer. Priced out my guesstimated needs and it wasn't very expensive.

[1970camaroRS]

A lot of wisdom in this. It's good practice to make sure you like being in the car first. I've had several perfectly good nice cars that after I drove them for a bit I just didn't like them. You probably wouldn't lose any money you put into it to get it roadworthy first.

Agreed