http://forums.aaca.org/ en Sat, 25 May 2013 00:03:06 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.aaca.org/images/misc/rss.png http://forums.aaca.org/ http://forums.aaca.org/f225/last-dash-question-i-hope-351524.html Sun, 19 May 2013 20:21:54 GMT The dash has been powdercoated (white backside), the instruments have all been refurbished, and tomorrow it goes to to the upholsterer for a new... The dash has been powdercoated (white backside), the instruments have all been refurbished, and tomorrow it goes to to the upholsterer for a new vinyl cover. Here's the question: one of the three funny-looking clips on the leading edge is missing. It looks like the spot weld broke some time ago. I guess their purpose is to keep the inner trim piece from smooshing down. What's the recommended fix? Obviously I need a spacer block of some sort, but I'd like to hear what others have done. ]]> Ford Thunderbird 1955-1957 oldguy668 http://forums.aaca.org/f225/last-dash-question-i-hope-351524.html http://forums.aaca.org/f225/hard-top-fit-351028.html Sun, 12 May 2013 19:06:04 GMT While I've owned my 55 for many years, I just replaced the hard top weather stripping. The locating pins just in front of the door were worn to the point the Allen heads weren't visible, and were removed with pliers. With the new pins in place, there's about a 1/4 inch more distance between the pins than the spacing on the body. I'm told this is not unknown with hard tops which spend time off the car. Is there a solution to this? Thanks.

miker ]]> Ford Thunderbird 1955-1957 miker98038 http://forums.aaca.org/f225/hard-top-fit-351028.html http://forums.aaca.org/f225/1957-t-bird-transmission-issue-350722.html Thu, 09 May 2013 00:25:58 GMT After a long restoration I finally got my car on the road. The only problem is my transmission does not want to shift. It starts out ok but stays... After a long restoration I finally got my car on the road. The only problem is my transmission does not want to shift. It starts out ok but stays in gear and only shifts up if I let up on the gas then it shifts up. What causes the transmission to shift? Could it be a vacum or module problem? Thanks ]]> Ford Thunderbird 1955-1957 Jackson 1963 http://forums.aaca.org/f225/1957-t-bird-transmission-issue-350722.html http://forums.aaca.org/f225/electrical-dilemma-guru-needed-long-story-350609.html Mon, 06 May 2013 23:57:46 GMT I just bought this little red 56 about 6 weeks ago. I didn't pay crazy money, and I expected there would be some things wrong that I'd find out about as I went along. So, I discovered that I need a valve job and the soft top needs some work, and most of the weatherstripping is like black sticky sawdust. That's the easy stuff.

I started to check out the wiring to see why the clock, dash lights, radio, lighter, etc had no power. The only things that seemed to work were the ignition, lights, horn, seats and windows. You know, the essential stuff.

Being pretty good at wiring, I crawled under the dash last week to take a look. Horrified is putting it lightly. Most of the dash harness was cooked to a crisp, and some imbecile had bypassed most of it by jumping off the big yellow feed wire (he also bypassed the fuses). Some of the wires were welded together and some were just melted into clumps.

I ended up pulling the dash out since it needs re-covering anyway. I sent the clock out for repair and got the tach and speedo cleaned up pretty nice. I got lucky over the weekend and scored a NOS dash harness with the same part number as mine, and that should be here in a couple of days.

So, here's the dilemma: All the wiring diagrams I have clearly show TWO circuit breakers on the cowl panel, one for the seats and one for the windows. My car has only one breaker, and both the seats and windows tie into it. There is no evidence (like holes) that there ever was a second breaker. Not really a big deal since it's unlikely that any of them will be used simultaneously. My guess is that the car did not get built with both power options so it did not get wired for them. Nevertheless, wanting to do it right, I want to install the second breaker. But, the diagrams do not clearly show the power path for the seats. The windows are easy (Big yellow wire to the "safe relay" and back to the BAT terminal on the breaker, then split to each window harness), but the seats look like they have two 12V feeds, which is causing my head to spin (not comfortable at my age).

If anyone has some insight into the gordian knot-like seat harness connections at the cowl, I'd really appreciate a little coaching ]]> Ford Thunderbird 1955-1957 oldguy668 http://forums.aaca.org/f225/electrical-dilemma-guru-needed-long-story-350609.html http://forums.aaca.org/f225/57-thunderbird-oil-gen-lens-replacement-350432.html Fri, 03 May 2013 13:33:29 GMT Will someone help me understand the steps to replace the OIL and GEN lens and the turn signal lenses on my 57 T-Bird? I have the clock out to be... Will someone help me understand the steps to replace the OIL and GEN lens and the turn signal lenses on my 57 T-Bird? I have the clock out to be rebuilt so thought this would be a good time to change the faded lenses. I have a tool that is supposed to be used to remove the bezels, but have not used it. Many thanks in advance ]]> Ford Thunderbird 1955-1957 spears55 http://forums.aaca.org/f225/57-thunderbird-oil-gen-lens-replacement-350432.html