wex65

I have two manuals, see photos. Asking $25 each plus shipping.

Selling for $20 plus shipping. Nice clean condition.

Not looking to make a buck on this. Make a $20 donation to a cancer charity and cover shipping and I'm good. Worked fine when removed.

Thanks Tim. I will look back through photos I took before stripping the car down. My guess is that the butchered hole was an electric temp gauge someone had fitted to the car.

Trying to get the firewall in paint in the next week but have a question. The thing has a LOT of holes but to be honest the mostly look factory. Cant find a resource to check what should and should not be there but the only hole that looks like it was eaten through the metal by a beaver is circled. I shot some primer over it to make the holes stand out. Can anyone confirm whether this is 'surplus'? Thanks,

Many thanks for the feedback guys, I am more looking to have something original looking as the car itself is pretty original. Datatags can do an anodized one for $100 including shipping but it isn't so much the cost that is important to me but authenticity. If the original was a decal then that's probably the way I will go. The car doesn't see rain and does like 2k miles a year so I think it should hold up pretty well. After all, the original looks like it held up for 60 years and I would like to think the materials/adhesives used now are better...hopefully.

I am looking to freshen up the data plate on our 55. The metal plate itself is in great condition. The transparent/black plastic cover that has the Ford writing on it is lifting in several areas and honestly all I need is a new plastic cover. So, does anyone sell these? That way I could simply lift the old one, clean the plate and apply a new cover. All the information remains on the metal plate so this seems like a simple exercise. If no one does make/sell them if anyone interested if I get some made up.

I am on a 3k mile trip in 4 weeks with a gaggle of other Model As and the chase vehicle will be holding spares for each car. We decided it would be prudent to carry a spare starter so whether working or core isn't an issue as we will be getting it rebuilt ahead of time. 25430 is ZIP, WV Thanks,

As the title says, looking for a starter motor for a '55-'56 or so 322 Buick. Thanks,

Thanks guys, the cover and pins arrive later this week. I will post an update once the new cover is in place in the event it helps others. The old wiring behind the dash was "interesting" to say the least. The mods made by a PO left my scratching my head... All new looms going in so should be back to factory spec, except for the 12v conversion.

Thanks Paul. I removed the cover and heater and am trying to get my head around how these pins work. I ordered a new cover and set of pins from NPD and will look at the new ones. It appears then they are installed from the engine compartment side of the firewall and spring open, holding the cover, meaning they stay inserted?

I suspect there is a knack to this but how does one remove the pins holding the firewall cover in place?? I tried my usual delicate approach (brute force) but no joy. Thanks, Paul

Thanks, I played with it a little this morning and think I have found a way to get it to align. If it works I will post back here... I agree though that removing the lock from the equation will be helpful.

I know this was rhetorical but yes, I have.

Is there a way to align the glove box door? Got my freshly covered dash back in the car (need to repaint the glovebox door as I managed to chip it!) and the glovebox door doesn't line up. To be fair it never did. Wondering if there is a way to align it?

Typical, 2 mins after posting here I found this... CONVERTING THE 1955 THUNDERBIRD FROM 6 VOLTS TO 12 VOLTS by: Walt Knuckles Edited by: Bob DePaola Some of you are making way too big a deal of the 6 volt to 12 volt conversion on the 55 Thunderbird. For instance, you don't, or should not need a wiring diagram. You don't need to rewire the car. All the wire for the 6 volt system is twice as large as need be for 12 volt service. The only thing you need to change under the dash is the dash light bulbs and maybe the cigar lighter if you still smoke. The polarity for the clock must be changed from positive to negative ground. You may need to remove the clock to do this. There is a little tab that is designed to be positioned for positive or negative ground. Position it for negative ground. Major damage will occur if it is powered up in reverse polarity. You must install a 125 ohm 10 watt resistor in series with the 6 volt clock to drop the voltage to 6 or 7 volts. Of course the radio will need to be replaced, converted to 12 volt, or powered through a voltage dropping resistor. It is not polarity sensitive. You do not need to change any switches or gauges on the dash. The fuel and temp gauges will work on 6 or 12 volt and are not polarity sensitive. If you miss some of the dash lamps you can change them after they burn out, make sure you put in 12 volt lamps. The direction lamp flasher must also be changed for best performance but you can change it later. The fuses may need to be changed to values smaller to the ones rated for the 56 or 57 Thunderbirds. The tail lamps, the back-up lamps and license plate lamp will need to be replaced with 12 volt lamps. Now for the firewall forward: You do not need to change the battery cables, the horns, the horn relay or the starter. If converting to a generator install a 12 volt one and a 12 volt, 30 amp voltage regulator and wire it up exactly as the 6 volt ones. Or do the alternator conversion. This is done same as a 12 volt generator to alternator conversion. You will need to install 12V head lamps and park and direction lamps. No changes in lamp wiring or the light switch is necessary, leave it alone or repair it as necessary. Of course you will need a 12 volt battery; there are 12 volt batteries that will fit the 55 battery carrier with little or no modifications. The Motorcraft BTX-56 fits nicely and has 550 cold cranking amps. Just make sure to connect the battery to negative ground. The 6 volt coil can be used but the polarity must be changed, just switch the battery and distributor wires or install a 12 volt coil same as used on 56 through 73 Fords or get good used ones from salvage yards. The ones used on the 60 through 64 Falcons are good to use, they have yellow tops. Now for that very minor wiring change that has everyone confused. Install a 12 volt starter solenoid such as the ones used on the 56 through 73 Ford products. They are still cheap at AutoZone. It will have the extra “I” terminal, “I” as in ignition. Run a wire from the “I” terminal of the 12 volt starter solenoid to the battery terminal of the coil, remove the ignition wire that is presently attached to the coil and add a new wire about a foot long to the battery terminal before securing the nut. Now connect both the new wire attached to the battery terminal of the coil and the original ignition wire from the ignition switch to a new ignition resistor, Mororcraft #DY-35. When the job is done, before you start the engine, remove the field wire from the voltage regulator and strike it (draw an arc) to the battery terminal of the voltage regulator in order to properly polarize the generator then reconnect the field wire to its proper position on the voltage regulator. The heater blower motor, the seat motors and window motors will work on 12 volts but they will run very fast. The seat motor running too fast should be no problem. The heater motor running on low speed will be acceptable. Do not hook up the high speed wire so you do not inadvertently run the motor on high as it will burn out the motor. The window motors will require some expertise in use in order to prevent mechanical damage. If you want, you can install 12 volt window motors, but it is not required and they are expensive. You might try using a dropping resistor in the motor ground wire circuit to drop the voltage but I have not determined what the correct value would have to be. It will have to be a very high power resistor, maybe 1000 watts and it will give off some heat. I would recommend just using the window motors as they are and release the window switch before the window gets to its stops. This may take some practice but it is easy enough and like I said before, it will take some practice and finesse. When making a 6 V to 12 V conversions on a 1955 Thunderbird it is difficult to find a battery that fits the 1955 tray and hold down without modifications I have found that a Group 56 12V battery fits the tray and allows the hold down to be used without modification. The length of the battery is slightly shorter but covers well without showing. In fact it looks like it was made for the tray and hold down. So, there you go. I will be standing by for your response and instructions. Sincerely, Dale

Bumping this up as I am in the same boat. The car had already been converted to 12v but as part of redoing the dash I purchased a brand new 55 dash loom and now that I am installing it I am wondering what differences exist between the 'standard' (6v) install and for 12v usage? I bought new gas/temp gauges which are 12v but again I am unclear as to the changes needed. Surely there is a 6v to 12v conversion resource out there somewhere?

Can anyone confirm whether the threaded retainer (arrowed) is a match from 55-57 or whether the 55 is different to the 56-57 piece. I already know the outside bezel is different but am unsure of whether the internal threaded piece will interchange.

Looking for 1941 16x4 Ford wheels in perfect condition, NO pitting and NO rim damage. These are slightly different from the 1940 in that they have a sloping internal wall. You can read about the differences at this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/trying-to-id-1940-ford-wheels.949687/#post-10682221

Trying to restore the interior on my wife's '55 and have the dash out (FINALLY!) for paint and new cover. So the question is, does anyone sell the (red) paint or is it a case of getting a local paint co to match paint to the shade of red on the new cover? Also, the finish on her dash was flat red but from large images I have seen of restorations it is maybe supposed to semi gloss? Thanks,

As the title says... Looking for the bolts for early (actually a '55 322) factory valve covers and spark plug covers. Will be at Hershey. PM or email pcoghlan AT usa.net

Thanks guys, I am on it.

Does anyone know if there is a repop for the 53 rear light assemblies?

Looking for a 48 Ford steering wheel in good condition. pcoghlan AT usa.net or PM me. Thanks,

You're welcome...