1957 Thunderbird Drivetrain Upgrade

[carbking]

A drive line upgrade would be replacing the 3x2 with the original manifold and 4 barrel carburetor as you stated you still have all of the original parts; but it would lose the "eye candy" look. Or, if you wanted to spend the money AND have the eye candy, a set of dual quads would give you both an upgrade and eye candy.

Jon.

[Bleach]

I upgraded my 56 a little for reliability and driveability but I kept it all OEM Ford and even went as far as making the upgrades appropriate for the year I used. For example, I switched to the intake manifold and carburetor from a 57 so I would not have to deal with the teapot or more infamously known towering inferno carburetor. The 57's manifold allows the engine to breathe better plus opens up a few more carburetor options. I chose a 57 Autolite 4100 carburetor for it's simplicity and reliability. The car performs better plus should get a little better fuel economy as well. The other thing I changed was the distributor. The original dual vacuum diaphragm Load-o-matic distributor would not work with the current carburetor which was all good and well because the one I changed to is simpler and only uses a single diaphragm and is period correct for a 57. The last thing I needed to change was the air cleaner as the original oil bath unit does not fit on the Autolite 4100. Again, no problem. I found a very nice 57 air cleaner to finish off the upgrades. I saved all the original 56 parts and it could all be swapped back in a few hours if I should choose to which I will not as long as I plan to own the car.