66 T-bird parked for 7 years... now what?

So today i committed to purchasing a 66 Thunderbird sight unseen (from a friend of my pop's) for $1k. The story is that it was restored and running 10 years ago. However, after the owner died, it sat unused in his wife's garage for the last 7 years. If i just change the oil, filter, plugs, cap and rotor, is that enough, or should i flush fluids too (gas, tranny, radiator)? Is there anything specific on this car that i should watch out for before starting it? Worst case, anyone know of a good tow service that will transport the car (4500lb!) from Austin to San Antonio? Last, any recommendations on oil, tire, plug brands for an older car like this one?

Thanks a bunch,

There ought to be a FAQ on this, as it comes up frequently... here's what I would do.

First, before you do anything, change the engine oil. Then put some ATF or Kroil down the plug holes and try to turn the engine over with a breaker bar (all the way over - partway and 'catching' doesn't count.) If that works then try to spin it with the starter. If not just let it set and let the stuff do its magic. Once you have it spinning with the starter then you can put the plugs back in and actually start it. You may have to dress the points, replace wires, maybe the fuel pump has gone bad, carb is varnished up, and/or the tank is full of nasty old gas, etc. etc. etc. - it all goes with the territory, just be prepared to do a quickie carb rebuild and/or other work as necessary. Once you get it to fire just let it idle for a few minutes (until warm) then change the oil again. You may foul a plug or two, no biggie. It will probably smoke like a hot turd for a while as well. Now that you've got it running, change *all* the fluids - coolant, trans, rear end, and brake fluid. Make sure that the brakes are all working and not leaking. Don't be surprised if you have to replace a wheel cylinder or two, or the master cylinder. It all goes with the territory. If the brake hoses (and cooling system hoses for that matter) don't look like they were replaced as part of the resto, consider replacing all of those as well. Inspect the steel brake lines as well - replace any that look suspect (they're cheap. New sheetmetal is not.) Once you get the brakes working, jam on the pedal as hard as you can in the driveway - if anything's going to pop, find out now, not later! While you've got the drums off it wouldn't be a bad idea to repack the wheel bearings as well. At this point you should have a car that's safe to at least tool around the block, now you can start working on all the stuff that doesn't work and also think about getting new tires and actually taking it out for a real drive.

I will probably get flack for this but I wouldn't bother with the tuneup stuff yet unless something is obviously bad... my Stude is running on 30 year old points, cap, and rotor just fine. Save your money, you will need it for incidentals.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it's all regular maintenance for an old car (other than unsticking the engine if necessary) - you just have to do it all at once because it's been sitting so long. If it makes you feel any better, I'm currently working on a '62 Stude that was sitting since 1967... runs fine now just by doing the above (and a new wiring harness, it was put down because of a dash fire.) Of course, now I'm in the stage of 'well, I have to paint the inner fenders and put new bushings in the suspension, and the throwout bearing is going bad, so I might as well pull the engine... since it's all gunky inside, maybe I'll just have it tanked and put new rings and bearings in it... now would be a good time to add that camshaft... and four-barrel... and limited slip rear... and traction bars...' You get the idea. It's a sickness, enjoy it

One last thing - if you decide to have it shipped rather than fix it where it's at and drive it home, there are companies that will do what you want for a reasonable fee, as long as you're flexible on delivery time. I have a friend who has cars shipped regularly, if you can't find anyone local let me know and I'll look into it for you. Another option would be to rent a U-Haul truck and trailer and just tow it yourself - probably cheapest overall.

Good luck,

My brother owned both a '64 and finally a '66 Tbird convertible and both thoses cars handled terribly on the stock bias belted dtires. Not until he put on a set of Michelin radials did the car handle and steer correctly. He also replaced the stock shocks with Sears then Super Duty shocks which had a 1 and 3/8' piston. Stan K.

(Sorry if there's a post in the other thread containing only quoted material. Either I hit the wrong key or my browser died suddenly...)

Anyway, besides the good things others have mentioned, you'll want to visit the 'Cybernest' (http://www.tbird.org), which has FAQs, links to vendors, and sign-ups for some tremendously helpful mailing lists organized by epoch (yours is 'Flairbird'. To paraphrase what the lady said, I've restored cars with and without the Internet, and with is better.

You'll be informed in particular about two 'gotcha' grade quirks: the risk of slipping from Park into Reverse and what to do about it, and a place where the brake lines are especially likely to rust. An additional thing to know is that all-three-gears Drive on the Cruise-O is the second of the two D's. The first or left D is the drive-on-snow position that starts you out in second gear rather than first.

The differences between the 65 and 66 are largely cosmetics on the hood and front end, if memory serves. 66 had disc brakes, 65 might have; 66 got the C6 tranny as a running change and 65 always had the Cruise-O-Matic. I think all 65's had the sequential taillights that will delight and torment you. I think 66 also marked the advent of some primitive pollution controls (Exhaust Gas Recirculation and Air Injection Reactor) on California-spec cars.

Best of luck,

93 is about as close as you're going to get. Today's octane measurements are '(R+M)/2,' or in other words the average of the 'Research' and 'Motor' octane numbers. Research is always higher than Motor, hence the averaging. 93 is probably a little *better* at knock suppression than old 99 'motor' rated fuel, but lacking lead it doesn't lubricate the valve seats.

If you've just done a drain/flush on the fuel tank and it was sludgy/rusty, you're GOING to clog fuel filters for a while, no matter how clean you think you've gotten the tank. Carry spares!

Ahh, wretched memories of my own dealings with Ford/Autolite carburetors. :-p I always believed that the name 'Autolite' came from the fact that once they started leaking they'd automatically lite the car on fire :-/

Warning! Danger Will Robinson! 'Reman' carbs are generally crap. You'll be lucky if it only leaks half as much as the old one. You're 1000 times better off installing a kit in the old carb. If you want to get a reman carb just to get the car home, do so but do NOT I repeat NOT let them have the original carb as an exchange. Keep it and rebuild it yourself.

(Question 2:

Or buy a brand new Carter AFB / Edelbrock AFB with a Ford linkage and put the Autolite 4100 on the shelf as a conversation piece.

Don't foget the spare fuel filters!

Sounds like it. The 64-66 Thunderchickens with the sequential taillights have always been one of my favorites. The FE block 390 is a fine engine (propensity to leak oil at that awkward joint between the intake manifold gasket and valve cover gasket notwithstanding) and should make it a fun car to drive without being 'high strung' like an ultra-high compression muscle car engine.

By the way- when you're in Austin and need good parts for old cars, try South Austin Auto Supply at the intersection of Manchaca Road and South Lamar Blvd.

93 octane pump gas is 98.5 octane research method. Should be good enough.

Well, not entirely true. Was just working on an R-1 (Avanti engine) powered Studebaker Hawk last weekend and someone had left one of the floats set Way Too High. Not only did the exhaust make my eyes water, but the carb got a bit damp as well.

Of course, on an AFB, fixing that problem involved unhooking the fuel line, removing about 10 screws, resetting the float, and reassembling. Didn't even pull it off the manifold. I second the motion for the AFB being a winner... not sure if it is a bolt on replacement for whatever's on a '65 'bird though.