chikieslick:

Approach it like any used car buy. Since the '58 "square" bird T-birds are unit body construction. You must investigate the body for rust. Practice buy looking at many cars, not just '64 T-birds. I looked at a few MN12 cars. It was easy to see rust at the shock towers. I looked at a Ford Probe GT and the dealer said it had a "solid" body. I peeked under the floor and the rails were rusted through. Not my idea of a solid body.
My Protege has rusted through rear wheel arches but it has a solid body because the wheel arches are not stressed parts of the body. The floor and the rails under the floor have no rust, neither do the shock towers.
Frequent the back lots and become a judge of older cars.

 

Thanks for the advice bluewind!
I am looking at a whole assortment of 60's cars. Though I have my eye mainly on a thunderbird as a prize. luckily in northern california people keep them in relatively decent condition(as our winters are cold in the 50's but sunny) and it never snows in the bay area, and In the south bay, we probably got...a months worth of rain..this past winter.
Though I am trying to get a tbird from central valley or a city away from the coast that way any kind of ocean mist wouldn't have damaged the car. I'm also trying to stay away from San Francisco, because I don't want a car that was run up or down hills.

I am defiantly bringing my friend(who owns a 65 comet) when I go to look at them.

This will be a daily driver, but I am going to garage it AND cover it up when I am done at night..It will be taken care of like a restored car.


Now all I need is these two final questions answered and I'll be pretty happy.

Car club for thunderbirds..When I get my Tbird, would you strongly recommend I join one?


And Is 4-5 grand good enough for a decent/ good daily driver?

Yes first thing that is going on my car is disk breaks(If I have any money left over) and maybe change the master cylinder so if that thing goes out, only two breaks or so go instead of all 4. Then I am rebuilding The engine after a few more months of saving. Maybe Direct injection fuel lines...add some gas saving features to the car also. I want to slowly modernize the technology in the car as I get older..By the time I am done with college I could have a regular full time paying job with a pretty much modern car.....Ahh who am I kidding, we all know my first addition is gonna be a aux cable input and some fuzzy dice.

I hope regular upkeep wont be too expensive. TBH, Idc. My dad may not approve of the car, but as a 21 year old blowning my own money on it, no one can say anything(unless I truly do not have enough money for one). I just love everything about the car..the lines going down the body, where the headlights are and how the detail around them is, the seats and dash panel, to the steering column and back seats(soon to be gf tested at the drive ins... -.-)..I think I am in love.

 

here is what is typically for sale around 4 thousand dollars in the bay area.

1964 Ford Thunderbird

The front seat shows usual wear and tear, the engine looks like it could be cleaned.

the paint and body SEEM to be straight.
can looks be deceiving? Again, these are your typical 4-6 grand Tbirds out here.
Maybe I can ask for 3 grand since it has mercedes floor mats?..hey, technically the car isn't original! I have a excuse! haha

 

I got news for you chickieslick. the older cars and or trucks had more reliability than today's piles of junk ever had. and the more you try to modify an old engine the bigger the chance of something going wrong. when the engines were properly tuned and maintained they could outlast any thing out there. I agree with Bluewind on updating the brakes with disc brakes but a word of advise on the master cylinder if one goes out or screws up you still won't have any braking power to stop the car. that's what the e- brake's for. you don't have to replace the dist. with electronic as long as you keep an extra set points on hand.

 

Oh well thanks for the info..I wasn't planning on going full electronic or anything with my engine, Just change the DI fuel line from a carb(There is a lot of high elevations around here), electronic ignition, and my disk breaks. Then a radio and fuzzy dice.

I might take the offer on that 4 grand Tbird though >

 

chikieslick:
I totally share your excitement for this car. I have a subscription to Hemmings Classic Car magazine and the first issue I received had the square birds featured. The '64 is an updated version of that.

Club membership is not necessary but you can see if there are active chapters in your area and if you like to be around the members.

The car in the ad is beautiful. Still I can't tell if it will cause you major problems or not. But the trunk should be big enough to hold a bicycle, just in case...
I think you should have about $1000 to $2000 in reserve after buying the car. Fix things that go bad but fix them right. The engine may or may not need an overhaul, same with the tranny. Many people foget about the differential. Things you must expect: leaking seals of all manner, rubber dry rotting and rust/corrosion in hidden places.
But there are many things you can verify using test procedures: I. e: compression test. Cylinder leak down test, cooling system pressure test. Brake sytem test: in your driveway push the pedal hard with both feet for a full minute. If it gives it failed! Of course you will flush the system first with DOT3 brake fluid.

You can internally clean the engine by making very frequent oil changes in the first year. It may actually remove depostis from the rings and improve compression while reducing oil consumption. And change out the coolant 2 times within a few thousand miles.
And if yor GF puts up with all the attention you give to the car you have proof that she is a keeper!

Grindman is partially right. Keep it original and it will be as reliable as it used to be. I disagree that cars are less reliable than the old classics. I think modern cars last longer with less attention, but most people find themselves in trouble because they don't give them ANY attention. Also grindman has a dislike for electronics. I used to dislike them too, bcause I could not understand it from looking at it. They also mess with the conventional methods of diagnosis. Now I do understand it better and see the advantages.

Please' watch "Torino" by Clint Eastwood again and pay attention to the reading of Kowalski's last will. Promise me that you respect Kowalski's last will in regards to the T-bird

 

HAHA i'll respect it. I will probably have around 5,600 hopefully by august. So If I can find a decent bird for 4-5 grand(no more) then I'll be a happy duck.

When I am looking at cars, what should I listen for(i.e bad parts in the engine)
I know how to work around cars moderately, but I'm not ase double gold certified and have my degree from 6 different auto makers like my dad...So tell me to listen for a buzz, and ill think my tire will fly off. :/

any specifics?

And your information has been helpful! I have this convo book marked and will refer back to it!
I'll try to be as active as I can here(I don't yet have my car, so I'll do what I can with out seeming like a poser)

 

chikieslick:
I can't give you any specifics. These cars sounded different than today's cars. You probably have a chance to hear some of them running at a cruise night or drive in.

Also, you can get a mechanic's stethoscope and practice listening to engines. Just practice on your family vehicles.

Obviously, you have a minor issue with your dad. He knows everything and he could come back to you and give you the "I told you so" treatment. Don't forget he started somewhere and made a few mistakes along the way. You start somewhere and you will make a few mistakes along the way as well. Deep down he will probably be proud of you just for doing this adventure. And he probably lets you use some tools if you put them back on place afterwards.

And there is Youtube:

 

Electronic ignition is a darn good thing to have on a engine they have been proven to work. I don't hate electronics if was made or put in it from the factory. I just hate it when they fail and give someone like me a major headache trying to figure out what went wrong. it also makes me just want to junk it out and go buy myself another one. I know that it makes me sound really stupid when I say it like that. I do my own mechanics on my own cars trucks and it really sucks when you have one break down and can't seem to fix it when every damn thing is controlled by a piece of silicone with a hundred wires coming from it. I like the old stuff due to the fact that when they were made it let the owners work on it adjust it to make it run better or learn from them without costing a person an arm and a leg sometimes other body parts if you get my drift.

 

Nah me and my dad always have those squabbles of "no you can't have it" and I end up doing it anyways. We are really close so we don't have " actual" problems with one another.

My dad is middle eastern and where he grew up a car was made for one purpose and that is just to go to point a to b. I was raised in the states and grew up as an American and have always loved these cars. So that's why we have conflicting interest. Ill even pay my own insurance if I have too. Yeah the car may break down a million times, but I'm young and want to have this adventure while I am still young, I don't want it to be a mid life car( no offense to any mid lifers), I still wanna be my wild n wreckless(maybe not too wreckless) greaser self and own the car of my dreams. That's all!

But yeah, I'll try to listen to funky sounds, and get a hang of them and what not!